How To Handle Your Performance ReviewAre you anxious about the fact that your next performance review is just around the corner? If so, don’t despair because you are not the only one. Performance reviews can keep almost every professional up at night leaving you worried about whether or not you will be able to excel in them. That’s quite normal. Nonetheless, it does not have to be that way. You have to view yearly reviews as an opportunity to improve where you should and a chance to reflect on your mistakes and correct them. Think of employee assessments as better ways of understanding what your company expects from you, etc. Employee reviews give managers a chance to better understand where you are going wrong and guide you in the right direction. If you know effective methods of doing well in your yearly reviews and prepare for them throughout the year you will not be worried about the nerve-wracking experience. 5 Tips For Acing Your Next Performance ReviewBe Equipped For It One mistake that most workers make when it comes to performance reviews is over worrying about assessments to the point of failing to prepare for them and allowing the nervousness to negatively affect their work. The only way you can nail your next performance review is by preparing for it all through the year. Do the work, remain dedicated to what you do, and exceed expectations. Be Mindful Of Your Behavior and The Way You Treat Others Throughout The Year Your manager doesn’t just evaluate your work performance at the end of the year and stop there, your behavior, your effective communication in the workplace, as well as the way you work with your fellow employees is just as important. So, be wary of how you treat other employees or customers throughout the year. Don't be one of those people whom everyone labels as “grumpy, rude, and not fun to work with". You really don't want to be the reason for your colleagues to seek advice on how to deal with feuding coworkers. Such comments often arise from your failure to be a team player, failing to value other people’s opinions or just failing to control your temper during misunderstandings. Know and Understand What You Are Expected To Accomplish This may sound a bit obvious but knowing and understanding what your employers are expecting from you will give you a reason to not be agitated when the next evaluation is around the corner. So, write down everything you are expected to achieve and work towards making it happen. Learn how to quantify your accomplishments. It is also very important to know how to quantify results when your job isn't big on numbers. Make sure you do not forget your deadlines. Set constant reminders for your deadlines to avoid missing any deadlines. Bring Your Successes To The Performance Review Conversation If you realize you have failed to meet or reach some of the set goals, make sure you bring or mention all of your successes during the review meeting with your manager. This will make you look good despite any failures you may have had. It is also a smart way of getting your manager to focus less on your shortcomings and more on what you have achieved as well as your ability to still achieve more. Highlight Areas You Have Improved In Don’t forget to talk about how much you have improved throughout the year and the fact that you are still improving. The most important thing to note is that you can only talk to your supervisor about how much you have improved, if you have. The best way of ensuring you keep on improving your work, attitude, or behavior, is by having a teachable attitude. Learn how to get along with your coworkers or Director and be willing to offer your assistance where needed. In short, be a team player throughout the year and be constantly on the lookout for ways of improving your overall performance. Source: www.market-connections.net/blog/how-to-handle-your-performance-review About the AuthorMandy Fard is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW, CMRW) and Recruiter with decades of experience in assisting job seekers, working directly with employers in multiple industries, and writing proven-effective resumes. Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay;
How To Step Down The Corporate LadderMost career advice revolves around moving up the career ladder. However, there are also those times when you must step down the corporate ladder. If that is your current situation, chances are high you had not planned for the changes. Our economy is fluctuating and the pandemic is not fully over yet. Certain businesses or industries were hit harder than others. Despite having a great job at a successful company, you may still be considering a career change. Or, you may just wonder about what to do if you are in a declining industry. In the end, you just may have to resize your career. Regardless of the reason, one thing is for sure. Making conscious choices and decisions will make it easier for you to move into your next role. Learn the modern rules for stepping down the career ladder with finesse. Benefits Of Stepping Down The Corporate Ladder
Strategies To Step Down The Corporate Ladder
