Seven Work Habits That Will Sink Your Job and Maybe Your Career -

Seven Work Habits That Will Sink Your Job and Maybe Your Career - Kick those bad habits, right?   But the challenge is that its not just black and white.   Some habits, in moderation, are perfectly acceptable.   But taken to excess and they become more negative than positive.   And thats the key.   Knowing when enough is enough.   Knowing whats reasonable.   So keeping tabs on your work habits will keep you and your career on track. Ten years ago, Ms Career Girl published an article on the seven deadly sins at work.   If you watch the news or your social media feed at all, you know thats an article perfect for today.   So, heres a timely update of a Ms Career Girl Classic. What are your deadly work habit sins? Pride: Also known as vanity. To me, pride at work is when you can’t admit you’ve made a mistake. It is also your inability to admit that you don’t know everything. Perhaps you are trying so hard to make others like you. Or, maybe you really believe you’re better than other people. Pride seems to be the root of all of the “sins” in that it requires being too self-centered. Beware of pride in your every day life: it often comes from unrealistic expectations, which will undoubtedly lead to disappointment in every area in your life. Envy: The desire for others’ traits, situation or status. Do you have a bad attitude about your direct superior because you want her job? Perhaps you think she is way too young or dumb to have her job title? If your feelings of envy result in a bad attitude or differential treatment towards her, be careful. This is bound to come up at your review and you will give the impression that you are not a “team player.” Gluttony: Do you consume more than you require? Although in conventional terms gluttony is in reference to over-eating, I’d say in corporate terms this could mean drinking too much at the free happy hour just because it’s free and generally over-indulging in any perks of the corporation whether it be writing things off you shouldn’t, taking office supplies or expecting your company to take care of your every need. Lust: Do you daydream about hooking up with your hot boss? Do you flirt with co-workers at happy hour or frequently engage in inter-office dating? If so, be careful because it could easily ruin your reputation and credibility with your peers and superiors. Who wants to be “that girl?!” Anger: Also referred to as wrath or fury, do you get angry and make a scene at a meeting when your idea gets taken by your male co-worker (again) or do you calmly acknowledge his error and speak to him (and perhaps a superior) about it after the meeting? How do you handle difficult assignments? How do you deal with handling a teammate’s workload who is frequently calling in sick? What is your temperament after getting off the phone with your problem client? How you handle these situations says a lot about you. Being an angry person will quickly lead to your co-workers avoiding you like the plague. Greed: Are you rolling your eyes every time you have to answer the phone, make coffee, or file paper work? Do you do anything you have to in order to get your hands on the best clients or projects, even if that means pushing others down? Are you in your job to learn and grow, or solely to make lots of money? There’s a big difference between greed and ambition. There is nothing wrong with wanting a great car, salary and title someday. But keep in mind that Rome wasn’t built in a day and everyone has to put their time in before they can get the VP title and company car. Sloth: Laziness. Do you go through your days at work consistently arriving 10 minutes late, leaving 10 minutes early? Do you spend 2 hours of your day on Facebook? How about your personal calls? In an economic time like this, be careful if your sin is sloth. Sloth is also referred to as “fat” in an organization, and   most companies are always looking for ways to cut it. Don’t be surprised if you’re cut out. If you are really that bored at work, consider taking on a new project or talking to your superior to see if she needs help with anything. If this doesn’t do the trick, perhaps you are not in the right field or position and need more exciting and challenging work. Great Work Habits Pay Off! When youre building your career and your reputation, doing regular self-evaluations can help to keep you on track.   Being self-aware will keep bad work habits in check and pay dividends in both the short and long term.   Shine on! Main image via flickr.

