Monthly Archives: February 2013

Ways to Be A Team Player

Be a Team PlayerI’m fortunate enough to witness teamwork at its best during our annual company conferences. Most jobs require teamwork of some form, whether it’s on a routine basis or just for special projects. In any matter, when a project requires more than one person, it can be a task that is more complicated, time-sensitive, or an extreme undertaking – all of which can make things more stressful. Here are some ways to keep your cool and be a true asset when teamwork is required.

Don’t Ask Why
If you’ve been asked to do something as a team member, as long as it’s not breaking any laws or hurting the company, it’s best just to buckle down and get the job done. Maybe you don’t think moving boxes from one side of the room seems efficient, or you don’t understand why you have to clean up the conference room just because of a top client is visiting. But at this stage of the game you are there to help not to give your opinion. If you’re in the discussion phase of a project, it may be appropriate to offer your thoughts. But if you can sense that the mood of the moment is more “Roll up your sleeves and get to work,” then follow that lead and don’t waste time with “why?”

Don’t Be too Proud
Sure, your typical job assignment might be answering the phone, assembling parts, or invoicing clients, but you are part of a business that has a lot more activity. As long as there aren’t any safety concerns or job description violations, don’t be too proud to go beyond your regular duties to help out. Maybe you need to mop the entryway before a client tour, or perhaps you need to break down boxes and take them to the dumpster to give the team more room to work. Whatever it is, if you see something that needs to be done, and you can help, pitch in and help – that’s teamwork.

Don’t Brag
People notice a team working together, I’ve rarely experienced a time when a great team project wasn’t acknowledged at some point. However, when deadlines are looming there may not be time for accolades. You don’t want to be the only person on the team bragging about your effort to go above and beyond. The point of teamwork is everyone working together; it’s not about one individual contributing more or less than the others. If you try to steal the accomplishments of the team to shine more light on yourself, your opportunities to serve on the team may be less frequent.

Teamwork can be fun, and sometimes special team projects offer a break from your normal duties. Some of my best memories and accomplishments have been while serving on a team, so when someone asks for your help, see it as the opportunity it is.

Share your stories with us when you’ve experienced teamwork at best in the comments section below.

Soft Skills Can Make or Break Your Career

Soft Skills Make or Break CareersAfter working so hard to get that new job, have you ever felt that little voice in your head tell you to take it easy and check out because the hard part is over? Sometimes, it’s your intangible skills that determine whether you get the job, keep your job, or get promoted.

In the book “The Hard Truth About Soft Skills” by Peggy Klaus, 358 randomly selected Johnson and Johnson managers were surveyed on their work performance. The best performing ones possessed significantly higher levels of self-awareness, self-management capability, social skills, and organizational savvy.

You may have all of the necessary qualifications for a job, but what can make or break your chances are skills you can’t learn in school or from training. Find out how Michael’s soft skill of discipline plays out when tempted to procrastinate at his new job.

It’s Normal to Face Criticism When You are Driven

Driven and criticismThe Greek philosopher Aristotle is famously known for saying, “Criticism is something we can avoid easily by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.” No matter where you want to go in your career, there will be others who will, rationally or irrationally, try to talk you out of it. Criticism is inevitable if you want to be successful.

Think of some of the greatest figures in history: Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., Confucius, and Christopher Columbus. They all influenced and shaped the world today, but they also received, and sometimes still do, some of the most harsh and intense criticism. Don’t let outside forces get in your way. Here are ways to cope with and accept the fact that criticism will happen when you strive for success.

Tune Out
Unless there is something you can take away from constructive criticism, you’ll have to tune out the clutter of negativity coming at you. It’s important to stay focused on your goals and objectives, so you’ll have to learn the value in tuning out everyone around you some of the time.

Review
Depending on how strict or involved you want to be with your schedule, take some time every week or at the end of your workday to review your progress and see where you are with achieving your goals and objectives. You’re far more likely to accomplish things if they are in print and in front of you. Continually checking your progress will keep you on track and help build your drive and motivation.

Laugh
There are several benefits to embracing a positive attitude, even if you don’t feel like it. There will be very real hurdles and challenges to overcome throughout your career and a positive attitude won’t protect you from them, but it will keep you afloat and motivated when they happen.

