 Nobody can avoid making decisions. It is a part of everyday life, and that includes both your personal life and your professional life.
The average person changes jobs at least five times during their life, and for some people, that number represents the low end of the spectrum. In today’s whirlwind market, fraught with a global pandemic and economic uncertainty, change is the rule, not the exception. There are two main types of bad decisions: when you take action and when you don’t take action. Some people mistakenly believe that the only time they make a truly bad decision is when they take action when they should not have. That’s just half of the equation. A person can also make a poor decision when they don’t take action when they should have. These are the poor decisions that we’re going to address in this blog post, the ones in which action is not taken when perhaps it should have been. We’ll refer to these decisions as “pitfalls,” because they’re not that obvious, but they can still have a negative effect on your job situation and career. With that in mind, below are three career pitfalls that you should absolutely avoid in 2021: #1—Clinging to the status quo Allegiance to the status quo is one of the worst reasons to make a particular decision. If you’re unhappy where you are and decide to stay with the “devil you know” as opposed to the one you don’t, you might regret it later. Which brings us to. . . #2—Allowing fear to rule your decisions Making a decision based solely on the fact you might regret it in the future isn’t a sound decision. You’re not robbing a bank. You’re building a meaningful and satisfying career, so don’t be tempted to think that you should “just be happy to have a job.” #3—Being overly confident or cocky Confidence is good; overconfidence is not. It can cloud your judgment and make objective thinking nearly impossible. To safeguard against this, seek the consul and advice of others before making a final decision regarding your job situation or your career. Not taking action is not the best way to avoid bad or poor decisions. Sometimes, not taking action is the worst thing that you can do. So analyze what you’re doing (and not doing) and make the proper adjustments to ensure maximum career growth and satisfaction in 2021. If you are currently seeking a new job, Time Staffing’s team of qualified staffing specialists offers assistance to job seekers in the light industrial and clerical fields. We prep candidates thoroughly by answering their questions and addressing their concerns. Last year, Time Staffing won ClearlyRated’s Best of Staffing Client and Talent Awards for providing superior service to their clients and candidates. ClearlyRated’s Best of Staffing Award is the only award in the U.S. and Canada that recognizes staffing agencies that have proven superior service quality based entirely on ratings provided by their clients and job candidates. Time Staffing received satisfaction scores of 9 or 10 out of 10 from 75.4% of their placed talent, significantly higher than the industry’s average of 45%. Contact us today to find out about the employment opportunities that are available in your chosen field! Well, 2020 is over . . . finally. While that may signify plenty of good news, the New Year is here, and 2021 will undoubtedly bring its own set of challenges.
You might be wondering what you can do to boost your career and put yourself on the “fast track” to success in the coming year. Well, the good news is that there is plenty that you can do, and you can start today! Below is a list of three great ways to boost your job situation and your career in 2021: #1—Invest in yourself. What does this mean, exactly? It means continuing training and education. If you invest in yourself, then it’s more likely that employers will invest in you, as well. Training can encompass the following:
Your primary goal with training is to become as educated, knowledgeable, and well-rounded as you can be. Remember: you’re only as strong as your weakest link. #2—Find a mentor. You need to do this for a couple of different reasons, so you may need more than one mentor. Those reasons are as follows:
Maybe your employer has a formal mentoring program. If so, great. If not, there are plenty of books and resources about mentoring that you can consult. Or you can go to your boss and ask them who can provide some leadership training for you. #3—Check out the job market on a regular basis. It’s always a good idea to see what kind of employment opportunities are out there. Remember, it never hurts to look, regardless of how long you’ll think that you’ll be with your current employer. Ideally, every job that you take should be better in some way than the job you had previously. That’s the path to career growth and satisfaction. Yes, 2020 is over, and while the New Year will bring its fair share of challenges, it will also bring with it plenty of opportunities for those who are willing to look for them and seize them. Don’t miss your chance to improve your job situation and your career in 2021! If you are currently seeking a new job, Time Staffing’s team of qualified staffing specialists offers assistance to job seekers in the light industrial and clerical fields. We prep candidates thoroughly by answering their questions and addressing their concerns. Last year, Time Staffing won ClearlyRated’s Best of Staffing Client and Talent Awards for providing superior service to their clients and candidates. ClearlyRated’s Best of Staffing Award is the only award in the U.S. and Canada that recognizes staffing agencies that have proven superior service quality based entirely on ratings provided by their clients and job candidates. Time Staffing received satisfaction scores of 9 or 10 out of 10 from 75.4% of their placed talent, significantly higher than the industry’s average of 45%. Contact us today to find out about the employment opportunities that are available in your chosen field! It’s the end of the 2020 (thank goodness), and although not all organizations conduct employee performance reviews at the end of the year, some companies do.
