Month: July 2017

ESports: The Newest Job Market

Many don’t know this yet but there is a job gold rush in eSports as the industry is growing day by day due to influx of money, fans and new games. So if you are looking for a new job or are bored in your current one, we recommend that you seriously consider the eSports industry.

The eSports industry has the backing of almost all the major game publishers like EA, 303 industries and even Nintendo. The prizes of every tournament are in millions of dollars and players come from around the world to compete against each other. If you weren’t told they were playing video games, an average tournament would look like a major sporting event.

But this is where it gets interesting for you. While the industry is growing, it is also in need for people in marketing, PR, event management, digital marketing, graphic designing and more. In fact it has jobs in virtually every segment and if you are looking for a new job that pays well and is not boring, well this is the place you should apply.

If we have peaked your interest, we would like you to go through the infographic below by Computer Planet. It lists some of the most exciting jobs that you can apply for.

When the New Year approaches, people often make resolutions to start the year off on the right track. Some resolutions are achieved while others are quickly forgotten a few weeks into January. Everyday your focus should be on being the best version of yourself that you can be. One way to accomplish that is to learn new things. Sometimes learning something new is scary or uncomfortable, but you have to have to courage to push past those emotions and move forward. This year dare to learn something new. Not sure where to begin? Try a New Year Dare listed below.

Dare To…

1. Give your time instead of money – Monetary donations have there place, but taking the time out from your daily routine to donate your precious time to an important cause is a very valuable gift to give.
2. Exercise your mind daily – Challenge your mind every day. Use your memory to dial close family, friends and frequently used numbers when making a phone call. Play games that stimulate your mind such as Scrabble, Sudoku or Mind Trap.
3. Learn a new skill – It is never too late to take on a new hobby or skill. Play an instrument, try a new language, go ballroom dancing or push yourself to go back to school and get your MBA and that much needed pay increase.
4. Use a new technology – Technology plays such a vital role in our daily lives. Stay ahead of the curve by downloading a new innovative app or consider starting a blog or video blog (vlog) to document your journey. Consider build an online portfolio of your work. Use Facebook Live to stream a positive quote or helpful tip in 30 to 60 seconds (or less).
5. Attend a live concert – The twist is it has to be in a genre of music that you would not normally listen to. Consider documenting your experience on the blog/vlog you just started from the previous dare.
6. Join a Meetup – Find a Meetup.com group to join  that is pertaining to a topic that you don’t know much about but you could benefit from joining. Doing so will give you the opportunity to learn something new and network with a new group of people.
7. Face your fear -Everyone is afraid of something, but it is important to not let your fears stagnate and control your life. Face your fears head on so that you can live the life of your dreams. Get on an elevator, call a family member you haven’t spoken to in years, speak in front a small or large group of people. Introduce yourself to someone you want to get to know but feel intimidated by.
8. Let go – Do not hold onto unhealthy relationships also known as baggage. If it is not good for you or the other person walk away. Make room for the right individual to walk into your life! You can also donate old clothes or household items that you no longer need. Pass it on to someone that may appreciate it. Have a garage sell, sell it on eBay or donate to a local thrift store.
9. Go to your favorite restaurant – You must eat something on the menu that you have never had before. If you have eaten everything on the menu (since it is your favorite restaurant) try eating at a dish at a restaurant with a culture you do not know much about.
10. Keep better track of your money – Stay on top of your finances. Make a budget and stick to it. Start an emergency savings account and save a portion of your salary to this account for use in emergency situations  (i.e., unexpected illness, laid off from employment without pay, air conditioning stops working in 100° weather, etc). Use digital coupons for grocery store purchases and incorporate other tactics to live within your means.
11. Live in the moment – Take an unexpected trip, go on a road trip without a destination. Learn as much as you can while on this sporadic trip. Have dinner for one at a restaurant. Compliment a stranger. Live in the moment, just do not do anything illegal or that you would regret later.
12. Have a conversation – Strike up a conversation with someone much older than you or someone much younger than you. Make note of what you learned or the key takeaways from the conversation.

