Do You Have What it Needs to Lead?

Many would say that some are born leaders, effected by genetics hormones while others may just think that leaders can be developed but I suppose that we all do agree that having the right leadership skills is absolute critical in order to achieve organization goals and missions.

Leadership is not just about telling people what to know or instructing people on how they should work but it is how one inspires their people to perform their best as well while giving them the opportunity for their mates to develop and learn.

You might not be surprise that a good leadership skills often require confidence and good skills in decision-making, but are you aware that there might be some others important criteria that we tends to neglect as we lead.

Lead by Example

The catch here is simple, if you expect something from the person that you are leading; you have to expect it from yourself as well. This shows that you carries a strong character and makes you a trustworthy leader. If you expect your teammates to arrive on time, then make yourself a good example or a role model for them and reach the office on time.

Learn from Mistakes

Those who never made any mistakes are those who had never try something new.

There are times when mistakes just happen and a good leader does not simply run away from their mistakes or put the blame on others but they are those who admit and learn from their mistake as well.

Be someone your teammates would respect by admitting mistakes, learn from mistakes and most importantly is never to repeat the same mistake ever again!

Know Your People Well

Knowing your team members well allows you to make the right decisions, delegate responsibilities, and choose the right person to execute your plan or projects. Leaders are someone who knows the strength and weakness of each of their mates while analyzing the potential of each member in order to make the fair and right decisions at the right time.

Stay Close to Your Team

Saying ‘’Hi’’ to every one of your members can mean so much to your mates who works for you. If you had not been in the office for a few days, call and see how your team are and this gives them an opportunity to raise up the issues the face.

Keep Cool at All Times

More often than not, hasty decisions are made when one panic. Being a leader means that you would have a lot of decision making to do and this will not help if you are an impatient leader. As a leader, you would need to keep your calm at all times no matter in any situation, circumstances and at any point of time.

There can be dozens of books on effective leadership technique and this shows that the value of good leadership is tremendously crucial in any organization. A good leader does not just create followers but they create more leaders. It is simply impossible to become a great leader without walking alongside with your teammates and understand the skills and strength of every teammate. So, do you have what it takes to become a leader?

Are You Happy at Work?

Ever since when we were a child, our parents and teachers would ponder us on what we would want to be when we grow up. Not only that, but we were also often being told to study hard, to go to colleges and universities to ensure that we would be able to score a good job and also a better salary payment. All this had indirectly showed us that career had played an important role in the society even since we were young.

Most of us have our dream job and there are those lucky ones who are living in their dreams and feeling happy every morning and looking forward to head to the office as soon as they can. However, there are also those who feel that their job is just another burden or responsibilities where they are force to bear for to sake of making a living.

 We spend almost half of our waking hours working, and now, it might be a time for us to pay a little extra attention on our level of jab satisfaction or in another words, do you actually enjoy or happy working?

Each individual has his or her own passion and interest and if your job is something related with your individual interest then you would probably love your job as well. For example, if you are someone who is into arts and craft, then working in a designing field would definitely matches your passion. Similarly, if you were someone who are good in arithmetic, then being an economist and accountant would be your best choice where you can perform your strength in arithmetic skills.

Doing what you love or what you do best acts as a self-motivation where you will find yourself feeling happy and satisfied with your job.

If you found yourself often lose track of time when you are working or working overtime more and more often, then you should be congratulating yourself by now because this indicates that you are working with enjoyment. You are very submerged into your work more than everything else that is around you.

Another reliable indicator of whether you are happy working at work can be known through your relationship with your colleagues. A good relationship with your colleague can make a big difference on your job satisfaction. Work can fussed you up but if the relationship between you and your colleagues are positive, they make your work more enjoyable and can always cheer you up when things at work goes wrong.

Your colleagues are also good listeners, as they understand most when it comes to your workload, responsibilities and what you face at work.

Lastly, is your job providing you a good salary for your survival? According to the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, shelter and foods ranks very high but obtain shelter and foods, one would need to have sufficient money first. Other than that, having sufficient money is also another form of security. If you feel that your monthly payment does not give you enough compensation for your energy, this would definitely get you unmotivated and you will feel more reluctant to perform job tasks efficiently.

If your responses towards the indicators stated above are negative, the chances are you are likely to feel unhappy or dissatisfied with your job and you might feel that your responsibilities at work is just another additional burden for you.

As cliché as this might sound, happiness is always a choice. You can choose to be happy at work. Yes, it is just that simple. Always try to see things in another perspective or stand in the shoes of your employer and instill the positive attitude when it comes to work. Lastly, always avoid spending time on gossips and negative people. 

How to Make Good First Impression During Job Interview

Scoring your dream job does not only rely on how many years of working experience you have or your level of education. Though these might be some of the factors, many candidates tends to make a mistake when it comes to an interview and lacking of preparation causes candidates to become clueless on what they would need to say and how should they respond to the questions asked by the interviewer. Many of the candidates had also neglected on their physical appearance and the way to carry themselves.

