What a Totally Honest First Day at Work Might Sound Like

What a Totally Honest First Day at Work Might Sound Like Bagging yourself a new job can bring on a mix of emotions, from excitement and nerves, to downright terror. You never know quite what to expect from your first day and chances are you will have  thoughts running through your head at a hundred miles per hour. What are your new colleagues going to be like? What will you  be asked to do? Where will you spend your lunch break? But imagine what would happen if you actually said everything that pops into your mind out loud? It could get pretty awkward right? Buzzfeed have created a great video demonstrating just what it might sounds  like if you spoke your every thought  on your first day at a new job. Now honesty is usually the best policy, but there are a few things that are probably best kept to yourself. Top takeaways: Dont reveal bad habits:  Its probably best to keep your bad work tendencies  quiet for the time being. If time management is something you have an issue with, try to at least start off on a good foot. If it really is a problem of yours, theyre bound to find out of their own accord eventually anyway! Dont be a gossip:  Its understandable that you want to get to know everyone and the office dynamics, but chances are that your new colleagues wont appreciate you delving into their private business uninvited. By becoming a gossip queen, its like that it will in fact be you who gains the title of office b****. Keep your bowel movements to yourself:   Nobody wants to know that, no matter how long theyve know you. Dont judge a book by its cover: Try to not make quick judgements about peoples character based on your initial meeting.  If you really must, I recommend you dont say it to their face. Dont isolate yourself from the rest of your team:  If youre invited out for lunch, use the opportunity to get to know people. Eating in your car can appear slightly tragic and you dont really want it to become a daily habit. Office romances are risky:  Day one is not the time to launch into one. At least wait for the office Christmas party. Cut down on school night drinking: Rolling  into work late and hungover  on your second day in the job is generally frowned upon. RELATED: What Does an Honest Interview Look Like? Main Image Credit: Shutterstock

Moving Forward When Your Life Falls Apart August 2016 Monthly Report (Podcast #60) - Classy Career Girl

