Saturday, May 30, 2020

5 Reasons Why Your Employees Want to Leave

5 Reasons Why Your Employees Want to Leave Imagine being in a situation where that star employee that you cant imagine running your business without wants to leave. And youre sitting there thinking what have I done to allow this to happen? Retaining top talent is as important, if not more important, then attracting new talent. And top talent quit their jobs all the time for a number of different reasons, but more often than not, the reason they leave has a lot to do with their employer. Here are a few reasons why that might be. 1. Low Salary Were starting with the most obvious factor; Money. When youre offering an employee a salary that is below market standard, you better hope that you have a strong enough culture to keep them because more often than not that employee will want to leave. How to fix:  Money isnt always everything to your employees but I implore you to stay on top of the competition, or at least  stay at the same level to them, to keep your very best workers. 2. Lack of Opportunities Employees will always seek growth opportunities and that is especially true to the Millennials and Gen Zers you have in the workplace. Theres a sense of direction that comes into play when you have something to work for or something to gain. Not only this, but employees want to grow and develop their skills. If they are not able to grow, both in terms of their position nor their skills, then that might be the very reason youre losing some of your most promising employees. How to fix:  Its important you have set up constant dialogue with your employees to ensure they are happy, and that you have created an achievable path for them within the company. 3. Losing Meaning At times your employee might lose meaning and purpose for what he or she is doing. They will begin to ask themselves if they are really contributing to something meaningful. To something that is actually bigger than themselves. Meaningfulness is very often hard to define, thats why its important your leaders continue to communicate your companys mission to your employees, and what exact part they play within it. In many ways, it is your job to connect your employees to the Why in Why do I work here?. How to fix:  Ask your employees questions such as: What inspires you to work? What makes you happy? How does our purpose make you feel? From this, you can form a baseline of understanding of what makes them tick and then facilitate a sense of meaning and purpose from this. 4. Lack of Autonomy How many times do we tell employees that they will be their own boss, that they will have all the autonomy in the world to do their work and drive the business forward? But in the process of doing so, were still monitoring and micro-managing their every move. Imagine having what is already very stressful role, coupled with the bickering and scolding of your manager on a daily basis. Doesnt sound great, does it? How to fix: Give your employees control. If an employee has a stressful job  but has a certain degree of control over their work, it would help alleviate the negative emotions they might feel. This is because while an employee might feel stressed at work, there is a genuine sense of accomplishment that comes out because the company put their trust in that employee. 5. Lack of Appreciation Or should I say lack of love? I think all employees want to feel confident in what they are doing but also within that they want to be appreciated and valued. For example: Working in a poor physical environment Being treated disrespectfully or ignored by their manager Being paid unequally to their colleagues There are tons of different ways an employee might feel unsupported by their company, and the larger the organization is, the worse this problem becomes. How to fix:  Create an environment of transparent communication between all levels of employees, and a system in place to ensure that managers are having a conversation with each and every one of their employees on a daily basis. Its important to note that these five factors are not the sole reasons your employees quit, but more often than not one of these factors plays a major role in their decision to leave. If you are able to keep appreciation, meaning, salary, independence, and opportunities in mind when thinking about each and every one of your employees, then you will more often then not retain the employees you have lost to in the past.

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Writing a Summary For a Resume From the FedEx Office

Writing a Summary For a Resume From the FedEx OfficeIf you have been asked to write a summary for a resume, you probably don't know what to write. After all, it is the summary and this is not your area of expertise. You are faced with a daunting task that requires you to wade through a ton of resumes and come up with a conclusion that will convince the employer that you are the right person for the job.Even if you've been working at the same job for several years, employers may still be looking for new applicants. They may be unwilling to take the risk of hiring someone that has no previous experience. Some may not be looking for someone who can do the job, but someone who can make them money. Employers need the best employees possible so they can bring in more business.Therefore, the first thing you need to do when writing a summary for a resume is to make sure that you have all of the information you need to write it down. Don't guess. Assess the needs of the employer before beginn ing your writing and follow through to the letter.When writing a summary for a resume, always be sure to emphasize how your resume will demonstrate your abilities. Don't waste anyone's time by stating your accomplishments in a way that is not related to the job opening. The best summaries highlight your strengths. This will draw the reader's attention to your main point of interest.You can also avoid any heartache and frustration by beginning your summary with a positive statement such as 'I have experience in this field.' Be sure to mention your background and education as well. Be sure to describe in detail any special skills or areas of expertise that you have. Make sure that you highlight your strengths by making reference to the things that you have done and the reasons why you were hired. Once you have written your summary, you need to go back and edit it. There is no reason to start over with another blank page. Start with a clean sheet of paper. Pick out an area where you ca n add a title or subtitle for your document. Write your summary at the top of your article.If you cannot write a header and a subtitle on your own, use Microsoft Word to add your headers and your subtitles. At the bottom of your document, add your date and your contact information. At the end of your document, indicate who you are and the name of the person you want to thank. The most important part of your document is to show that you understand what the employer is looking for and that you can be professional and concise in a letter or phone call.In summary, your summary should be a document that helps the reader to summarize the job opening. It should highlight your strengths and highlight your weaknesses. It should focus on what the employer is looking for.

