It may sound cheesy, but every leader needs a vision. Not eyesight or x-ray vision, but a vision: a goal that resonates with your heart. Some people struggling with setting a vision, seeing it as too weird or impractical, but even the most logical person needs a goal that appeals to more than just the [...]
The Importance of Handling Conflict Well
It’s inevitable that when you’re a leader, you will have to deal with conflict at some point. This is one of the primary skills required for great leadership, so it’s essential that you learn how to do this well.
Most problems in organizations and groups get started from small conflicts that simply grew bigger. The [...]
Leadership: Fostering an Atmosphere of Courage
In the workplace or at home, it’s important when you are a leader to foster an atmosphere of courage. This may seem cheesy or rather strange; after all, we tend to think of courage being what it takes to pull people out of building fires, not go about our everyday work or home lives. It’s [...]
How to Handle Difficult Customers As a Leader
If you are in customer service, or your business deals with customers (hint: nearly every business does), you have probably had to handle a difficult customer before. This applies even more so to leaders, who are often called upon to resolve disputes between junior workers and customers.
It’s almost inevitable to handle this as a leader, [...]
How to Give Constructive Criticism
One of the greatest burdens on any leader is the responsibility to give constructive criticism to team members and those around you. Particularly in a work environment, you are expected to be a voice of reason and pick apart others’ ideas, but it’s difficult to do so when emotions run high. Some people become naturally [...]
The Five Qualities of Great Leaders
When you study great leaders through history, or even a selection of great leaders who exist today, you will notice that they have certain qualities in common. There are personality traits that help to define who exactly is a great leader and who isn’t. With enough work, you can try to develop these same traits [...]
Rewarding Failure: A Good Leadership Move
Traditionally, failure has had some pretty heavy connotations attached to it. A failure on the part of the person turns the person into a failure, failure is touted as something to avoid at all costs, and everyone dreads failure. But what if we’re taking the wrong approach to looking at failure?
We know that innovation requires [...]
Management vs. Leadership
Are all managers leaders? Are all leaders managers? It sounds like one of those brain quiz questions, but it’s a serious question that deserves consideration. Many of us assume that leadership and management are the same thing, when they aren’t at all. There are a number of differences between management and leadership, but some people [...]
How to Motivate Without Crushing Souls
Nobody wants to be the boss from Office Space, who earns the dislike and hatred of their employees. All of us would like to think we’re a well-liked, effective boss who gets things done and pleases everyone. How can you motivate your employees without making them feel like they’ve had their soul crushed by the [...]
Communication for Leadership Success
Nearly everyone agrees that leaders require great communication skills. Leadership, in part, is about communication, and being able to transmit and receive ideas without interference and misunderstandings.
The topic of communication for leadership success is relevant to everyone, because everybody leads sometimes. Even if you don’t hold an “official” leadership role in politics, the workplace, or [...]
Work-Life Balance and Working From Home
Though many employees struggle with achieving and maintaining a healthy work-life balance, this is particularly true of those who work from home, whether for an employer or as freelancers or entrepreneurs.
Despite the fact that cellphones can blur them, most individuals who work from an office have fairly clear boundaries drawn between work and home. [...]
Workaholism and Our Culture
Most people have heard about the destructive effects of addictions on the lives of ordinary people, but fewer know about the addiction that our society actually encourages: workaholism. It’s more than a made-up name for a made-up phenomenon; estimates are difficult to obtain, but support groups exist for people who have an addiction to work, [...]
The Employer’s Responsibility in Maintaining Employee Work-Life Balance
When it comes to work-life balance, opinions are divided on just how much responsibility the employer has for helping their employees to maintain one. Traditionally, the employers would be one of the demands in their employees’ lives, trying to get as much work out of them as possible, but now that they are growing aware [...]
How to Stop and Think About Your Work-Life Balance
In the busy, always-moving world we live in, it’s hard to take time to ourselves and think. It’s even harder to admit that perhaps our lives aren’t what we’d envisioned, and take steps to improve them. For many of us, work isn’t the only priority, but neither is family; the key is to achieve some [...]
Five Tips to Live a Little More
There’s no clear estimate on the number of people who suffer from a skewed work-life balance and need to incorporate a little more life into it. Certainly, nobody dies wishing they had worked more and lived less. So make the most of your precious time and enjoy yourself while you’re not at work!
Many people use [...]
Meditation for Career Success
If you’re like most of us, you separate your work and your personal life. You go to work, come home to your family and friends, and then relax. The moments of joy in your life are probably not associated with your job, and when they are, it’s an unusual occurrence.
Meditation for career success may seem [...]
