Enjoying success on the job involves a lot of things. Some of these things are obvious–such as talent, experience, and effort–and some of them are not.
 
However, you need every edge that you can get. This includes when you're on the job and when you're conducing a job search so that you can find your next great opportunity. And when you're looking for every edge you can get, ANY edge can help.
 
With that in mind, below are five "under the radar" factors for job success:
 
#1—Setting priorities
 
Not everything is important, and not everything that's important is equally important. To maximize your time and your resources and to enjoy success more quickly, you must become adept at identifying what is most important in every situation. Without prioritizing properly, you might do the wrong things first. That will ultimately slow you down and take you further from accomplishing your goals instead of closer.
 
#2—Managing time
 
Not only should you be working on the most important things first, but you should also be doing so in an efficient way. You've probably heard the expression, "Work smarter, not harder." Part of that saying is rooted in time management. Is there an easier way to accomplish your task? Is there a tool that could help with it? What has experience taught you about the best way to approach the situation? Everybody has the same amount of time. How well you manage that time can give you an edge over other people.
 
#3—Creating (and maintaining) boundaries
 
This includes creating boundaries in your work and creating boundaries with other people. This helps to both maximize your time and also ensure a healthy work environment. Ideally, your work environment and the relationships you have with your co-workers should improve over time. If they don't, then perhaps there is a problem in this area that needs to be addressed.
 
#4—Setting expectations
 
Setting expectations at the beginning of a project or process can help to eliminate confusion or miscommunication during the middle or at the end of it. This is advisable if you're working with a group of people, one other person, or just with yourself. Have you set expectations for your work performance or your job search in 2018? What expectations does your manager or supervisor have for you? What expectations do you have for your employer? These are all good questions to think about.
 
#5—Holding yourself accountable
 
Accountability is crucial for any employment-related endeavor. This includes on the job or during your job search. People who take ownership of their job and their career are more invested in their professional life. As a result, they're more likely to do the things that are necessary to be successful. If you're always blaming other things or other people for what happens (or doesn't happen) to you, then you have a ready-made excuse for your perpetual failure. Take ownership and be accountable.
 
How do YOU rank in these areas? Do they offer you an edge in the employment marketplace?
 
Will you be looking for a new employment opportunity this year? Then let Time Staffing help you find it!

​Here we are: the New Year is here. Believe it or not, 2018 is upon us. Happened rather quickly, did it not?
 
And of course, there are millions of people across the country who have made New Year's resolutions. Undoubtedly, they've made them about both their personal life and also their professional life.
 
Regardless of whether they've made personal resolutions or professional ones (or both), there's one important rule they should ascribe to these resolutions. That rule is, "Improvement, not perfection."
 
As you well know, the vast majority of people eventually abandon their New Year's resolutions. They don't actually carry out their plans or reach their goals. One of the reasons for this is that they seek perfection and NOT improvement.
 
It's fairly common knowledge that nobody is perfect. But you would never know that by the way people approach their New Year's resolutions. If they experience a misstep or backslide along the way, they commonly think to themselves, "What's the use? I might as well give up. I'm never going to reach this goal."
 
It doesn't matter if they're trying to lose weight or give up smoking. They're focusing on perfection instead of focusing on progress.
 
Let's say that a person has smoked cigarettes every day for 10 years and wants to quit in the New Year. They go six days without a cigarette, but then they break down on the seventh day and have a smoke. Perfect? No. But progress? Yes! They went six days without a cigarette after smoking multiple cigarettes every day for 10 years.
 
Let's be honest. You should have set some goals for the New Year. Now, you don't necessarily have to call them New Year's resolutions. In fact, it might be better if you don't. After all, as we've discussed, there's already a negative connotation associated with that label.
 
There are two categories of goals that you should set:
 

1. Goals for the job you have right now (if you're currently employed)
2. Goals for your career

 
Obviously, the goals you have for your job are more immediate. The goals you have for your career are more long-term. However, you should apply the rule of "Progress, not perfection" to both of them.
 
To put it another way, success is rarely a straight line. Very rare is the person who can set a goal, meticulously plan out all of the steps associated with attaining that goal, and then execute the plan step-by-step without anything going wrong.
 
That's why the concept of perfection should be thrown right out the window. When you measure yourself by the standard of perfection, you become discouraged and you fail. When you measure yourself by the standard of progress, you can become encouraged and succeed.
 
The key is to do the following:
 

1. Set your goal.
2. Plan the steps for achieving your goal.
3. Clearly define what constitutes progress toward your goal.
4. Acknowledge that "degrees of progress" exist.
5. Accept the fact you will achieve your goal through various "degrees of progress."
6. Continue striving to achieve your goal despite any and all setbacks.
7. Reward yourself in some fashion for the progress that you achieve as you seek to attain your goal.

 
At Time Staffing, we hope that 2017 was a great year for you and your career and we also hope that 2018 is even better. And we're here to help!
 
Contact us today to find out more about Time Staffing's services for job seekers.