Trust
You don’t have to climb the corporate ladder alone. While there may be others who will try to tear you down, there are just as many, if not more, who want to lift you up. That’s why it’s important to have a group of friends and mentors who can give you fair and constructive feedback on your endeavors.

Admit
Nobody is perfect and everybody will make mistakes throughout their career. That is why it’s important to accept responsibility for your mistakes and weaknesses and develop strategies to improve them. It’s not so much the fact you fell, but rather about how you get back up.

Realize
To stay on track to realize success, you need to have an idea of what you want to achieve. It’s important to be very clear and concise about why success is so important. When you have an end point to focus on, it’ll be harder for others to lead you astray.

If you feel like the weight of others is too much, remember that it’s normal and to shrug it off. Many times, the criticism is unnecessary. It’s like what the late motivational speaker Zig Ziglar said, “Some people find fault like there is a reward for it.”

Computer Screens and Your Eyes

Electronic Screens and Your EyesIn the 80s, Madonna would sing about being a “material girl living in a material world” but today, she’d be more likely to be a “digital girl living in a digital world.” We are constantly surrounded by electronic devices and their ever-glowing screens. Millions of Americans wake up to work at a computer screen all day, take break periods to text, chat, and update their social media site on their smartphones, go home to relax on their big screen TV, and then read a few chapters of a book from their tablet device in bed before falling asleep.

Do you know how much strain you’re putting on your eyes? A survey conducted by The Vision Council found that nearly 70% of U.S. adults experience some form of digital eye strain while using electronic devices. This kind of eye strain can cause severe pain and can eventually lead to a permanent loss of eyesight. Here’s how you can make your peepers keepers.

How Do I Know if My Eyes Are Strained?
When your eyes are strained, they typically feel irritated and dry while looking red due to reduced blinking rates. Your vision can start to blur due to glaring from bad lighting or outdated equipment.

Your eyes aren’t the only things that can feel the strain. Back and neck pain can occur from poor body posture and positioning. Painful pressure can build on neck muscles if the neck is constantly moving up and down. Strong headaches and general fatigue can occur when straining to see small fonts and images on a screen.

Wax On, Wax Off
A simple and easy way to cut down on eye strain is to make sure all of your electronic devices are clean and properly wiped. It’s important to have your devices free of dirt and fingerprint smudges to reduce glare and strain on your eyes while trying to see what’s on the screen. Use a proper screen cleaning cloth or an electronics-friendly cleaner to have an eye friendly screen.

Go the Distance
It’s always important to be aware of how close electronic screens are to your eyes. There should always be sufficient space between your eyes and the screen. Computer monitors should be about the same distance as your extended arm with your palm up.

It’s All About Location, Location, Location
Adjust computer screens and portable devices to where they are directly in front of your face, straight, and slightly below eye level. If you notice that reading documents causes you to squint or puts strain on your eyes, use your computer’s settings to increase the text size so it feels comfortable to your eyes.

20-20-20
Most importantly, don’t forget to take breaks. Remind yourself to blink more often to reduce dryness and refocus your eyes. There is also the 20-20-20 break – every 20 minutes, take a 20 second break and look at something 20 feet away. You’d be surprised how many times people forget to blink and rest their eyes when viewing an electronic screen because they are so integral to daily life.

Digital screens are everywhere. It’s important that you maintain healthy practices to prevent strain and damage to your eyesight that could become permanent. If you notice any symptoms of strain that constantly persist, contact your physician or optometrist. Screens and portable devices are here to stay. It’s up to you to keep your eyes safe from over exposure.

Express Receives 2013 Best of Staffing Client Award

Express Employment Professionals Best in Staffing 2013Express Employment Professionals has been named to Inavero’s 2013 Best of Staffing™ Client list. Best of Staffing, presented by CareerBuilder, is the nation’s only loyalty award that recognizes exceptional service in the staffing industry. Express Employment Professionals went through a rigorous client survey process to be considered for the award. Best of Staffing award winners received a score of 9 or 10 out of 10 from 74% of their clients. Fewer than 1% of all staffing firms made the final list.

