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Are you frustrated with your job and would like to quit? Your boss and that co-worker really suck but you need the money, right? If you feel stuck in the daily grind, use these tips to start survive the daily grind and be happier after work.
You haven’t been flown in yet, it’s just a first step, but how do you impress enough over the phone to get a face-to-face interview? You have to be memorable - not just with what you say, but how you say it. Those “ums” and “likes” you use in regular conversation could count against you like minutes ticking away in a parking meter.
“Treat the interview seriously. If they are calling you for a phone interview, it's because you meet the minimum requirements. Treat the phone interview as if it were a face-to-face interview,” advises Victoria Snabon-Heath, career services director of The Art Institute of Tampa. In addition to preparing mentally, she suggests, it might be helpful to “get dressed in a suit, even though no one will see you. It will help set your mood.” Do whatever it takes, Snabon-Heath suggests, because “you are being screened in or out during this conversation.”
“Phone interviews are becoming much more commonplace,” says Felicia Miller, senior career advisor and job development coordinator for The Art Institute of Las Vegas. The job market is highly competitive, and many companies that are looking for qualified job candidates have to go out-of-state. But before they spend the resources needed to bring you in for a face-to-face, they want to make sure you’re worth the time and effort, says Miller.
With that in mind, Miller offers the following tips for helping to ace the phone interview, and get to the face-to-face interview:
* Be prepared. Before the interview, review any available online information for the company and the trends in the industry. Make sure to read any recent press releases so that you can show off your knowledge during the interview while praising the company.
* If you responded to a particular job posting, have a copy of that printed out for the interview, along with some notes of how your skills and experience match those requirements. Be ready to take notes during the interview, and have your calendar ready to check your availability for the next step in the hiring process.
* If you are supposed to call the employer, be prompt, but don’t call more than five minutes or so ahead of schedule. The employer may have other things to do before your call.
* If the job is located outside your area, be prepared to discuss why you are willing to relocate to the new area. Perhaps the new city is closer to your family, or a safer community, or closer to the beach. This lets the employer know that this is a viable opportunity for you.
* Without the advantage of facial expressions, it’s hard to gauge whether or not you’ve answered a question to the employer’s satisfaction. If you are unsure of the question, ask for clarification. If your answer is met with silence, you may want to see if the interviewer understood you by asking a clarification question such as, “Did I answer your question?”
* Avoid discussing compensation if possible. A phone interview is usually an initial step in the hiring process, and you probably do not have enough information to estimate your worth in the new position. If the interviewer brings up the topic, it’s permissible to say, “I’m looking for the industry standard,” or “I’d like to learn more about the opportunity before I discuss that.”
* Thank the employer for taking time out of their day to speak with you. Let them know that they may call you anytime if they have other questions. Make sure your outgoing voicemail message is professional in case they miss you.
”It may seem obvious, but make sure the contact number you provide is not your 1980s static cordless phone your Grandmother gave you, or if you give you cellular number, make sure it’s charged the night before.” Says Snabon-Heath,
To learn more about The Art Institutes visit www.artinstitutes.edu/nz.
Courtesy of ARAcontent
Is there anything that strikes more fear in the heart of the recent graduate than putting together a job resumé? Maybe a job interview, but first things first -- you need to have a resumé.
So, what is a resumé really? “In a nutshell, it’s you on paper,” says Jenny Mleko, director of career services for The Illinois Institute of Art -- Schaumburg. “Your resumé is a marketing tool designed to create interest. It highlights a history of achievements and details your work history. “
According to Mleko, recruiters tend to only look at your resumé for about 20 seconds, so it is extremely important to have a resumé that catches someone’s attention. For the recent grad, Mleko recommends including a career objective which should be broad as far as what the candidate is looking for, but can also be tailored to a company or position. She also encourages grads to include their technical or traditional skills, and coursework that is related to an industry or job they hope to enter.
Amy H. Lee, director of career services at The Art Institute of Las Vegas, believes that in addition to including a clear job objective, a chronological listing of employment, freelance work or internships, “presentation is key to any good resumé.” Lee says resumés should be brief, concise, and easy to read. Since many grads of The Art Institutes enter creative fields such as graphic design, web-design, marketing or advertising, Lee says their resumés need to be visually appealing and well-designed.
“I like to see resumés that use an eye catching type face that stands out from the norm of Arial and Times New Roman,” says Lee, but she draws the line using “unclear graphics or illustrations, cartoonish fonts, or cutesy visuals.”