Performance reviews are one of the major ways that company officials determine whether or not employees receive an increase in their annual compensation . . . and how much they’ll receive. As with many aspects of your career (and life in general, for that matter), the key is preparation. You do not want to walk into your review cold. You should treat your review almost like a mini-interview. You’re not interviewing for the purpose of being hired, but you are interviewing for the purpose of receiving more compensation. True, actions speak louder than words, specifically your actions during the past six months or year, but how you conduct yourself in the review is also extremely important. Make sure you give adequate attention to each of the seven steps below. #1—Review yourself first. Before you step into that room, make sure that you’ve already conducted a self-audit and self-inventory. It is extremely important, of course, that you remain as impartial as possible when evaluating your performance. It might be a good idea to make a few lists—one of the goals that you’ve achieved since your last review, one of your strengths, and one of your weaknesses. When listing your weaknesses, also list ways in which to improve in those areas. #2—Follow company procedure. Perhaps your company has specific forms that are distributed beforehand. Be sure to complete any forms that are mandatory for the review. There may also be forms passed out that are optional. If possible, fill out these forms, as well, and make copies of all completed forms for your own records. #3—Discuss your goals in the review. This refers to both your professional and personal goals. Your manager should realize that you won’t be truly happy in your job if your personal life is suffering as a result of it. Discussing your personal life in a performance review shouldn’t be taboo. In fact, it’s something that should be done. If you aren’t free to do so, perhaps you should consider employment at another company. #4—Prepare a list of questions that you want to ask. The interview process is a two-way street, and so is your performance review. You may have pertinent questions to ask about the company’s goals, the direction it wants to take, and how you fit into the overall picture. Asking these questions will indicate that you’ve thought about your role in the future success of the company. #5--Be professional at all times. You may hear some things in your review that you don’t agree with or that you don’t understand. Remember to stay calm. Also remember that this review is about you, so don’t make reference to a co-worker’s performance (or in your opinion, their lack of one). #6—Offer solutions, not excuses. Be prepared to discuss any problems that may have occurred during the past year. If there are certain things you feel that you need in order to do your job in a better fashion (a new software program, a training course), bring this up. You’ll impress your manager more by devising solutions to past problems than by saying “It was all Bob’s fault.” Even if it wasBob’s fault. #7—Come to a consensus and keep an open mind. Communication is always important, but especially so during your performance review. Make sure that when the review is winding down that you and your manager are on the same page. Once you’ve done that, keep an open mind about the merit increase you do receive. (If you do receive one.) Don’t dread your annual performance review, especially if it’s just around the corner. Prepare for it, and make it the best review you possibly can. If you are currently seeking a new job, Time Staffing’s team of qualified staffing specialists offers assistance to job seekers in the light industrial and clerical fields. We prep candidates thoroughly by answering their questions and addressing their concerns. Earlier this year, Time Staffing won ClearlyRated’s Best of Staffing Client and Talent Awards for providing superior service to their clients and candidates. ClearlyRated’s Best of Staffing Award is the only award in the U.S. and Canada that recognizes staffing agencies that have proven superior service quality based entirely on ratings provided by their clients and job candidates. Time Staffing received satisfaction scores of 9 or 10 out of 10 from 75.4% of their placed talent, significantly higher than the industry’s average of 45%. Contact us today to find out about the employment opportunities that are available in your chosen field! In our previous blog post, we presented some tips for staying focused during your next job interview. In this week’s post, we’re addressing the topic of “selling yourself” during that interview. When we say this, we mean that you’re selling your skills, your enthusiasm, your ambition, you name it.