Although the saying might tell you that one should never judge a book by its cover but humans are naturally visual creatures which are easily attracted to visually attractive things. When it comes to interview, we only have one chance to make a good impression, why would there be reason of not making best the reason out of it with some handy tips below?  

Walk in with confidence

As mentioned earlier, first impression does play a crucial role when it comes to job interview. Why you might ask?

First impression creates biases and a person does judge on what they see at the first time they meet you. When you enter the interview room, your potential employer might already have gone through your resumes and cover letter and now it is your chance to proof to them on how good you are.

The way you speak, the way you walk into the interview room, and the way you sit will be observe and this directly reflects your confidence. If you slouch when you sit during the interview, you might be delivering a message that you does not care about the interview or you are bored.

Thus, you might to pay special attention to small details like to give firm handshakes and to smile when you greet the interviewer. Details like this would be taken into account when the interviewer does the final evaluation on the candidates.

The money issues

Many had made a mistake to drag in the money issues too early during the interview process. For some candidates, money and other remuneration might be their focus during a job interview but it is important for you to show interest in the company instead of the financial side of things.

It would always be a wise decision for this issue to bring up during the end of the interview session or even better if your employer is the one who brings up this issue.

Show positive attitude

Would you rather be hiring someone who is lack of the initiative to excel instead of someone who is an enthusiastic and positive person?

Employers prefer to bring in positive values into the work force, so portraying positive attitude such as being polite, and to seem interested in the job would mean a big deal to the employer during the interview and this is why we mentioned that a good impression is important in the early of this topic.

Dress appropriately

Are you aware on how important advertising is towards a product? Well, that goes the same with you during an interview. You are the product to be sold during the interview so be sure to get yourself well groomed and clean. Nothing can go wrong with a fitted suit and pressed pants for male candidates while women would look professional with a simple formal dress with minimum accessories.

During the interview, you might want your employer to concentrate on you and not your bright blue hair streaks. Make sure that you overall appearance are appropriate shows your employer that you are taking the interview seriously and ready to talk business.

As a conclusion, there are three crucial points to be remembered during an interview which is to be prepared, be professional and good interpersonal skills. More often than not, candidates are chosen not mainly on their qualifications but it is the overall impression which they left behind.

How to Score a Successful Interview

You’ve sent out numerous resumes to too many numbers of companies that by now, you had already lost count while job fairs are where you would be during the weekends. On a fine day, your phone rings and you just know your hard work finally pays. You’ve just scored yourself an interview. It is finally the time for you to shine and to show your future employers what you’ve have in you.

Never judge a book by its cover doesn’t always happens in real life and this is why dressing up appropriately plays a crucial part in scoring you an interview. When you attend an interview you’re playing a role as a job prospect so play the part. Whether you’re a female or a male, you would never go wrong with a sophisticated suit. You can also play up some personality on your apparel by wearing accessories but remember not to go too far. Just keep in mind to put everything simple and nice.

Knowledge is power. Make full use of the internet and study all you can from the company’s history, product description, services or so on. The more you know about your callback company, the more confidence you can gain when you walk into the interview room. This shows that you have made a full preparation and appreciate the chance that is given for the interview. In other words, you’re giving your interviewer a positive impression.

Always prepare answers for questions like tell us more about you, why did you leave your previous job, why should we hire you, and The Salary Question. You know by heart that this would be the question most interviewers would ask during the interview session so there would be no reason for you not to prep for it. Answering all the questions swiftly without the silent moment shows that you are confident enough for the job.

When interviewer asked on your working experience, do not forget to practice the TODAY acronym. TODAY stands for Teamwork, Overcoming Obstacles, Duties of your past positions, Achievements, and Your strengths and weaknesses. Describe to your employer’s what had you done in your previous employment and show them why they should hire you.

At the end of the interview session, you would be asked if you have any question for the interviewer but if not, you can just mention that you have some queries. This shows that you are interested in working with the company and would like to know more about the firm.

Attending interview could be a stressful and nerve wrecking but how bad could it be if you are a candidate who are confidence and well prepared?

Tips on Building Positive Relationship with Colleague

One spent at least 40 hours in the office in a week and this would mean that you spend more time with your colleagues or co-workers as compared with your family. You interact, communicate, and work together as a team with your colleagues almost daily thus; building a good relationship with them would be a good investment towards you and your career’s well-being.

The first key in building a healthy relationship among your colleagues is to respect like how you would want them to respect you. Understand the background of your colleagues and their likes and dislikes while at the same time you are to respect and compromise the difference among the both of you. If one of your colleagues prefers to work without any disturbance, try to minimize the volume of the music or try not to chit-chat with other colleagues loudly.

Spending time with positive people will make you become contagious with their positive vibes. Individuals would always prefer to be around with positive people so always bear in mind to think positive and act positive. Start by simple steps like saying something nice to your colleague and refuse to say anything that is negative. This way, your colleague will enjoy spending time with you while you can increase your interpersonal skill as well.

It is very crucial to support each another at work especially if you are working together as a team or in the same department. When your colleagues face a hard day whether it might be due to their work or family problem, try your best to be supportive by lending a hand to help or being there for them to share their problems.

