Don’t Clock Out Unless You Have Done these Three Things!

Have you ever been at work when you notice there’s only 30 minutes left in your shift? It’s usually not enough time to start a new project, but it’s also too early for you to go home, so you watch your clock as it slowly ticks away until it’s time to leave. This happens more often than not, but what can you do to finish out your workday on a positive and productive note?

How you finish your workday is critical as it holds a large impact on your work, productivity, and attitude. Take time at the end of your shift to get you ready for tomorrow. So here are three ways you can end your workday better and stronger.

Review and Plan
The first thing you to do is look over your to-do list to find out if you’re where you need to be. There might be some assignments you’ve overlooked or a reminder of what needs to be finished before you leave. If you don’t like your progress, plan what you need to do and when you’ll get it done so you don’t get further behind.

This is your chance to reflect. Think about what you’ve accomplished and how good it feels to be productive. If you’ve fallen short on some tasks, take the time to make a new to-do list. Determine what needs to be finished tomorrow and how you’re going to do it. If you have a new to-do list, you’ll have a head start the next day and be more productive.

Check-In and Check-Out
Depending on the type of working relationship you have with your manager, visit with one or all of your supervisors to discuss the progress of any tasks you’re working on. This way, you can get caught up on any updates or changes that need to be made. Check in with co-workers to get any updates from them and to make sure everyone is one the same page.

Talking to your boss and colleagues will not only help everybody stay on task easier, but there are real emotional benefits from saying goodbye to people before leaving. Most people think it’s important to say hello in the morning, but it’s just as vital to say goodbye instead of silently heading out the door. By giving proper farewells or even an honest compliment, you are showing co-workers and managers that you care and can improve everybody’s mood throughout the day.

Tidy up and Shut Down
It’s rather defeating to walk away from a big mess after a busy day, which confronts you in the morning or after a fun weekend. Before leaving, clean your workplace by organizing your desk, throwing away trash, or cleaning and storing your tools. When you come to a clean workplace in the morning, it gives you a feeling of starting the day off fresh.

If you work in an office setting, you can use the last of your time to clean your email inbox of forwards, newsletters, and any other old messages. Emails can back up quickly increasing your chance of missing important information.

It’s also important to shut down when leaving. Leave your stress and worries at work. Turn everything off and disconnect yourself from your network. Turn off your smart phone or disable email alerts and enjoy your time off to recharge.

If you use your last few minutes to end your workday right, you’ll be more productive and will be less likely to feel drained and burned out. What are some ways you have made the most out of the end of your workday?

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Guidelines for Cell Phone Use to Keep Your Friends…and Your Job

Most of you probably own a cell phone and bring it to work with you so that you’re able to stay in contact with your family and friends, and have it just in case of emergencies. While some workplaces have personal cell phone usage guidelines in place, some may not enforce the rules, and others may not have any rules at all. So, to avoid a major cell phone faux pas at work, here are five guidelines you should follow regardless of your type of job or position.

1) Use it sparingly
The best place to keep your cell phone at work is out of reach, especially if you get distracted easily. You can keep it in your purse, desk drawer, or vehicle, and make your personal calls before or after work, during breaks, and at lunch. Interruptions can reduce productivity for you and your teammates and increase risks of accidents and injuries on the job.

2) Keep it quiet
If you have to have your phone at work, turn the ringer off or use the vibrate mode. The ring of a cell phone can cause mistakes and cause you and your co-workers to lose focus. Turning your cell phone ringer off will limit the distractions that you create for yourself and others.

3) Talk in private
If you have to take a personal call on your cell phone while you’re at work, try to find a place away from your co-workers so you can have your conversation in private without disturbing others. Try using a break room or unoccupied conference room, or step outside. Most people don’t want to hear a conversation between you and your significant other, children, doctor, or bank.

When you’re unable to step away from your work area to take your phone call, keep your voice down. This will keep your conversation private and limit the distractions for others by not drawing attention to yourself.

