Tag Archives: search

4 Questions to Uncover If Your Workspace is Out of Control

out_of_control_desk_Feb2014When was the last time you paused and took a good look at your desk? Sure, you’re busy and work is crazy – we get that. But an out-of-control workspace is only going to make it worse. Your environment impacts your own productivity, efficiency, and attitude, as well those of your co-workers.

So how do you objectively determine if your workspace is just a little untidy or a complete mess? First, you have to stop running from one project to another and spend some time in your workspace. Take a good look around. Then ask yourself these four questions to uncover if it’s out of control.

How does your workspace make you feel?
As you gaze across your desk, how do you feel? If the state of your workspace leaves you feeling assured, confident, and in control, then you’re probably in good shape. But, if the sight of your workspace induces feelings of panic, uncertainty, or insecurity, then it’s probably out of control.

Does your space hinder your productivity?
Now think about how you work in your area. How often do you waste time searching for files, digging for a pen, or sifting through papers? In a Forbes article, Susan Kousek, a Certified Professional Organizer, said, “For many people, it’s difficult to focus when their desk is filled with papers, phone messages, business cards, magazines, and newsletters, especially when the layers are inches high.” A workspace that’s out of control can take a toll on your efficiency and productivity.

Are your visitors and co-workers comfortable?
Unless you work alone at home, your workspace impacts others. You need to consider if visitors and co-workers are at ease when they stop by your desk. Are they able to focus on you and the task at hand? Or are they too busy dodging stacks of folders and being distracted by the clutter? If you’re brave enough, you might even ask the next person who stops by if they think your area is out of control.

Does it come across as unprofessional?
Your workspace says a lot about you and your work ethic. And the number one thing you don’t want is for it to come across as unprofessional. According to the Huffington Post, a messy desk is “often associated with disorganization, thereby giving others around you the impression that you may not have your work (or life) under control.” Don’t let your co-workers, superiors, or customers get the wrong idea about you based on an out-of-control workspace.

Based on those questions, is your workspace out of control? If the answer is yes, don’t panic. Just take it a step at a time, and before long you’ll have a tidy workspace. Organizing your desk and work area might take a little effort and time, but the end result will be a workspace that inspires feelings of confidence, productivity, and professionalism for everyone who enters.

How out-of-control has your workspace gotten? What tips do you have for organizing and maintaining your desk and workspace? Share your experiences below.

Poll: What do you think the impact on jobs will be if the minimum wage is raised?

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How would an increase in minimum wage affect jobs and hiring? The debate has been circulating for a while over whether a higher minimum wage will cause more people to accept the current job openings or whether those jobs will be eliminated by companies due to the increase in cost to their business. Let us know what you think by voting in our poll.

Job Search Lessons from 2014 Olympics

Gold_Medal_Feb2014Do you have aspirations of getting a better job or growing your career? Watching the Olympics could help. Every time the Olympic Games roll around, I enjoy watching different athletes from across the world compete, and I anticipate seeing my favorite athletes win gold. This year, that was not the case for one of my favorite sports to watch: snowboarding. But instead of turning off the TV as soon as I realized my favorite snowboarder and two-time gold medalist, Shaun White, wasn’t going to place, I decided to stay tuned in to see who won. Here are some of the lessons I learned.

Get Back Up and Don’t Give Up

It’s a tough fact of life to learn; you don’t always win, no matter how hard you try or how far in advance you prepare. That fact was made evident during the final halfpipe competition in Sochi. While watching the Olympics, I was reminded that no matter how much a professional athlete prepares, they may not win, but that doesn’t mean they give up. Soon after the halfpipe competition was over, Shaun was interviewed and asked what happened. Instead of blaming it on the snow or the conditions, he said he’d be back next time and he was happy for the guys who did well! What a great attitude to have! We can learn so much from that statement itself. Just because you haven’t landed a job or moved up in your company as fast as you’d like, it doesn’t mean you need to give up or stop trying. The agony of defeat is never easy to handle, but getting back up, working hard, and trying again will help improve your skills and chances of getting that new job or promotion you’ve been looking for.

