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Associate Spotlight: James Price

By Jared Cole on Thursday, June 28, 2012

Every month, Movin’ On Up likes to tell the story of outstanding Express Employment Professionals’ associates and the success they have found in their life. There are countless stories to from the 335,000 workers Express employes in the United States, Canada, and South Africa.

This month’s associate spotlight tells the story of an associate who wasn’t placed in any outside business or organization, but was hired for his talents and skills at the Express International headquarters in Oklahoma City, OK. This associate’s professionalism and willingness to work helped the Marketing and Communications department tackle large projects when it was understaffed.

James Price
A Houston native, James Price attended Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, OK majoring in journalism and broadcasting. All was well until he faced graduating during he Great Recession in 2008. Entry-level jobs in his industry were scarce, and James needed help finding work in a sluggish economy. Eventually, James heard about Express after receiving a referral from a friend. Once he applied, he was contacted by the downtown Oklahoma City office about an opportunity writing for the Express headquarters.

James was assigned to a longer-term placement at the Express International Headquarters when one of the members of the Marketing and Communications department went on maternity leave. The department faced some large projects due in a short amount of time, and James helped write promotional material, blogs, and newsletters to help finish the projects on time. He is still working on projects for the headquarters and greatly enjoys it. His flexible schedule helps him develop skills, but also allows him to continue following his other passion, music. When not working for Express, James enjoys writing and recording music for his band and serves as music director for First Baptist Church of Stillwater.

“Working with Express has been a growing experience. I have been able to develop several different skills which I never had the opportunity to use before. Looking toward the future, Express has helped me build my portfolio to become a more desirable employee. For those of us who are entering the workforce with little to no professional experience, Express is a great opportunity and will be a stepping stone to greater things,” James said.

We love hearing stories about the determination and quality work Express associates demonstrate every day. James is just one example of thousands of Express associates who achieve success through their strong talent and resolve. If you’re searching for a job, consider working with a staffing agency like Express. More and more employers are relying heavily on staffing companies to fill open positions before hiring them on as full-time employees.

If you’re an Express associate and know a fellow associate who would be a great candidate for our associate spotlight, let your Express office know. If you have an Express associate you’d like to feature on Movin’ On Up, let us know in the comments below.

At Work Career Advancement

Climbing the Corporate Ladder When You’re Shy and Introverted

By Jared Cole on Monday, June 25, 2012

It’s hard enough to find a job when you’re shy, but it can seem just as hard to become a team player within a group of strangers you’ve just met and position yourself to move up into management.
Here’s how you can overcome being just shy of a promotion.

Talk Big About Your Co-Workers
Introverts internalize all of the information that’s given to them, from casual conversation or presentations, to internet research and books. While introverts don’t have to be shy, it can be very easy for them to constantly think about how the outside world correlates with them, instead of how the outside world correlates with itself. Take some time to step back and acknowledge your co-workers’ achievements. Colleagues love a sincere pat on the back, an email full of kudos, or a card with congratulations. Management will see that you’re a team player with eyes on the company’s goals.

Shy workers may feel like sleazy used car salesmen when dishing out random compliments, but there’s a great way for you to give sincere acclaim while giving yourself a little credit too. If working on a project and a team member goes above and beyond the call of duty, tell your boss, “I couldn’t have done the project without (co-worker’s name). He/she made things so much easier for me.”

Tell Your Boss How You’re Doing, Really
We have a culture of asking the obligatory “how are you?” question when first talking to other people. Most of the time, we don’t really mean it since it’s just a formality. This is a perfect opportunity for you to self-promote. Next time your boss walks by and says “what’s up?” or “how are you?” instead of being unprepared and saying “not much” or “good” make it an opportunity to talk about the progress of your latest project or of a recent accomplishment.

If randomly bringing it up feels too awkward and sales-pitchy, you can wait for more opportune times when it’s ok to talk about yourself. Wait until you have your annual review with your boss and present a list of all your accomplishments and achievements you made during the year. If presented in a structured and thought-out manner, it can make a good impression on your supervisor.