4) Keep it out of the restroom
Don’t use your cell phone in the restroom as a private or convenient place to make a call. No one wants to hear your conversation while they’re in the bathroom, and chances are, the person on the receiving end of your call doesn’t want to hear flushing toilets or running water.

Respect the privacy of others and keep your cell phone conversations out of the bathroom. End your call before you go into the restroom, offer to return the phone call later, or find a better-suited place for you to make your call.

5) Don’t use your phone during meetings
Using your cell phone during meetings will only distract you from the conversation and make you appear uninterested or disrespectful. If you’re headed off to a meeting, keep your cell phone at your desk and turn it off or use the silent mode. It’s okay to keep your cell phone in your briefcase or purse, but make sure you won’t be tempted to pull it out and use it.

If you’re expecting an important phone call while you’re in a meeting, make sure to notify your co-workers that you’re expecting a call and that you may need to step outside to answer it. Only do this in emergency situations, keep your phone on vibrate, and exit the meeting before you begin your conversation.

Whether we’re at home or work, cell phones give us the capability to keep in touch with family, friends, and co-workers. You can use your cell phone at home however you wish, but while you’re at work, make sure to follow your employer’s guidelines for cell phone use, and be respectful of others even if your employer doesn’t provide rules. Then, practice workplace cell phone etiquette by using these five guidelines to maintain a professional image.

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Give Yourself a Career Boost With These Certifications!

While you should always try to have specific examples of how you’ve been able to demonstrate and utilize your skills, sometimes it takes a certificate or recommendation from a credible organization to get the attention of a decision maker or hiring manager.

There are several industries and jobs that may not require a college degree, but do need a form of accreditation or certification. There are also certifications that, while not mandatory, can greatly improve your chances of getting a job, promotion, raise, or new responsibilities. Here are some in-demand certificate programs to consider that can help open doors in your career or job search.

Foreign Languages
If you work in a retail or customer service environment, having the ability to speak more than one language can make you a valuable asset to current or potential employers. It can be difficult to prove on your own, so having a certification in a language can be a significant boost. Contact your local community college, university, or distance learning center for relatively inexpensive programs in foreign languages that may result in a certificate, but not a degree.

Computer Support
Many large companies have their own IT department or specialists, but software is always changing and it can be beneficial for you to keep up with those trends through training like Microsoft’s learning and certification programs. IT workers could benefit from these programs.

Certified Clinical Medical Assistant
A great alternative to spending several years and lots of money getting a college degree in the medical industry, consider looking into a critical clinical medical assistant (CCMA) program that is offered by technical or vocational schools. A CCMA offers training in clinical and laboratory procedures, and administrative training that could help give you a boost in the medical industry.

Project Management Certification
If you have much experience in project management, earning a project management professional certification (PMP) is almost required. But if you are looking to move into management, earning a PMP from organizations like the Project Management Institute can not only get you ready, but also demonstrate to your manager that you are working toward management.

Sales! Sales! Sales!
It’s difficult to find college degrees specializing in sales, but there are several worthwhile certifications that can help you prepare and grow as a salesman. Since there are different fields and industries in sales, talk to a mentor or network with sales professionals to find out which industry-specific certification program you should consider if you’re new to the field, the National Association of Sales Professionals offers a general certification that can give you a starting point.

You don’t have to rely on yourself to gain extra knowledge and experience to stay on top of your industry and boost your career. There are several options that are cheaper and less time consuming than earning college degrees. What are some accreditations or certifications you have earned that helped your career?

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What to do About Work Gaps

Whatever the reason is you’re looking for a new job, you’re going to need a resume. And, you want one to stand out to an employer and make them take notice of you in a positive way. So, what do you do if your work history has a few gaps along the way? With typically only one minute to grab someone’s attention with your resume, prospective employers sometimes don’t take the time to investigate little potholes along a job seeker’s workforce journey. Employers see work gaps frequently, but what they really want to see is an individual’s career growth and progression. So, if you’re currently experiencing a few of those gaps in your work history, what can you do now to help your resume compete with the elite?