How to Live Healthily while Working Full-Time
When you come home from your work, what do you usually do? For many full-time workers, the answer is “turn on the TV, grab junk food, and relax on the sofa”. Unfortunately, this is the wrong answer if you want to maintain a healthy lifestyle. A healthy lifestyle includes proper exercise and nutrition, getting enough [...]
How to Avoid Burnout When Working Two Jobs
Maybe you’re already working two jobs (or more!), or maybe you’re considering it. Either way, you probably know that working multiple jobs is a quick path to burnout if you aren’t careful. This can be avoided, however, and you might even find yourself enjoying having multiple jobs if you go about it the right way.
If [...]
Cutting Down Your Commute Stress
Do you find yourself defensive, tensed up, and aggressive by the time you get to work? Consider whether your commute stress is starting to bleed into your job performance; if so, you can take steps to reduce the stress of a long commute and make sure you are relaxed, happy, and ready for the work [...]
Changing Your Work-Life Balance: When and How
Finding balance may seem like an impossible chore, but it really isn’t. When you work a lot and have a personal life to keep running too, the key is to listen to yourself and use past experiences to help you decide how to handle present situations.
Your attitude about change is one of the crucial things [...]
Top 10 Work at Home Jobs
Maybe you want to work online, or maybe you’re just curious what all the fuss is about work at home jobs. Either way, many people are curious what kind of jobs are available working at home. Here are some of the top jobs!
Blogger
Maintaining and updating an online job might not sound like hard work, but [...]
What Are Virtual Assistants?
You might have heard the term “virtual assistant” being used before or might want to become one yourself, but many people don’t know exactly what a virtual assistant is, why they are necessary, or how to become one.
A virtual assistant (or VA) is an administrative assistant who works remotely, usually online. They are working professionals [...]
Three Jobs for Stay at Home Moms
Mothers today are choosing more and more to stay home with their infants and benefit from being able to care for their baby without leaving him in the care of a stranger for eight or more hours per day. Not only do mother and baby get to bond more, but this is a great way [...]
How to Work From Home
The opportunity to work from home is a relatively new development, as telecommuting, self-employment, and online work become more popular. This means that while we are all familiar with the etiquette of the office and how to find and keep a job, many people aren’t sure how to work from home, even when they have [...]
How to Find Multiple Online Income Streams
When you are working from home, you are responsible for your own income. Of course, this can be both a good thing and a bad one! The flexibility this allows means that you can actually hold multiple jobs and not spend any additional time in a different workplace, commuting, or trying to learn the ropes [...]
How to Build a Work at Home Career
The numbers don’t lie. Statistics show that the popularity of self-employment increases with age, and for good reason. Older workers in particular are starting to long for more freedom and flexibility, which self-employment can provide. Younger workers, meanwhile, might have more difficulty entering the workforce due to a lack of experience and a shortage of [...]
Gaining Employment Through a Work at Home Forum
Have you ever heard that networking is the best way to get a job? Even in the digital age, this remains true. As a result, many online jobseekers find that joining a work at home forum is a great way to get to know others in similar situations. Not only is it good to talk [...]
Finding Part Time Online Jobs
A popular trend these days is finding part time online jobs. Many people have heard about the advantages of having a part-time job, but they don’t know where to begin finding one, or how to apply to one.
Advantages of Part Time Online Jobs
The advantages of a part time online job are obvious, but it’s worth [...]
Are Work at Home Sites Legitimate?
You have no doubt seen the ads for work at home sites promising endless riches while you sit in your pajamas at home. Seemingly impossible amounts of money are, apparently, possible with very little effort. Before choosing to sign up, however, you want to do some research and find out whether work at home sites [...]
Are All Data Entry Jobs Scams?
If you have ever looked for a job online, you probably already know about the numerous “data entry job” scams. Yet perhaps you have heard success stories of people who really did make a great income by entering data for their employers, and you want to know if all data entry jobs are scams.
No, not [...]
What You Should Ask in a Job Interview
A deceptively simple question, upon which so much rests… “Do you have any questions?” your interviewer inquires, and you stumble, stutter, and mumble your way to say, “No,” and leave as quickly as possible.
Not being prepared for this question, or worse, avoiding it, shows a lack of interest in the job and company. This is [...]
What Not to Do or Say in an Interview
When you’re attending a job interview, every chance you have to make a good impression counts. Experienced interviewers have some horror stories of interviews to tell, and you don’t want to be one of the characters! These simple tips will help you avoid making the embarrassing gaffes that will cost you the job.
1. Don’t be [...]
Top Three Myths (and Truths) About Job Searching
In the world of job hunting, many myths float around. Unfortunately, some job searchers who have never learned the truths about them end up falling prey to these myths, spending time looking for a job that they could have already gotten, had they known the truth.
These three widely circulating myths are among the top offenders. [...]