Learn from Your Mistakes

Unfortunately, making mistakes is a normal part of life. Failure even happens to the best of the best. What’s important to learn from Olympic winners and even those who won’t be taking home a medal is that these athletes don’t let mistakes defeat them. In fact, you’ll probably see many of the same athletes in four years at the next Winter Olympics. It’s important to learn from your mistakes, make the corrections that are needed, and use those lessons to help shape your future. If you’ve been looking for a new job for a while or if you’re ready to go to the next level in your current job, take a look back at what has been slowing you down in the past or getting you off track and work to take care of those mistakes so you won’t drag that baggage with you to the next level. Also, seek feedback from co-workers or friends and make necessary changes.

What are some lessons you’ve learned from the Olympics? Share with us in the comments section below!

Fall in Love with Your Job: Whether it’s a New Job or Your Next Job

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by stress or if you’re not loving your job anymore, it’s probably time for something new or a fresh perspective. Changing your job could be just what you need, but there’s more to it. Changing your job won’t fix everything. Here are some quick tips to keep in mind when looking for a new job.

Make the Most of Things

Analyze your day and “to-do” list to determine what tasks you prefer to do the most and what tasks you put off until the last minute. Find ways to make unpleasant tasks more enjoyable.  Don’t lose yourself in the everyday monotony of your work. If you struggled at your old job with meeting deadlines or if you didn’t enjoy your work at all, try looking at things in a new light. Figure out more efficient ways to get your work done at your new job. Don’t fall back into the rut of hating your job; make the most of where you are.

Have a Good Attitude

Having a good attitude will help you stay positive going into your new job. If you struggle with being positive don’t let a negative mindset ruin your new job. If you’ve ever thought your job doesn’t matter, remember everyone in the company plays a role in its success. Your individual job is important to the business you work for. So have confidence and pride in your work and do your best to keep a good attitude.

Having Fun

Having fun does not mean to neglect your duties, but rather, change your attitude so you don’t see every job you do as a tedious task. Doing your job with a more positive attitude and focusing on the parts that are more fun for you will help you become more productive and help lighten your overall mood. Make your job fun by setting goals for yourself or incorporating friendly competition into your work. Competing with co-workers not only improves the overall performance of work in many instances, but by having someone to compare yourself against, it will highlight your strengths and weaknesses. If you find a way to work together, you can help compensate each other’s weaknesses and build on both your strengths.

Do you love your job and have your own tips to share with us? Let us know in the comments section below.

Poll: Why Did You Leave Your Last Job?

MOV_POLL-ICONWith the new year underway, many workers are resolving to get a new job, according to a CareerBuilder survey. In fact one in five people plan to change jobs in 2014. Whether you’re planning to leave your current job or if you’ve already made the move and are searching for a new position, let us know why you left your last job.

While You Wait

Patty Prosser, chair of consulting firm OI Partners, suggests being open to alternative employment opportunities in an improving economy. “There is increased demand for contract, freelance, and part-time work. Position yourself to take advantage of these employment options,” she says.

So since 20% of those with jobs plan to leave for other opportunities, we want to know why you plan to leave or have already left your last job. Let us know by voting in our poll.

Ditch the Title and Get the Job You Really Want

Guest_Post_Ditch_the-Title_and_Get_the_Job_You_Really_Want_Jan2014Appearances mean a lot to most of us, from the labels we wear and where we live to our job titles. It’s the social norm when meeting a new person to ask, “What do you do for a living?” And although some of us may not be completely conscious of it, we place a lot of stock in our answer. We grow up with the mantra “don’t judge a book by its cover,” but in all reality, we are all guilty of judging others, no matter how hard we try not to.