Downsizing your career may open the door to new opportunities and establish a new balance in your life. Be prepared to explore your alternatives and market yourself to new employers. You may find that the outcome may be more fulfilling than what you left behind. Life has a way of often surprising us! About the AuthorMandy Fard is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW, CMRW) and Recruiter with decades of experience in assisting job seekers, working directly with employers in multiple industries, and writing proven-effective resumes. Civil Conversations In The WorkplaceCivil conversations are engagements aimed at sharing views or information on topics of high importance in the lives of the general public. They usually stem from and are dictated by our analysis of what mainly influences our social, economic, and political lives, among other things. However, the level of engagement and the success thereof is so much dependent on the personalities of the parties involved. Some people strongly dislike civil conversations citing that, depending on the mental state of the person one is conversing with, the conversations can move from simply sharing information to showing off one’s intelligence and trying to convince the other party that your views are more valid than theirs. Where one is not open-minded, there is a tendency to want to defend beliefs or anything one holds dear to them, which defeats the whole purpose of the engagement. It can easily lead to arguments or fights while where verbal aggression and abuse are present, the focus is lost, and the time invested in the conversation is wasted. Also, it is easy to step out of the line with civil conversations. Controversial issues may arise which may cause trouble for an individual or the company. Colleagues are also the people that we spend the greater part of the day with, as such, it is important to be careful not to ruin our relationships with them to ensure that we remain the team the company can rely on to achieve goals. The following points can help us engage in civil conversations without the risk of messing up our relationships: Know When To StopIt is important to know how to get along with your coworkers. It is also very important to have the ability to tell when things are spiraling out of control and to know when to stop to avoid having the conversation turn into a conflict. We cannot control how other people react to us but always have power over our own words and reactions. Set Your LimitsWe need to set boundaries with regards to how farther we allow our discussions on certain topics to go. We can choose to avoid anything likely to spark an argument or to offend the other person. Controversial topics about individuals or the company itself must be avoided especially when the conversation is not aimed at contributing positively to changing issues of concern. Discussing the absent must be out of bounds especially if the issue does not concern us unless we are helping them to mend relationships. Choose WiselyWhen you have worked with people for a while, you get an idea of how they reason as well as their emotional state. It gets easier to know the right people to engage in meaningful conversations with. If you do not know the person too well, then you probably should not have too much to say to them. Even when we have chosen wisely the people to engage in discussions with, we still need to go further to choose our words wisely. We need to consider the possible impact of our words while they are still just thoughts. The language we use to express ourselves can determine the outcome of expressions that would otherwise be harmless when said right. Where we have our own assumptions, the best way to present them would be in the form of questions that seek clarity or a deeper understanding of an issue rather than an accusation. We should also avoid sarcasm and derogatory language especially when the person we are conversing with is not a close friend. Be Open-MindedThe most difficult people to have meaningful discussions are those who are too emotionally attached to their beliefs. The first thing that comes to mind if a point mentioned contradicts what they believe in is that they are under attack. Anything that follows is usually an attempt to defend their beliefs. To such people, anyone who holds beliefs contrary to theirs is either enemies or people who need conversion. If you are one of those people, learning about life in general and experiencing meaningful personal growth will be slow or nonexistent. Listen to other people and seek to understand why some things matter to them and why others do not. Listen More And Talk EnoughThere is a type of people who always want to be heard and will not do much listening every time they get a chance to interact with others. I am sure you can imagine how much such people learn from others – zero or little. The mentality is that they already know so much or enough and the only job that is left is for them to share ‘knowledge’, while some just enjoy being the center of attraction. A good strategy is to keep active listening examples in mind and exercise listening as a skill. If we learn to listen more and talk enough, we will be in a favorable position to acquire more knowledge and share only things relevant to the discussion, enough not to overwhelm the listener. Understand Humans In GeneralWe need to always keep in mind that people go through various things daily and some are not strong enough to keep their emotions in control. This means that even people with whom we normally engage in conversations may not be ready for some topics or may react differently to them than they normally do.