Moving Forward When Your Life Falls Apart August 2016 Monthly Report (Podcast #60) Welcome back to our weekly CCG podcast! Every month I share an Action Report on the actions I took that month. Today is a little bit different. Its actually an Inaction Report because things dont always go as planned and I am definitely not Superwoman. Note: October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness month. I really didnt even realize that when I recorded this podcast. I am also documenting my story on Instagram this month, you can read my story here (instagram.com/annarunyan).  I would love to hear and if you are enjoying this Classy Career Girl podcast, please leave a review for us on iTunes as well. I would really appreciate it, thank you! Click play below or  right click here and save link as  to download or subscribe on iTunes  here on this link: I think you are going to love this one  because its 100% authentic and real, so let’s dive in! If you are enjoying our podcast, please leave us a review on iTunes! It would mean the world. Thank you! Moving Forward When Your Life Falls Apart Ok, I have been putting this off for awhile. As you may know, every month I hop on a podcast and report my actions for August. Well, August was not the normal month of action and I so want to skip it but I also want to be very real with you. I have heard from many of you that our monthly action reports are your favorite part of this podcast. So I couldnt just skip a month because I was embarrassed by my lack of action. Ever had a month you wish you got more done? I met with a client last week and met her in person for the first time. She said, You know Anna, what your impression is from the outside? This is what people think of you. You are the most productive woman on the planet. You go-go-go. Get things done. Do this and do that. Wake up at 5am and go! It stopped me in my tracks because that is not the impression that I want to report in August. Its actually the opposite. Things arent perfect. I am not the most productive woman in the world. I am not Superwoman. I cant do it all. I have my struggles and August is no exception. One thing I have always wanted to be is real. Yes, I run a business. Yes, I am a real person. I get stressed. I get mad.  I have days where I get very emotional and have to cancel everything on my calendar. I am not Superhuman and I get stuck sometimes too. I bet you have days like this as well? Most of me wants to keep this very close and not let it out but I have been here before and what helps the most is telling people. getting support and hopefully having it help someone else who is going through the same thing or will one day (unfortunately) be part of this club that you never wanted to be part of. Whats the club? Recurrent miscarriages. Just briefly, my background. I mean its not brief at all but Ill try to be brief. I had 2 miscarriages in 2011 and 2012. In 2013 we tried a round of IVF but it didnt take. My miracle daughter surprised us naturally arriving in 2014 and I thought we had moved past our tough times. But, unfortunately, I had my third miscarriage this past August and all of the grief I previously had has risen back to the surface.   And I run a business with my husband. And this podcast is supposed to be my podcast about how much action I took in August. Instead, I took some time off. Sort of. Heres the thing because I am in work I love, my work has ALWAYS helped me move past the tough times I have had. My business actually wouldnt be here today if I had not had tough times. Every comment and person I helps me realize this is my right path that God wants me to be on. And I know that God has a plan for my life and Ill be surrounded with my babies when I am in heaven. Over the last month, I have received a lot of emails from women who are struggling with depression and physical pains wondering how to stay focused on their dreams. One of my clients even told me that she was having panic attacks from her boss and stressed out and cant keep doing it. I get it. If there is one thing I have learned it is that life is short. Even an unborn baby who never got a chance to be born and take a breath can make a huge dent on your life can change your path. In August, I focused on turning sour lemons into lemonade (watch the video). These wise words came at the perfect timing for me during the This is Us premiere. If you havent seen it (honestly I havent either, this is just a clip of the show that I saw posted) Remember I dont have a TV ladies! ?? I like to think because of the child I lost and because of the path that hes sent me on that I have saved countless other babies. I like to think that maybe one day youll be an old man like me talking  a younger mans ear off explaining how you took the sourest lemon that life has to offer and turned it into something resembling lemonade if you do that, youll still be taking three babies home from this hospital. maybe not the way you planned. So to close this monthly inaction report, I just want to say its ok to stop. Its ok to grieve and get support and take a break sometimes. You dont have to be Superwoman. And if you are going through hard times too, know that you are not alone and that you can still reach for your goals and dreams despite everything trying to bring you down. Thats why our community is here because we know that sometimes it feels like the world is conspiring against our dreams and goals. Just take those baby steps and that imperfect action. Even one small step per month will get you closer if thats all you can put in. I hope you enjoyed this real look at behind the scenes at building and growing Classy Career Girl while still balancing my personal life. Thanks again for listening and supporting our business. We love what we do and we love helping you.