As you embark upon the year ahead evaluate the areas in your life that you are seeking to grow the most. Try out a New Year Dare listed above to get started. Some of the dares will take you out of your comfort zone but in the end you will learn from the experience. Document the journey, by doing so there is an opportunity to reflect on the overall growth and learning process. Most importantly never stop learning.

Posted by: Dave Landry

Image credit: Pexels

21st century careers are changing us…or are we changing careers? Everywhere you turn, you see people wanting different things from their ‘traditional’ 9-5 roles: more adventure, more ownership, more creativity. It seems we are all looking for flexible and meaningful work that we can do from our homes, local coffee shops, or relaxed co-working spaces. So how are modern careers changing our lives?

More flexible working hours

People aren’t happy to be shut away in a cubicle for hours on end any more – workers want flexible work that they can take away with them.

• The digital world has made telecommuting an even more real possibility, and many people are willing to take the plunge. By encouraging flexible working hours, companies may be able to save on staffing costs in the long run. For the employee, it offers work that fits around a busy life, and shortens the time spent on the daily commute.
• The old way of working 12-hour days to boost productivity may soon be a thing of the past anyways. In an effort to boost results, Sweden brought in the six hour working day. People are increasingly becoming aware that simply doing longer and longer hours is not a healthy way to increase results (or happiness). It’s all about balance.
• With the global world of business and finance never sleeping, some people are having to work unsociable hours late into the night. Though this may suit some people (and money is offered to sweeten the deal), this is one of the drawbacks of working in a globalised world. Flexibility has its downsides.
• Another downside brought by digital is this need to be switched on 24/7 – especially people who work for themselves are in danger of being sucked into the vortex of checking emails at 3 A.M, and updating Twitter at traffic lights. With newfound digital flexibility, we have lost some of the old boundaries of work and home.

Multiple careers wrapped up into one

No longer do we have clear career trajectories that can be easily mapped and explained. (The average person these days manages to squeeze multiple careers into a lifetime).

• People work multiple jobs at once, change careers frequently, go freelance, and take a Sabbatical if it’s offered. Sound familiar? There are more career opportunities out there for people to grab hold of – but there is also more competition. Some people thrive in a fast-paced environment, others struggle to keep up with the pace.
• With misty-eyed nostalgia we look back to the days when people walked into a good job with a good salary, stayed, and got a pension. But was it really always like that? Old business disenfranchised many workers and didn’t ‘play fair’. It’s too easy to get caught up in the differences, and forgetthe continuity of human work, stretching back centuries. People have always had complex working lives, even if some ways of earning income remained ‘unofficial’.

Life is more unpredictable

There is less job security in the world as traditional industries struggle to remain competitive.  This leads to an increase in unpredictability, which can lead to financial instability.

• Zero hour contracts, casual work, and part time work have raised arguments both for and against this new, increasingly casual way of working. Some people feel that British zero hour contracts offer freedom and flexibility, and casual work has been embraced across the globe as a way to having a career that’s more exciting and flexible. But casual contracts can also be financially crippling and keep people from meaningful full time work – some commentators see part time work as a factor for poverty in the US.
• Pensions? What are those? Associations are trying to get young people engaged and thinking about savings and pensions, but with moving around, it’s harder to stay on track of who’s putting money into what pot. In the online world, money changes hands without the need for contracts (or even bank accounts), so workers and employers are less likely to follow protocol. The traditional pensions game may have to change; laws governing work have not caught up with people’s complex, global lives.

Global competition

The digital world makes frontiers and borders more porous, allowing people from around the world to enter the job market through freelancer sites.

• Outsourcing over the web leads to tiered workforces of external freelancers and people based in head office, a relationship that must be carefully managed. (An Indian call center may now be replaced by live chat software, paving the way for experienced marketers, SEOs and developers to join the workforce instead). Open lines of communication and good collaboration must be at the heart of outsourcing.
• The global march of digital progress has not been equally distributed across the globe. Emerging markets like Africa are causing a storm of positivity, but do all people have fair access to the latest technologies?

