Entpreneurial Success How To Quit Your Job By Burning The Ships

Entpreneurial Success How To Quit Your Job By Burning The Ships 6 Sometimes the key to success is a situation where there's no going back. This is a guest post by Alex Shalman. If you’d also like to guest post here on JobMob, follow these guest post guidelines. One of Julius Caesar's most famous conquests was when he set fire to his own fleet of ships upon stepping onto enemy soil. What this effectively did was remove the ability to retreat, and forced him and his troops to move on to victory. As a rule, men worry more about what they can't see than about what they can. ~Julius Caesar The mere thought of entrepreneurship or cutting oneself off from the corporate umbilical cord has been known to make grown men tremble in their cubicles. Thoughts of credit card premiums, defaults on mortgages, repossessed cars, and rummaging through garbage cans for food come to mind. How to overcome the fear of going out on your own One trick that always helps me to decimate fear of the unknown is to imagine the worst case scenario, and what it would feel like to be there. Say you do quit your job to chase your dream, then you end up going into debt, your wife leaves you, and you're living on the street. This might feel like a total failure: cold, hungry, depressed, and lonely. From rock bottom, it's not too hard to make progress, and improve with each day. The failed attempt is a valuable lesson that can fuel your future successes. I personally have a dream of becoming a dentist and owning a chain of offices here in New Jersey. I have failed to get into dental school a couple of times now, and I am currently on the waiting list for this coming school year. The idea of staying at a job, when I could be going after this dream career is unappealing to me. At the same time, I have no current qualifications to work at a big money job, nor do I have the desire to. I have plan A, plan A, and plan A. It doesn't have to be a horror story though. Just as Caesar, without an escape route, marched on to victory, so have many entrepreneurs sweated and toiled their way to financial abundance. When you multiply your brilliant ideas with a forceful execution (one that you get from crushing your dream 30 hours per day), you have no way to go but up. Once you're successful, all the stories of your failures along the way will be that much more interesting. Until then Every day I get up and look through the Forbes list of the richest people in America. If I'm not there, I go to work. ~Robert Orben Follow up Shortly after writing this guest post, Alex Shalman received some good news: he was accepted into the New York University dental program. His plan A seems to be working. About the author Alex Shalman does for personal development what Chuck Norris does for the karate, and he's got a very bad (to the bone) podcast on self-improvement. This article is part of the 3rd Annual JobMob Guest Blogging Contest. If you want Alex Shalman to win, share this article with your friends. If you like this article, you'll probably also enjoy Dreams of Riches? Here’s Why You Should Start Your Business Before Firing Your Boss.

Now Is The Time To Ask for a Raise!

Now Is The Time To Ask for a Raise! Asking your boss for a raise can be awkward, like many other money-related situations. While you do know that a raise is well-deserved because of your hard work and dedication, there comes the time when doubts occur and you have to wonder “is it really the right time to ask for it?” The main goal of every working person, regardless of the industry, is to achieve career success. You start from the bottom and work your way up to the goals you have set out for yourself. In order to achieve those goals, you work hard and choose companies or job positions that provide the opportunity for personal and professional development. Although most people want to ask for a raise, they are afraid of getting rejected. It’s natural to have this fear and feel nervous, but you shouldn’t let it stop you. If you work hard, have results to show it, contribute to the overall success of the department and the entire business or organization, then you should definitely book an appointment and talk to your boss/manager about increasing the salary. Do not consider this talk as inappropriate and you shouldn’t feel like you are begging for more money. The reality is much different! Business world operates that way; the more you do, the bigger salary you deserve. It’s simple. Okay, but is it the right time for me to ask for raise? You are probably asking yourself that question now. The truth is, there is no “one size fits all” rule here. There is no specific answer to when should all employees ask for a raise. Instead, the correct answer varies from person to person and depends on numerous factors. But, how can I determine whether I should ask for a raise? A reputable custom academic writing company,  Aussiewriter, created an incredibly practical infographic that helps you make this important decision. The infographic features different questions with two offered answers and your job is to choose the option that applies to you the most. Start from the top and answer all questions one by one making sure you follow arrows. These arrows will lead you to the result that tells you whether you should wait for a while, ask for a raise now, or if changing the job is the best solution for you. What’s practical about this infographic is that all questions and answers are relatable to every working person. Scroll down to see when you should ask for a raise. P.S. Make sure your answers are honest, nobody’s watching anyway. You can find the infographic here. This guest post was authored by Lucy Benton.   Lucy Benton is high skilled editor, writer who currently works at Awriter.org.   She is constantly looking for the ways to improve her skills and expertise. If you’re interested in working with Lucy , you can find her on FaceBook and Twitter.