5 Reasons Being a Recruiter Rocks!

5 Reasons Being a Recruiter Rocks! I love being a recruiter. Seriously, I think it’s the best job in the world. Yet 80% of people who enter this industry, fail in the first 2 years, leave, and are never sighted again. And it’s true, it is tough being a recruiter. And I believe in the modern era it’s getting even harder. During the downturn it got even worse. We all worked harder and harder, and earned less and less. On top of that, our customers seem to resent us more than ever, as can be seen in my recent blog, ‘God I hate recruiters’. Ironically there is a fate worse than being amongst the 80% of recruiters who fail. Yes, being an average, mediocre, ploddy recruiter who survives is real purgatory. Why? Because this job is too hard, has too many disappointments, not to be great at it. You have to be a great recruiter to reap the rewards that make it all worthwhile. So for the top 5%, the cream, recruiting is the coolest job in the world. Here’s why: Recruiting is a win/win/win:  Unlike most commercial transactions, recruiting is not a win/lose scenario. If I sell you a car I aim for the highest price, you push for the lowest. One of us will feel we ‘won’, the other a bit despondent that we ‘lost’. But in the perfect recruitment scenario everybody wins. Happy client, happy candidate, happy you. This is not as trivial as it seems. There is something intensely rewarding about doing a job where everyone is grateful, everyone is excited with the outcome… and then you get paid as well! You create great outcomes:  Maybe the coolest thing about being a recruiter is that this is a job where you actually make good things happen. The candidate is reluctant to go on an interview, but through your influencing skills they reluctantly go along, do fantastically well, love the job, and get hired! The client won’t see your top talent because of something they spotted in the resume, but you persist, explaining the person is better than the paper, the client relents and your talent gets the job, gets promoted and in time becomes your client!   For me, when I recruited, this was the real buzz. Making things happen. Controlling the process. I would crack open a beer on Friday and reflect. That would NOT have happened if I had not seen the opportunity and influenced the outcome. Beyond cool. It actually matters:  And of course that leads us to another reason why recruiting rocks. What we do actually matters. I mean it really matters. Recruiters get a horrific rap sometimes, and often it’s deserved but hey, at the end of the day, we find people jobs! And that’s a good thing right? Something to be proud of. It makes an impact. We change people’s lives. We solve companies staffing issues. We help people further their career ambitions. Fantastic! Its measurable: One of the beautiful things about our business is that it is so measurable. This does not suit everybody I know, but in recruiting there is nowhere to hide, and I like that. If you have the right temperament, you will thrive in this competitive environment, love the fact that you can measure yourself against your competitors and colleagues, and revel in the transparency of fee-tables and pay-by-results. Truly in our business, you eat what you kill. You can own your market:  If you have longevity, if you maintain integrity, if you deliver service and outcomes that your customers want… you can elevate yourself to a true trusted advisor, and then recruitment becomes a beautiful, beautiful thing.   All your work is exclusive, all your candidates come via referrals and commendations, clients treat you with respect, seek your advice, bring you into the tent . You actually ‘own’ your patch and that is a wonderful place to be! Yes it’s true. Recruiting rocks. When it all boils down, what all of us want from a great job is just two things. Fun money. And if you’re a great recruiter you’ll get lots of both. The fun of winning, the fun of finding people jobs, the fun of working in a job that actually counts. And money? I don’t mean how much you earn, although of course that is important. I mean working in a job where you get a great return on your efforts. That is where it is at! So if you are having a down day. Never forget: fun and money. Recruitment rocks!

Write a Book While Building Your Personal Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Write a Book While Building Your Personal Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Today, the line between marketing and writing a book has been erased; todays social media makes its easier than ever to build your personal brand by writing a book. With a little planning, you can write your book while building your brand! Think of your book as a giant jigsaw puzzle; each of your blog posts becomes a separate piece of the puzzle! Advantages of the jigsaw puzzle analogy There are numerous advantages to writing a book as a series of blog posts. The most important is that any project becomes easier when you break it up into a series of relatively small tasks. For many, the idea of writing a book is intimidating; it just seems like such a big job. And, if you think about writing 5,000 wordsor 50,000 wordsat a single sitting, it is a big job. But, when you view 5,000 words as ten 500 word segments, writing a book suddenly becomes more feasible, especially if you only need to write 500 words a week! This is one of the hardest lessons to learn; Im still learning it. As Ive written before, I was able to do term papersincluding my Honors thesisin bursts of overnight excellence. Only recently have I realized how unhealthy and how unsatisfying last-minute writing can be; it not only puts the last-minute writer under tremendous stress, it prevents the rich reflection that can take place when you have time to write and review before going public with your words. How long does it take to write 500 words? Youve just read 262 words- -and Ive barely gotten started! Another way to view 500 words is to think in terms of 4 good-sized paragraphs, like the one above, and 4 shorter one-sentence and two-sentence paragraphs (like this), or slightly longer. If you can blog once a week, youre on your way to a published book. If you can blog twice a week, youre well on your way to a published book. In addition to writing your book in a series of short working sessions, writing your book as a series of blog posts also promotes your book while youre writing it. This gives you an opportunity to test your markets reaction to your ideas while building anticipation for your book. Examples of jigsaw puzzle blogs at work Many enterprising authors have written books based on their blog posts. Examples include: Guy Kawasakis Reality Check Bud Bilanichs Straight Talk for Success Rajesh Settys new Blogtastic How to get started There are two ways to get started: Serendipity approach. One approach is to blog what you want to say each day (or week) and, after a whilewhich could be 6 months to a yearyou assemble the blog posts into a book. This is an OK approach if you take your blog writing seriously, and write each post as an exploration of an idea, topic, or challenge your market faces. The advantage of this approach is that you may be very surprised by the insights you discover when you go back and review your blog posts. The disadvantage is, When do you stop blogging and start on your book? Systematic approach. Another approach is to start with the end and identify the information you want to include in your book, and create a detailed table of contents for your book. Basically, you write each blog post as part of each chapter in your book. Each blog posts becomes the basis either a complete chapter, or as one of the subhead topics within each chapter. The advantages of this approach are that each blog post takes you closer to your personal brand-building book, and you can easily track your progress. The disadvantage is that it may be difficult to see the whole before you assemble the parts. Neither approach is perfect, but, while exploring the options, youre likely to create your own blend of Serendipity and Systematic. For example, you might decide to post twice a week. One post will be required content for a specific location in a specific chapter. The second post will be on topic that youre passionate about, but not necessarily sure where it will fit into your book. The process is what counts In either case, of course, the process is whats most important. By taking action, by committing to an aggressive blogging program during 2010, and committing to getting a book published during 2010, youre undertaking a journey that will change you and your relationship to your market. Nothing, ever, is really predictable. Unexpected challenges and opportunities are likely to show up along the way. But, when you proactively take the helm and set sail to a stronger personal brand during 2010, the journey begins and you are opening yourself up to new opportunities and personal branding possibilities. Are you willing to act? Or, will 2010 be just one more year of business as usual? Author Roger C. Parker is a “32 Million Dollar Author,” book coach, and online writing resource. His 38 books have sold 1.9 million copies in 35 languages around the world. Roger has interviewed hundreds of successfully branded nonfiction authors and shares what he’s learned at Published Profitable and his daily writing tips blog.

