U.S. Private-Sector Employment Increased By 133,000 Jobs in May
ROSELAND, N.J. – May 31, 2012 – Private-sector employment increased by 133,000 from April to May on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the latest ADP National Employment Report® released today. The ADP National Employment Report, created by Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP®), in partnership with Macroeconomic Advisers, LLC, is derived from actual payroll data and measures […]
How to Be Happier at Work
9:29 AM Tuesday May 29, 2012 by Leonard A. Schlesinger, Charles F. Kiefer, and Paul B. Brown It would be nice to think that you’re going to be just as excited about going to work tomorrow as you were on your first day on the job. But between increased workloads caused by your company’s reluctance […]
An Inside Job: More Firms Opt to Recruit From Within
By RACHEL EMMA SILVERMAN and LAUREN WEBER Here’s a recruiting riddle: What costs more but often works worse? Outside hires. Fueled by a conviction that there’s plenty of talent in their ranks and backed by research showing that hiring outsiders can lead to costly missteps, firms are ramping up internal hiring efforts and investing in new […]
Starting Salaries to Rise in 2012 as Hiring Gets Tougher!
Starting salaries for professionals in the U.S. and Canada will be going up next year as the hiring climate for experienced workers becomes more competitive and the time it takes to fill jobs lengthens.
Staffing firm Robert Half International said the average starting salary for white collar professional and support jobs in the U.S. will rise on average 3.4 percent in 2012. Tech positions will see the biggest increase with an average of 4.5 percent. Lawyers and legal support staff will see the smallest increase of the five areas studied. Starting salaries in the legal field will rise on average 1.9 percent.
7 Jobs With Low Stress, Decent Pay–and Lots of Opportunities!!!
When you’re young, choosing a career is all about glamour and excitement — who among us didn’t dream of being an astronaut, race car driver, world famous surgeon or similar? But as you get older, you learn that these sorts of jobs come with serious costs, including long training, physical rigors, soul-sapping competition and unsociable hours.
But if you’ve reached a point where you want the benefits of steady, low-stress, decently-paid, non-hazardous jobs, what are your best bets?
To answer this question, careers site CareerCast.com recently sifted through its data on various fields to find those that combined “median-to-higher income levels, lower stress, lower environmental dangers and lower physical demands. And even in this tight economy, all share one great attribute: a lower than average unemployment rate.”
The result is a list of gigs that will probably not get your heart racing, but are solid choices for those looking less for prestige and more for lifestyle factors. Overlook them at your own expense.
- Dental Hygienist
- Epidemic — Dietitian
- Software Engineer
- Market Research Analyst
- Loan Officer
- Accountant
- Paralegal
CLICK HERE for a job with unpleasant associations but rock bottom unemployment –>
What To Do When You Hate Your Job???
If you’re not happy with your current job or the people you work with, don’t put up with it! Begin to look for something else because you don’t deserve or need to be unhappy at the workplace. We spend so much of our life at work that being unhappy will only begin to start impacting on all aspects of your life.
Start to network (use networking websites such as LinkedIn to begin making contact), and if required prepare your resume so it’s ready to send out to hiring managers and recruitment agents. It is always worth having an up-to-date resume on hand as you never know what opportunities will present themselves to you.
Be proactive about finding a new job. It is very easy to get down about your job so ensure that you set an action plan to begin the process of finding a new one. Creating an action plan will also give you more guidance as prepare your exit strategy.
Tips on what to do if you hate your job:
Network:
The world has changed so much in last 10 years. With social networking sites such as LinkedIn (there are now literally hundreds of networking sites online) you actually have access to contact hiring managers or bosses directly where you would have previously never had the opportunity to do so. Utilise social networking sites, but remember to maintain a professional image. This includes a professional picture, professional resume and an overall “professional image”.
Work for yourself
Working for a boss is not everyone’s cup of tea (it’s not most people’s cup of tea!). If you believe you can provide a good or service that will make you money, then don’t be afraid to take that daunting step and start working for yourself. Be your own boss and set your own rules!
Exit Strategy:
Preparing an exit strategy is a key element to beginning the process of leaving your job. As much as you would like to walk into your boss’s office right now and hand in your resignation paper, this may not be the wisest decision. Although you may hate your job, the last thing you need is to be unemployed and without an income. Set yourself a timeframe to leave the job and begin to prepare your job seeking strategy. It may take longer to leave your job, but at least you are making money in your current job while you look for a new one.
If you hate your job, hate your boss or a mixture of both don’t put up with being unhappy. Begin planning on leaving the job and find a new job that will put that smile back on your face!
9 Traits That Make Great Employees Outstanding!
Everyone knows great employees are dependable, reliable, proactive, great team players, have strong workethics… all the standard (yet often uncommon) qualities. So what traits take a great employee to the next level and make them a truly outstanding employee?
The extra 1%: The qualities that often go unnoticed (and unremarked in performance evaluations) yet make a major impact on performance.
Here is my list of qualities that make an already great employee outstanding:
- A little bit “off.” The best employees are a little different: Quirky, sometimes irreverent, happy to be unusual… they seem slightly “off,” but in a really good way. Unusual personalities shake things up, make work more fun, and turn a vanilla group into a team with flavor and flair. People who aren’t afraid to be different stretch boundaries, challenge the status quo, and often come up with the best ideas. But for this to be a great quality, the people who are a little “off” also need to…
- Know when to reel it in. A non-standard personality is a lot of fun until it isn’t. When times get tough, major challenges pop up, or situations become stressful, even the most eccentric should know when to set aside their desire to express their individuality and fit seamlessly into the team. Outstanding employees know when to play and when to be serious, when to be irreverent and when to conform, and when to challenge and when to back off. Tough balance to strike, but outstanding employees walk that fine line with ease.
