At some point in your career, you’ll question whether you’re on the right path. When your boss starts questioning your career path, it’s time to take a serious look at what you’re doing and why.
If your boss makes a suggestion that you may want to look for another job, there are a few steps you can take to find your next career move.
1: Assess What You Really Want
The first thing to do in this case is to step back and consider what direction you want to go in your career with this company. Be honest with yourself by asking “do you really want this job?” There is no reason to fight for something that no longer excited you.
2: Meet With Your Manager
After you evaluate your job and career path and decide you want to stay with your company, schedule a time to meet with your manager and discuss how you can move forward. This is a good time to talk about what issues the management team sees, where they feel you fit best within the company and what you’d like to do. During the meeting, you should share not only what you want moving forward, but also how you plan to address the original issue.
3: Create a Plan
What if you decide that you really don’t want to be in this job anymore? You have two options, stay and wait for things to improve or start looking for a new positon. Either way, you should evaluate your career and where/what your next role should include—you don’t want to make a bad decision. Finally, create plan for your registration. Evaluate the timing, insurance transitions and your registration.
So, you’ve been at your company for 2 years and you are eyeing a promotion. You are first to arrive and the last to leave the office and you consistently hear positive feedback on your performance. Why haven’t you received a promotion yet?
There are many factors besides performance at play when it comes to getting promoted.
1. Become Your Own Fan
One of the major reasons people get passed over for a promotion is they don’t’ speak up. Many people make the mistake of minimizing their accomplishments and efforts. Become your own fan or cheerleader–take credit where credit is due, and people will begin to recognize your achievements.
2. You Didn’t Let Your Boss Know You Want a Promotion
It may sound obvious, but you might be surprised at how few people come out and directly tell their manager that they’re interested in a promotion. Often employees are content in their current role, so if you don’t tell your boss you are interested in a promotion, he or she may never know. Ask your manager’s guidance to understand what the promotion would entail and how you can demonstrate you are worthy of that promotion.
3. You Assume Promotions Are Based on Tenure
You may routinely see coworkers getting promoted after they hit a specific work anniversary, but don’t mistake their tenure for being the reason they were promoted. Most often their promotion is not tied to their years of service, but instead to an increased accountability that results in their promotion.
References are a must have. We all need them when finalizing a new job or temporary position. “References are similar to mentors. . Recruiters and those in HR use references as a way to fill in the gaps about a candidate, to learn more about a candidate’s work style, and to gauge their success in previous roles. As a job seeker and candidate, it is essential to have a list of people who can provide glowing references about who you are as a person and a hard worker.
Step 1: Find your core references
Determine 3-4 individuals that you can use as a professional reference. These people should be former managers and /or key client contacts.
Step 2: Ask the for the professional reference
Once you have your core references identified, you may not need to ask each person for a reference. Like finding the perfect role, think about the person on your team who would be a perfect fit to write a recommendation or reference for you. Evaluate the referrals needed by your recruiter or HR manager and determine who you feel will give you the best professional reference. Additionally, not all companies ask for the same number of type of professional reference. Be sure to evaluate each reference request individually and give your professional references advance warning of any call or reference checks.
Step 3: Help them
Often times the people we ask for references are busy folks. Executives and managers can get asked for references all the time and be bogged down with other work. It is helpful to remind them of projects you worked on together, or instances where you collaborated. The goal is to help provide anecdotes that your power team can use when talking to a recruiter or writing you a letter of recommendation.
Step 5: Say thank you
It’s easy to get caught up in the craziness of job applications, but remaining in touch with your core references and saying thank you to nurture the ongoing relationship are key to your professional growth. Be mindful of the give and take in the relationship, as well.
Most of us experience stress during our work week. However, some people experience an extreme amount of workplace stress daily. It’s no wonder, more job hunters are looking for roles and positions that offer low stress day-to day.
If you’ve already tried to balance your stress at your current job, it may be time to start interviewing for a new one. Unfortunately, sometimes asking questions about workload can give the impression you want to slack off. Here are three questions that will help you determine the stress level for prospective roles/positions.
#1: Why is this position open?
Asking this question will help you understand the role in terms of the overall company and team. Often jobs are created because there is a new need in the company. However, sometimes the role is a replacement, Understanding why someone left this role can help you determine what’s expected and the anticipated stress level.
#2: Tell me about the typical day-to-day of this position.
Not only is this interview question a great way to see if the job will line up with your skills, but it also will give you an idea of who you’ll be interacting with and what you’ll be doing on a daily basis. Look out for phrases like “it depends”. This shows that the role is evolving and changing every day and this can be a sign of potential stress.
#3: What defines success for this position?
This is an all-around exceptional question to ask a prospective employer because it allows you to clearly identify the job expectations. However, it also works to scan for a stressful job because it allows you to assess how stressful the clearly defined goals will be to achieve.
Stress in the workplace often occurs when you’re responsible for things you cannot control. Understanding what defines success for the position will allow you to assess whether or not that role is empowered to actually achieve those results.
l the job will be. In your next interview, be sure to ask these interview questions to gauge just how stressful a new job might be in the future
Are you not a morning person? Do you struggle to get your day started? If so, it’s time you transform the way you start your workday so that you’ll have more energy, be more focused and ready for success. Here are 5 early morning habits to start today.