Staying Productive While Working From Home

Staying Productive While Working From Home One of the biggest challenges at-home workers face is staying productive and on task. While working from home sounds like it would be an ideal situation, the truth is that there are many additional distractions at home that you probably didn’t have in an office environment.There’s housework that must be completed, friends and relatives who don’t understand you still do actually work, television, pets and children. There are a few things you can focus on that will allow you to be more productive at home while still enjoying the freedom of working on a more flexible schedule.Insist on Interruption-Free Work Time evalevalHarris Interactive conducted a poll for Ask.com which queried more than 2,000 professionals about what makes an optimally productive work environment. It found that one of the top things professionals say helps them be more productive is to have uninterrupted work time to really focus a project. The problem? You may or may not have a separate office in your home.Y our family may not understand that you have to sit and work without them talking to you or coming to you for minor tasks.If you have a separate room you can use to set up a work space, this is ideal as you can shut the door and put a “do not interrupt” sign on it. If you do not, find a corner or quiet area of your home you can designate as “do not interrupt” space.Insist on work time as interruption-free time. You may need to constantly remind family and friends the first few weeks. Simply say, “Is this an emergency?” If it is not, then say, “I’m sorry, but I’m in the middle of work. I will call you back after five when I wrap up for the day.”If you still can’t gain this interruption-free time, consider going to a local coffee shop, the library or even renting office space a couple of times a week so you can focus on your work without any interruption.About 63 percent of those surveyed in the Harris Poll preferred a personal work space without interruptions. Th is environment translates well at home, too.Take Frequent Breaks Have you ever sat working on a project for a long period of time and suddenly realize you’ve zoned out and aren’t focusing on the work? This is the time frame when most mistakes are made and you feel burned out.An article in The Atlantic explores a recent study completed by Hiroshima University. The study found that workers are most productive if they work for about 52 minutes, take a break for 17 minutes and then resume for another 52 minutes. Repeating this pattern throughout the day allows you to maintain focus.Another benefit? You can use that 17 minutes to complete household tasks that have been calling your name, get in a bit of exercise or grab something to eat. Since exercise can help you regain focus, you may want to bike around the block to get a bit of fresh air and refocus your energy.Ignore Your Email Inbox According to The Guardian, humans are hard-wired to procrastinate.evalApparently there are two d ifferent responses from the brain on how to handle tasks that need completed. The one response is reserved for survival, while the other is more deliberate. The survival mode takes precedence, while things like completing that blog post or creating a quote for a potential client takes second place. The study suggests that one way humans waste a lot of time is with technology and that includes checking your email multiple times a day.A study conducted by Xobni discovered that Americans are obsessed with email. 72 percent check emails during downtime, including when they’re supposed to be relaxing or sleeping. This constant distraction leads to lack of focus. Make it a rule to only check your email at set times, such as first thing in the morning, around noon and again before calling it a day. One exception is if you are expecting an important email from a client during a specific time frame. There are many distractions clamoring to steal your time when you work from home.Having a p lan in place for how you’ll deal with those distractions and maintain focus will go a long way toward increasing your productivity and helping you succeed.

Women and Speaking Up - Kathy Caprino

Women and Speaking Up On Saturday, I was a guest along with a terrific communications consultant Diane DiResta  on a  neat radio show: Live with Lisa! Radio â€" hosted by Lisa Wexler. The lively and revealing discussion centered around the issue of women and reinvention, career transition, and speaking up with power and purpose. Check it out!   Here’s the full show.   Speaking up with authenticity and power for women is very challenging.   Our diffiulties in speaking up, I believe, are  less about our inherent capabilities and more about our “nurture” experience â€" how we’ve been raised and culturally trained to “be and act” as women. In my book Breakdown, Breakthrough, I’ve written an entire chapter specifically about this issue (Chapter 7: Speaking Up with Power), and I offer concrete approaches to overcoming this challenge.   There are three overarching steps to take when you can’t speak up for yourself:   Step Back: to explore past trauma you’ve experienced in speaking up Let Go: of your fear and negativity around expressing yourself Say Yes! to your personal power through your every word and action   Taking steps to gain power in expressing yourself leads to true breakthrough, and to the ultimate experience of using your voice to positively impact your work, family, community, and the world.   Breaking it down, here’s what needs to happen to have a breakthrough in your personal expression:   1) Say what you need and want to Each moment of each day, identify exactly what you want to say, and begin saying it â€" without being overly-emotional, state your views with surety, confidence, and self-trust.     Think about the conversation you most need to have today to move forward in life or work, and have it!   2) Use positive language always As the fabulous little book The Four Agreements explains, one key to personal freedom is for you to agree to “Be Impeccable With Your Word.” This means to avoid sinning against yourself or anyone else through your words. Watch your language at all times â€" is it negative, diminishing, demeaning, or lacking in hope or possibility? If so, change it!   3) Heal past suppression Most women have experienced at some point in their lives a  traumatic time in which they were criticized, punished or worse for speaking up. (By the way, men don’t experience this challenge in the same way, for a number of reasons.) If you’re afraid to speak up, get some help from an empowered mentor, coach, or therapist who can lead you away from your fear of communicating your true self, and help you heal. You didn’t experience this trauma so that you’d remain silent your whole life. You experienced it in order to move through it, once and for all.   Now’s the time to be all you came to be in this lifetime, and you can’t do that if you don’t speak up.   Happy breakthroughs, Kathy