Rise of the online entrepreneur

Blogging, vlogging and ecommerce platforms have changed the face of working on the side, making it easier than ever for Joe Bloggs to start a successful side hustle. Some people are even jumping the corporate ship and exploring the world of full time online entrepreneurship, never looking back at the corporate world again (despite the many challenges of entrepreneurship).

• The Avon lady has now become the beauty blogger who sells products through her sleek Shopify store, the columnist is now the successful vlogger and the food critic runs a popular foodie Instagram account. The online world has changed the ways in which people consume, create, and sell. The is an increased focus on community and user-generated content, rather than authoritative collating and editing of media.
• Online tools and software are allowing small businesses to grow fast and manage their processes. Startups can manage their own finances and HR data in-house, without the expense of outsourcing.

Is it fulfilling us?

How do we know whether the modern, digital world is going to take us all to a better place with our careers?

• No one can deny the amazing progress that technology brings – check out these awe-inspiring 2016 breakthroughs. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t still question or examine the changes it brings.
• Most importantly, we need to make sure that the implications of technology on our careers, relationships, and personal fulfilment are examined. Are we living better lives because of technology? It’s tempting to look to some distant rosy future, but remember that those futures can easily turn dystopian…

The world of work is definitely changing. What new opportunities have you seized lately?

Patrick Foster, ecommerce entrepreneur, coach & writer.

I’m currently writing on EcommerceTips.org where I share engaging ecommerce content for entrepreneurs and business owners. You can follow me on Twitter here, or add me on LinkedIn.

A cover letter is an important piece of job search document which you can use to impress an employer or a hiring manager before the interviewing process begins. Very often, the way your cover letter is written could mean the difference between landing an interview and losing it. Therefore, you should always take cover letter writing very seriously and use it to stand out from the pack.

Given below are some of the top dos and don’ts that you should follow for writing a cover letter which sets you up for success.

Cover Letter Dos

Do Personalize Your Letter: Find out the name of the HR manager or the interviewer and address them by name in your cover letter. Write a new cover letter for each job that you want to apply for.

Do Mention the Job Position: Which job position are you interested in? Mention it in your cover letter and focus your writing around that specific job position. If the advertised job position has a code or a reference number, include it as well to remove any kind of confusion on the hiring manager’s part.

Do Make it Succinct: A cover letter has to be short and sweet. Make sure you use a simple language and tone and include only the real stuff.

Do Focus on the Audience: For each advertised job position, there are some specific skills that the employer is looking for. Find out what those key skills are and write your cover letter around the same. In short, put yourself in the hiring manager’s or the employer’s shoes while writing.

Do Proofread: Hiring managers don’t use a cover letter only to evaluate how skilled and qualified a job applicant you are, but they also use it to judge your communication skills. While writing the cover letter, make sure you communicate in a way that is both unique and impressive. After you have finished writing the cover letter for a specific job position, give it a recheck at least a couple of times so that it’s free from any kind of grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, typos etc.

Cover Letter Don’ts

Don’t Make it Too Long: Don’t write a cover letter that is longer than one page. Three or four paragraphs (300-400 words) are enough to create a cover letter which immediately attracts the attention of the employer or the hiring manager. Longer cover letters turn off most employers.

Don’t Boast: No matter how much qualified or skilled you are, don’t make it look like you are arrogant. Instead, focus on the key accomplishments and tell the story behind them as briefly as you can.

Don’t Use Cliches: Too-obvious cliches make your cover letter look like a general one and that’s what most job applicants do. Avoid them at all cost.

Don’t Make False Claims: If you don’t have the skills the employer is looking for, it’s probably the wrong job for you. Don’t make false claims or pretend you have the required skills. The truth will come out sooner or later.

Don’t Be Negative: Your past job experiences may have been bad. But you should never talk negatively or sound negative in your cover letter. Employers want to hire candidates with a strong positive mindset.

 

What is your cover letter like? Take a closer look at your cover letter in the light of these dos and don’ts. If you think you lack the skills for writing an effective cover letter, hire an expert to do the job for you. There are multiple online service providers as well that you can use for cover letter writing. Always remember that a cover letter is a powerful tool which you can use to gain an extra edge over the competition and land a job interview before it’s too late.