Why a Personal SWOT Analysis will Help Your Career Growth

Why a Personal SWOT Analysis will Help Your Career Growth Individuals that are interested in improving their mindset, skills, and traits are usually prone to succeed. Personal development is a mandatory process in case you’re looking to create a better personal and professional life. Mediocre people usually don’t have big ambitions. Therefore, personal development could be a strange concept for them.If you’re reading this article, you’re probably looking for ways to advance your abilities and career. Let’s get straight to the subject!Photo Credit â€" Pexels.comSWOT stands for “Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats”. The SWOT analysis was first conceived in the early sixties by a group of intelligent business people. Its main purpose was -and still is- to help business organizations get out of different crisis and improve their overall performance.evalHowever, the SWOT analysis is not meant to work only for businesses. You can use this analysis method in order to boost your personal development efforts. Moreover, th is powerful strategy facilitates the opportunity to learn more about your own self.Self-awareness is a highly important trait in today’s business marketplace. Self-awareness is linked to emotional intelligence, a trait which seems to gain more and more importance for today’s big brands.Why Would You Apply SWOT on Yourself?evalThere are several reasons to perform a SWOT analysis on a personal level. Josh Watson, HR manager at Career Boosters suggests:“Performing a personal SWOT analysis is much more effective than simply looking at your strengths and weaknesses. Most individuals believe that if they can find their weaknesses and strengths, their introspection process is done, and they’re good to proceed. This strategy can be effective, but it can never be as effective as a personal SWOT analysis.”Here are the main three reasons for performing a “Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats” analysis on yourself:1. Improves Your Self-AwarenessEvery time you’re loo king for answers “inside”, you’re working on your self-awareness capacities. The more you work on it, the more you’ll know what’s going on with your feelings, thoughts, and behavior.2. Provides Strong Personal FeedbackFeedback is critical â€" not just for businesses, but also for people who’re looking for progress. Constructive feedback shows you where you’ve gone wrong. It also helps you figure out the actions that you need to take in order to improve the final results.3. Keeps You on TrackevalLife is never easy, and it always comes with surprises. Every person must have gone through rough times, and honestly, these are the times that influence our personal growth the most. By performing a SWOT analysis while you’re already aware that you’re not where you’re supposed to be in life, you’ll be able to get back on track.In other words, SWOT helps you gain a better perspective on both your professional and personal life. It works on your mindset, and it helps your leverage what’s best for you. Now let’s take a closer look at how a SWOT analysis is performed. If you’re eager to start, take a piece of paper and start following my lead.How to Perform a Personal SWOT Analysis?The first and most important action you need to take is quite basic: you need to clear your mind and put yourself in a state of absolute honesty. If you only have a few minutes to do this, I’d suggest delaying it for later. This process requires all of your attention. Because SWOT stands for more than just one concept, we’re going to take each part in turn.I want you to ask yourself these questions. Please try to focus as much as you can on the answers that you write down. By following this exercise, you’re basically communicating with your own self, and you’re finding out where you stand in the present moment. StrengthsWhat talents have you been born with?What your strengths are mostly praised by other people? If you’re willing to work hard on your perso nal development, you’ll find that life becomes more enjoyable and easier as the time goes by. While knowledge is power, self-awareness means balance. Both of these traits are important for whoever wants to overcome their current condition and become better individuals.

