A Positive Approach to Redundancy

The current economic environment is a tough one to navigate through, with cuts seen in public funding, the double dip of recession affecting many private companies across the sectors, and a high level of unemployment hanging over the country. For many, this means having to face the prospects of redundancy. Everyone is affected differently by redundancy. For many people it can be highly traumatic, but as with most things in life; there are two ways to try and look at redundancy if the situation arises for you; see it as a case of victimisation or take it as an opportunity to re-evaluate your career.
Even the most positive individual will feel some form of denial, anger and loss of confidence if they find themselves facing redundancy. This is perfectly naturally. But after a period of feeling low, try to regain some focus and work towards seeing this as 'an opportunity to re-evaluate your career path'. Here are some top tips:
- Treat your new job search as a project - it will require that much full time dedication anyway!
- Draw up a plan of action; include important actions that need to take place, review dates, and an anticipated 'end date' for the project.
- Take stock of the resources that are available to you, and use them as much as you can. Do you have access to an outplacement scheme? Fantastic! Engage with it early. Is it worth investing in a career coach? Think about each of the resource options available to you, even if you just dismiss them all at least they have been considered.
- Review your finances. Think about what you 'need' to earn as oppose to what you were earning. This can make you re-assess your priorities, values and even your preferred career path.
- Try not to just take up the first role that you are offered, 'just because' you are happy to have been offered something, to feel valued and to have a sense of security again. As Steve Preston says, "if you plan your campaign right, you will get offers of jobs you really want or you may decide to set up your own business or develop a portfolio career."
- Think outside the box when it comes to sourcing job vacancies. Don't just use publications, job websites and agencies; also try online and offline networking.
- Think about the individuals you have around you, and use them to as a support network; after all they will only want the best for you so surround yourself with their positive vibes, knowledge and experiences.
Above all, keep focused and motivated and learn to overcome knock backs. Good luck.
By Josie Kehoe

Five Career Decision Making Secrets

We live in a black and white, yes or no society. Often when faced with a big career decision, that built-in bias causes us to stop at two either or options. That's a mistake.
Hindsight proves that there are often multiple options available to us and just by looking at your career change in different ways and from different approaches you'll see more of those options.
Here are five decision-making secrets that will help you to see your optimum choices in foresight rather than until it's too late.
1). You know far more than you think you do.
You've been recording observations subconsciously for your entire life. You've taken in and retained much more than you think you have. You're also connected to all the wisdom in the universe. So, you often don't need more analysis or research. You do need to pull everything together that you already know and make your best decision possible from where you are with what you have.
2). Readiness to act on a new direction is more based on the existence of confident feelings than on any group of facts.
Where does confidence come from? It comes from remembering your competent experiences. Let go of your career change mistakes and look at your accomplishments. They will put you in a much more confident and hopeful frame of mind. Examine all of your options from that frame of mind.
3). Engagement clarifies. Action intensifies clarity.
By choosing your best bet and getting into action you can't go wrong. Perspective is enhanced via movement. Often you won't see your best career options until you take a couple of small steps forward. Look for ways to do that without fully committing to a new direction.
4). Write down multiple options and sleep on them.
When we live with a good question even for 24 hours our n mind seeks a solution. Often by coming back the next days and asking these questions you'll see what you couldn't see the day before. What am I missing? What else? How would a genius arrive at the optimum choice?

5). Decide on the day and time that you will commit to one option.
It's not decision- making that bothers you and causes distress but the lack of making decisions. All unmade decisions eat away at your sense of self-respect and drain your energy. By setting a firm decision date and following through, you will make the decisions and increase your feeling of competency.
ANY decision that you can see in hindsight was there and available for you to see in foresight and you'll increase the probability of seeing it by expanding your options to at least five viable options before you make the decision.
Actively use these secrets to increase the probability of making the right decision for you, the first time.
But also know this. Making decision-making mistakes is a normal part of the self-actualization process, the business building process and yes of the career decision process.
It's actually valuable to recognize our mistakes. Without mistakes we would have nothing from which to adjust and make follow-up decisions. It really is all good and by deciding and acting frequently you'll get better and better at doing what's right for you.
By Tom Volkar 

Determination Makes the Difference in Personal Development

Today I want to focus on the role determination plays in your personal development. There are many factors to being successful as you well know, but determination is one of those difference makers (one of those elements that distinguishes those who succeed from those who fail).
Have you ever put together a particularly challenging puzzle? One with a thousand or more pieces that took many hours and several days to complete? One that you wanted to keep together once it was finished?
I can remember working on a few puzzles like that with my wife and children. At the time I don't think I realized the connection to personal development, but now I do.
When the puzzles were finished we would leave them out on the table for a few weeks so we could admire our handiwork each time we passed by. Sometimes we discovered there were pieces or whole sections of pieces mysteriously out of place (possibly moved by our curious cat, or one of the kids). After a few careful reconstructions we would decide it was time to glue the puzzle onto some cardboard to make sure the pieces would stay in place.
Well, working to achieve a goal is kind of like putting together one of those puzzles. Whether it's working on a degree, setting out on a new career path, improving a relationship, building a business, losing weight, or training for an ironman, it takes a lot of hard work and time to make all the pieces fit. Once you're well on your way to achieving the goal, it's nice to step back and admire your handiwork and feel proud of yourself. But then, as time goes by, some of the pieces get out of place, and some can go missing completely, resulting in more time and effort picking up those pieces and making them fit once again.
Determination is the glue that holds the pieces of your puzzle together. Determination is what keeps you in the action mode, consistently doing the tedious, unpleasant or difficult, daily tasks that move you closer and closer to the achievement of your goals. Webster defines Determination as "the act of coming to a decision" and a "firm or fixed purpose".
When you put your pieces together, if you want them to stay there, you'll need to add the glue. Make a decision to secure those pieces together permanently. Fix your purpose and remain in the action taking mode. Determination is a difference maker - let it make a difference in your personal development
George Morse