Just Say it
Sometimes you have to throw caution to the wind and speak your mind. While it’s good to be cautious of what you say and self-censorship can be a useful skill, for those who are shy, it can be a hindrance. Shy workers can kill their own best ideas because they’re too self-critical. Rather than getting held back by negative thoughts, focus on what co-workers and managers are saying, then use that as a basis to elaborate. When you stop focusing on yourself and instead focus on the ideas being presented, you start to brainstorm and provide valuable input for your employer.

Building relationships and getting noticed by management doesn’t happen overnight. It can take time to build trust and demonstrate how valuable you are to your employer. Luckily for us introverts, our strongest abilities are patience and planning, which can give us an advantage when the word “promotion” starts floating around the workplace. What are some tricks you’ve used to help step outside of your comfort zone while at work?

At Work Career Advancement

How to Take Full Advantage of Your Staffing Agency

By Jared Cole on Saturday, June 23, 2012

When you’re between jobs, it can feel like you’re walking in an endless desert. It’s like you’ve been there forever and you can’t do anything else but walk aimlessly. The truth is, your job search doesn’t have to be that way. Many job seekers and workers have discovered the benefits of working for a staffing agency.

Access to temporary work full-time jobs aren’t the only things staffing agencies have to offer. More than just providing work, they can help you develop a stronger job search outside of employment experience. Here are some lesser-known benefits of staffing agencies that you can take advantage of.

Résumé Review
One of the biggest perks of working with a staffing agency is your direct access to résumé experts. Your recruiter sees a large number of résumés every day, so they are often times well versed in the dos and don’ts of effective writing. This perk is often overlooked because workers are under the impression that since they are already working, their résumé doesn’t need work.

All résumés need to be constantly updated. Who better than your recruiter to help you best outline and describe your temporary work experience in a manner that’s appealing to employers? If you’re interested in tightening or critiquing your résumé, talk to your recruiter. It’s free to schedule a time aside for you to go over the ins and outs of résumé writing. If your agency can’t, they can refer you to someone who can.

Resource Libraries
It’s important for staffing agencies to have employee satisfaction, retention, morale, and motivation. That’s why many agencies have meetings and lectures focused on helping you plan, succeed, and grow in your career. These gatherings let you discuss and learn about job related issues from experts and peers, which help build a better working relationship between the recruiter and you.

Most staffing agencies have resources full of useful information on interviewing, workplace etiquette, cover letter writing, and networking. When you develop stronger job skills, you’ll be better enabled to achieve your career goals, and your staffing firm will have a more qualified worker to place for its clients.

Software Training
Sometimes you have to take several placement tests before you can schedule an interview with a recruiter. Depending on what field and pay rate you want to be in, or where you want to go in your career, you might be tested on more than just basic use of word processors. Some clerical positions require more than a basic knowledge of Microsoft Office, and with the program frequently changing and updating, it can be difficult to keep up with it on your own.

If you want to enhance your office software skills, most agencies allow you to come in during your days off to train yourself. Recruiters will be impressed seeing you take the initiative to educate yourself and improve your skills. Employers like to see candidates get closer to their career goals by improving skills from programs offered by staffing firms.

While there may be some misconception s about staffing agencies, there are several opportunities for you to learn and grow as a job seeker. What are some ways you’ve taken advantage of programs offered by staffing firms?

At Work Cube Life

Are You “That Guy?”

By Jared Cole on Wednesday, June 20, 2012

We’ve all worked with them. That one person at work who just doesn’t seem to get it. Maybe the person is loud-mouthed, annoying, or just trying too hard, and is always getting on everyone’s nerves.

Most of the time, they don’t realize how many problems they can be causing in the office. While there are several ways of handling difficult co-workers, many team members have no idea they are being “that person” who is causing problems. Here are some ways you can identify if you’re being a difficult co-worker and how you can fix those annoying habits.