Are you a Body, a Brain or a Business Partner - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Are you a Body, a Brain or a Business Partner - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career When you are looking for a job you should know which one you want to be. Perhaps you are all three. In fact, most of us are. Perhaps you have been one or the other for much of your career. Think back to your first jobs … fast food, delivery services, retail store, etc. I’ve had all of these. I’m guessing you have too. All of these made you who you are today. Whether you are early  in your career or even if you have  been doing something for 10, 20 or more  years.    But, as you look for your next role I suggest considering which of the three you want to be. Which one you want to focus on and which one’s you want to delegate. This is not an article on the art of delegation, but when you know what you are and want to be it becomes much easier to delegate tasks. This is also true if you are  looking to hire someone. Consider what you are looking for when creating the job description. What Do You Want To Be Today? Tomorrow? Next Year? When you decide which one you want to be … or more realistically which combination of ratios of each you want to be then you can set yourself up for success. As you evaluate your current skills and consider what you want to do and be next you can consider whether you are a Body, a Brain, or a Business Partner. Reality Check: Each of us occupies various incarnations of each at different times in our careers. Heck, at different times of the day … especially for solopreneurs. When a company is in the process of hiring someone it pays to note what they seem to really want to hire. Some companies and some hiring managers are not always clear on what that want. It’s up to you to suss out what they really want. This might be a difficult thing to do. However, if you know what you want to be you can ask questions to discern if the role is shaped for where you want to be. What do I mean by a Body, a Brain, and a Business Partner? A Body Meaning just a warm body. Someone that can fog a mirror and perhaps not much else. A Brain Someone with the skills to make things happen in a predictable and repeatable manner. A Business Partner Someone that can and will be integral to the business. Trusted, expected to deliver, and a key component of the business. Do people only hire Body and Brain types? Yes! While this might seem like a derogatory position to take when describing  some roles that is not the intent. The intent is to decide what YOU want to do. There are times in our lives that being one specific thing is exactly what we need. If you have the luxury of deciding (and most of us to) then it’s worth the time to consider what you want to do … Now, Tomorrow, Next Year, and Beyond. There are absolutely times to be one or more of these roles. You hopefully have the luxury of deciding which one you want to be. When I describe a Body above … don’t take that offensively. There are companies that treat their people this way. The role of a Brain can sometimes be very analogous working on tax filings or other work that can be a long slow grind. Body and Brain roles are important. The smart companies and the smart employers look for more. The look for Business Partners. When done right … a Business Partner model allows, enables and empowers a  Body or a Brain to put their skills to the test and become an integral partner to the business and to the customer experience. The point of this post really started with the previous sentence. I have seen too many companies not willing to elevate their positions to consider the Bodies and the Brains as being integral to the business. In the long run these business lose out to others that do look for business partners. At least that’s what I see and expect to continue to see more and more of as The War for Talent heats up in the coming years. So, how to you decide which is right for you? That’s up to you to decide. There are so many options. And, the good news is … you can change your mind as you go. See the post below about spending 40 minutes (or 20 hours) to learn a new skill. How to Get Ahead, Stay Ahead, and Do What You Want? Simple … commit yourself to Being A Life Long Learner. Would you be willing to spend 20 hours to learning something new? If yes, you might enjoy this post Can You Spare 40 Minutes to Learn a New Trick? This doesn’t meant you need to learn everything or know everything. I am trained as an engineer. What they taught us in school (and my parents taught me this too) is that when you take the time to learn something … then you’ll have that knowledge forever. It doesn’t mean I’ll ever be an expert in certain things. Actually, in a lot of things. What it does mean is that I can decide whether I want to be a Body, a Brain, or a Business Partner with the knowledge I have learned. That’s the key! You get to decide what you want to be. Additional Reading  â€" I’m including these because you don’t need to quit your “day job” to make something happen and to decide which role you’d like to fill. Is Someone Getting the Best of You? Stoke Your Passion and Elevate Your Career Get a Side Hustle, You’ll Need One Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said it well. He said ‘It’s better to be a ‘learn-it-all’ than a ‘know-it-all’ and he put that mantra to the test over the past three years as he has re-directed the Microsoft machine to massive gains. If he can do this with 120,000 employees imagine what you can do yourself  â€" both personally and professionally. So, are you positioning yourself as a Body, a Brain, or a Business Partner?