“Do you have any questions for me?” That’s the time when you should be ready to ask the interviewer or the hiring manager a couple of questions that you may have in mind. But what really matters is the type of questions you ask. If you put forth the wrong questions, you should expect to lose the job.

Given below is a list of questions you should never ask at a job interview – unless you really don’t care about the job offer.

How much does the job pay?

To ace a job interview, what you should really try to project is that you have a keen interest in the job you have applied for. And that’s exactly what hiring managers or interviewers want to know. They want to hire candidates who have a strong passion for getting the job. However, the question about salary or payment during a job interview sends the wrong signal to the hiring manager.

But don’t worry you’ll get a chance. You can ask this question once you have been offered the job and informed about the salary.

What employee benefits do you offer?

Again, this is a question which shows you are less interested in the job and more in the benefits or perks. So, never ask this question.

Can I work from home?

If it was a home-based job, the job advertisement would have mentioned it already. It’s a wrong question and you should never ask this at a job interview. Asking this question simply translates to asking for a special favor. How can you ask for a special favor when you have not even been hired?

Who are your key competitors?

Since we live in a highly digitized world, most of the information you are looking for is on the web. If you want to know about the competitors of a company or business, all you need to do is search on Google.

Therefore, asking this question will most probably leave an impression that you haven’t done your homework.

Do you conduct background checks?

Most of the employers do a background checks these days. But this is not a question you should ask the interviewer or the hiring manager. What problem do you have if the company does conduct a background check? Asking this question will only raise suspicion in the mind of the interviewer.

What are the working hours?

This is a question which interviewers hate to hear during a job interview. Are you more interested in giving more hours to the job or the time off? Unless you want to leave the wrong impression, never ask this question.

 

Asking these questions will ruin your chances of getting the job. So, the next time you face an interview, make sure you stay away from asking such questions. Instead, create a list of a few smart and thoughtful questions which show that you have a genuine interest in the advertised job position and you have done your homework really well too. And ask questions only when you’re given the chance.

It’s important to understand the process of job search in detail because you’ll need to go through it multiple times in a lifetime. Whether you’re looking for a new job or want to shift to a new career, you should develop stronger job skills to achieve success with your job search while also avoiding job scams.

Here’s a road map that you should follow to make sure your job search bears fruit and you get a new job of your choice.

Take a Career Aptitude Test

Before you get started with your job search, you should become fully aware of your key strengths and weaknesses. Most importantly, you should know about those occupations where your chances of success are higher.

Taking a career test or a career aptitude test is an excellent way of becoming fully aware of your skills, aptitude and interests and the occupations or job positions that are a best match for your talent.

There are both online and offline career tests that you can opt for. On the web, you’ll also find several career tests that you can take for free. Opt for one or more of these career tests so that you don’t have to struggle with making the right career choices and you remain focused on your career goals.

Create Your Job Search Documents

Whatever industry you belong to, you are most likely to compete with tons of other job applicants with similar work experience, skills and backgrounds. Therefore, it’s crucial that you create effective job search documents.

These job search documents include –

• Cover Letters
• Resumes
• Thank You Letters
• Acceptance Letters

Never underestimate the potential of a cover letter because it’s your first point of contact with employers or hiring managers. Ensure you write an effective cover letter to nail a specific job offer. Likewise, create a powerful resume which highlights your core strengths, skills and working experience. Thank You letters and Acceptance letters will also be required in the job hunting process.

Each one of these documents is critical to your job search success and landing a new job which suits you best. If you lack the skills to create these documents on your own, you should seek the help of an expert. You can also turn to online resume and cover letter writing service providers for the task.

Define Your Goals

The job search process is both long and difficult. So, it’s important that you are quite clear about the goals you want to achieve. This helps you keeping your focus while continuing with your job search.

Though your ultimate goal is to land your dream job, you should have multiple smaller goals that take you closer to your bigger goal, one step after another. However, what’s of utmost importance is that you set realistic goals for yourself. Expecting something that’s unrealistic will only lead to failure and frustration. Your goals should align with the experiences and skills you carry.

