Will Going Back to School Really Help your Career?
College is four of five (or maybe even twenty) years in the past now but you have been thinking about returning to school to pursue an advanced degree to boost your earning potential even further. This however is a bigger decision than you might think and there are some points you should consider before you return to the academic world:
Why – Exactly what are your motivations for returning to school? Do you want to earn more money in your current profession or change gears altogether? Either option can be a good reason for resuming your education, as long as you have thought it through. If you are pursuing an advanced degree to further your current career make sure that the program you choose will actually translate into a real job in the future. Ask the admissions counselor about previous graduates, how many of them did land the kind of position you are looking for?
Is Working From Home Right for You?
Over the last several years the world of telecommuting has exploded. More and more businesses are offering their employees the chance to work from home (at least part of the time). Additionally, some companies are simply looking to the growing pool of home based virtual assistants to outsource tasks to. If you have been offered the chance to telecommute, or are considering becoming a virtual employee you do have to be aware of the pros and cons before you take the plunge:
On the Upside
Freedom – No boss looking over your shoulder, no one criticizing your choice of outfit today, no one is monitoring your coffee breaks.
Tips for Happiness at Work
How happy you are at work depends largely how much you actually like your job. But even those who love what they do have a bad day once in a while. There are some simple things you can do to make each and every day a little brighter and more productive:
- Get a good desk chair and sit up straight – A comfortable place to sit can make a huge difference to your day and sitting up straight is an instant energizer and motivator.
- Get a headset – Yes, you may feel silly at first, especially if everyone else around you still cradles the receiver against one shoulder but within a few days you will wonder how you ever lived without it. Read more
Best Holiday Gifts to Give a Job Seeker
Most of us would love to say that we have all of our holiday gift shopping done by now but the fact is that most of us don’t. If there is a job seeker yet to be crossed off your shopping list why not consider giving them something that can be truly useful to them this year instead of just that jumbo tin of popcorn? Here are some great gift ideas, inexpensive and not so, for meaningful gifts to brighten a job seeker’s holiday season;
- A stylish briefcase or portfolio. Something that matches their style without being too outré.
- A serious, expensive looking watch. The keyword here is expensive looking. It does not have to be a Rolex, just a timepiece that looks like it means business. No more Mickey Mouse.
- A gift certificate for a hair salon and/or a spa. Pamper them and improve their image at the same time.
- An upscale looking pen. It makes a terrible impression on an interviewer when an otherwise impressive candidate fishes their sister’s well chewed Jonas Brothers pen out of their bag because it was all that they could find before leaving the house.
- A gift of an hour with a career coach, or a professional resume rewriting.
- An offer of a lunch date with you and a friend who happens to work in the very field that your gift recipient is in searching for a position in.
- Another invitation, simply the offer of a sympathetic open ear and a broad shoulder to cry on when the job hunting all gets too much. The holidays can be really rough on a job seeker, emotionally as well as financially and sometimes just knowing that they have people in their corner, cheering them on can be the best gift of all.
Handling Holiday Time Off Requests
As the holidays roll around human resources departments have to invariably start dealing with an increased number of employee requests for time off. With all the hustle and bustle, all the shopping to be done and party arrangements to be made it is natural for workers to want to use their vacation days at this time of year.
Although you may feel that you should honor these requests in many cases doing so would leave the company critically understaffed. Here are a few hints for administering a holiday leave policy that is fair for all parties involved:
Is Work/Life Balance Really Possible
The expression “work-life balance” was first heard in the 70’s to express the relationship between private life and a person’s working life. This concept, which was first used in 1986 in the United States, has increased in importance as the separation of the private and professional sectors of life have continued to grow.