You’re Just Not Fitting in
Even though it may not be in the company handbook, each employer has their own company culture, which has its own etiquette, expectation, and accepted behaviors. It could be the way you dress, the words you say, or even how you use emails. Pay attention to how your managers and co-workers behave and take in the unspoken rules of conduct. Also, look through your emails to make sure you aren’t marketing your emails urgent, or Cc’ing or Bcc’ing every email. If you are, you’re being “that guy.” When in doubt, ask your manager for advice.

Workplace Slob
There are several reasons to keep your workplace tidy, but a dirty workspace can communicate several bad messages to your co-workers and management. Many people work in communal areas and shared workspaces, so by not keeping your space clean, you aren’t respecting the others who are using the same space. While you may think it’s a sign that you’re busy, most think it’s a sign of laziness.

There are places other than your workspace you can keep tidy, too. If you eat at a restaurant for lunch and bring back leftovers, make sure to take it home after work or eat it in the next few days. It can be very annoying to co-workers when the company fridge is full of half-eaten food and forgotten-about lunch sacks.

Prim and Proper Failure
Noise and smells can travel, especially if you’re working in a un-secluded part of an office or warehouse. Take the time to freshen up a bit after bicycling to work, working out during your lunch break, or eating a meal that makes your breath smell. If you work closely with other people, they will notice and it will reflect poorly on your professional image.

Also, pay attention to how people react to the volume of your voice and what you generally talk about. Some colleagues across the office may not want to hear about your weekend plans. Ask around if the music you listen to is disturbing your fellow co-workers. These types of interferences can slow down productivity and quickly gain you a bad reputation.

Negative Nancy
While you may need to vent your frustrations to a confidant to relieve stress, complaining too much can make you look bad. Such strong negativity can make your co-workers feel like you aren’t a good worker or that your negative outlook is draining. Consciously try to be positive and respectful. You may not care, but avoid interrupting colleagues or discounting others’ ideas. A few kind words can help you build stronger relationships with your peers.

Working with the same people every day can be hard, but bad behavior can make things even worse. Not being “that guy” may be a simple mix of workplace etiquette and common sense, but they’re still good to keep in mind. What are some annoying behaviors you’ve faced at work?

At Work Career Advancement

8 Ways to Move Into Management

By Movin On' Up on Thursday, June 14, 2012

If you’re looking to take the next step in your career and move into a management position, it’s important to show others that you can do the job.

A management role brings a new title and often a higher salary, but it also brings new responsibilities. How can you tell if you’re management material?

Executives look for certain traits and qualities when they’re reviewing candidates for a management position. Here are eight tips to give you the leg up as you look toward a role in management.

1. Model yourself after other managers and leaders. Look for managers, supervisors, and leaders in your workplace who are well-liked and respected. Observe how they interact with others, and duplicate their actions. They’re admired for a reason, so if you follow in their footsteps chances are, you’ll be favored too.

2. Display a solid work ethic. When you’re looking to move into another position, make sure you continue to fulfill your current position’s responsibilities. If you start slacking off on your duties when a higher position catches your eye, supervisors will take notice and may think you’ll demonstrate the same work ethic in a new role. Prove you’re a hard worker, and you’ll be recognized for your commitment and dependability. When you give 110% to your tasks, you’ll stand out and have the edge over equally qualified candidates.

3. Volunteer for extra work. Once you’ve completed all of your tasks, offer to take on a new task or help a co-worker complete a project. Taking on new responsibilities will help you familiarize yourself with other operations you may oversee as a manager. Then you’ll be able to add your new capabilities to your résumé.

4. Excel at working with others. Learn to play a variety of roles on your team, because there will be different times when you need to be a leader, participant, and supporter. As a coach, take the lead and guide others when they need assistance. As a team player, be cooperative and considerate of others without trying to overrule them. And as the team cheerleader, encourage and praise others for their efforts.

5. Keep your skills competitive. Take advantage of every opportunity to improve your skills. Participate in leadership classes, because as a manager you’ll need to know how to effectively lead. Also, enroll in training courses and seminars that cover topics related to your field. With a wider knowledge base and higher skill level, you’ll be a prime candidate for management positions.