Becky Bates, director of career services, The Art Institutes International Minnesota, urges grads to keep their resumé brief, usually no more than one page. She says a cover letter on the same paper as the resumé is “a must.” And though it may sound obvious, “I always urge our grads to make sure all typographical, grammatical and spelling errors have been corrected.”
Photos, personal information like height or weight should never be included in a job resumé. In addition, Bates urges grads to omit a personal section -- a listing of hobbies, social activities or clubs -- unless they contribute to a job objective or are particularly relevant to the company a grad is applying to.
Julie Smith, current general education department chair and former director of career services at Brown Mackie College -- Kansas City, adds that any job descriptions included in a resumé should contain action verbs that draw attention to accomplishments and problem-solving abilities. “Your resumé will pack a greater punch if you employ powerful verbs that demonstrate an action,” Smith says.
Other keys to an effective resumé for the recent grad include:
Here’s a statistic that will startle you into action. According to a recent Office Depot survey, the average business professional loses 90 hours -- or more than two full workweeks -- a year due to disorganization.
Thankfully, there’s a solution to help you deal with the overflowing piles and outdated files. It is an easy-to-accomplish five-day office makeover plan that has been developed by Stephanie Winston, organizational advisor for Office Depot. Best if all, it’s sweat-free, and doesn’t require any heavy lifting.
"All it takes is a few clear-cut systems and a dose of consistency to trim your in-box and perform a ‘nip and tuck’ on the ever-bulging files in your office,” says Winston. By following her advice and using the simple solutions in the Office Depot Five-Day Office Makeover Plan, anyone can maintain an orderly workspace. Highlights from the plan include:
* Toss It -- Get organized by tossing unneeded papers. To help keep confidential information private, protect your information by shredding sensitive paperwork. Winston recommends using a shredder like the Ativa diamond-cut shredder because it shreds documents, credit cards and CDs into tiny, unusable pieces.
* Create a Master To-Do List -- Winston suggests creating a centralized, master to-do list each week, from which you can pull 10 to 12 daily tasks. Whether you use an electronic or paper-based organizer, carry your list with you so action items can be added and crossed off upon completion.
* Organize Your Files -- To group related files together, Winston suggests creating broad file names versus very specific titles. For example, if “Acquisition Targets” is the general title, then label each manila folder with the individual company names.
* Less “Taxing” Taxes -- Start tax preparation early to eliminate last minute tax filing stress. You should store receipts, W2s and interest statements in a single place to prepare for tax filing. To assist individuals who prepare tax returns personally, look for products like TurboTax that can guide you through the proper steps of tax preparation.
* Log Expenses Regularly -- Seasoned road warriors are vigilant about recording every expense. “When on a trip, it’s easy to forget little expenses such as morning coffee or a service tip,” said Winston. She recommends carrying an envelope to store all travel-related expenses.
These and other suggestions are available free of charge at www.officedepot.com/getorganized.
Courtesy of ARA Content
How is it that some managers are able to inspire top performances from their employees while others can barely extract an honest day’s work from the people who report to them? The secret is out.
According to a new survey by leading staffing company Kelly Services, an overwhelming majority of American employees want to work hard because their bosses are nice to them. As part of the Kelly Global Workforce Index, 4,000 Americans were asked to rate their bosses on four attributes -- communication, leadership, team spirit and delegation skills. American workers ranked their bosses above average in all four areas.
On a scale of 1-to-10 with 10 being best, bosses in this country received a 7.3 for delegating authority, which shows they trust their employees; and a 7.1 for creating a sense of team spirit, which shows they want morale to be good. For leadership ability, they received a 7.0; a 6.9 for communication skills.
“American managers are putting extra emphasis on motivating and engaging their employees because they know that a content and motivated workforce will reduce costly turnover and will contribute to the bottom line, says George Corona, senior vice president of Kelly Services. So what are some of the most effective ways American bosses are raising people's stature from mere hired hands or order takers to valued team members?
* By asking employees to complete the initial screening of potential job candidates -- to make sure the person hired will be a good fit with the team;
* By consistently seeking input from employees, and acting on their suggestions for improving productivity and efficiency;
* By resisting the urge to micromanage -- leaving it up to the employees to determine the best way to complete their assignments.
And here are some innovative ways they are encouraging employees to get out and have fun together:
* Sending employees to team-building workshops where they are dependent on each other to complete a goal, like to climb a mountain, sail a ship, run an obstacle course, etc.
* Encouraging monthly get-togethers where employees can put work aside for an hour or two and are given the opportunity to socialize.
Overall, American bosses come in second only to Mexico when it comes to being the best supervisors in world. The industries where bosses get the highest accolades are business services, the sciences, pharmaceutical and IT.