Who Wins From a 4-Day Working Week

Who Wins From a 4-Day Working Week Speak to anyone who works part-time, and their biggest gripe is that theyre expected to do the same amount of work in their 3 or 4 days that they were when working a 5-day week. So how does working a 4-day week and still being paid for five days sound? Most of you must be wondering how it can benefit the employer without hurting the business because for the employee it makes total sense especially if they feel theyre working a 4-day week but doing 5-days worth of week without benefitting from the extra days pay. A company in New Zealand has just trialed  a 4-day week and now the boss at Perpetual Guardian wants to make it permanent.  Earlier this year the trustee company carried out conducted what was essentially a corporate experiment in allowing the companys 240-person staff to retain full pay as well as a three-day weekend but allowing them to work just four full days a week. The trial was also observed by academic researchers Jarrod Haar, a professor of human resource management at AUT, and  Dr. Helen Delaney, a senior lecturer at the University of Auckland Business School. Here are some of the results from the trial: So could it work for you? These recruiting experts share their  views. Jon Gregory, blogger and editor of Win-that-job.com, says: From an employee point of view, my experience suggests that would be very attractive, but with some provisos. The benefit is obviously the three day weekend, which facilitates all sorts of things from a personal and a family point of view. However, also from a family point of view, if the four day week came at the expense of flexibility (for appointments, childcare problems, partner illness, etc.) then it would be a less practical and less desirable proposition. From the employers side, its also attractive as longer working days are often ultimately more focussed and productive in my experience, depending on the type of company and work that needs doing, especially where teams are united and well led. Its also attractive from a recruitment perspective, as three day weekends have wide appeal, across the spectrum from worker to professional person to managerial person. There is a downside for smaller companies though. To cover a five, six or seven day week for customers, a company needs a certain critical mass of employees to be able to provide full cover, if staff only work four days. A four day arrangement could potentially stress or disadvantage smaller organisations or departments. Lysha Holmes, Director of Qui Recruitment, says: Working a 4 day week on a 5 day pay is hugely advantageous to both employer and employee in my opinion as you gain a lot more accountability from someone who is given the chance to work remotely and encourages an empowered culture a word of caution though/ this should not be abused as it will create a negative impact for everyone else I think it would be attractive to potential recruiters seeking a new move in the market and many recruitment companies do now offer a more flexible approach to their working week to reflect modern society’s evolution into a more remote workforce and I celebrate this. Catherine Oliver  is the Founder of the Bluebell Partnership and Parents@Sky and says: From personal experience of working 5, 4 and 3 day weeks I know I was most productive on less than 5 and this is a common experience. I think this is for 2 reasons. Firstly because it forces you to be clearer on your priorities and what you spend your time on. Secondly the increased non work time gives you a greater mental break. This is backed up by research on the benefits of recovery. That said there’s also an element of competition at play what you get done vs full time colleagues. The same applies at an organisational level  so it follows that companies leading the way on this will derive greater benefits in terms of talent attraction and retention. If everyone worked 4 days these benefits would arguably be reduced. However in a world of work moving away from repetitive tasks to one where thinking is the core value an employee brings, it seems to me there can only be upside in  providing greater time for recovery and  empowering employees to choose where to spend more limited work time  which can only be good for employees and employers alike. David Morel  is the CEO/Founder of  Tiger Recruitment and says: Most candidates would, undoubtedly, be quite excited by the prospect of working four days a week on a full-time salary, provided that it didn’t simply equate to 12-hour days, four days a week! The experiment is an interesting one, however it assumes that there is slack to be tightened across employee workloads, which won’t always be the case. While work-life balance would undoubtedly improve and enhance the wellbeing of employees, existing workloads across teams / workforces would need to be very carefully reviewed (and re-distributed) before employers could cut down on employee hours. It would certainly be interesting to see absenteeism and productivity data over the long-term and the corresponding impact on talent retention, employer brand and revenue.

