Friday 23 September 2011

Untitled

We often see attractive advertisements from companies; “JOIN US”, “INTERESTED? WE ARE INTERESTED IN YOU”, “WALK IN INTERVIEWS!”, “COMPETITIVE PAY, JOIN UP NOW!” All these seem very interesting and they do tickle the mind of the humble and sincere human resource. However, in some cases companies posting these advertisements are not professional at all – regardless of the time since they opened their doors to business. “How can a company be bad?” that is the question that most of us ask, we look at the advertisement and we apply – right? Well, without doing any research about the company or observing it, we open ourselves to exploitation. The companies posting these advertisements are not all bad; however, some of them are “time wasters” modestly speaking.

Primary Observations: Observing the Not so Obvious:

So how do you tell if a company is bad? It is actually simpler than most of think; it all starts with you. To avoid a company that is unprofessional, you will need to calm your storm to get the job; the desperation to get a job is often overwhelming but then you would like to be employed by a company where you can stay for long, right?

The second thing to do is to make calculated observations about the outlook of the company. Look at their website, when was it updated last, do they have any copyrights to their website? Do they have a formal e-mail address or do they use a regular “@gmail, @hotmail, @yahoo” to communicate? Okay, so this company in focus checks out, it does have a formal e-mail address and their website has a copyright and updated regularly. Next is to call, this perhaps will give you a very clear sign about the company. Chances are you are connected to a reception desk, ask them to connect you to the HR Department; continue observing the interaction, how long did it take to be connected and what was the reaction of the Reception Desk.

Do be advised a professional mature tone will help you determine the professionalism easier. Make sure to use a mature tone throughout your call; once connected with the HR Department, be honest and tell them you would like to know a little about the position since you saw their advertisement and are interested in applying. You can break the ice by saying something like: “Salaam, I just read your advertisement for the position of ABC that appeared in XYZ and I was wondering if you could kindly tell me a little about the company – I hope this isn’t a bad time?”

Often the HR Department will tell you that they are occupied and the details are all mentioned in the advertisement, this is where your observation comes in. If the advertisement they posted does not contain complete description of the position and you are told that the details are all there in the advertisement, chances are the company is unprofessional. There is no hard and fast rule to this; but a professional company will never bring on board an unprofessional individual. Remember, every employee represents the company.

Feel the Company – Get Down with it:

Let us suppose your first interaction with the company was satisfactory and you feel ready to proceed with the application. You send an e-mail with your resume and wait for the call; one fine day a call comes from the company requesting you to sit an interview. Continue with your observations and accept the invitation; in case you honestly cannot make it to the interview request them for a re-schedule.

On the day of the interview, make sure you are looking professional, hair neatly done; shiny shoes and a brilliantly pressed suit with a modest fragrance coming from you will convey that message rather well. Once in the office look around, see the people around, the atmosphere and most importantly the level of professionalism you feel. In case the company is new and still going through renovations, look how the work is being carried out; the company is conducting interviews so most of the employees naturally know this – observe how they carry out knowing that.

Soon it is your turn and you are called in; be bold, be confident and most of all be professional. When you sit in front of the hiring authority, carry a pleasant yet professional personality, and respond to every question confidently with a calm smile. You may be asked to put forward any questions you may have; to shy away, ask them about the career paths you might have the opportunity to embark on, ask the hiring manager why did s/he join the company. Two way questions like these not only show that you are confident and professional but also convey a message that you are serious about the position and are eager to join a company that is serious as well. Once your interview is complete, it is time to reflect on all your observations.

Reflect and Decide:

Discuss your observations with someone close to you, someone who has been working for years; your father or elder brother for instance. If the company is professional, the entire journey from the call to the interview will have a professional tint to it. It is of utmost importance to make sure the company is formal and serious because “bad companies” have a bad habit of exploiting their resource and once you sign the contract you are bound. So make sure you are bound with someone who is offering the target you would like to “bulls-eye”.

Good Luck!

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This entry was posted on Friday, September 16th, 2011 at 5:02 pm and is filed under Editor's Choice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. -->

Wednesday 7 September 2011

I Have 2 Jobs and Can’t Decide Which One to Quit, What Should I Do?

I am a 28 years old guy with solid professional IT background of 7 years and for the past 7 months (approx) I’ve been doing 2 jobs. My morning job is at a reputable national financial institute where I work as Graphic Designer and get a very handsome 6-figure check every month for doing very little work as the company needs very little graphic work done on a monthly basis. My evening job is basically a back-office for a fairly big US based company.