Courtesy of ARA Content
The phone is ringing. Your inbox is overflowing with new projects. You have exactly ten minutes to meet a deadline and the morning has just begun. Stress in the workplace is common, but research conducted by Kelly Services reveals that the American workforce is less stressed than Europe’s.
Among thousands of respondents in the Kelly Services Global Workforce Index survey, 11.7 percent of Americans described their work as “extremely stressful,” while 27.1 percent of European respondents reported that their work was “far too stressful.”
“Understanding stress -- what causes it and how it affects you -- is an important step in managing life’s pressures effectively,” advises George Corona, senior vice president for Kelly Services, a global staffing solutions provider.
Stress is a normal occurrence in our daily lives and its negative effects are hard to overlook. But when it comes to the workplace, stress can also be viewed in a positive sense. Many employees seek challenges in their jobs, and increased stress can actually be exciting and motivating.
For others, elevated stress can lead to anxiety and a decrease in work performance. “Employees should strive to manage stress and achieve balance, so that their work can be stimulating without it leading to overwhelming demands,” says Corona.
Regardless of the stress level, American workers generally seem to keep their tensions under wraps. According to Kelly Services, 25.6 percent of survey respondents described their work as “somewhat stressful but manageable,” while 18.6 percent say their workplace is “rarely stressful.”
“A strong American work ethic seems to be alive and well, but with more hours on the job comes additional responsibility and increased levels of stress,” says Corona. “However, it’s also notable that most American workers seem to be finding a way to accomplish a manageable work-life balance.”
Kelly Services offers the following suggestions to help manage job-related stress.
* Get organized. Take a few minutes first thing every morning to organize the day ahead of you. Establishing realistic goals and prioritizing your workload will help you manage expectations and keep deadlines top-of-mind.
* Take hold of your career. If stress levels have escalated because of the job itself, talk to your supervisor. There may be options to redistribute the workload, or tailor your position to match your particular skill sets.
* Nobody’s perfect. When we are under stress, many of us add to our problems by trying to be everything to everybody. It’s important not to take yourself or the job too seriously. Learn from your mistakes and move on.
* Unplug. Wireless technologies have made today’s workforce extremely mobile. But at the end of the day, strive for balance by establishing boundaries between your career and personal activities.
Courtesy of ARA Content
Anyone who uses e-mail on their job has gotten one: an e-mail that’s unprofessional, curt, or worse, borders on rude. Most of us who use e-mail as a way to communicate in the corporate world know to keep it brief and professional. But without the face-to-face contact, e-mails can be easily misunderstood. Worse, they can drag perfectly reasonable people into a game of cyberspace mud-slinging.
Why do some people let it all hang out in their e-mail communication -- the good, bad and the ugly? According to Dr. Jack O’Regan, dean of the College of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences at Argosy University, there’s an actual psychological effect behind this phenomenon.
“We all make various decisions in our daily lives and most are done with some level of governance,” says Dr. O’Regan. “The issue people face is really a ‘disinhibition effect’ where, due to the interpersonal nature of e-mail, the user often does not use the same levels of governance on appropriateness that you would have in other forms of communications. Once the user presses send, it’s gone and that’s it.”
In today’s “e-mail culture,” people are so used to “interacting through e-mail messages in a certain way that many don’t think of it as unprofessional and they are often very upfront and in your face,” he adds.
“Since humans communicate a huge amount of information non-verbally, using sarcasm or ‘humor’ in an e-mail can be easily misinterpreted,” says Chad Ness, director of technology and facilities for The Art Institutes International Minnesota.
Ness says in social e-mails, when people joke, or use sarcasm, they may use a graphic or icon -- like a smiley face -- to indicate a wink or a nod. But in corporate e-mail communication, smiley faces are frowned upon, so those visual nuances aren’t easily communicated. A good rule of thumb, says Ness, is don’t say in an e-mail what you wouldn’t say to someone in person.
“Absolutely avoid anything offensive, racist, libelous, or defamatory,” urges Ness. It may seem obvious, but “the courts are full of case histories of companies that have paid out huge penalties because of one person's thoughtless moment.”
Ness has a few easy guidelines for keeping business e-mails the professional, courteous and time-saving tool they are intended to be.
Starting with the basics, when should you send an e-mail? “Generally, you'll want to send an e-mail when you want to communicate information to large numbers of people, you want a written record of communications or you can’t reach someone on the phone and don’t want to tie-up a voice mail machine with a long message,” he says.
On the flip side, Ness says you should avoid e-mail when you need an immediate reply, the conversation will require a lot of back and forth, or the conversation should be kept private.