The stark reality of the situation is this: if you’re sitting in an interview and you’re not selling yourself, you’re wasting everybody’s time, including your own. Not everybody is comfortable with the idea of selling themselves, but those job candidates who do so successfully are the ones who land the jobs they desire. By engaging in the five steps below, you can improve the outcome of any job interview. #1—Do your homework. Conduct targeted research about the company. Some things you’ll want to discover are who the company’s competitors are, and if possible, what the company’s mission statement is. With the availability of information on the Internet, finding this out should not be difficult. #2—Bring your own questions. An interview is far from a one-way street. There’s no rule stating that you can’t ask any questions. You should ask questions, and the interviewer will more than likely be expecting you to do so. However, be sure to review each and every question for clarity and relevance. #3—Be prepared with specific examples of your accomplishments. Citing goals met or projects completed is one way to do this. Don’t be vague about what you’ve accomplished. Providing specific examples will help you to achieve the next (and quite possibly most important) step of the selling process, which is below. #4—Emphasize the value you would bring to the company. This is the bottom line when it comes to selling yourself. Your goal is to ensure that when the interview is over, the person sitting across from you will have an excellent idea of how you will add considerable value to the company. If you’ve done your homework properly and have brought specific examples of past achievements, your chances of accomplishing this goal will increase dramatically. #5—End the interview on a positive note. Although you should show enthusiasm throughout the entire process, it’s especially important to do so at the end of the interview. This denotes not only excitement about the position, but also an eagerness to move forward. The interviewer should get the sense that you’re ready to take the next step, and if you’ve sold yourself properly, you’ll be well on your way to taking that step. Remember that you want to be just as proactive in an interview as you are reactive. Sure, you’ll be answering plenty of questions and taking your cue from the person conducting the interview. But you’ll also have ample opportunity to initiate conversation, ask questions of your own, and affect the direction and the scope of the interview. And many times, you’ll have to be proactive in order to effectively sell yourself! If you are currently seeking a new job, Time Staffing’s team of qualified staffing specialists offers assistance to job seekers in the light industrial and clerical fields. We prep candidates thoroughly by answering their questions and addressing their concerns. Earlier this year, Time Staffing won ClearlyRated’s Best of Staffing Client and Talent Awards for providing superior service to their clients and candidates. ClearlyRated’s Best of Staffing Award is the only award in the U.S. and Canada that recognizes staffing agencies that have proven superior service quality based entirely on ratings provided by their clients and job candidates. Time Staffing received satisfaction scores of 9 or 10 out of 10 from 75.4% of their placed talent, significantly higher than the industry’s average of 45%. Contact us today to find out about the employment opportunities that are available in your chosen field! There is plenty in the world today that can distract you during a job interview, starting with the fact that the interview may or may not be an in-person interview. However, that’s why it’s even more important to stay focused in this situation.
What should you be thinking about during a job interview? It seems like a simple, harmless question, but in reality it’s an extremely important one. That’s because if you’re thinking about the wrong things, then it could cost you a job that you really want. In order to keep yourself on task and give yourself the best chance you can of landing the job, keep these three aspects of the interview in mind: #1—The ultimate goal is to move to the next level or receive an offer. During the interview, you shouldn’t be thinking about whether or not you would fit in with the company or even whether or not you want the job. That’s a decision for later, when you’re not sitting in front of the hiring authority. If you distract yourself with thoughts like these, you won’t be able to accomplish #2 on this list. #2—You should always present yourself in the best possible light. In order to do this, you must be able to effectively convey to the hiring authority evidence of your skills, talents, and accomplishments. And this goes well beyond what that person can read on your resume. It includes appearance, interpersonal communication, your answers to their questions, etc. Your full attention and focus should be on what is going on during the interview right now. Don’t get ahead of yourself and start thinking about anything outside of the interview. Even if you hear something that you don’t like or that is potentially discouraging, file it away for future consideration. Don’t dwell on it now, as it could disrupt your concentration and dampen your enthusiasm, thereby turning off the hiring authority. There’s a chance you may have misunderstood, anyway. How upset would you be if the job got away because of a simple misunderstanding? #3—The interview is a two-way street. You should be interviewing the company at the same time that you’re being interviewed. Ask questions that you believe are important. Find out as many facts as you can about the company in general and the position you’re interviewing for specifically. The more information you gather now, the better of a decision that you can make later. The interview process, of course, is a crucial part of finding a new job. That’s why it’s vitally important to go about it the right way, starting with a proper frame of mind. To be sure, there are plenty of tough decisions to be made when searching for a new job, but there’s a time and a place to make those decisions. The time for reflection is after the interview is over, not while the interview is occurring. If you follow this guideline, you’ll be mentally prepared to present yourself as well as you possibly can. And you’ll give yourself a much better chance of getting the job. If you are currently seeking a new job, Time Staffing’s team of qualified staffing specialists offers assistance to job seekers in the light industrial and clerical fields. We prep candidates thoroughly by answering their questions and addressing their concerns. Earlier this year, Time Staffing won ClearlyRated’s Best of Staffing Client and Talent Awards for providing superior service to their clients and candidates. ClearlyRated’s Best of Staffing Award is the only award in the U.S. and Canada that recognizes staffing agencies that have proven superior service quality based entirely on ratings provided by their clients and job candidates. Time Staffing received satisfaction scores of 9 or 10 out of 10 from 75.4% of their placed talent, significantly higher than the industry’s average of 45%. Contact us today to find out about the employment opportunities that are available in your chosen field! We've addressed the benefits of internships before in the Time Staffing Blog, specifically with the post titled, "4 Benefits of Internships for Job Seekers."