6 Simple Ways to Make Your Office Look More Professional - CareerMetis.com

6 Simple Ways to Make Your Office Look More Professional Are you hunting for ways to renovate your office? Well, you have come to the right place!I know exactly how difficult it can be to revamp a workspace to make it look unique, suit your style, and be perfectly ergonomic in design â€" all at the same time! It is not impossible, right?So, I am an interior designer by hobby and profession, and I have found that there are some basic rules that everyone should learn about interior designing, kind of like the ABC of interior designing if someone wants to plan their entire setup.Source : Pixabay.comevalI have worked in both commercial and domestic areas, but I have found that I prefer working in the commercial over home design projects. Playing with the options is fun and much more radical in a workspace because suddenly you have a broader customer range that you have to target.It is easier to renovate a home, in my opinion. The hubby wants what the wife wants â€" and most kids want what their mother wants for them â€" so I have to figure out their individual choices and design space according to them.A workspace, however, must suit a lot of people’s requirements and needs; therefore, it is probably the most time-consuming and hectic job that I take on. Today I’ll give you a few tips that I have learned from my years and years of experience of working as an interior designer; you check them off your little list, and you are off to designing a great workspace without getting any help from a designer. It will help you declutter their tables, which will eventually lead to a clearer thinking pattern for them and a more professional looking office for you.When you’re leasing the building for your office, make sure they have a basement or at least a tiny room: the designated purpose of that particular construction should be storage.If you’re starting up a setup and you don’t have individual cubicles for people to work in, you might consider stashing all the excess dividers, desks and chairs away for the time being. The least the clutter, the cleaner space will look, and as a result, you’re likely to feel better about your workspace. Also, try to own minimum furniture and don’t keep buying unnecessary things that you won’t need to put up in your workplace.2. Get A Nice ReceptionSource : Pixabay.comevalEven the best-designed office is going to look unprofessional if there is no one sitting at a desk with a polite smile, greeting your clients, wishing them a great day and tending to them.A workspace is not like a house, I get it, but you need to welcome your clients just like you would a guest at your place. If they walk in your doors, they mean business. And you need to provide them with the best if you want to excel at what you’re doing already.Even if you have less room, you should try to sneak in a little desk into your workspace. Then, hire a happy, witty person who can think on his/her feet for performing the task of a receptionist.Trust me, you will thank me for this idea later. I am aware that appointing a receptionist is a bit conventional and you might think that your new business is not in dire need of one, but I still recommend that you get a someone who can tend to your customers while you deal with other clients.3. Get The Right FurniturePeople populate your office, and mostly it is their energies that play a decisive role in determining what your office feels like to a client who just barged in.Remember that humans read vibes unconsciously and so if you want to maintain a great workspace you have to keep the wellbeing and preferences of your employees in your mind as well. If they are all gloomy and dull, then I doubt that you’d be giving off the right image.Adjust a side lounge for your employees where they can go and relax for a while. I’ll give you a little tip, set up a miniature golf course in a corner so your employees can relax and take their minds off of work for a while.It will also add a bit of personality to your workspace. Try to find functional ways of entertainment that keep your employees from getting bored.Above all, you should focus on the use of ergonomic furniture to better their health conditions. I strongly suggest that you only buy furniture from sellers who sell ergonomically designed chairs and standing desks.evalEncourage the concept of standing while working because it is good for health. For those interested, you can purchase adjustable standing desks here.4. The Floor WorkYou need to check what lies under the large wall-to-wall carpeted place you just leased for an office. The tricky part is that it could either be a lustrous wood-planked floor or a concrete floor in terrible condition.But either way, you’re not losing much. So long as you do some fixtures and polishing, I’m sure you will be off to enjoying the best workplace ever.The chances are that if you ask your lessor, they might clean up the carpet or buy a new one before you even finalize the lease dealâ€"it is the general practice in most areas. But I would recommend that you opt for floors instead of carpets.This reminds me to bring up my second tip: I believe you ought to be very careful the first time you’re hiring a vendor to perform ANY job.evalThe reason is that if you get your internet and light fixtures right the first time, you won’t have to call in again and again for someone to fix the broken lamp switch or a connection that sucks!Source : Pixabay.com5. Cultivate A Natural HabitatBy natural, I mean QUITE NATURAL. Relax. I didn’t say you need to bring pets in; however, frequently I have been noticing employers let a select few hyper-conscious employees bring in their pups, and it had a significant impact on their work.I renovated a small copy-writing company and one of the employeesâ€"Danâ€"had a cute Labrador pup named Hansel. Everyone adored the dog, and it was probably the best part of the work environment that they had set up there.That said, this is not the only mode through which you can re gulate your workspace environment. You can begin by opting for a small garden outside the workspace so that your employees can stroll there in leisure time. Though if your office is not situated on the ground floor I am afraid that won’t be an option.Plants can also serve as phenomenal zone dividers, and you can stock up on indoor plants to keep your workspace looking fresh. If you’re running out of space for plants and you cannot put them anywhere, place some mini cactuses at your table.6. Focus on The LightingSource : Pixabay.comLast but not the least: pay particular attention to the light fixtures in your office! They don’t have to cost you a fortune, but with a little thoughtful planning, you can install an excellent lighting system in your office.I recommend that along with overhead lighting you use a few table lamps and some floor lamps as well.Floor lamps would add a touch of class to your office, and it will instantly begin to look classy and quite put together. Table lamps, on the other hand, can offer you a great deal of functionality which brings me to my second suggestion in this regard.Have you been avoiding nature’s splendid and the warm light that pours through those gorgeous windows because it might cause a glare on the screen?You need to rethink your whole life, buddy. Careful study can lead you to discover the right positions for your desk, and you can have your employees set up their desks in a way that sunlight doesn’t directly hit their windows at any given hour.So you can let the air and light flow through the entire office through those windows.I hope these tips would help you design and run your workplace in a much better way than before!