We are often judged by what we do when it comes to first impressions, and the bigger the title, the more respect we deserve in the eyes of others. It can be hard to give up a title like “lead manager,” “editor in chief,” or even “CEO,” for a job that makes you happier. But, I speak from experience when I say that sticking with a job because of it’s title is like paying $2,000 for a Puggle – when it comes down to it, it’s really just a mutt.

I learned this firsthand when after just a few weeks as an intern, I was promoted to the coveted editor position of one of San Diego’s largest travel and tourism websites. My boss chalked it up to my “can-do” attitude and ability to conquer any challenge. It came with a menial raise (barely noticeable) and a few new business cards, but none of that mattered because I was an editor. I didn’t know what I was doing or how I was going to tackle this task, all I knew was that I was given the title and it was time to fill the shoes. Over the next few months, I fumbled around learning the ins and outs of travel sites through trial and error and somehow ended up transforming the failing website into one that actually made a profit.

I was also taking full advantage of editor perks, flashing my business cards around town and reaping the benefits of it with free cruises, comped concerts and dinners, and a sudden flurry of social activities on my calendar. It was fun, exciting, and definitely felt good to meet a stranger and tell them what I did, but in reality, it wasn’t what I wanted. Sure the perks were great, but I was being worked to the bone, paid pennies, and constantly struggling to keep my head above water. I thought I’d run with it for a while, learn everything I could, and use it as a major stepping stone for my resume, but when it was time to move on, I had a hard time letting go of the title.

What’s in a title anyway?
Absolutely nothing. You can slap a big title on anything and make it sound better than it is. We get attached to titles and personas. Being called “editor” felt good and gave me some additional unearned respect among my peers, but really I was doing the same work everyone else was with a little more clout.

When I finally made the real decision to move on and job hunt, I quickly realized just how little that editor title was doing for me. Other companies had a starting salary that was higher than what I was making, better benefits, and a friendlier environment. I ditched the title and took a new job without the glitz and glam, but that made me a lot happier and put some money in my pocket. I may not be attending the biggest parties and rubbing elbows with the who’s who of San Diego any longer, but I have a job that makes me happy. I work for an awesome company and most importantly, I’m doing work that I’m proud of.

So, what can job seekers learn from this?
Basically, don’t jump at a job because it has a great title. Take a closer look at the jobs you are applying for and open your mind to the less high-profile positions, because they may be exactly what you’re looking for. Sure a big title can feel good, but just like any relationship, eventually the butterflies wear off and you’re left with what’s in front of you. Don’t let yourself be romanced by the title, choose your next professional position based upon the work, environment, and how much the employers respect their employees. There are many more important aspects to a job than what’s on your business card and if it means that much to you, you can always call yourself something fancy like a mobile sustenance facilitator instead of a pizza delivery guy – no one will know the difference.

About the Author
This article was written by Carli Leavitt. Carli currently handles outreach and public relations for a number of attorneys and is an SEO Consultant with Highrank Websites.

What You Should be Sharing on LinkedIn

PRD12MOV_POLL-ICON_100X100LinkedIn is a social media network that is focused on the networking of business professionals. As of June 2013, LinkedIn reported more than 225 million acquired users in over 200 countries. One purpose of the site is to allow users to maintain a list of contacts with whom they have some level of relationship, these are called Connections. With your LinkedIn connections, you can share thoughts, articles or other content-rich websites from several places. This is known as posting an update or sharing an update. You can use the share box, located on your profile, to share a wide variety of information also.

You can browse through LinkedIn’s job search page and find jobs from accounting to human resources to sales jobs.  You can also search for jobs in specific locations.
If you’re looking for a job or just looking to network, LinkedIn is a great social media tool to help you. If you’re new to social media and LinkedIn, here is a tutorial to help you get started. It’s important to set up professional work-related social media profiles. This will help you build a professional image with future employers when they research your name. Check out this blog for more tips on job searching.

Your updates may be shared with your LinkedIn connections via email depending on their email settings. Learn more about adjusting your email settings.

Have you landed a job through LinkedIn? Share with us in the comment section below.