I am managing all the working over there. Here is the problem: My parents are old minded people who did 9-5 jobs their whole life. They don’t have a clue what outsourcing is and want me to quit my evening job and continue my morning job. I’ve tried so many times explaining the whole thing to them but they either don’t want to listen to me or not willing to understand me or my work! All they see is the name of the company, the benefits I get over there – and it will bring a good impression to my resume. Now, these working hours are killing me and my performance on both the jobs is getting affected – I need to make a decision and I need advice. Please help me!

Ali hamza

Dear Ali

Juggling two jobs can be quite difficult for anyone and as you have mentioned after a while one can get quite exhausted by continuing both the jobs. Since you have mentioned that you wish to leave one of the 2 jobs, it is time to review the pros and cons and then come to a final decision.

Your description of the two jobs clearly indicates that while you make more money at the day job; you actually love your evening job that enables you to grow professionally and in the end earns you job satisfaction. Both professional growth and job satisfaction are very important factors in deciding which job you should stick too. However, you cannot completely ignore the financial aspects of the job. If your evening job is not paying you enough, you have to decide carefully how you will manage your finances without the day job.

You have also mentioned that your parents are in favour of the day job and you are feeling a lot of pressure from their side to continue on the first job. The fact remains that while you should value and respect your parent’s opinion, the bottom line is that you have to think about your career and what is best for your professional success.

If you are happy with your evening job, you should decide in favour of that one and let your parents know how you feel. In the long run, if you are not satisfied with your job, very soon you’ll be heading for a burnout which really harms ones career.

Best of luck

Rozee Team

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This entry was posted on Monday, June 13th, 2011 at 12:10 am and is filed under Ask ROZEE. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. -->

Things to Check before Deciding on Quitting Your Job

When you are not happy at your current job or are just feeling restless and under-appreciate, the thing that pops into your mind most often is that the best option would be to quit your job. In such scenarios, just the thought of quitting your job makes you feel happier and in control of your life. We all have been there and have often felt the uncontrollable urge to leave the job. However, the bottom line is that quitting your job just like that takes a lot of courage and faith. You don’t only have to quit your regular job, you also have to make sure that the decision you make is right. The decision to quit your job can be quite confusing and one has to think carefully before making the final call.

Before you make the decision to quit the job, you need to make absolutely sure that you are making the right decision. Here are a few things you need to check before you decide to take the huge step:

How Long Have You Been Working At the Company?

The first thing that you need to analyze when you are thinking of quitting the job is the time you have spent working at the current company. For anyone to be able to judge the feasibility of staying on at a job, he has to spend at least 2 years with that company.  If you have worked at a company for only 3 to 6 months and are thinking of quitting, you need to be patient and invest more time in the company. You are only getting settled at the company in the first 6 months and are just learning the ropes. To make an informed decision as huge as quitting your job which can affect your career, you need to make sure that you have spent ample time with an organization and are confident that leaving the job is the best option.

The only exception to this rule is when you know from the very beginning that you made a wrong career move by joining the organization. This might include a switch from one field to another and realizing that you made a wrong choice.

Are You Overburdened?

Most of the times when people think of quitting their job, the main reason behind this is that they are having problems in handling the workload which in turn gets them in trouble with the bosses. Nowadays most of the companies are cutting their costs by any means possible which includes terminating some of the people and managing the company with fewer resources. This means that every person working at an organization has to work to his maximum capacity. If you are facing similar circumstances, it might be because you have lesser resources at your disposal. The increased workload and the inability to meet the deadlines might be causing frustration leading you to thoughts about quitting the job.

If you are facing such issues, it is best that you talk to the management and ask them to give you more resources to deal with the increasing workload. This simple improvement can prove to be the change that you need to go on with your current job.

Are You Just Bored?

Sometimes when you have been working at the same company for years and are performing the same tasks every day, you can lose interest in your job and start thinking about quitting the job. When you feel that your job is not challenging enough, you can get frustrated and start looking for jobs elsewhere. When you are facing such a situation, it is best to try to find more challenging assignments at work, volunteer for assignments which interest you and take active part in anything work related that might break the monotony of your daily routine. However, if you feel that there is nothing at your current job that holds your interest and there is no chance of improvement in the near future, leaving the job for a better one might be the best option.

Is Your Personal Life Satisfactory?

Sometimes when you are facing problems at your home or in your personal life, you can easily blame that on work. So if you are frustrated with your job, you need to analyze how much of the frustration is due to work and how much is due to problems in your life. If you are not happy with the way things are unfolding in your personal life, you need to address those issue on priority basis, rather than thinking about quitting your job.