Format your resume into a functional format. The functional format focuses on your actual skills and accomplishments rather than on the dates you worked at a job or your job titles. When you arrange your resume by your skills, you’re highlighting the main points of why an employer should hire you.

Align your skills with the job you’re applying for. Be specific about your skills and relate them to the job you’re applying for. It’s important to keep things relevant. If you’re applying for a job as an administrative assistant, the prospective employer probably doesn’t want to know that you also have a knack for laying concrete. Instead, list out relevant skills like your knowledge of Microsoft Office, the ability to book meetings using Outlook, and experience in coordinating multiple events or meetings at a time.

Include your accomplishments. You’re trying to tell an employer why they should choose you over the other job applicants. This is your time to wow a potential employer about what you have achieved during your work history. Listing these helps combat a work gap by showcasing that you do have experience and good skills that achieved results. This showcases you as a more serious job candidate. Again, keep your accomplishments relevant to the job you’re applying for, but be sure to target your proudest achievements.

List your volunteer experience. Do you volunteer for an organization? If so, include that in your work history section. It doesn’t matter if you got paid or not. It’s still work experience you can include to show you haven’t been sitting around during your time away from a job.

These are a few tips to help you out. Sometimes an employment gap cannot be avoided, but that doesn’t mean you’re not qualified for the job. In addition, one more piece of advice is to create a cover letter to go along with your resume. In your cover letter, be succinct about your work gap, but use this as an opportunity to better explain your work history. Apply these tips to help your job search, and don’t let a work history gap derail your career plans.

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Why Volunteering is Important for Your Career

Volunteering is a rewarding way to make a positive difference in the lives of others. And, the benefits of giving back are countless. The fact is giving back not only affects your community, but your professional life, as well. From enhancing your resume to establishing new connections to growing leadership skills and more, take a look at what giving back can do for your career.

Networking Opportunities
Volunteering brings you into contact with people you may have never crossed paths with otherwise. Thus, the opportunity to build your professional network is an important benefit of giving back. You will be working with people who are interested in the same causes as you. When you make connections like that, the relationships you build are likely to last longer and lead to job opportunities. Someone you meet volunteering could become your co-worker, boss, or mentor.

Leadership and Other Skills
You can gain invaluable experience through volunteering. First and foremost, you can develop leadership skills if you give your talents to the board of an organization. You can also become a better leader by heading up one of the volunteer projects in your community. Finding an opportunity to lead in these instances is a great transferable skill for the workplace.
Additionally, giving back to your community can help you work on skills like time management, communication, confidence, and teamwork, to name a few.

Better Job Performance
Experts at Glassdoor.com suggest that employees who spend time giving back to their communities often feel more fulfilled. Making a positive difference in someone’s life can help you feel content and translate into your work life, where you’re bound to also be more productive. Just be sure to choose a cause that you’re passionate about.

Resume Building
Aside from the skills you’ll get from volunteering, you can build your resume through giving back. One way to do that is to find a skills-based volunteer opportunity where you can use your expertise to make a difference. You can then include that experience on your resume, highlighting how it’s relevant to your career goals. Check out sites like Catchafire.com to get started.

More Attractive to Employers
All things considered, volunteering simply makes you more attractive to employers. Be sure to include it on your social networking sites, resume, or anywhere else a potential hiring manager might come across it. According to Forbes.com, “Employers like to hire people who can demonstrate they’re motivated and hard-working, even if they haven’t been getting paid for their efforts.”

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What to Look for in a Mentor

You’ve probably heard the benefits of finding a mentor, how they can help with skill development and learning the ropes in the working world. Mentors can offer wonderful advice on how to handle some of the unspoken rules in the business environment, as well as help coach and challenge you in your career.

But you can’t trust just anyone with this role. Here are three things to look for when you’re selecting a mentor.