Effective Communication in the WorkplaceCommunication is important in the workplaceCommunication is the key to happy or healthy work and personal relations and success in leadership requires strong communication and interpersonal skills. That is how the dynamic leader gets the most out of relationships, improves relationships, or saves relationships depending on how well he/she communicates with the parties involved. It is impossible to get everyone to work together and continue delivering exceptional results at work if effective communication is lacking. Begin By Working On Your Communication Skills As A Leader To Get The Results You Want From Your Team. Are you worried that your team is underachieving? If you said yes, then know that a lack of communication is the number one reason why your team is failing to carry out the work delegated to them despite showing promising signs that they can do so. So, how can you know that your communication skills are polished? How can you get everyone to improve their communication skills so that you can begin seeing desirable results? You can achieve this by observing how well you communicate with everyone in the office as well as noticing how team members communicate with each other. Bad Communication HabitsThere Are Bad Habits You Should Change To Begin Seeing The Results You Desire Effective communication begins with getting rid of some of the bad habits that you may have cultivated as a leader without paying too much attention to it. Because believe it or not, producing quality work demands that both your team and you play a certain role in getting work done by communicating efficiently. Your employees may be failing to live up to their potential because you have created an environment that makes interactive collaboration uncomfortable or uneasy. You may have cultivated a habit of despising or overlooking every idea they come up with. They may have gotten used to having you dictate how individual tasks should be done, etc. and have become submissive. Remember that going far in your business is not an option if you have a team of overly submissive individuals. Refusing to listen to different views and creating an environment that makes sharing ideas or opinions impossible are examples of bad habits you need to get rid of if you are to achieve what you want. If your workers or team members are not comfortable to share their ideas or thoughts with you or with each other on different issues at your workplace, advancing will be a challenge. Therefore, learn to create an environment that encourages people to share their thoughts with you and come up with new ways of carrying out tasks. Encourage contributions from your team as a way of giving them the assurance that you value their presence as well as insights. You may also want to look into ideas for employee appreciation. Who doesn’t want to be part of a team that values his or her views right? Tips To communicate Effectively In The WorkplaceEmphasize Key Points
Remember to write down key points when drafting notes for every meeting that you are going to hold and put emphasis on main points at the beginning of the meeting as well as the end. That is how you ensure everyone present retains the important information you want them to leave with. Manage Your Time Wisely During Briefings Do time management apps help your productivity? Perhaps it's a good idea to consider them. There is a plethora of time management apps available. For example, individual time management is as important as project time management. Time management is crucial during meetings or briefings hence if your Monday morning meeting is supposed to last for an hour make sure you do not add 15 or more minutes. Keeping your meetings short is an excellent way of making sure everyone remains engaged. Use Emails And Visuals Send formal emails outlining your goals when working on a big project to keep everyone involved up to speed. Keep your emails short and include important information only such as how far you have gone, changes that may have arisen, and upcoming meetings. Don’t forget to use illustrations, charts, or visuals when communicating your vision, or when embarking on a new project that requires high levels of concentration and retaining knowledge. Speak Clearly Communicating efficiently involves avoiding repeating words or instructions when talking to other people. So, make sure you speak clearly. Ask for feedback and address concerns or questions that your team members may have before closing the assembly. Top Tips for Getting the Most out of Career CoachingThere are unlimited ways to get coaching services these days. One internet search will produce thousands of results for all forms of coaching. Finding coaching is easy, getting the most out of coaching….not so much. Getting the most out of career coaching has more to do with you than it does with your coach. Assuming your coach is reputable and knows how to deliver excellent coaching, the rest is going to be up to you. Here are some top tips for getting the most out of career coaching before you dive in:
Find The Right Career CoachFind the right career coach- Finding the right career coach for your needs is the most important part of coaching. If you don’t have the right career coach for the job, it simply won’t work. You wouldn’t hire a fitness coach to teach you to potty train a toddler. Be sure to research and find the right career coach for your needs. The right coach should specialize in what you need most. Perhaps you need help with job searching and need someone to show you where to start and how to build a system for yourself. Or maybe you need help with working with recruiters and salary negotiations. Perhaps a mid-life career change is what you have in mind. Try to find a career coach with a niche as close to what you need as possible. Hiring a career coach is great but hiring a career coach who specializes in how to negotiate salary when you need to learn about how to evaluate a job offer, makes the most sense. Listen More Than You TalkListen more than you talk- Use listening as a skill. Let the coach do their thing. Coaching isn’t therapy. You need to allow the coach to take you on the journey to what you hired them for. Let them teach you, coach you, and educate you so you can take in as much during your coaching time as possible. The right coach should offer materials that supplement their coaching. People learn in many ways, having supporting materials can help. If your coach offers videos, slide decks, audios, or one-on-one coaching, use it all to help you achieve your goals. Use your time to take in as much info as possible without being distracted. Stick With ItStick with it- Some people may give up coaching too quickly. Stick with your coach and make a plan together to evaluate your coaching along the way to ensure it’s a win-win. Nothing happens overnight; so, be willing to invest in your future and stick with coaching until you hit your goals for professional development. The right coach will help you evaluate your progress and give you feedback along the way on whether or not you are closer to or farther away from your goals. Checking n can help you make any changes that will keep you on track. You have to follow the tips on tips to stay motivated and above all, don’t give up when it gets tough or it seems like things aren’t working. Communicate and stick with it. There are great coaches out there. Once you find one, you’ve got to do your part to get the most out of coaching. Follow these top tips to be sure you get the best coaching and that you make the most of your investment.
Career Change Planning
Deciding to change careers is a big plan. Perhaps you have been in a wrong career path. This post is designed to help set you up for career shifting success.
The idea is to suggest you take action in as little as 10-15 minutes per day for the next few weeks. Take one action each day from one of the suggested actions — or you can come up with your own task to tackle! There are suggested actions in four categories:
Try to plan and track your activities. Here are three ways to do this:
Here are suggested actions within each of the areas: Future Orientation
Research
Mindset
Putting Yourself Out There
Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash
A Guide to Pursuing Your Passions for Personal and Professional FulfillmentIf you’re feeling unhappy, bored, apathetic, or depleted of energy in your career, it may be time for a change — whether that means switching career paths or starting a business of your own. By identifying your greatest passions, you can earn a living by pursuing something you love, which will lead to more happiness and fulfillment in your personal and professional life. Here’s how you can get started. Does your resume need a makeover? Whether you’re new to your career or moving toward executive status, Market-Connections offers several resume writing packages to help you stand out from the crowd. Find Your PassionOnce you’ve come to the realization that you’re unsatisfied in your career and ready for a change, the first thing you’ll need to do is identify your passion and think about how you could make a living out of it. Ideally, the passion you pursue should contribute to society, be profitable, and fulfill you personally and professionally. However, you shouldn't be motivated solely by money or you could end up feeling unfulfilled in the future. After finding your passion, you’ll need to decide how you’re going to turn it into a career. A few ways to do so include:
If you’re still struggling to choose a career path after identifying your passions, it may be helpful to complete a career quiz. The Muse shares 13 career tests and quizzes on its website, including the O*Net Interest Profiler from My Next Move, Career Aptitude Test from 123Test.com, and Big Five Personality Test from Truity. Learn New Skills OnlineOnce you’ve identified your passions, you may want or need to expand your knowledge and skill set before pursuing a new career. To learn business skills, for instance, you could complete a free online course in business management, entrepreneurship, personal finance, or self-improvement. Some of the best websites to learn new skills for free or at a lower cost include Coursera, Career Contessa, and Udemy. Alternatively, you could further your education by earning an online degree. There are many online degree programs to choose from, so you will likely find a discipline that aligns with your passions. With an online bachelor’s degree in nursing, for instance, you’ll learn useful skills in healthcare management, health services coordination, and more. Look For A Career CoachAs you get ready to pursue your passions, you may also choose to enlist the help of a career coach. A career coach can help you to launch a new business, update your resume, boost your interviewing skills, and pursue the career of your dreams. However, it’s important to note that not all career coaches are created equal. As such, it’s best to obtain recommendations from friends and colleagues, as well as check professional references before hiring a career coach to guide you in pursuing your goals. Get NoticedOnce you’re ready to follow your passions and leave an unfulfilling job behind, you’ll need to market yourself and the products or services you’ll be offering. A few ways to do it are listed below:
When changing jobs, exploring a new career path, or starting a business, keep in mind that it can take some time to turn a passion into profit. However, it’s important to remain patient, use social media to your advantage, remember why you chose to pursue your passion in the first place, and — above all — never give up. AuthorThis blog was written by Personal brander Amy Collett bizwell.org and author of You, Exemplified: The Role of Personal Branding in Your Professional Life.rview. Wrong Career Path
It is Monday and you have the worst case of Monday Blues, you are tired and actually melancholic as you imagine the week to come, you get no satisfaction whatsoever when it comes to your job and you lack that enthusiasm or drive to face another day. You feel you are stuck in the wrong job or perhaps you need a midlife career change. When your job becomes a burden and constant source of anxiety-like this, it is perhaps time to leave the wrong career path and focus on something new. It may be time to think about how to get out of a career rut. This, however, is easier said than done. Some people remain miserably trapped in the wrong career for years until they fall into despair, negativity, and depression. One needs to let go of their wrong career choice before they reach rock-bottom. How then does one get to let go of a wrong career path?
Leaving your comfort zone and following a path that you define for yourself is never easy. Sometimes you have to do it silently since others will not fully understand your grievances and reasons. Remember that letting go is not a sign of weakness, nor do you have to let go only when it is the last resort. Do not prioritize other's happiness and well-being over your own. It might be tough the first few weeks while you are transitioning but it will pay up eventually. All you need is courage and the right attitude. Never be scared to let go of a wrong career path. Follow your passions
Leaving Your Comfort Zone
Have you ever wondered why it seems easier to hold on to pain and misery than to let go or move on? Think about the seasons in your life when a love interest has chosen to walk away. You know the relationship has hit a dead-end or that, sometimes; it has become toxic, but a part of you still wants to hold on. The sting of their rejection seems unbearable.
Maybe a business partner or a close friend betrayed you and stole an idea or cost you an excellent business opportunity. Years later, you are running your own business or have a superb job, and yet the pain of their betrayal seems to overshadow that. Instead of leaving your comfort zone and letting go of the pain of our past, you cling to it. Instead of freeing ourselves from what no longer benefits us, we hold on to it.
When you embrace change, you embrace growth. Knowing how to leave your comfort zone behind will help you uncover hidden talents and skills within yourself. When you embark on a journey in unchartered terrain, it forces you to learn to survive. You learn to adapt. Growth and evolution become close companions. You discover things about yourself that you would never have known if you did not have the courage to step out of your comfort zone.
You grow when you let go. In an unfamiliar environment, you unlearn certain habits and adopt new ones. You let go of things you believe to be true and become more open to new ideals. Leaving your comfort zone frees you from a place of limitation. It offers options and opportunities that open up our narrow view of life and how it works. Do not hold on for comfort. Let go for growth. Why It Seems Easier To Hold On
We hold on to situations that harm us and affect our overall wellbeing because somehow; we find comfort in our pain. It is easy for us to cling to the terrible experiences we had in our past because we find our identity in them. For some, their life story is not complete without the chapter of how someone walked away or how someone they loved died. Some people do not know who they are outside of painful events from their past or hurtful situations in their present.