1. Breakfast
Breakfast can be a time acclimate to your day. Eat breakfast at home and use it as a time for quiet reflection. Eat break at home, instead of on the go, will help you start your day out on the right note.
2. Time for Quiet Reflection
Taking time to reflect on the big issues, you upcoming day, etc can help you be prepared for anything. Millionaires site quiet reflection as one of their keys to success, when they are surveyed.
3. Spend Time with Family
Most of us are extremely busy and getting precious time with our family is difficult Spending time with loved ones is a boost that powers many successful people through the day. This will help you get closer to the work-life balance you are pushing for and can often make your day go faster and smoother.
4. Prioritization
Writing down the top tasks you want to get done for the day isn’t new. Setting priorities in the morning helps keep yourself accountable during the day. Putting this list in a visible place can help you push to complete those top tasks.
5. Exercise
Exercising in the morning pumps the body with endorphins and boosts energy levels throughout the day. Your exercise routine doesn’t have to be two hours, but even a short walk or yoga class can be energize you through the day.
Your resume is your first impression. The language and content of your resume can increase or decrease your chances of landing the job. Filling precious resume space with verbose language or buzzwords can backfire. Here are 10 words to remove from your resume today:
1. Unemployed
The dates of your employment are shown on your resume. Don’t further emphasize you are unemployed.
2. Hardworking
Company already assume you are a hardworking individual, don’t call it out.
3. Objective
Most resumes are self-explanatory. There is no need to take up valuable space with an objective. It is redundant.
4. Synergy
Words like “synergy” are buzzwords and over used. Try and avoid them in your resume.
5. Reference Available Upon Request
Having “references upon request” at the bottom of your resume is a sign that a candidate is overeager. If a recruiter wants to call to know more about you, they will reach out directly. There is no need to point out the obvious
6. Rock star
The term “rock star” has been over used in the last few years, especially in the technology industry.
7. Dabbled
Using “dabbled” indicates that you were exposed to a skill or technology. If that is the case and you don’t use the skill or technology in your position(s), leave it off your resume.
8. Expert
Stay away from the word expert, unless you truly are an expert. If you include it in your resume, be prepared to back it up during the interview
9. Excessive personal information
Avoid including your birthday, family information, visa status, etc. This information doesn’t speak to your qualifications.
10. Hobbies
Content that does not relate to the job and does not address what qualifications can eliminate you as a candidate. It is safer to leave hobbies off your resume. Let me company focus on what you do at work, not after work.
These days there is a lot of conversation about employee satisfaction and happiness. Company consistently evaluate and add perks and benefits in an attempt to achieve this happiness. Unlimited time off, flexible work schedules, and even stocked break rooms are some of the ways companies work to ensure their employees are happy and love their jobs.
Here are some clues to help you determine if you love your job and are happy:
1. Passion—if you feel passionate about your job already, congratulations. However, for many people the passion for their job is harder to quantify. Take some time to evaluate your job and task that you love or feel passionate about. Once you identify the areas of your job that make you happy, ask your manager to increase those responsibilities. This will help you increase the areas of your positon you feel passionate about and create more happiness.
2. Independence—everyone wants a job that offers a little bit of flexibility, whether that’s the opportunity to choose roles on projects, the ability work from home or go to your child’s school pay. This flexibility can help with your work life balance and make your job happier.
3. Cultural Fit—this term gets used too much, but creating friendships at work and having camaraderie can help you find happiness at work.
4. Compensation—we all want to be valued for the work we perform. This compensation includes not only your salary, but benefits and perks. Money alone can’t buy happiness at work, but being under compensated can quickly lead to discontent.
Most people feel comfortable in a fulltime, permanent role. It represents security and comes with benefits. However, contract role can be a great deal. In this economic client, contract roles are becoming more common place. By their nature, they allow you the flexibility and often more growth potential than a full time, permanent role. Additionally, seeking contract roles through a staffing or agency can give you the benefits (like health insurance and 401k) and security of a full time role with the added benefits of contracting.
If you are ready to make the transition from full time employee to contractor, there are some tips to help.
1. Be Up Front
Before anything else, you should make it clear that you’re interested in a contract position during the interview. Many companies may ask why you are moving from full time to contact. Remember to discuss the growth potential and flexibility.
2. Become Indispensable
It goes without saying that a company want contracts to outperform their expectations, but even meeting the expectations of your role isn’t always enough. To truly stand out (especially as a contractor, you should work to stand out by working hard and exceeding expectations.
3. Make Sure to Mingle
Sometimes, contract workers make the mistake of isolating themselves from colleagues since they don’t see themselves as a “real” team member. This is a missed opportunity. When you are part of the team, companies will want to extend your contract. This can create long term contract opportunity and allow you to create personal connections that will go a long way in your career.
We all know that your appearance is the first thing people notice, especially during an interview. With the tech startups on the rise, more job seekers moved to a more casual attire for interviews. However, more and more interviewers expect that job seekers dress professionally during the interview process. What’s appropriate attire depends on the industry…interviewing at a bank is different from interviewing at a gaming company. So, do your research to understand the company’s culture and attire standards. If you are unsure, you can always ask the company’s HR department or your recruiter. However, the best rule is always to dress more conservatively.
Tips for all candidates:
Delta Computer Consulting, Inc. is certified through the WBENC (Women’s Business Enterprise National Council) as a woman-owned and woman-operated business.
