Stay Ahead of the Curve

The best professional advice I have ever received is to always keep learning.  Always stay ahead of the trend when it comes to your career.  Always know more than the person sitting next to you.  Know your craft and know it well.

I believe that even if you are at the bottom of the totem pole of your company, it is still important to keep up to date on your industry.  Otherwise, how else would you get to the top?

Below are five tips on how to stay ahead of the curve:

1. Know your company:  Make it your business to know all about the organization you work for.  Review the organizational chart, know the history of the company, learn who the top officials are etc.  Most of all, you should know the mission and vision of your company, then ask yourself how you fit in with it.  Do you stand for the same things that your company does?  Knowing this will allow you to better discern your company and the role you play in it.
2. Know your industry: You should be well acquainted with the ins and outs of your field.  Focus on specifics: what works, what does not, what are the average salaries, the educational requirements, how the field came about etc.  Know the rules, know the policies.  By doing this you will be more apt to recognize trends and thus identify where your industry is headed. 
3. Stay challenged:  Even if your work is mundane, even when it no longer challenges you, find a way to make it challenging again. Take on new responsibilities, explore new departments, approach your daily tasks in a different manner- do whatever it takes to keep yourself excited about it.
4. Move with the times:  The workforce is different now than it was even five years ago.  There are new job titles, some positions are now outdated, new positions have taken their place.  Technology is more important now than ever- do not be afraid to use it.  Do not cling to old-fashioned views that can infringe on the advancement of your career. 
5. Use your resources:  Pay attention to what is offered or made available to you.  Attend trainings, meetings, fairs etc.  Go to the library and read about your field.  Go online and read blogs about it.  Never quit learning.

Read the article bellow:

• Keeping up to date

 

Temporarily Coping With a Job You Hate

Have you ever worked at a job that you simply hated? You know, the job that makes you dread just waking up in the morning to go there? The job that puts you in a sour mood as soon as you walk in? The job that literally makes you cry the moment you think about it?

The obvious answer would be to just quit. Although, when one thinks about the current state of our economy, this is clearly a bad idea, such is not always the case. Some people cannot handle one more day in their current position- so they just leave. Interestingly enough, if financed correctly and with the right plan, their decision may work out for the best.

You can read one man’s success story here.

Nevertheless, this is just too much of a risk for many. Thankfully, there are ways that one can temporarily cope with a job that they hate. I say temporarily, because I personally believe that one should always continue to evolve as a professional- and that is impossible to do when you hate your job. Therefore if you are not pleased with your current position you should do whatever it takes to move on to one that makes you happy.

Bellow are three steps that are essential to getting by at a job you dislike:

1. Think positive: Sounds cliche, however, this is the most important step to take. Changing your mind set will not make your job better but it will make your reaction to your job better- and this is just as important. As Greek philosopher Epictetus said, It is not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.  There are several things one can do to improve his or her attitude while at work:
• Do not engage in negative thoughts or behavior: If a group of your co-workers are bashing your boss, walk away. Participating in such behavior will just make you more restless and make you hate your job even more.
• Continue to be a professional: Smile, be polite, say "Good Morning" to your co-workers. Giving attitude and being rude will not get you anywhere at work.
• More here.
2. Use your work resources: Every job, no matter how mundane, has resources. Use them to make yourself a better professional. 
• Participate in trainings:  Trainings allow you to gain new skills.  These skills that can help you obtain your next job. 
• Learn from your co-workers & superiors:  For example, you may not like your boss but you must admit he/she gives great presentations.  Study him/her. Emulate his/her behavior.  What can you learn from him/her that will make you a better presenter?
• Study your company:  If you are interested in the industry that you are in, study your company in relation to it. What makes your company successful in your field? In what areas can it improve? What can you learn from your company that you can take with you elsewhere in order to be a better a more knowledgeable employee?
3. Do not take your work home with you: Keep the job at the job.  Do not let it consume your outside life.  Your time at home should be used for building- building relationships and building yourself.  Do not let the stress of the office cloud your personal growth. 

 Read more tips.

Helping: Post- Sandy

Superstorm Sandy furiously swept over the East coast earlier this week.

From the minor, power outages, to the major, those who lost lives.  It's wrath was definitely felt.

As many find themselves temporarily out of work, there is the opportunity to go out there and lend a helping hand.

This article at Gothamist offers several options for those who want to volunteer:  Click here

 

 

*UPDATE* December 2, 2012

It's been a little over a month since the storm, and the east coast is still recovering. Many jobs, for example, have yet to resume to normal. Several businesses still remain closed and many others are still displaced. Time Magazine reported that according to the financial analysis firm IHS Global Insight, there was an estimated $25,000,000,000 lost in business activity due to Hurricane Sandy. (Read more)

On the bright side, however, the aftereffects of the storm have created a surplus of rebuilding jobs. If you are looking for work, Gothamist offers several options: Click Here

For those who just want to help, there are still ways to donate! In the season for giving and sharing, an awesome new website gives you the opportunity to purchase or donate a gift to a child affected by the storm. Check out SecretSandy.org



Tips to Better Communications

While in graduate school, I took a class on Human Relations. I expected it to be like any other class: compromised of a sizeable amount of students and an instructor dictating information. The reality of the class was very different. There were only about eight students and an instructor who said very little. The first day he directed us to talk, after that, he remained silent. His role was to sit back and watch as we talked.

The professor had formed a T- Group. A T-Group is a type of sensibility training, introduced by social psychologist Kurt Lewin, in which participants learn about themselves through their interactions with others. The first lesson of the group was that although people talk they do not always communicate (1). People struggle with communication because even though they may know what they want to say in their minds, when they speak, it does not always translate in the way that they intended it to.

Having proper communication is a very important aspect of being a successful employee. Being a good communicator makes all the difference between leaving a meeting feeling accomplished versus leaving a meeting feeling defeated. If you do not communicate well verbally, your ideas may be ignored and your career can suffer. 

In the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Covey strongly argues that a person’s rhetoric is obsolete if their character is flawed. He quotes philosopher, essayist and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson: “What you are shouts so loudly in my ear I cannot hear what you say”. Fundamentally, if your character is weak then what you say is not important. However, even Covey had to agree that although one may possess character strength, if he or she lacks communication skills, the quality of his or her personal and professional relationships is negatively affected (2).

Communication is not only limited to speech. At work, employees communicate in various ways. With the role of technology in everyday work transactions for example, writing a proper email or presenting a successful PowerPoint are just as vital to business success.





A good guide to help improve the way you communicate at work is 50 One-Minute Tips to Better Communication by Dr. Phil Bozek (3). The book offers several tips to improve communications in various settings, primarily meetings, business writings, presentations and PowerPoint. The tips are quite simple and highly applicable to any business environment. For example, Bozek encourages employees to evaluate their meetings after having them by writing out what worked

 and what may need improvement in order to ensure that future meetings are more productive. In terms of e-mails, he notes that organizing them in a certain way, with proper spaces and margins for instance, makes the content easier to read; therefore allows you to get your point across more efficiently. As far as presentations, Dr. Bozek suggests that making eye contact with the right audience members and in turn retaining their attention is just as important as the information that you are providing.

The book provides several other helpful tips & is available for purchase on Amazon.

References
1. Francisco, R. P. Five Levels of Interpersonal Communication: A Model That Works Across Cultures. In M. B. A. L. Cooke, Reading Book for Human Relations 8th edition.
2. Covey, S.R. (1989). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. New York: Simon and Schuster
3. Phillip E. Bozek, Ph.D (2009). 50 One-Minute Tips to Better Communication, Third Edition. Axzo Press