The concept of making new friends and meeting new people becomes more daunting as we grow older. Even though we have outgrown certain friendships from our childhood, we still hold on to them because they are familiar. We hang on to people who do not contribute to our growth because we are afraid that we will be alone. We justify their unacceptable behavior towards us because we need a reason to keep them in our circle, even if they no longer fit in it. When opportunities present themselves for our growth, we turn them down in favor of what is comfortable. You shelve that application or that interview for a job that has the potential to stretch and challenge you so you become a formidable force in the corporate world. The opportunity to start something we are passionate about slides through our hands because we are afraid to make the move to pursue it. We dislike our job or the working conditions or our earnings, but we comfort ourselves because at least we have a job. So we drag ourselves out of bed every morning and make our way to work, all the while knowing that we have the potential to do better. Our comfort in the familiar does not release us to go out there and be great. Leaving your comfort zone behind is not failing. Many people hold on to people who no longer align to their vision. We cling to situations parallel to our goals and dreams. When you have given something your best shot and it still cannot yield good things, then you are better off without it. Do not let the fear of what society thinks or what people may say keep you in situations that bring more harm than good. You are not a failure for walking out on unhealthy relationships. Knowing how to quit your job is not an indicator of some inadequacy on your part. More awaits you, but only if you let go.
You cannot receive anything new unless you loosen your grip on the old that no longer serves you. There are many exciting opportunities on the other side of leaving your comfort zone.
Think about how wonderful it is to meet new people and make new connections. You can do that by leaving your comfort zone. Join a gym. Try out that new café. Travel more and learn new cultures. Unlock yourself from the prison of past connections that are hindering your growth. Apply for that new job. Start your own business. Attend a life-transforming seminar. Give yourself a chance to do the unfamiliar. Change is an agent of growth. It may seem scary to let go, but it allows you to explore who you are and what you are capable of. You will learn new things about yourself if you come out of your cocoon and spread your wings. Do not tie yourself to people or environments that drain you. Set yourself free by letting them go. The Beauty Of Leaving Your Comfort Zone
When you embrace change, you embrace growth. Leaving your comfort zone will help you uncover hidden talents and skills within yourself. When you embark on a journey in unchartered terrain, it forces you to learn to survive. You learn to adapt. Growth and evolution become close companions. You discover things about yourself that you would never have known if you did not have the courage to step out of your comfort zone.
You grow when you let go. In an unfamiliar environment, you unlearn certain habits and adopt new ones. You let go of things you believe to be true and become more open to new ideals. Stepping out of your comfort removes you from a place of limitation. It offers options and opens up our narrow view of life and how it works. Do not hold on for comfort. Let go for growth. “Your power is beyond your comfort zone. Do something that stretches you beyond what you have previously thought possible- either with your body, mind, spirit, or life goals. Nurture within yourself a growth mindset that says ‘there is more for me’: more life, more love, more to learn, more to experience and achieve. Make it okay to be uncomfortable. That is the place to discover the strength and power to create a new you! You have something special. You have greatness within you!” -Les Brown.
Midlife Career Change2021 Career Change
You may not have been lucky enough to choose the right career from the beginning. You might wonder if there’s still time. Yes, there’s still time, but it’s important to make an effective plan for a 2021 Career Change. It’s necessary to be thoughtful, but you must also be a person of action.
Career Change IdeasCareer Change at 40 Ideas
MAKE A LIST OF YOUR STRENGTHS AND SKILLS.
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY?
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO LEARN?
WHOM DO YOU KNOW THAT CAN HELP?
CONSIDER BECOMING AN ENTREPRENEUR.
ENSURE THAT YOUR FINANCIAL HOUSE IS IN ORDER.
You can change careers after 40. However, the level of risk increases with your age. Ensure that you are able to handle the risks. There’s still time to enjoy a career that you love!
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AuthorMandy Fard is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW, CMRW) and Recruiter with decades of experience in assisting job seekers, working directly with employers in multiple industries, and writing proven-effective resumes. Archives
December 2023
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