Also, don’t forget to reward yourself for every milestone or smaller goal that you achieve during your job search process.

Decide Upon the Time You’ll Spend on Job Search

The results of your job search depends on how much time and effort you put in. You can’t expect great results overnight. You have to work hard, and you have to be consistent with your job hunting efforts for success.

According to most career experts, you should plan to spend at least 3-6 months on your job search before saying YES to a job offer. You should decide how many hours of effort you’ll be investing into your job search every week.

Whether you plan to spend 15 hours a week or 20 hours a week, the key to success is to be consistent with your job search efforts.

Research the Industries (or Employers) of Interest

Which industry do you belong to? Make a list of those relevant industries or occupations which you think match your education, experience and skills. Try to find out as much about the industries of your interest as possible.

Most importantly, you should try to find out who the key employers are in the industries you have chosen for yourself. Know about their hiring process and the key skills they are looking for in job applicants so that you can steer your job search in the right direction. Use multiple resources in the process. You may also need to conduct informational interviews as part of your research.

Evaluate Job Offers

Don’t jump at any new job offer that comes your way. Keep calm once you start getting job offers from different employers. And start evaluating objectively every job offer that you get. You should only accept those job offers that you think will move your career in the right direction. Unless you fully understand the terms of a job offer, you might end up making the wrong career decisions.

You should evaluate a job offer on the basis of –

• Salary
• Employee Benefits
• Commuting Expenses
• Day-to-Day Job Responsibilities
• Career Growth
• Work Environment
• Employer’s Prospects

If you spend multiple years in a job, it’s certainly going to have a huge impact on your career and future prospects. Therefore, it’s crucial that you understand the pros and cons of a job offer completely so that you can make a well-informed decision. Have all those questions that you may have in mind answered.

Don’t Let Rejections Frustrate You

Your success rate with employers after every interview will not be 100%. You have to keep this fact in mind always. It’s likely that you’ll get rejected multiple times during your interviews.

Don’t lose heart. Just carry on with your job search.

Rejections are natural and you should never let them ruin your confidence. Having a positive mental attitude is of utmost importance. Every time you get rejected, you should think that you were not a good fit for the employer. However, you should definitely try to learn from your rejections and improve yourself so that you can do better and get job offers that are a good match for your aptitude and skills. It’s also a good idea to take some time out to indulge in recreational activities. This will help you have more focus and keep frustrations away.

Use Multiple Job Search Resources

There are several good places or resources that you can use to search for jobs. Don’t confine yourself to just one or two job search resources. Instead, use as many as possible including both online and offline.

Key job search resources include –

• Major Job Boards
• Regional Job Search Websites
• Company Websites
• Employment Agencies (Public and Private)
• Classified Ads
• Volunteering
• Professional Network

 

Thanks to the internet, there are tons of job search websites where you can look and apply for new jobs of your choice. Many of them cater to specific categories like fresh college graduates, entry level jobs, senior workers etc. Use several job search resources at your disposal to land a suitable job in time.

At a job interview, you are actually selling yourself. But while doing so, it’s easy to make mistakes and put off the interviewer.

The interviewer or the hiring manager has a crucial job to do – choose the most suitable candidates for the advertised job position. Therefore, they’ll always ask questions, cross-examine you and find out your true character or at least the way you think about a particular workplace situation.

While you may be ready to focus on your strengths during an interview, you may not be aware of what could be considered a weakness. And if you are not, you could easily put off the interviewer and lose the job.

Given below are four surefire ways of putting off your interviewer:

#1. Trying to Show You’re a Know-it-All

You may have multiple years of working experience under the belt. You may have a wide range of potential skills as well. But it’s a huge mistake to show that you know everything.

Interviewers are looking for candidates who are ready to learn new things and grow on the job. Why would an employer want to hire a candidate who will not adapt? Of course, you should take pride in your past achievements. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t move on and learn more.

If you don’t want to put off the interviewer, never ever try to imply that you have reached the highest level of your knowledge.