The four benefits that we shared in that blog post were as follows: #1 - It allows you to "get your foot in the door." #2 - It provides an opportunity to expand your network. #3 - It can help to boost your confidence #4 - It can lead to... a full-time job! However, there is another benefit, one that we did not share at the time but one that we will share now. That's because we've been blogging lately about your online identity and how it can affect your personal brand. Well, while internships can offer valuable experience to you, it's not always about the experience you get... it's also about the experience you give. What does that mean? It means that an internship presents you with the opportunity to build your employment brand. Every time you come into contact with a co-worker, no matter if you're an intern or an employee, you're continually building and molding your brand. In other words, you're helping to shape how other people think of you, what their attitudes are about you as a person and (potential) employee, and how you fit into the overall company culture. All of these things are important, not only in regards to your chances for landing a job at that particular company, but also for your career overall. Employment branding - as well as personal branding – isn't a "sometime thing." It’s an "all the time thing," and that especially applies to anyone who strives to move from an internship to full-time employment. If you are currently seeking a new job, Time Staffing's team of qualified staffing specialists offers assistance to job seekers in the light industrial and clerical fields. We prep candidates thoroughly by answering their questions and addressing their concerns. Earlier this year, Time Staffing won ClearlyRated's Best of Staffing Client and Talent Awards for providing superior service to their clients and candidates. ClearlyRated's Best of Staffing Award is the only award in the U.S. and Canada that recognizes staffing agencies that have proven superior service quality based entirely on ratings provided by their clients and job candidates. Time Staffing received satisfaction scores of 9 or 10 out of 10 from 75.4% of their placed talent, significantly higher than the industry's average of 45%. Contact us today to find out about the employment opportunities that are available in your chosen field In our last couple of blog posts, we've addressed the subject of properly building an online identity.
Specifically, we drew a correlation between your online identity and The Matrix movie series and we also discussed the link that exists between your online identity and your personal brand. However, there's one big reason why you should be carefully constructing and maintaining your online identity, and that's because not everybody is doing so. In fact, by some estimates, far less than 50% of people are taking the time to build their online identity. Why bring this up? Because everybody should be building a comprehensive online identity. After all, the Internet isn't going away anytime soon, and competition in the job market is certainly fierce at the moment and might get more so in the weeks and months ahead. In fact, there's reason to believe that level of competition will remain, no matter how much the economy recovers and grows. Building your online identity is all about opportunity. It doesn't matter whether you're looking for a new job right now or not looking for a new job. Everybody likes to have more opportunities and more options.
If you are currently seeking a new job, Time Staffing's team of qualified staffing specialists offers assistance to job seekers in the light industrial and clerical fields. We prep candidates thoroughly by answering their questions and addressing their concerns. Earlier this year, Time Staffing won ClearlyRated's Best of Staffing Client and Talent Awards for providing superior service to their clients and candidates. ClearlyRated's Best of Staffing Award is the only award in the U.S. and Canada that recognizes staffing agencies that have proven superior service quality based entirely on ratings provided by their clients and job candidates. Time Staffing received satisfaction scores of 9 or 10 out of 10 from 75.4% of their placed talent, significantly higher than the industry's average of 45%. Contact us today to find out about the employment opportunities that are available in your chosen field! In our previous blog post, we discussed how The Matrix movie series actually reflects real life in regards to the importance of your online identity.
In this post, we'll discuss the link that exits between your online identity and your personal brand, especially as it pertains to your career. But first, a word about your "personal brand" vs. your "professional brand." While it might seem as though these two are different, they aren't. Simply put, your professional brand is part of your personal brand—it exists within it. This mirrors real life, since your job or what you do for a living is only part of who you are. That being said, when a company official "Googles" you for information, what they find is going to brand you in their minds - both personally and professionally. They're going to form an idea about what kind of person you are, what you like, what you dislike, what's important to you, what's not important to you, etc. And they're going to form these ideas and brand you in their minds without even speaking with you or meeting you. Consequently, it would be a good idea to construct your online identity with two goals in mind:
Then ask yourself these questions:
Chances are good that changes of some kind need to be made, and you should make those changes as soon as you possibly can - for the sake of your online identity, your personal (and professional) brand, and your career. If you are currently seeking a new job, Time Staffing's team of qualified staffing specialists offers assistance to job seekers in the light industrial and clerical fields. We prep candidates thoroughly by answering their questions and addressing their concerns. Earlier this year, Time Staffing won ClearlyRated's Best of Staffing Client and Talent Awards for providing superior service to their clients and candidates. ClearlyRated's Best of Staffing Award is the only award in the U.S. and Canada that recognizes staffing agencies that have proven superior service quality based entirely on ratings provided by their clients and job candidates. Time Staffing received satisfaction scores of 9 or 10 out of 10 from 75.4% of their placed talent, significantly higher than the industry's average of 45%. Contact us today to find out about the employment opportunities that are available in your chosen field! |