6. Share your ambitions with your boss. Talk to your supervisor and let him or her know you’re interested in moving into a management position. Tell them why you think you’re ready to take the next step in your career, and ask for their help, suggestions, or feedback. Your supervisor can help you develop the necessary skills to become an effective manager and can act as a mentor during your career move. If you’re looking to move up within the company, you’ll probably need your boss’s approval anyway, so it’s best to get their support in advance.

7. Practice your management skills. Work on increasing your strengths and turning your weaknesses into strengths. Volunteer for an organization or civic group within your community so you can gain experience managing a small group. Make sure to practice the skills you’ll need as a manager, such as communication, scheduling projects, creating timelines, allocating resources, and budgeting funds.

8. Dress the part. For any manager to be taken seriously, they have to dress appropriately. Show the hiring manager and other executives that you can professionally represent the company by dressing the part. If you don’t make the right impression through your appearance, you might be passed up for the job for someone with equal qualifications with a more professional look. Remember, dress for the job you want, not the job you have.

If it’s time to take the next step in your career and move into a management position, make sure that you are prepared to do so. Update your skills, put your experience to practice, and demonstrate your qualifications before you make the jump. Put yourself ahead of the other candidates and land the promotion you’re after by getting yourself ready for the job now.

At Work The Daily Grind

Warning! You Might Have More Fun at Work After Reading This

By Jared Cole on Wednesday, June 6, 2012

We’ve been there before. You’ve hit that entry-level slump where time seems to slow down and boredom is on the rise. Maybe job duties become repetitive or insignificant, and you start playing the game of counting down until the end of the work day.

Starting at the bottom and working your way to the top can seem very dull and boring at first. At some points, your workspace may look more like a prison. You start thinking of things you’d rather be doing and consider treating your boss like the office governor and begging for a pardon. It doesn’t have to be that way. Working at your job doesn’t have to be a constant battle with your clock.

The truth is you can actually enjoy yourself while at work. Keeping a positive attitude will not only help you be more productive, but it can also reflect favorably on your managers when they see you inject some life into the workplace. Here are some ways you can add some pizzazz to your workday.

Trim Your To-Do List
Take a look at your to-do list. Do you really have to accomplish all of it in one day? Odds are, you’ve already scheduled too many things into your workday. This can really bring down your fun, because deep down, you know you probably won’t get to everything on the list. Go ahead, shave off a few of the items and give yourself some extra padding on your other projects.

Cutting back on your daily project list won’t make you less productive, but will give you the time to make your projects your own. Take the extra time to look at your tasks differently and try to innovate. Some of the best ideas can come out of the strangest places when you brainstorm and think outside of the box. You’ll end up having fun and can show your managers that you’re leadership material with your new ideas.

Look Forward to Something
As soon as you clock in for work, you might long for the warmth of your bed or the welcoming arms of your recliner. One of the biggest reasons workers dread getting up in the morning is that they don’t plan any fun activities for themselves throughout the day. You should utilize breaks, if you aren’t already, to inject fun. You may think that you don’t have time, but your productivity will improve in the long run. Having little things to look forward to during the day greatly speeds up the day and lightens the mood. Try spicing up your shift with breaks that include activities you really enjoy outside of your work area. Catch up on your favorite TV show or book, take a walk outside, work on an art project, put together a jigsaw puzzle, or anything else that makes you look forward to the next break.

You don’t even have to take breaks alone. Find some co-workers who share your interests and invite them to take a 15 minute break to play a short game, discuss events from last night’s TV show, share photography, or any other activities you share. You’ll have fun as the day goes on, and you’ll also be able to grow and foster working relationships and friendship with co-workers, which can help your teambuilding skills.

Bribe Your Co-Workers
One of the best ways to beat the boredom at work is to involve others in the fun. While some may enjoy seclusion, eventually it will get to you. Odds are, there are several other co-workers looking for fun and excitement in the workplace too. Don’t be the one hoping fun comes to you, be the one who creates the fun. Email your co-workers asking for a joke and offer the one who submits the funniest joke a cup of coffee, or surprise co-workers with breakfast like bagels or fruit trays. If food isn’t your specialty, try making a CD of your favorite music to give to your co-workers or craft a special gift tailored to each co-worker. Have fun with your ideas and use your imagination, but always check with your manager before using any of your ideas or the ones listed in this blog.