Find someone you respect.
They could be the hot shot sales rep in your business or the fastest on the production line, but do you respect them? Consider your personal values when selecting a mentor. One person’s style and method for getting to the top may not align with your values and work ethic. Even if you admire someone’s achievements, if you can’t respect the way they reached them, there isn’t any point in making them your mentor.

Find someone you trust.
Once you’ve established a mentoring relationship, you’ll be sharing your challenges and frustrations in order to seek advice and learn. This information is often best kept confidential. If you can’t trust your mentor, you may find yourself holding back or not offering your full side of the story, which then results in a relationship that isn’t as productive as it could be. Your mentor should be someone you can share your failures with so you can get advice and a different perspective – without worrying your story will become office gossip.

Find someone you can mutually learn with.
You’re never done learning, especially in today’s business environment. It’s best to select a mentor who is still working and growing in the business world, someone you can learn from and alongside. This is important when trying to learn how changes in production, financing, communication, and technology will impact your industry. If you have someone who can give you a historical perspective in the industry while going through a transition or change in your job or business, it will provide a unique filter to the situation and give you greater confidence.

Keep in mind, not all mentor relationships are formal. You may learn and take advice from someone on a certain project or at a certain stage in your career, and it won’t be until later that you look back and realize you were being mentored. However, it’s important to make sure you consider the source when taking advice on your career. Hopefully, these three things to check for will be a quick and easy reminder for you to filter guidance through.

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How to Re-Enter the Workforce

Many people are facing the challenge of trying to get back in the workforce. With the unemployment rate lower than it’s been since the recession, families are looking for ways to gain a much needed paycheck. President and CEO of The LaSalle Network, Tom Gimbel, shared tips with Fox Business News on how stay-at-home parents and people who have been without a job for a while can transition back into the workforce.

Be Honest About Resume Gaps
People may try to make up for their insecurities after being a stay-at-home parent by embellishing their resume. Some might exaggerate the time spent at a previous job or add false information, but what these people may not know is how easy it is for employers to verify those sources and references. It’s very important to be open and honest while writing your resume.

Use Family Connections
A family member could be very helpful in networking. There are many parents at your children’s school who may know of job leads or have a network that could potentially help you find one. Don’t hesitate to communicate your need for employment with family members. You may be one conversation away from a new job!

Be Open About Career Exploration
During your job search, remember the skills you have may not be as applicable in today’s economy as they were years ago. Be open to jobs that come your way even if it’s not in the same industry as your previous position. Being open to career exploration is about expanding your abilities and knowledge.

Lose Your Ego
Be aware that technology is always changing and if you’ve been out of work for more than a couple years, you may not have the technology savvy that many other people have. Maybe you aren’t going to earn what you think you’re worth right off the bat and may have to take a pay cut just to get started again, but don’t give up, be persistent. Gimbel said in his interview with Fox Business News, “You may have to take a step back to take five steps forward.”

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Ideas to Foster Creativity!

Creativity. I wish it were something that could be easily turned on. At the flip of a switch, life and work could become so much easier. But in the real world, working at fast pace day in and day out can be a challenge. Even for the most creative employees, the flow of ideas dries up sometimes.

How can you stay creative when your mind just doesn’t want to cooperate? Here are a few ideas that might help you shrug off the monotony of the daily grind and open your mind for innovation.

Identify Your Work Patterns
You know yourself better than anyone. When you’re faced with a challenge that needs a creative solution, take a look at your work. Is your mind fresh and ready to go as soon as you step foot in the office or do you need to go through your emails first? Make sure you slot time when your mind is at its best and your energy level is high to tackle a tough project.

Morning Routine
A bad routine can stop your productivity before the workday even starts. While creativity needs freedom and room to breath, having a morning routine can help harness and reel in those creative juices and put them to work. If you need a cup of coffee and to peruse through emails to jumpstart your brain, just be sure to allocate your time wisely. There’s work to be done and procrastination can add stress and hinder your creativity.