#2. Trash-Talking Anyone 

Interviewers or hiring managers closely watch every word that you say about supervisors and co-workers from your past job. Even if you are provoked, you should never let your guard down – unless you want to turn off the interviewer. You should avoid making sexist or racist remarks at all cost.

In short, trash-talking makes you unlikable and most interviewers filter out job applicants on these grounds.

#3. Saying You’ll Do Anything for Any Job Offer

A lot of candidates go on to say that they’ll do anything for the sake of getting a job. What does this suggest? One of these two – either you are utterly desperate or you are unaware of the job description. Whichever of these is true, the fact is that it will turn off the interviewer.

Hiring managers avoid hiring those candidates who seem to be desperate about getting the job. And they will never hire someone who doesn’t even have any idea of what the job description includes.

The best idea is to be honest about what you are skilled in and then relate those strengths to the current job offer.

#4. Asking Too Many Questions at the Wrong Time

Asking lots of wrong questions at the wrong time is yet another reason for putting off employers or hiring managers. While the interview has just started, you should never talk about money or the job position you will be offered. This tells the employer that you are not one of those candidates who will roll up their sleeves when more effort is required in the job.

Instead you should wait for the right time or seek permission before you want to ask any questions. Plus, you should not ask questions that leave a bad impression on the interviewer about your character or candidacy.

Who said you can’t go back to college or get higher education anymore just because you are an adult? When it comes to gaining more knowledge, age is no bar. In fact, the more knowledge or education you acquire, the more you’ll improve your life. In today’s economy, getting higher education is critical for career success. If you were planning to go back to school or college, now is your time.

Don’t let people stop you or advise you otherwise.

There are several reasons to think about getting higher education or going back to college. Given below are five of them.

#1. Land High Paying Jobs

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the income difference between the earnings of a high school diploma holder and a bachelor degree holder can be $20,000 a year or more.

Also, there are many researches that prove applicants with higher education are more likely to get high salary jobs. So, what are you waiting for? There can’t be a better return on investment than this. If you plan to land high paying jobs, you should immediately go back to college and get higher education.

#2. Increase Job Security

Regardless of the occupation or the industry, job security is something that everyone wishes for. If you are always worried about whether you’ll be able to keep your job or not, you’ll never be happier. And this insecurity will have a negative impact on every aspect of your life – including your health.

Getting higher education or a college degree is a surefire way of increasing your job security and live a happier life.

#3. Get a Promotion

When you are in a job, opportunities for promotions come and go. Have you ever faced a situation where you missed out on a promotion just because you were not adequately qualified or didn’t have a college degree? Well, it has happened to many. If you don’t want the next promotion slip away, you should immediately make that decision of going back to school or college and get higher education.

#4. Change Careers Easily

Changing careers is a tough decision to make, but sometimes you can’t avoid it. If you think you are stuck in a wrong career or you’ll do better in another career, you may need to change your career. What’s more important, however, is that you should be prepared well enough before you decide to step into a new career. If the new career you’ve chosen for yourself requires more knowledge and skills, getting back to college and acquiring higher education will help you a great deal.

A college degree will make the transition to a new career a lot easier. Which is more, it can even get you hired at a higher level.

#5. Expand Your Professional Network

People in your professional network can help you in a number of ways – offer you information, advise you about a new career, give you job leads etc. For a successful career, building a strong professional network is of utmost importance. And the best thing about going back to college is that it allows you to meet with people who share similar interests. You also get to meet with people from different countries, religions and backgrounds. So, it’s an excellent opportunity to expand your professional network and get numerous career benefits later.

There are several benefits of going back to college and getting higher education. Since you’re an adult, you can now make better decisions. Take action now so that you can take your career and life to the next level.

Here’s What You Can Do

Job satisfaction is a major issue for a lot of employees. Regardless of what type of job you are into, it’s important to keep yourself happy because if you don’t, you’ll impact both your professional and personal life.