How Kim found the courage to quit - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

How Kim found the courage to quit - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog I got an email from Kim, who finally decided to quit her job: I was pushed to the limit at work today with the final act occurring when I was berated by my boss in front of the whole office. Ive disliked my job for a while but was using most of your excuses; i.e. Im not a quitter, things might get better, health care, it may look bad, etc. I actually googled resignation letter and was prompted to your page. I will be submitting my resignation letter tomorrow but felt I was letting down myself, family, the people who work for me, etc. After going through your website I do feel better about proceeding. I have worked for great companies and great bosses so I know what it SHOULD be like and this is not it. Thank you for reinforcing what I already knew which is that I deserve better. I asked for a follow-up and got this back: Thank you Alexander, I did resign today and I feel so relieved. It couldnt have gone better and I was asked how they can improve the culture based on my leaving as they recognize there is an issue. Firs of all: Kudos to Kim for finding the courage to do the necessary and leave that job. Secondly: I often think that one of the main causes of unhappiness at work is our unwillingness to quit. People stay way too long in unhappy workplaces, under jerk bosses or in bad jobs. And this serves to perpetuate a bad situation. Im not saying that quitting a job is easy, in fact it may be one of the hardest decisions a person can make. But I do think that if people quit bad jobs more readily, theyd be happier at work. So if youre thinking of quitting, these articles might help: Top 10 bad excuses for staying in a crappy job. How to know its time to quit. Top 10 signs youre not happy at work. Best resignation letter ever. Update: I just got another email from Kim, who writes: Thank you for sharing my story. I wanted to follow up with you and let you know that I quickly found a new job wtih a better company, what appears to be a better culture (Start Monday) and with a 17% increase in pay over the bad job I was holding on to. Even better :o) Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

Student Resume Templates - Where Can I Get Them?

Student Resume Templates - Where Can I Get Them?There are many places where you can get free college student resume templates. Many of these are actually free, and they will help you improve your resume in a way that the person will notice.Most of these free student resume templates are going to be based on an application for a job. They do not just apply for any job, but usually the one that you applied for when you were at school. If you know what type of work you want to get into, then you can go ahead and use the template to put together your resume. Remember, these people are looking for someone with your skill set, so they will take that into consideration.These free college student resume templates are going to provide you with all the information you need. They will give you the name, contact information, skills, education, work experience, etc.There are two types of resume templates, which are easy to download and print. You can get them from your university's bookstore. Be sure to keep copies in your wallet and purse.When you are filling out your resume, remember to be honest. Avoid listing anything on your resume that you are embarrassed about. Not only is it going to show that you are dishonest, but it is going to hurt your chances of getting a job.Don't go crazy with your resume, especially if you have multiple jobs. It is only going to hurt your chances.If you get some friends to help you fill out your resume, then do not make them type it up. Make them read the resume and write comments for you to include.It does not matter how many times you have filled out your resume. The important thing is that you have a resume that is going to help you get a job. If you do not have one, then get one today.