Don’t Be Distracted
Allowing yourself to lose focus can slam the brakes on your creativity. Instant gratification is the way we do business, and with the power of the Internet at our fingertips, distractions can be a mouse click away. Social networking, viral videos, news, and games can quickly take your attention away from work. If you’re easily tempted to check what’s going on in the Twitter world, try disabling your Internet to be more effective with your time management.

Get Feedback From Others
Listen to criticism about your work with an open mind. Critics with valid points can take your idea and help mold it into creative genius. Plus, as you learn to grow from criticism, you won’t be afraid to put your ideas out there and start proposing new solutions.

Allow Yourself to Be Inspired
Look for inspiration all around. Creativity can cease when you’ve been focused on the same thing for too long making it hard to think outside the box. You might find movies or listening to music a good way to get your creative juices flowing. Not all of us can pop in a movie when trying to approach a new project, but when you are out and find inspiration, jot down your ideas or leave yourself a voicemail at work to check into something further.

Take a Break
Sometimes all the tips and tricks cannot prevent the momentary loss of your creativity. There are times when the only cure is taking a breather in the form of a day off from work, taking a vacation, or using a weekend to rejuvenate, can help your mind recover. Rather than calling in sick, call in well. It’s best to plan this type of time off a bit in advance to prevent the stress of an unexpected absence. Taking a step back and allowing your mind to relax can help revitalize your creativity.

Being continuously creative and working at a high-level during the daily grind can be difficult. But by implementing a few tips, you can keep productive and generate creative ideas.

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Why Volunteering is Good for Your Health and Your Career!

Helping sort canned goods at a local food pantry or building a wheelchair ramp for a house can leave you with a sense of accomplishment, but volunteering actually has many other long-term benefits, including better overall health and improved teamwork skills.

In fact, about a quarter of people who have volunteered in the past year say that volunteering helped them manage a chronic illness, while almost 50% of people new to volunteering say that volunteering helped with their career.

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Low Tech Tips for Your Job Search

We live in a technological world. Our phones are smart, our cars are more efficient, and our job listings are online. However, some job seekers tend to forget that the Internet is not the only place they can do their job searching. So, if you’re a tech savvy person who’s in pursuit of a job, but still haven’t had much success, this article is for you. We’ve assembled a list of a few different approaches to use when hunting for a job in addition to using technology.

Low-Tech Tip #1: Drive, Drive, Drive!
This approach is an oldie but a goodie. If you’re searching for a job, get in your car and drive around your city. Using a map, you can strategically plan out what parts of the town you want to visit on certain days, which can save you money on gas. When you see a place of business you are interested in, stop in and ask if they are hiring. If so, fill out an application or take one home with you to fill out and bring back later. Many employers find this tactic to be an impressive show of fortitude. Be sure to dress professionally and make a good first impression. The people you meet are your potential new co-workers and bosses.

Low-Tech Tip #2: Pull out the Yellow Pages
We get them dropped on our doorsteps all the time. These days, the Yellow Pages usually get thrown away or shoved into the bottom of a drawer somewhere. If you’re hunting for a job, though, save that book and keep it out. Look around and search for places that interest you. Then, give them a call and ask if they are hiring. If so, set up an appointment or ask to stop by to pick up an application.

Low-Tech Tip #3: Ask Around
Networking is one of the most important things a person pursuing a career can do. It’s all in who you know. If you’re looking for a job, ask your friends, family, and previous co-workers. Any one of these people could connect you directly to a job or to another person who might know of something. Never take your connections for granted.

Low-Tech Tip #4: Check the Classifieds
Many job listings are still advertised in the classified section of your local paper. So, checking the newspaper is something that could be to your advantage. Read through the list, highlight or circle ones you feel qualified for, and give the listed contact a call.

We sometimes become too dependent upon technology. Job searching is an activity that doesn’t necessarily have to be conducted online. Using these tips can open just as many doors, and in some cases, even more.

Have you had success in job searching without the use of technology? Do you have any other tips on hunting for jobs without it? Let us know in the comments below!

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