Money is not the only factor when it comes to keeping yourself happy at work. There’s a large section of highly-paid employees who complain about not being happy with their jobs due to various reason. On the other hand, there are many employees who earn less but are happier with their work life. How much money do you think a farmer makes in a year? The average farmer makes £24,500. But you’ll be surprised to know that farmers are among some of the happiest workers, as claimed by a  survey which ranked around 300 jobs in terms of satisfaction.

Given below are some key tips that you can use to change your current job situation and start feeling more satisfied and happier.

Engage in Workplace Friendships: Do you have friends at work (i.e. work friends)? If you don’t, you should start making a couple of friends – probably find a best work friend. Employees who are engaged in friendships at work also enjoy their job more. Having friends at work creates a support system which keeps you happy and motivated. It also helps you become more productive.

Don’t Try to Change Others: While working in a company or organization, you’ll come across many different types of people – some of whom may be stubborn, opinionated and criticizing. If you try to change these people, you’ll only frustrate yourself and become unhappy. What you need to do is avoid arguing or discussing topics that are too sensitive with these people.

The way other people are made shouldn’t affect your own life. So, take control of your life and accept people for who they are.

Get Organized: Sometimes, happiness is the difference between a clean desk and a cluttered desk. If you are not feeling happy at work, an unorganized desk could worsen your mood even more. Keeping your work desk clean doesn’t only keep you happy, but it also helps you work more efficiently.

Emphasize Tasks that Give You Joy: A job has multiple aspects. While you may not like some tasks in your job profile, you may find others that are enjoyable. Find out those tasks that make you feel happy and emphasize those tasks. You can also take on additional tasks, that you find enjoyable, to feel happier.

Go for a Walk at Lunchtime: Even if you like the job you are doing, the ever-increasing workload and an overly demanding boss could easily leave you feeling stressed. And being glued to that work desk for eight-plus hours is never good for a body that was made to move. Going for a lunchtime walk is a good idea to improve your well-being, both physically and mentally. Take one or two of your work friends to make your walking even more fun and reap more health benefits.

 

The number of unhappy employees is increasing continuously. But you should never let workplace miserableness become a way of life for you. Follow these tips so that you can enjoy your work more and be happier.

You’re living in a digital age where social media has become a part and parcel of the everyday life. A larger portion of today’s job industry depends on social media platforms for finding and screening candidates. If you are not on social media yet, you’re definitely missing out on multiple potential career opportunities. Building a strong presence on social media is key to career success.

Social media provides an opportunity to advertise yourself for free, and connect with hiring managers, recruiters and employers.

But a lot of fresh graduates and working professionals are afraid of using social media because they believe it could lead to reputational harm. Though social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube are not harm-free zones, as far as the online reputation of a person is concerned, being afraid or not using them at all is not the right solution.

The fear of not using social media arises from the lack of knowledge about using it in a way that’s correct and safe.

Use these tips to get rid of your fear of social media –

Review Your Privacy Settings: Before you start using a social media platform of your choice, you should explore its privacy settings. Every social media platform has different features and options that you can use to protect yourself online. Know these settings and set them correctly.

Avoid Discussing Religion, Politics and Sex: While using social media as a career success tool, it’s important to stay away from discussions on topics that would immediately attract criticism. If you have a strong opinion on any of these topics, give one of your friends a telephone call and share it – rather than posting it on social media and letting plenty of people see and share it.

Connect with People You Know and Trust: In your desperation to show off a bigger friend count, don’t start adding just anyone. If you add people you don’t know or haven’t talked to for the last 10 years, you’ll actually put your reputation and personal brand at risk. Add only those people who you know for a long time and trust as friends who will never let you down.

Change Passwords Regularly: Would you like someone to hack into your account and start posting content that would offend people or embarrass you? Definitely, not. To avoid this situation, you should always remember to change your passwords on a regular basis. Also, don’t use the same password for multiple social media channels you use. Using the same password across all social media accounts you have increases the chances of hacking manifolds. Always, have different passwords for different accounts to keep your reputation well-protected.

Now that you know how to keep your reputation safe on social media, you should start using social media for career success without any delay. Decide on the kind of personal brand you want to build and then start building your social media profiles to take your career to the next level.