- Ignore job descriptions. The smaller the company the more important it is that employees think on their feet, adapt quickly to shifting priorities, and do whatever it takes, regardless of role or position, to get things done. When a key customer’s order is in danger of shipping late, outstanding employees know without being told there’s a problem — and jump in without being asked, even if it’s not “their job.”
- Eager to prove others wrong. Self-motivation often springs from a desire to show that doubters are wrong. The kid without a college degree or the woman who was told she didn’t have leadership potential could have a burning desire to prove themselves. Education, intelligence, talent, skill — all are important, but drive is critical.
- Praise in public. Few things can boost morale more than praise from a peer, especially a peer you look up to. Outstanding employees recognize the contributions of others, especially in group settings where the impact of their words is even greater. But they also know when to…
- Complain in private. We all want employees to raise issues, but some problems are better handled one-on-one. Great employees often get more latitude to bring up controversial subjects because their performance allows greater freedom. The employee who comes to you after a meeting to discuss a sensitive issue that if brought up in a group setting would have set off a firestorm does you and the business a favor. And speaking of favors…
- Ask questions for others. Some employees are hesitant to speak up in meetings. Some are even hesitant to speak up privately. For example, an employee once asked me a question about potential layoffs. After the meeting I said, “Why did you ask? You already know what’s going on.” He said, “Yeah, I did, but a lot of other people don’t — and they needed to hear the answer from you.” Outstanding employees have a feel for the issues and concerns of those around them and step up to ask questions others are hesitant.
- Start work on time. What does “on time” mean? Walking in the front door on time? Getting to your desk on time? Outstanding employees start working when the workday starts; they don’t get their coffee, hang around and chat, take care of personal stuff… they hit the ground running, on time. Granted, this might just be a pet peeve, but if your start time is 8 a.m. shouldn’t you be working at 8 a.m.?
- Tinker. Some people are rarely satisfied — in a good way — and are constantly playing around with something: Reworking a report, tweaking a process, experimenting with a different workflow. Great employees follow processes. Outstanding employees go a step farther and find ways to make those processes even better, not just because they are expected to but because they can’t just help themselves.
Is Leadership Irrelevant?
Leaders today find the world changing around them faster than they can keep up. As a result, they risk damaging their organizations (as well as their own careers) by trying ideas for change that worked for them in the past – but aren’t necessarily relevant to current conditions. Yahoo’s board took the extreme step of firing CEO Carol Bartz recently when she couldn’t lead positive change at that company. Her experience set from her previous turnaround of Autodesk wasn’t serving her well at Yahoo, but she didn’t have time to learn anything new.
As organizations seek to remain relevant in fast-changing marketplaces while creatively finding new ways to grow their top-line, they must teach their leaders how to innovate their businesses. This means researching the needs and developing the skill-sets and competencies of their leaders based on the marketplace requirements for a particular business unit, client relationship or consumer audience. Companies spend millions of dollars to innovate their products and services. The same discipline and approach must apply to leadership. Organizations must invest in changing the mindset of leadership from general fighting the last war to creative enabler of opportunity, innovation and possibility.
How often do you find leaders in charge of business units they are unqualified to lead? This becomes quickly apparent when leaders strive to create impact on the front lines of their business, as Bartz tried and failed to do at Yahoo.
Leaders today must approach their business like a think-tank, where every member of the supply chain is an asset to the business they serve and thus accountable to contribute in ways that support continuous innovation. Leaders must be accountable for thinking strategically not just about their own business, but also about
their marketplaces and industries.
Organizations must begin to host thought leadership forums that invite key leaders who represent the supply chain partners of their particular industry. The goal is for participants to share their perspectives and recommendations in support of common challenges and opportunities that affect the businesses they serve. That’s how innovation becomes organic and is created with those who equally have the advancement of the industry in mind.
Today, clients want thought leadership partners, not order takers. They want partnerships to enable growth and partners that are not afraid to push the envelope of creativity. As a former executive in the food industry, my best clients were those that allowed me to challenge the status quo and introduce new ways of thinking to grow the business. I always respected their operating cultures and sought to complement their approaches to market. Costco, Trader Joe’s and Kroger where just a few of my favorites: leaders in the channel segments they served who welcomed new ideas and ideals.
We have all learned that leadership has lost the edge it once had because leaders have been required to be good managers, not great leaders. I have witnessed the weakening of leadership first hand. Leaders are scared to make real decisions and don’t trust themselves enough to take calculated risks during times of adversity. They spend too much time saving their jobs, being politically correct. As one Fortune 500 executive told me, “I purposely never share all of my secrets and intentions; I enjoy making others wonder about what I am thinking. This creates curiosity and heightens my importance, power and leverage in the department I lead.” What a waste of time. And when I asked him when the last time was that the organization invested in his leadership, he responded “over 5 years.”
It’s time for leaders to refresh their thinking and outlook. They need to escape a traditional outlook and an internally focused mentality. Leaders must be primarily accountable to innovate the business they serve; the personal employee brand of a leader must be associated with being a courageous enabler of innovation and opportunity. The old cookie-cutter, methodical ways of leading just don’t apply anymore in today’s fiercely competitive global marketplace. Leadership and innovation are becoming commoditized and organizations must invest in changing this quickly before it’s too late.
“Leaders Are People Who Go Their Own Way Without Looking to See if Anyone Is Following”
“Leaders are not what many people think–people with huge crowds following them. Leaders are people who go their own way without caring, or even looking to see whether anyone is following them. ‘Leadership qualities’ are not the qualities that enable people to attract followers, but those that enable them to do without them. The include, […]
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