Other do’s and don’ts for e-mail in the corporate world include:
* Use a good subject line. Make sure it contains clear information about what you are communicating.
* Make your e-mails as short and to the point as possible. Many people these days receive upwards of 100 e-mails a day and don't really want to spend a lot of time reading unnecessary details. If you need to, use bullets.
* Be sure to reply to an e-mail as soon as possible. In this day and age, 24 hours (or one business day, for work e-mails) is the longest any e-mail should sit.
* Avoid forwarding other people's discussions or attachments, without their specific permissions; problems can occur when something was written for one person's eyes, and was mistakenly or ignorantly sent to someone else who took offense from it.
* E-mail is generally not a secure medium, so company confidential information should generally not be sent over the Internet.
Last but not least, a few miscellaneous, annoying e-mail habits you’ll want to rid yourself of soon:
* Typing in all capitals -- This is considered shouting in the world of e-mail.
* Read receipts on all your e-mails -- Save this feature for when there’s an important internal communication that must get to everyone.
* Unnecessarily pointing out the importance of your e-mail with "URGENT!!!" in the subject line, unless it really is extremely important. Generally, the recipient should think your e-mail to them is important simply because you took the time to write it
To learn more about The Art Institutes or Argosy University visit www.artinstitutes.edu/nz or www.argosyu.edu.
Courtesy of ARAcontent
When it comes to the working world, there are myths and there are realities. Attaining a promotion by simply showing up on time and doing your job proficiently is the stuff of folklore. These days, employees have to really prove their worth to gain advancement, as many employers are asking employees to do more with fewer resources, find hidden efficiencies and keep operating costs low.
Peter Harris, chief executive officer of Snelling Staffing Services, offers the following tips to help employees make the most of the career opportunities that present themselves each day:
1. Keep up with industry trends and technology.
Employers are all looking for top-caliber performers that possess very specific skills and know-how. In order to prove that you’re the right fit for that management position you’ve been eyeing, you have to stay up on industry trends and the latest technologies being used in your field. The easiest way to “wow” your boss is to demonstrate the extent and timeliness of your acumen and expertise.
2. Stay marketable.
Attend classes and seminars, especially if the company is willing to pay for the entry fees. Also, volunteer for projects that will enhance your abilities. Being involved shows initiative, an attribute your boss will respect. And, always keep an up-to-date résumé on hand; you never know when a promotion will open up for applicants.
3. Be proactive.
Sometimes, it’s just about sitting down with your supervisor and asking, “What do I have to do to be on track towards a promotion?” Request specific feedback if there are areas in which your employer would like you to improve, and chart a timeline with specific productivity and/or quality goals.
4. Adopt a mentor.
One of the best things you can to do to develop your own career is to learn more about the career of a superior or someone in leadership. Choose a person in your office or a peer within a trade association whom you respect and ask him or her to sit down with you on a regular basis to discuss your career and provide counsel. Finding a great mentor can boost your confidence, provide valuable insight and help you set attainable goals.
5. Avoid the office rumor mill.
When you see Gossipy Gail and Loose-Lips Louie at the water cooler, pass them by. You can come back for water later! Nothing will hurt your credibility more than perpetuating negative or sensitive office buzz.
6. Cultivate a relationship with your supervisor.
Especially in the staffing services’ world, candidates seeking full-time employment should get to know the supervisor at their assignment better. If a supervisor likes you, is impressed by your work ethic and skill set, a temporary assignment could very easily turn into a more permanent position.
7. Read up.
Stay up on the latest movers and shakers in your industry and pick up reading materials that will make you think like a leader, such as “Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…And Others Don’t” by Jim Collins; “First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently” by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman and “Winning” by Jack and Suzy Welch.
8. Dress for the position.
If you want that new gig, then dress like you already have it. Granted, don’t go into debt for a designer suit or pair of shoes, but take a little time to make yourself dress in the style you would if you were working in the position above your own.
9. Join and volunteer in industry associations/organizations.
Nothing can make an employee more visible than joining industry associations, especially if you haven’t gotten your foot in the door yet. Meetings, mixers and events provide priceless networking opportunities and can expose you to key players and industry leaders.
10. Don’t be afraid to change careers.
If you’re not happy (or at least satisfied) with your career, then maybe it’s time to think about taking a break to regroup and determine what career would rejuvenate your passion and get you excited about each workday.
It’s easy to get caught up and let another year slip by, but there are things you can do to breathe new life into your career. By pairing even just a few of these suggestions with a positive attitude and accountability, you’ll be able to become a standout among your peers.
For more information, visit www.snelling.com.
Courtesy of ARAcontent