How did Express Employment Professionals make the list?
Express Employment Professionals once again secured its place on the winners’ list by obtaining at least a 55% Net Promoter Score® – a management tool used to gauge customer loyalty. Driven by extraordinarily high levels of client satisfaction, this score is nearly double the national staffing industry’s Net Promoter Score® benchmark for client satisfaction. Based on the standard metrics for measuring satisfaction, this award defines the staffing industry’s elite leaders in service quality and their commitment to client satisfaction. With more than 30 years of experience in staffing and human resources, Express is committed to helping as many people as possible find good jobs by helping as many clients as possible find good people.

To learn more about how Express can help you find a job or develop your career, visit www.expresspros.com.

The Best of Staffing competition is sponsored by CareerBuilder and Inavero.

It’s Time to Finish What You Started

stk149415rkeWhile it’s great to try something new and explore ideas, let’s face it, you’re usually paid when the job is done. That’s one reason why it’s important to finish what you started, because that’s when you can really see your results. Whether your pay is financial, an accolade, a record set, or a life changed, being rewarded comes with getting things done.

Need some motivation?
Here are the top three blog posts on getting things done:

A Time to Quit
Not to dispute the benefits of finishing what you started, but there also comes a time when quitting and leaving a task undone is the best course of action. It’s important to focus your time where it can have maximum impact on reaching your long-term goals. While it can be hard to walk away from a project or admit a task isn’t the right course of action, doing so may be just the finishing you need to do. Making a decision to move on can be just as effective, sometimes more, when faced with a goal that is no longer relevant in the big picture. Here are a few questions to help you decide when quitting may be the best way to finish.

  1. Have your resources changed? It’s important to consider the time, finances, and support you have available to finish a task. After evaluating your resources, you have to consider at what level you’ll be able to finish the task. Sometimes not doing something is better than doing it poorly.
  2. Have your goals changed? With changes in technology, consumer habits, the economy, and more, you need to evaluate whether or not your short-term goals and tasks are still relevant in accomplishing your long-term vision.
  3. Has your understanding changed? You know what they say, “hindsight is 20/20”, which can be true of tasks along the way to reaching your goals. Sometimes lack of knowledge leads us down the wrong road, acknowledging it sooner rather than later is best.

Share a story with us in the comments section on how you stay motivated to finish the task, or of a time when quitting was the best way to complete your project.

Fall in Love With Your Job All Over Again

fall in love with jobWith Valentine’s Day just around the corner, millions of people will be coming together to be with their loved ones to celebrate the bond they have with each other. While wives, husbands, boyfriends, girlfriends, and significant others are getting ready for the romantic holiday, there’s a very special someone you might not be considering – your job.

It happens to the best of us. The passion is gone for your job and the flame has died out at the workplace. It can be easy to neglect the dwindling desire you once had for your job, but not being passionate about your job can lead to a stilted career path later on. Here are ways you can fall in love with your job all over again.

Reach Out
If nobody knows there is a problem, no one can help fix it. Consider reaching out to your manager or mentor to discuss your lack of passion and find out what it is that’s keeping your interest down.  It could be a simple fix of changing your workflow or new project, or it could be as big as moving on to the next challenge. Your leaders have the experience to give you a frame of reference and point you in the right direction.

Another way to recharge your batteries is to develop relationships with co-workers and peers. Practice your networking skills and schedule lunch breaks with others to learn about different areas in your organization, uncover interesting opportunities, or discuss trends in your industry. Building relationships can break up the boring routine and let you see diverse points of view.

Live Life
It may sound counter-productive, but are you doing what you’ve always wanted to do with your spare time? Passion is often contagious, and if you can find fun, fulfilling hobbies and activities outside of the workplace, that enthusiasm can flow through to your work. Work often doesn’t allow you to practice your passions through the job, so it’s important to get back to the root of what you love.

Challenge Your Innovation
Nothing can smother a fire of passion more than a routine. Workers can get stuck in a pattern that becomes second nature. This repetition can have no room for excitement or imagination. That’s why it’s important to put forth some effort to keep a fire burning. Someone once told me, “Remember K.I.S.S.: Keep Innovating Something Significant.” Challenge yourself to improve every day. Dream big, set a goal for yourself, and work to make a change. This mentality can greatly increase and fuel the fire than can burn inside you.

There’s not a rut from which you can’t crawl out. Whether with the help of others or through changing your mentality, falling in love with your job is possible. Your career is going to be with you for most of your life. You might as well love it.

What are some ways you’ve fallen in love with your job? Let us know in the comments section below. You can also use our ecards site to send free valentine greetings!