Saturday, May 23, 2020

6 Tips for better conflict resolution

6 Tips for better conflict resolution Coats are very important on the farm. Mine are always not dry enough, not warm enough, or not dirty enough for going into the chicken house. So when Im on the farm I just wear one of the farmers coats. 1. Clarify personal needs that are threatened by the conflict. And hats. Do you see the red hat in the picture? Its from Amsoil Lubricants. When I first met the farmer I thought it was hilarious to have a hat that said lubricants. So the first time he dumped me I tried to get the lubricants hat as a relationship souvenir. Later I realized that he would dump me a lot. It was his way of coping with the feeling that intimacy is scary. So then I focused more on learning conflict resolution and less on who gets the hat. 2. Accept conflict as a natural part of personal progress. In fact, most of life is about conflict resolution. Its either internal conflict or external conflict, but if you dont have conflict then you are probably not trying to do something interesting with your life. (Not that interesting is everyones goal, of course.) Michael Stainer, who writes The Great Work Blog, once told me that if you are not annoying someone you are not doing anything new. I think this is true. (Sometimes I think it could all come down to this: you either scare your mom by creating an unstable life or you scare yourself that you are living merely the life your mom wants for you instead of the life you want for yourself.) 3. Assert your needs clearly and specifically. My goal is that I want to have baby chicks this spring. We did it a year ago. And they were so cute. And we took 500 photos and spent hours each day cuddling with the chicks under the cozy glow of the heat lamp the farmer set up in my garage. The kids were so happy, and I was happy that the kids were happy, and the farmer was still in good-behavior-dating mode, so when I didnt want to clean up caked-on poop and dead chick residue (yes, some of the chicks died) the farmer did it. He says its too much to make room for me and the kids at the same time as helping me and the kids hatch chicks. 4. Learn what works for other people, and practice in an honest setting. Today companies are standing out by being more transparent. Bridgewater, for example, is a hedge fund that video tapes every meeting they have. This allows you to see what you are like in meetings, and get better at self-coaching, but it also allows you to see a meeting where a co-worker got a bigger bonus than you. Now you can figure out why (and then record yourself screaming at your boss about it.) The transparency trend shows in transparent conflict at home, too. People blog about fighting with a spouse, and they even do real-time public spousal fighting on Facebook. Remember how sex got better when we all started talking about what we are doing? I think the same is true of conflict. When we see other people arguing, we get better at doing it ourselves. John Gottman is the king of fight. Well, the king of reading them. He can look at a couple fighting and tell if they will get a divorce. Really. And now hes a millionaire for writing books that tell you how to fight so you dont get a divorce. The farmer and I are working on that. 5. Focus on building consensus. Researchers have found that conflict within a company makes the company smarter and more innovative. Thats why companies with diversitypeople from different backgrounds are more successful than homogenous companies. But this is not true for small, fast-moving startups. Management consultant Frans Johansson found that in the case of a startup, there is no time for conflict because there are too many decisions that have to be made very quickly. So diversity is not productive in that situation. Do you see the woodwork in the photo of the coats? The farmer doesnt want to paint it. And I said okay, because I thought he cared about it more than I did, and I think of us in startup mode right now, and the less conflict we can have the better. 6. Laughter eases conflict and promotes cooperative negotiating. But then I talked with my designer, who specializes in color (Maria Killian I love her) and she said that the wood is very limiting. Unless we paint it white, the wood functions as orange in the house, and very few shades of paint will match orange. I told Maria its going to be a big fight. She said that tons of couples fight this fight. Maria explained that men have an odd affection for their woodwork. She said its worth it if I want strong colors on the walls. So I explained the colors to the farmer. And he brought up that the pink bedroom is also bugging him. And I quoted a study that I wish I had read but I sort of only heard it third-hand which said that men feel more masculine in a bedroom that is very girly. Youll have better orgasms if we paint the woodwork, I told him. He laughed. And then agreed to paint the wood white, and the bedroom pink. But, he said, no baby chicks.