Writing Accomplishments Example in Resume

Writing Accomplishments Example in ResumeWriting accomplishments is a wonderful way to highlight your skills and talents for a job interview. In order to gain access to an interview, you must have a great resume. A lot of employers rely on these resumes to help them determine if they are hiring the right candidates or not.A good writing accomplishments example in resume can be used to show that you are detail oriented and dedicated to the job. If you were recently laid off from your job, you may have done some of the job before it was terminated, and this can help you with the writing in resume.The best thing to do when writing accomplishments in resume is to provide information that shows how long you have been at the job, and how much responsibility you have given the position. It is also important to present examples of previous work, and the dates it was completed. This will make it easier for the employer to see that you are committed to your work, and you are capable of handlin g a new job.The importance of writing accomplishments in resume is in its use to show past work. In this case, it is a wonderful tool for showing that you have put in the time to get things done, and that you are very organized. Employers love to hire people who are organized, and they look for these attributes in their employees. When writing accomplishments in resume, you can show that you have a good job history and show that you have given your all for the position.You should also include a writing accomplishments example in resume in order to show that you can perform in this position. This means you should highlight the skills you have and explain why you were hired for the position. If you have the necessary skills, and are the type of person they are looking for, then you are the perfect candidate.The writing accomplishments example in resume is an essential part of the resume. An employer will look for this type of information, because they are trying to know why they are h iring you. In addition, they want to know what you can bring to the job. If you can show them that you are a hard worker, a team player, and a motivated individual, then they will hire you.You will also need to show that you have written accomplishments in resume if you are applying for a new job. You should include a writing example in your resume if you were previously employed. The information included in your employment and accomplishments in resume will help your potential employer to understand how you will fit into their company. This will help them determine if you are the right candidate for the job.Writing accomplishments in resume is essential if you want to show that you have skills that are worth paying for. It will also be important to demonstrate that you are a well-organized, dedicated individual. If you can show that you have those qualities, then the employer will hire you.

How to Write a Good Resume - Tips to Get a Great Resume Online

How to Write a Good Resume - Tips to Get a Great Resume OnlineSearching for resume writing reports is quite a task. However, you can find several good and useful resume writing reports on the internet which can serve as a great help in writing your resume. The quality of these resumes is worth buying because these are true and authentic and should not be attributed to any false website. Here are some tips for writing a resume:Never make up stuff: You must not be more creative with your resume. Rather, concentrate on the essentials of the resume and give the details of your qualifications and experience only. It is important that you do not write a resume that does not give any importance to any of the experiences or qualifications you have. Resume writing reports should be factual and based on the facts.Always use proper grammar and use proper spellings; avoid making the resume too lengthy or too long. These two things may end up lowering your credibility and makes your resume looks like a fiction.Always try to avoid all those resume writing reports that ask you to do anything extra while writing your resume. Many people would just stick to the basic resume format and expect their resume to appear flawless without any add-ons.Keep it simple: You must keep a simple resume with few sentences and in simple words so that the reader could easily comprehend it. You should try to keep the resume simple and easy to read. Most common resume templates do not do this properly.Make sure that your resume has all the right features: A good resume writing report would contain all the relevant information, such as the job details, salary ranges, job responsibilities, benefits offered, education details and other similar features. Make sure that your resume has at least four columns which includes the name of the company, job, the contact details, dates of employment and address details. This information helps thereader to quickly search for jobs. This is helpful for sending ou t your resume to different jobs.You should try to write the resume in an easy way that it would get read easily. Never make it too fancy or too convoluted. Take time to check the validity of the resume before you send it out. Keep the above mentioned tips as an important tip to remember before using resume writing reports.