Do not thank everything for granted. Show appreciation if your colleague had done you a good help in the recent project or in any other tasks. This might be simply but it is amazing how a thank you note can enhance the relationship between you and your colleague.

Always practice good office etiquette and stay out of any office politics. Spreading gossip around the office is a big no no and it doesn’t matter if it is a true information or it is a gossip that is untrue but the last thing that you would want to do is to ruined the trust cultivated between you and your colleague.

With technologies such as emails, text messages, and intercom calls, we tend to neglect to forget that we are using it far too often in the sack of saving time. Face to face communication would always be the essential if you would like to build strong relationship with your colleagues, or better yet, grab a change to go for short coffee break together. This way, your colleague will find you approachable and find you easy to communicate.

Nothing can be easier than to be friendly among your colleagues like inviting for weekend activities for a game of tennis or for an hour or two of happy hours does not only help you to unwind the stress at work but this also builds a strong positive relationship among your colleague. Nothing can drive one crazy than to think about work after their working hours so do keep the rules in mind that you can chat about always everything except work.

Building a good relationship and rapport with you colleague in the workplace is important for you to build your career as well as to find the satisfaction in your current job. So which tips would you use to start building that perfect relationship with your colleagues?

What you should do when your boss is making you angry?

This might not be the first time your boss is driving you crazy; you think it is the time for you to move on to another job. It is a sad fact that the market nowadays is not very much helpful as companies big and small are doing some downsizing due to the market recession. This result to just stick to our current job and accept it as it is. 

Many would have issues or even arguments with your bosses. Below are some ideas on how to handle when the situation between you and your boss becomes hot. 

Keep calm 

Take a deep breath and go for a short walk nearby the office area or take short holidays to ensure that you have gotten over the emotional upset. There is no use to continue a conversation when you are angry, as it would make the problem worse and more often than not fighting anger with anger bring no solution. 

Analyzing the situation

Once you have calm down and a clear mind, you can then think of the real cause of the problem. Sometimes, throwing all your problem to your boss can be for too convenient. Are you taking long hours of lunch break frequently, or are the deadlines for the projects are truly unreasonable? Determine whether does the problem lies on you or your boss by trying to evaluate the situation at your boss’s perspective as well. 

Speak to your friends 

Speaking to your friends on your problem allows you to get advises and opinion from a person who are not involve in the issues is a good option. If you have friends, who had gone through the same situation as you do might give you a tip or two on how to deal with the problem. 

Communicate 

Request your boss to schedule a meeting about the problem. If your boss accepted your request then this is the best way to clear out the smoke in the air but if he refuses, you can always let yourself know that you have tried to make the situation better. 

Speak to your peers 

Nobody knows your boss as much as your colleagues do and others who have worked in the company for years. Speak to them about your problems because they might give some strategies or tips which you can utilized in dealing with your boss but if your peers are more than surprised by your story, then you might need to go back to step 2. 

Stress at Work and How to Deal with it?

Feeling pressured and stressful on your current job is what employees would experience everyday but do you know that excessive stress are harmful physically and mentally. You might be stressful over your excessive workloads, or maybe it is due to the unclear tasks or responsibilities assigned and you do not have any control over your work environment but this does not mean you are powerless in managing your own stress. Although, it is impossible to escape from work pressure but you can always find the correct way to manage it.

Recognize the warning signs

An early detection brings an early solution. Recognize the early symptoms of stress such as fatigue, anxious, loss of appetite, insomnia, and constantly depressed. When this signs occurs, the cause of pressure is still in early stages and it would be possible for the problem to be solute quickly before it becomes a long-term pressure.

Work life balance

Emotions are contagious. When you feel unhappy or stressed, it would affect the emotions of other people near you. Leave all your work stress in the office and enjoy spending time with your family or friends. Spend more time with happy people and go for dinner or movies with them. Their happy vibes may just affect you.

Exercise more

Not only exercising is good for the body but also it is also good for the brain in coping with stress. Doing simple exercise like taking walk in the park, taking slow bike ride, or jogging sends out endorphins (happy hormones) which could make you feel good about yourself after all that sweating. The sound of nature such as the chirping of birds or enjoying the wind brushing against your face helps in relaxing the brain.

Keep your working environment clean

You have bits of paper flying around; files and folders are piling up on your working desk, and sticky notes are all stick all around your room. A cluttered workstation will only bring a cluttered mind. External reasons could be one of the reasons of increased stress. Invest in some tray dividers to make your documents organized and some green plants for a relaxing work place.

No procrastinating

Practice good time management and managing your time effectively is the essential. Works piles up as you delay your tasks. Completing one task before proceeding to the next tasks is a good tip to avoid abandoned tasks. Other than that, always try to make it a habit to complete tasks before deadline so you have enough time to check for error.

Take short breaks

Sitting and facing your computer for more than 8 hours daily sometime causes mental block. Many make the mistake to forget about taking short breaks when under working under pressure but taking a 5 minutes of ‘’off time’’ to do simple stretching or walking prevents tired muscle and calm the mind. Going for a short walk to lunch also allows you to take your mind off work.