What Are You Worth? Career Salaries Determining Your Worth

Have you ever tried asking your employer how much you are worth? They would most likely say '50k' or '70k' or '150k'. They are telling you you are worth what they are willing to pay you. Do you feel like you are worth more? Of course - it's because you value your time greatly. And you should. Time is all we have, and before you know it, it is all gone.
Your employer is determining your worth - but is this right?
Should you be basing your worth on what other people are willing to pay you? Should your time be worth your career salaries?
The answer is no - you are worth what you think you are worth. But what does this mean? It means that if you think your time is too important to be sweating the small stuff - it is. Every time you have missed an event because you were working your day job, or you have looked out the window and realized that time is marching on - and you are still trying to schedule time in to smell the roses - you need to value your time more.
But is it that easy?
No - you need to learn to value your time. You have to work out how much you need to earn to live, and then spend the rest of the time doing the things that you want! Your career salaries may be a status symbol, but all you really need is money to live - and then the freedom to live!
You need to pay yourself a wage - pay yourself to live! You ask any small business owner, any person who works from home. They will tell you that the benefit for them is that they own their own time. They have the freedom to live and do what they want to. They get paid any amount they earn - rather than what other people tell them they are worth. They decide their own career salaries!
In 2010, people are not choosing the traditional route - in fact it is only one route of many! Choosing to work from home enables you to live each day - enjoy the sunshine and feel like you have really lived!
Choose you as the number one person in your life - and determine your own worth.
Clare Sharples

5 Tips to Help You Write an Effective Resume

Applying for a job is not an easy task. You need to have a perfect resume. A resume is a concise document, which summarizes all your achievements for a particular job. A resume can be considered as a candidate’s first impression as it lists all your qualities and it is your resume, which can get you the job. A prospective employer looks for a well designed and professional looking resume. Therefore it is very essential to properly organize your resume to get your dream job. I will provide some essential tips to help you create an effective resume:
Tips to Help You Write an Effective Resume
1. Firstly you should tailor your resume according to your job needs or career field. When you begin writing your resume, you should thoroughly work on its content and composition. For this you should first make a list of all your strengths and career goals and add these relevant points in your resume and highlight it. The use of appropriate language is also very important. You must make use of positive language with short phrases and do not elaborate all your details. If you have recently made some successful accomplishments or added value to your skills then update all this in your resume. Your resume is basically a picture of yourself and the better you tailor your resume the better it portrays your personality.
2. The most important part of a resume is to mention how much you know your employer. If you have enough information about the prospective employer you can accordingly tailor your resume. This helps the candidate to get familiar with the job requirements and the company’s background and accordingly customizes his resume by including the experience relevant to the job. You must make sure that your skills, qualification and capability must match the job requirement and any irrelevant data can spoil your resume.
3. A resume’s proper format must be followed. After gathering all relevant skills and information about yourself, you should make sure to put all this in order. You must prioritize your duties and basic details for it to look more presentable. Employers look for a strong position in the resume therefore it is necessary to list your strongest position first. Avoid using long paragraphs. Instead use a bullet list to place your accomplishments as it is eye catching. Candidates should always remember to make their resume in such a way so that it is easily readable. Your resumes should grab the attention of the reader.
4. It is essential to bear in mind that including irrelevant facts will only spoil the image of your resume, for example your hobbies or activities, religion and your number of children and their ages. All this information is not what an employer is seeking in your resume. Do not mention false information or anything negative which may sway an employer’s decision in hiring you.
5. Do not use one single resume to be sent out to every other employer. It is important to modify your resume according to the company and their job needs. Although you might be looking for one single position in different companies, every company has different goals, missions and culture and thus resumes should always be modified.
By: Anna Stewart 

Grab right job with right attitude

Finding your dream job in this competitive age is really a hard nut to crack. One of the most important hurdle that come in fresher life is to find a right kind of job for their self, there are no dearth of job but the important question are you working at the right place? You could find a highly paid job but if your work profile fails to motivate you to give your best at professional front you will not be a satisfied with your career.

Searching a job in any part of the country is almost same and thanks to modern facilities and free job postings hunting for a job is not very difficult now either you are looking for part time job options in India or IT jobs in India. Online job posting is an easy way to find the right job opportunity suiting your qualification and attitude.

Be prepared with your powerful resume. Your resume should reflect all your qualities and abilities. Your resume gives your first impression to the interview board so work on it thoroughly and don’t write fake things in it. Prepare a genuine, impressive and informative resume.

Try not to be over dominant: this is one of the biggest mistakes that a fresher make at the time of interview session, just to impress the interview board or to show your leadership ability it is not required to show your dominant side be polite , impress them with your knowledge.

Don’t keep looking at your watch during the time of interview it is one of the silliest mistake you can make at the time of interview.

Try to collect some relevant information regarding company, show the interview board that you are serious about the job and you are the right person for the job.

It is not important to answer every question, if you have any doubt or not sure about the answer don’t put irrelevant points to prove your answer, just say sorry and move forward.

By: John JK Smith