13 Feb 10 A Job-Search Guide to Help People Over 45 – X
We have reached to the tenth installment of the series that is meant to help people over 45 getting job for them. In this part, I will discuss about variety of things from starting a business to letting go of title to exploring options. The focus of this article will not be on one thing but on all three things. So let’s begin.
Explore options
Being in job is not always good, at times it is confining. It limits your thinking to paychecks and 6PM (when your office bells calls off the day). Now as you are out of job, you have an opportunity to explore many more options, at least until you again get into job. Thinking of things that you can do apart from the job that you have been doing till date. Who knows you end up finding something that makes your heart racing.
Title, what title?
Title means nothing. I know you find it hard to believe it, and especially if you had been in the habit of being referred as senior manager, or vice president direct sales, or whatever. But, the fact is title means a dime. Do not chase titles, rather chase your heart, and find something that you like to do. If work is of your liking then why do you care if you are called a manager or VP?
Start a business
We all have a self-starter within us; all we need to do is give a shout to call it out of the closet. If you are not getting a job then take it as a blessing and start doing something that you wanted to do all your life. Did you want to go knitting, gardening, etc.? Take up this opportunity and start your own small business.
You will be your own boss, and no one will fire you from there. Make a business plan, find an investor (if you need one), and get going.
This marks the end of this bite-size post of the series. I have kept each post small so that you can chew the information provided in its perfectly, assimilate it, and put each tip to use.
Tags: 6pm, Bells, Bite Size, Boss, Business Plan, Getting A Job, Habit, Investor, Job Guide, Job Help, Job Search, Liking, Paychecks, Search People, Self Starter, Shout, Small Business, Tenth Installment, Vice President, Vp
08 Jan 10 How to get a Proper Feedback for Anything Under the Sun
A feedback is important. It plays a crucial role in our personal or professional development, but it works only if we get a proper feedback. An improper feedback like, “things look good to me” does not do any good. Therefore, the real challenge is to know how to get a proper feedback from people around us.
In this article, I have tried to provide a workable “feedback seeking system” which you can use to get a proper feedback. You can also modify the system, if you feel something is missing.
Step 1: Define your feedback goal
Why you want a feedback and on what? The answer to this question matters a lot. A generic feedback like, “all is good” or “there is some problem here and there, but the rest is good” will not do any good. Set a target for why you want a feedback. If you have written something then the feedback you can seek could be related to your writing style, coherence, grammatical and punctuation errors, or overall understandability. You can subdivide your work in this way and ask for feedback about the particular thing you want to know.
Step 2: Qualify your feedback source
Do not seek feedback from anyone and everyone. It will do no good. A proper feedback should come from a qualified source. Ask your senior, your client, your boss, your teacher, or anyone who is more qualified than you are on the subject for the feedback. A washerwoman’s feedback on the structure of your SQL database will serve nothing.
Do not ask your family or the closest friend who knows everything about your project for the feedback. Good or bad, it will never give you the feedback that you can use.
Step 3: Ask targeted question
Ask questions relevant to the feedback goal you set in step one. Do not pose generic question, as it will not fetch desired answer. Ask a targeted question and listen patiently for the answer.
Step 4: Promise anonymity
If feedback sought is for something or someone else then assure your source that his or her identity will be kept hidden if he or she wishes to do that. And if the feedback is about you then tell the feedback source that his or her honest opinion will not tarnish your relationship. This is very important.
Conclusion
Do not lose heart if you do not get positive feedback from all quarters. No matter how smart your source is, he or she can still be short-sighted or wrong. Show confidence in your ability.
Tags: Anonymity, Ask Question, Boss, Closest Friend, Coherence, Generic Feedback, Generic Question, Lot, People, Plays, Professional Development, Promise, Proper Feedback, Punctuation Errors, Sql Database, Step 3, Sun, Target, Washerwoman, Writing Style
20 Dec 09 How to Lose Your Job Quickly
Getting a job may be tough, but losing one is the easiest thing to do. There are many people who unknowingly indulge in activities that ultimately result in their getting fired. In this blog post, I will tell you about 3 such things that people do without realizing its consequences.
“I am the king” Attitude
Attitude problem is one of the biggest reasons why people get laid off. There is no dearth of people who think they are invincible and a company cannot survive without them, thus they deserve a royal treatment. And thus they start neglecting or humiliating people. These are the kinds who always are found fighting with his boss or subordinates on even issues of no real importance. Avoid being such person, or the exit door will be nearer than you are imaging.
Coming late and leaving early
Your office is not your garden, so better do not treat it as such. It is unwise to reach office late, regularly, and it is doubly fatal to return from office before time, everyday. When I say before time, I do not mean you return before the designated time, what I mean is returning home without finishing day job. Do not fool yourself in believing that a 9-to-5 job means strictly 9-to-5. The work-hour does starts at 9, but thinking of its ending at 5 is crazy.
Going by the job description
If you assume you have to do only what is written in your job description then let me take the blinkers off, and show you what all you need to do to survive in the job you have. I am not talking about occasional drifts from the job description you got while joining, I am talking about doing those things that was never ever mentioned. One has to do things beyond the written (or oral for that matter) job description to survive today.
Tags: Attitude Problem, Blinkers, Boss, Consequences, Day Job, Dearth, Drifts, Easiest Thing, Getting A Job, Job Description, Returning Home, Subordinates