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Planning For Your Retirement

Planning For Your Retirement Lets face it for most of us, the thought of retirement is a long way away, which makes it hard to properly evaluate the importance of preparing for it. Saving for retirement is an abstract goal, like being a better person, that if not pursued results in very real consequences, like being broke. Theres going to come a time when your retirement is your life. When that time comes, its important to make sure youre protected, comfortable, and have access to the largest amount of funds possible. What most people dont know is that if you have a health condition that reduces your life expectancy, you can increase your pension annuity. The way to do this is to secure enhanced annuities from a company like Saga. If you are a smoker, are under/overweight, or have type II Diabetes or high blood pressure, enhanced annuities can help you guarantee a higher retirement income. More serious medical conditions can lead to even higher income. This is why its important to reveal any and all medical history, not matter how minor, when requesting or discussing an annuity quote. Too often, we make smart investments in our future, like starting a new careering or going to school, while simultaneously ignoring opportunities and leaving money on the table. Opportunities like  enhanced annuities may seem small or insignificant now, but they can be incredibly important down the road. Thats why even though answering thousands of medical questions to secure your enhanced annuities may seem daunting, it is a smart step to protecting yourself and your livelihood in the distant future. The goal is to worry about these issues today so you dont have to later, and by contacting an annuity service, you need not worry at all. Everyday actuaries for pension funds and insurance companies crunch numbers to see how much money someone like you can earn. They use medical history all the time to deny people money and coverage. But when that medical history shows they owe you more now, they dont go out of their way to tell you. Thats what enhanced annuities do. They make sure the algorithms can work for you, not just against you.

Saturday, May 16, 2020

How To Write A Harvard Writing Center Resume

How To Write A Harvard Writing Center ResumeHarvard University has one of the largest writing centers in the country. There are two other writing centers that are affiliated with Harvard University. These writing centers provide assistance to the professionals who want to work at Harvard. A person can choose to work for any of these writing centers.The writing center in Cambridge provides instruction on various styles of writing for students. There are also members of the writing center, who give advice and suggestions to help make the writing a little bit easier. The members of the writing center come from many backgrounds, including education, medicine, journalism, etc. Some are famous authors, while others are bookkeepers. Harvard University graduates have started writing for various magazines and newspapers.The Boston writing center was set up by a group of six main faculty members in the college. This writing center is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. There are others workin g in this writing center including local residents and volunteers. The Boston writing center is not only a writing center but is also a community-oriented center for the most part.The Harvard University writing center resume assistance includes all the basic materials needed for making a good resume. These include information on English composition, work experience, academic awards, and work ethics, along with courses that were taught by the applicant. They will also discuss how the applicant can support the statement, be interviewed, and what is expected from the individual during the interview.Writing an appropriate resume takes time and it is important that you take time to complete this task correctly. You must be sure to read everything carefully, ensure that it is not all in the right places, as well as understand the necessary formatting options. You will need to have a letterhead and any other supporting paperwork that you need to get the resume finished. Make sure that all the information is accurate and will show the prospective employer that you are qualified to fill the position.Write out the H U Letterhead. You should have a blank resume for the recruiter to use. The recruiter will scan through your resume for spelling and grammatical errors. You will be able to catch these errors before they get too much attention.Resume instructions are best reviewed before the interview. The interviewer will see your entire resume and then ask you questions. Most of the times, the interviewer will use the interview to ask you what the purpose of the resume is and why it is important.After you have a resume, send it to the writing center where you want to work. It is advisable to send the resume as soon as possible because they can accept or reject it without delay. The job that you have applied for may not be available, so be sure to send it as soon as possible.

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Which Careers Are Best For Paying Off Student Debt - CareerAlley

Which Careers Are Best For Paying Off Student Debt - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Education is the primary for most of us to get a good career start in life. But it does come at a cost and unless we are lucky enough to have a wealthy family or a full scholarship then it can be a very costly exercise. So most often we need to take out student loans to pay for tuition and living costs, and the expectation is that we would pay this back over our working life, and the obvious answer is, get a high paying job that will allow easy and comfortable repayments, however there are other ways and other types of jobs that offer alternative methods of repayment, such as student loan forgiveness, the first few of our examples are this type. There are other ways and other types of jobs that offer alternative methods of repaying your student debt, student loan forgiveness, the first of a few of our examples are this type. Tweet This Teaching Teaching is a career profession where you can obtain student loan forgiveness providing that you meet the eligibility criteria. You can have up to $17,500 of your debt wiped off due to service as a teacher, and you must complete five consecutive, full-time years as a classroom-based school teacher. Public Service There is a more general public service student loan forgiveness scheme but the terms and conditions are a little different from the specific teaching scheme. For a start you need to have worked for ten years rather than the five you need to complete when teaching, this is a long time and you should consider that the roles you would occupy are lower paid than the average graduate salary, this is why they qualify for the scheme. So you should consider how much loan you have to be written off against any potential salary lost by taking the offered salary. Other jobs can be used to get loan forgiveness, such as some medial roles but this is quite limited. Image by David Mark from Pixabay The Military Entering the military allows for many to have their college education paid for directly by the military, giving a free ride, in a sense from the start to the end of your degree, however, this does mean you need to pledge several years service following graduation. Also if you start your service after you have already completed college then you may still have student loan debts hanging over you and President Trump recently eliminated student debt for disabled vets which is not how you would plan to rid yourself of student debt, but its handy to know. Working Abroad You can always consider looking to work abroad, this can be done in two different ways to help pay off student debt. Firstly, if you go to live and work in a country where the cost of living is lower and save up for a few years you might easily be able to come back and pay off the debt. The second option is a little bit more severe, you could avoid paying back your loan entirely, but to do this you would need to leave without ever planning to return to the USA, which Im sure you can agree is an extreme measure in anyones book. What's next? Ready to take action? Choose the right tools to help you build your career. Looking for related topics? Subscribe and make meaningful progress on your career. It’s about time you focused on your career. Get Educated Contact Us Advertise Copyright 2020 CareerAlley. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy + Disclosure home popular resources subscribe search