You can also have fun by changing your workload with other workers or departments. Get with your boss and ask to help out another department with a project. You’ll get to meet people you might not be familiar with, your work will be a little different, and you’ll grow your skills set to be a more rounded employee.

The daily grind doesn’t have to be full of doom and gloom. A few simple things can help turn your attitude and performance around. While “entry-level” sounds Latin for “enter boredom,” it references a place to help get you where you’d like to go. In order to get there, you should have a little fun along the way. What have you tried to put a little spice in your daily work routine?

Career Options Current Affairs The Job Search

Doctor Who’s Guide to Job Searching Across Space and Time

By Jared Cole on Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Allons-y and Geronimo job seekers! If you’re not familiar with Doctor Who, it’s the longest-running science-fiction TV program of all time. With nearly 800 episodes, the show has been on British television since 1963. The story is about The Doctor, an eccentric alien who befriends companions from Earth to travel across space and time in his time machine, the TARDIS.

While Doctor Who is a family program teaching viewers to better understand each other through knowledge and compassion, there are several correlations to the job market that The Doctor can teach you as well. Here are some lessons you can learn from the Doctor’s adventures that you can use to help your job search, no matter where or when you are.

Do What You Can With What You Have
Most of the time, The Doctor is able to protect the universe and beat the bad guys with his intellect, sonic screwdriver, and trusty time machine. But, the doctor will often have to figure out ways of saving the day without his handy, dandy gadgets. In one episode, the TARDIS gets trapped in the time vortex by an unknown alien force with one of The Doctor’s companions still trapped inside while the doctor is stuck in modern-day England. To find the alien threat, The Doctor has to fit in as an ordinary human and build a tracking device out of lampshades, paddle oars, and shopping carts in his room. You can get an idea of what the Doctor has to do without being discovered by the alien threat in the video below.

Please note, the video clips herein and their sponsors do not necessarily represent the views of Express and are used for educational purposes only.

Just like how The Doctor has to take the junk he finds and play like a human to save people, you as a job seeker should be as adaptable. If you find dead ends in your job search, you may have to consider alternatives like freelancing, going back to school for special training, or look into staffing agencies. Sometimes a job in another area can lead to something much more desirable.

Finding a Job is Like a Big Ball of Wibbley Wobbely, Timey Wimey… Stuff
The story in the Doctor Who episode “Blink” folds upon itself and doesn’t follow a strict line of progression. It correlates to the way The Doctor sees time. In the episode, he is trapped in 1969 and needs help from two characters in 2007 through a DVD recording and explains this theory in a way only The Doctor can explain.

Since The Doctor sees time as a giant ball of wibbley wobbely, timey wimey stuff, job seekers should treat their search in the same way. Job seeking isn’t just about handing a résumé to a recruiter, manager, or decision maker, then get the interview, then get the job offer. Opportunities to find a job can be found in unconventional places. Making a good impression at a job fair could lead to an unexpected opportunity later in life, providing content on LinkedIn could catch the eye of someone who could offer work, or being active in a hobby or activity could lead you to working in that industry. There are opportunities out there, we just might not know when or how they appear.

Regenerate When you Need to, Like a Time Lord
One of The Doctor’s most famous abilities is to regenerate his physical form when he’s about to die. When he changes, he still keeps all of his memories, motives, and skills, but his looks, personality, and attitude change. This puts The Doctor in new situations, planets, and interactions with different allies.

Just like The Doctor changes during his adventures, as a job seeker, you should too. You should be the same person with the same talents, motivations, and soft skills, but you should adapt your message, résumé, and cover letter to highlight your specific skills that fit the job description you’re applying for. Sending the same stock application to every job posting will get much fewer results than customizing your work to match the needs of each job and employer.

No matter where you are in your job search, you can always use a little push by learning from The Doctor. If he can chase his dreams across time and space, you can achieve your job searching goals.