Negotiating a Salary When Job Hunting
In an ideal world, none of us would really care what salary we made. Of course, this isn’t a Utopian world where we don’t have to worry about mortgages, retirement, or savings accounts. In practice, being able to negotiate your salary when searching for a job can make the difference between being stuck in a [...]
Mind Your Manners: Behaving Properly After an Interview
The interviewer shakes your hand and you leave the interview room. Does this mean your responsibility is over, and it’s completely up to them to make the next move now, whatever you do?
If you answered “yes”, it’s unsurprising: most people have forgotten that how they behave after the interview can have just as much of [...]
How to Reduce Job Interview Stress
Your hands are shaking, your palms are sweaty, and you think you can hear every tick the clock makes as the seconds drag by. When the job interview is over, regardless of how it went, you’re so thankful to be out of it that you flee. This didn’t make a good impression with your employer, [...]
How to Find a Paid Internship
Almost everyone knows the benefits that can come with landing a paid internship, but the prospect of actually finding that position can be very intimidating. Luckily, as the thousands of paid interns currently working for companies (from the biggest to the small ones) can attest, it is certainly possible. In fact, motivation and determination can [...]
How to Dress for an Interview
You have no doubt heard the saying: “dress to impress”. It has been said so often that it has become something of a cliché now, but that does not mean it’s any less true! Your first impression on your potential employer could be your last, if you do not make an effort to dress well.
Basic [...]
Five Secrets of a Successful Job Searcher
Shh… If you tell anyone, it might ruin the secret, but there are a number of traits that most successful job searchers — who become successful employees — have in common. If you incorporate these secrets into your own job search, you might become an employee too!
1. Don’t sit around waiting.
Believe it or not, this [...]
Five Great College Degree Jobs
Are you not enthusiastic about the prospect of four years of higher education in the hallowed halls of a long-standing university? Are you looking to make a mid-life career change? Are you unable to afford to an expensive university degree?
College education may be the perfect solution for you, for a variety of reasons. Those who [...]
Why Choosing a Career on Salary Alone is a Bad Idea
Young people like college students who are discussing the reasons for their choices of careers are far too likely to cite “I’ll get paid a lot!” as one of the top reasons. Yet fewer people actually in the work force will admit to salary being one of their top motivators. This reason for choosing a [...]
What to Do When You Get an Unfair Performance Review
Getting an unfair performance review can be a crushing or infuriating thing to experience. Unfortunately, you might not be able to change it, but sometimes it’s possible, so you should know what to do both immediately and over the few days or weeks following the review so you don’t sabotage your own efforts to set [...]
The Short Guide to Successful Career Changes
The idea of a career change can be scary or exciting, depending on how you approach it. Here are some tips for planning the major step of changing your career without breaking the bank.
When to make the career change is one of the first things to decide. Are you looking to enter a new career [...]
Survival Tips for a Hostile Workplace
Does your office feel like a World War II battlefield, complete with the “Axis of Evil”, the Allies (perhaps your coworkers or supportive family members), daily battles of words, and constant tension? This kind of workplace is more common than you might think, unfortunately. The good news is that others have gone through this and [...]
Signs and Symptoms of Job Burnout
Job burnout can be a nasty thing. No matter how much you loved your career, how much it paid, or how much time you have spent at your job, it can affect you. Burnout doesn’t discriminate, although some circumstances make you more likely to suffer job burnout than the average employee.
A well-organized HR department will [...]
Quitting Time: How to Resign From Your Job
As the saying goes, “Live to work, don’t work to live.” If you’ve found yourself working to live more often than not, you may be considering quitting your job. As with any other major life change, however, it’s important that you don’t go into this lightly. Having a plan for your resignation will make it [...]
Planning an Unconventional Career Path
If the idea of joining the rat-race and being flung into the structured corporate cut-throat chaos isn’t appealing, you might be the right kind of person to pursue an unconventional career path.
The unconventional worker isn’t just anyone, however. Some people really do prefer being in a normal office job from 9-5 every Monday to Friday, [...]
How to Start Your Career While in College
If you’re a college student, one of the most intimidating things to consider is what you’ll do after you get your degree! The later in your degree you are, the more likely your peers are to be talking about their dream careers and what they’re doing to try and improve their chances of being hired. [...]
Do You Have a Job or a Career?
The difference between a job and career is sometimes underestimated. It’s easy to think your job will turn into a fulfilling career someday, but you have to understand the difference between a job and a career — and where each leads.
A job can be part of your career plan, but more commonly, it leads nowhere [...]
Advantages of Working Abroad
Have you always dreamed of traveling, or even better, working abroad? Or have you perhaps been bitten recently by the “travel bug”? Either way, you are interested in the advantages of working abroad — and for good reason, since they are numerous!
Employers like employees who have experience working abroad. It shows that you have the [...]