Friday, May 8, 2020

Straight As dont exist in work-life balance

Straight As don’t exist in work-life balance Today’s workplace â€" and workforce â€" emphasizes work-life balance. Company perks like extended parental leave, quarterly off-sites, and paid time off are top priorities for employers and employees alike. Yet living a balanced lifestyle is no simple task. Men and women at all stages of their careers now manage both a family and a full-time job. In 2015, 60.6 percentof married-couple families included two working parents. When juggling work and family, it is impossible to find a perfect balance. I spoke with Jamie Barnett, chief marketing officer (CMO) at Netskope, a cloud security company in Silicon Valley, to discuss how employees at all levels can find the company that’s best suited for them, and why everyone needs to abandon the idea that perfect balance exists. You’re the CMO of a growing enterprise security company and a mother of two. What’s your motto when it comes to balancing everything? “Strive for a B average.” My husband and I raise two kids and work full-time. If you want to work, parent and lead a normal life, such as exercise, have the occasional date night, and host an occasional party, striving for a B is the only way to achieve that and still maintain your sanity. You’re still a good parent and employee even if the kids eat cereal for dinner sometimes, you pass on a non-essential work task, or the house is messy for a week. If you try to be perfect, you’ll drive yourself crazy and you won’t add value. Straight A’s don’t exist in work-life balance. What tips can you offer to parents who manage family and career? Choose a company with a great culture. That doesn’t mean exclusively seek out companies that brand themselves as “family friendly,” but it does mean do substantial due diligence to find a company that values transparency, teamwork, and execution versus face-time politics. I looked at 60 companies and made 30 backchannel due-diligence phone calls on the CEO and peers before accepting Netskope’s offer. There are red flags when vetting culture. If there is no diversity in management, managers have no interests outside of work, there is a big focus on face-time, or the company retains combative employees at the expense of morale because they make their numbers, then the company is not the right fit. My CEO’s wife works a high-powered job. He values her work and they share in raising their child. His beliefs are such that if I call into a meeting rather than come into the office because my child is sick, he doesn’t flinch. What’s the biggest mistake that people can make when trying to achieve a healthy work-life balance? Don’t try to accomplish everything. Rather, carefully choose what you focus on. Think of your time in financial terms â€" assign yourself an hourly rate, and when you find yourself spending too much time on a questionable pursuit, calculate its cost against the probability-adjusted payoff. Next, think about your opportunity cost. If you spend three hours on an insubstantial tactical task, the return isn’t attractive, but if you use those hours furthering a business deal, that’s a better return on investment. Many tactical tasks are unavoidable, and leaders do have to roll up their sleeves, but, directionally, you need to continually re-assess your to-do list. That financial lens helps you prioritize. How can companies encourage their employees to live a more balanced lifestyle? Don’t schedule a strategy meeting at 5 p.m. when parents need to head home to their kids, keep emails and phone calls to a minimum during nights and weekends, make sure the work environment is enjoyable. I laugh several times a day because I enjoy my colleagues, learn from them, and am entertained by them. Face time should not be a main priority. Rather, hire the best people and judge them on their output. My team is mature enough to know when they need to be in the office for meetings, at home to concentrate without distractions, or at Starbucks to write their whitepapers. By promoting a great culture and enabling employees to work where they’re most productive, companies will make huge strides in work-life balance. Is it the responsibility of senior-level employees to set an example for their juniors? Absolutely. To set an example for our employees at Netskope, we foster a community for women to support each other professionally. Since women in all stages of their career face bias in the workplace, we created the Awesome Women of Netskope (AWON), where we share articles and ideas and meet every couple of months to talk about getting the most out of our careers. Remember, B’s are good! Join Dana Manciagli’s Job Search Master Class right now and immediately access the most comprehensive job search system currently available!