Are You A Workaholic?

People who are workaholics and do not have a personal life often ten to reach a point where they feel frustrated with themselves. Since they have nothing else in their lives, their work takes up all their time and eventually leads to a burnout very soon in life. So try to find a balance in your life which involves some family time as well as work. If you find the proper balance between work and personal life, you won’t be thinking about quitting your life every now and then.

Do You Have A Horrible Boss?

Working under a supervisor who is unprofessional and unethical can cause a lot of frustration in anyone. If you happen to be working for an unreasonable boss, then the thoughts of quitting your job are not so unreasonable and actually make a lot of sense.

Are You Underpaid?

Being paid less than your level of experience is one of the strongest reasons why people consider quitting their jobs as it affects their output negatively and leads to a lack of motivation. If you think you are an underpaid employee, the best course of action is to ask for a raise. If your boss does not agree and raise your pay scale, you should definitely look for another job.

Do You Have Another Offer?

No matter what the circumstances are, before you quit the job make sure that you have an offer from another company so that you o not have to face joblessness. Being jobless can be much worse than being stuck at a bad company.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 21st, 2011 at 1:42 pm and is filed under Editor's Choice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. -->

What is a personal brand?

What is a personal brand?

I think we need to simply define your personal brand.

On a high level, you can think of your personal brand as “how others perceive you.”

You can define your own brand, and try and have others perceive you in a certain way, but if your actions, words, the way you dress, etc. contrast how you want others to perceive you, your brand will likely be different than what you want it to be.

You can NOT define your own brand, and let it just happen.  But then you risk letting others define it for you.  This might be okay.  Maybe you are too busy being awesome (or, doing the right things) to try and communicate your intended brand to others.  But what you might think is productive and busy, others might define as reclusive, absent, stand-offish, etc.

Should you define or ignore your own brand?

Here’s one of my favorite stories (as I remember it)… many years ago I worked for Don Aslett, a professional cleaner and self-made multi-millionaire.  He had a different career path set up, but ultimately chose to stay in the cleaning profession.

One day, after finishing a school wood floor, he went to get the principal or facility manager to show the job was done.  He made a critical error, which turned out to be a great learning moment.

He said, “what do you think?”

Don was thinking “this is the best wood floor job I’ve ever done.  Surely he’ll recognize it and praise our amazing work.”

Instead of that reaction, the boss started to nit-pick and find problems.  What should have been congratulations and praising turned into “well, fix this, and fix that, and here’s a problem.” The problems were outside the scope of the job, and outside of Don’s control.

It totally went the wrong way.  Don says he should NOT have asked what the person thought, but he should have said “Look at this job!  This is one of the best finished floors I’ve ever seen!  Let me tell you why this is so good!” And then he would list the reasons why it was good, focusing on the positive.

Do we ask people who we are, and what they think of us, and what our strengths are?  SURE – we can get great information on how we are perceived.

But don’t stop there.  Tell others what we do, how we do it, why we are so good or special.

I am a huge advocate of YOU defining your brand, and communicating it out to others.

What is your personal brand?

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Posted by Jason Alba on August 13th, 2011

When Is It Time To Leave a Company? Insight from LinkedIn Contacts… - Can you network with busy people? Maybe they aren’t too busy! >>

Job Seekers Beware! Buyers Market affecting Interview Questions

Job Seekers Beware! Buyers Market affecting Interview Questions

Check out this post on Recruiting Blogs about the buyers market (which is not in your favor): Jobseekers Beware: It’s a Buyer’s Market…and the Interview Questions are Getting Interesting!

I personally think these types of questions are ridiculous (depending on the job).  There are books on weird questions “to be ready for.”   But many of these questions don’t necessarily get to the heart of your capabilities, or history (which can determine future success).

When I was interviewing I was so frustrated at the lack of sophistication of the interviewer.   I had gotten some training on interviewing well, and had videod a mock interview, and was ready to do a good interview, and then the interviewer didn’t know what he/she was doing.

The good news, then, is that you can have more control in the interview, and perhaps drive it to better places.

This means that you don’t just answer the questions at face value.  Create more of a conversation.  Tie stories into your answers, and refer back to those stories to showcase your skills.  Stand out, don’t just follow the interviewer.

Of course, you need to be careful to not be obnoxious and pushy, but don’t be passive.

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Posted by Jason Alba on August 18th, 2011

Can you network with busy people? Maybe they aren’t too busy! - How To Leave a Voice Message (IMPORTANT!) >>