The Pitfall of Electrical Engineer Resume

The Pitfall of Electrical Engineer Resume It is critical that you know the way the analysis is normally arranged. Maths, science, IT, analysis, presentation abilities and wonderful decision making are a couple of the most crucial, alongside the capacity to understand and produce technical drawings. Circuit design and analysis is just one of the most fundamental skills required for electrical engineering jobs. You are able to look at generic resumes, but engineering resume samples will be the absolute most useful due to their specificity to your area. Opportunely, engineering resumes have an extremely straightforward format. Developing an amazing CV is easy after you understand what you should and shouldn't include on it. There are varieties of electrical engineering Resume Templates offered and they're extensively employed by both fresher in addition to experienced candidates. Your engineering Resume Templates is a powerful advertising tool, so make the the majority of it. The Honest to Goodness Truth on Electrical Engineer Resume In addition, it's possible for you to learn about engineering careers and search for electrical engineer jobs on Monster. As an electrical engineer, you will need in order to consider critically. Electrical engineering has many subdisciplines, the most usual of which are given below. It is one of the most highly regarded STEM fields. Therefore, every resume writer should attempt to create powerful objective statements that may enhance their chances on the work prospect. If you feel a recruiter may assist you, it would be advisable to produce an appointment with one now. The Debate Over Electrical Engineer Resume Analog signal processing is still significant in the plan of several control systems. Electrical engineers should know lots of technology and software to do different tasks. The Electrical Engineer is accountable for adding and adjusting into nearly any system which uses electricity. If you're on the l ookout for a job as an electrical engineer, there are particular matters you should have on your resume. Engineers are known to address problems. There are several types of Electrical Engineers, standing by the selection of industries. To find out more on what it requires to be an Electrical Engineer, have a look at our complete Electrical Engineer Job Description. Electrical Engineer Resume Ideas You also want the skills to design electrical systems to address complex issues. Deficiency of organizational skills increase pressure and decrease efficiency. If you've got poor organisational abilities, you may discover yourself under pressure in any respect times. You are going to want complex problem-solving skills to have the ability to discover difficulties, identify them, and analyze the pertinent information necessary to create suitable solutions. The quicker you are able to secure the recruiter helping you the better. Not only is it truly important to outline your engin eering skills, additionally it is fundamental they match the work description. Your professional skills are a basic portion of your resume. Gaining the skills outlined above can help you succeed in your selected profession. An individual should contain roles, responsibilities and achievements also. Employed as an engineer in one of the 3 big automakers in the united states is certainly an achievement. Electrical engineers aren't industry specific and you may come across opportunities in power providers, transport, manufacturing or construction. You will most likely face complex engineering problems on the job.

Why I Was Wrong About Video Resumes - Work It Daily

Why I Was Wrong About Video Resumes - Work It Daily It usually takes a lot to get me to change my mind. It’s not that I’m stubborn; I just have to be convinced. And the only way to convince me of anything is by logic and reason. So, when Richard Zeitz, my Manhattan Chamber of Commerce colleague (we are both “Ambassadors” for the Chamber) approached me about his new company, Purzue, he probably did not expect the answer I gave him to his question, “What do you think about video resumes?” We were sitting together at a Chamber event learning about Google+. I dismissed his question out of hand. “A complete waste. I can’t get clients to read resumes; they’re not going to watch videos! And most don’t want to see pictures of candidates because of concerns about discrimination. And no one has the technology to do a keyword search of videos. And who has the hard drive/server space to store them? And who is going to click on a link from a stranger to an unknown website?” He did not let my concerns go unanswered. In fact, he had a concrete response for each and was so convincing that I did something I can’t remember ever doing, agreeing to serve as an unpaid adviser while the company is being setup. (So, for the record, while this is an endorsement of what he is doing, I am not being paid for it. I actually believe in it!) So what were his responses that won me over? On Purzue the foundation of the multimedia resume is a paper resume, in Word and PDF formats, which recruiters and employers will be able to download to their system just as if the candidate had sent it in directly. Recruiters and employers do not have to view videos. They also don’t have to listen to audio files. It’s their choice. Moreover, Purzue is not just an uploading website. Candidate’s paper resumes, videos, audio files, and infographics will be reviewed by Purzue’s team of experts. Before the “multimedia” resume goes live, candidates will be advised as to any necessary changes. If this were not the case, candidates could simply send recruiters and employers Word documents and links to You Tube videos. Recruiters and employers do not need special software to take advantage of the multimedia resumes. As noted, they download the Word and PDF files as they normally would. They use Purzue’s site to search for, view and listen to the multimedia files. None of those files is stored on the recruiters’ or employers’ servers, so no space is required. All they need is a broadband Internet connection. Since everything is viewed on Purzue’s site, there are no concerns about Internet security. If there is a virus, it will be on Purzue’s site, not the recruiter’s or employer’s. But what really impressed me was that, literally with a mouse click, candidates will be able to send their resumes (links to their Purzue multimedia resume) to all recruiters and employers on the Purzue network. One click and eventually the resume will reach thousands. This will free up job seekers from the administrative side of their job search to do what will always be the most important job search activity â€" networking. All the technology in the world won’t change that! Video resume image from Shutterstock Have you joined our career growth club?Join Us Today!