When Is The Right Time To Quit a Job - Pathfinder Careers

When Is The Right Time To Quit a Job - Pathfinder Careers When Is The Right Time To Quit a Job? We all know that song made famous by Johnny Paycheck, “Take this Job and Shove It,” and many of us have fantasized about marching into the tyrannical boss’ office and telling them in no uncertain terms that they can take a long walk off of a short pier. Common sense prevails, though, and most of the time, we silently suffer in hostile and often toxic workplaces simply because we need the money or benefits. So that begs the question: Is there ever a right time to quit a job? It depends, say experts. But one thing you never want to do is storm out in protest. You never want to cave into an emotional impulse in the heat of the moment… deciding to quit a job should be a well-thought out and rationalized decision. There are many things to consider. Leaving a job without having another one lined up puts your entire career at risk due to the potential for an extended period of unemployment while you try to land another position.   Plus, there’s the financial wallop to your savings account until your next real paycheck. Then, there’s the resulting liability on your résumé when a gap appears between jobs which always raises the eyebrows of potential employers. But aside from these usual warnings, what do you do if things are so bad that you can’t take it anymore? The decision truly falls on you conducting an assessment of your current circumstances, and you will need to weigh the pros and cons of staying or leaving to figure out the right decision for your unique situation. But most professionals would agree that the following situations are compelling reasons to pull up stakes and cut your losses: 1)           Someone is out to get you. It could be a boss or a co-worker, but if you find yourself looking over your shoulder and trying to make sure you aren’t being sabotaged every single day, you are playing a losing game.   You should try to resolve whatever issue they have against you â€" and if there is a human resource department that can act as an intermediary, then avail yourself of those services. But, if after repeated attempts to come to some kind of peaceful understanding, they still are out to get you, you can either leave or continue to put up with it and worry about what they might be up to next. 2)           The company is engaged in illegal activities.  You could be associated with these activities simply by being an employee and possible subpoenaed if there is any legal action taken against the company.    If this is the case, it’s a good idea to consult a lawyer on the proper legal measures you might need to take in order to distance yourself from those activities and exit the company… to reduce your own accountability risk. 3)           The workplace is a hostile environment. If everything you try to do at work is met with hostility, obstacles, or general impediments to your ability to do the job you were hired to do, then you need to question the reason why you are there in the first place.   If you are bringing workplace issues and anxiety home with you, you might want to think about the mental cost you are suffering.   Try to find a solution internally, but if there is no resolution in sight, it might again be a good idea to move on.   If the company won’t give you the right tools so you can do your job, you are fighting a losing battle. 4)           You’ve screwed up, big-time.  If you have had an #EPICFAIL on-the-job, it will always be in the back of the minds of your co-workers and boss.   The damage is done, and your credibility will always be in question… will you be inclined to make the same mistake… again? 5)           You are experiencing discrimination or harassment. Illegal? Yes. Taxing to you? Absolutely. But these two workplace demons still exist . Again, going through the proper internal channels to address the problem is the first place to start, but if the problems persist, you may need to hire legal representation to defend your rights. The downside is that this process can take a long time and be very expensive, so be prepared for a long haul. 6)           The company finances are in the toilet.   If people are getting laid off left and right, and senior management are huddled behind closed doors, you might take this as a sign to cut your losses before they cut you. Sure, you could hang in there and hope for unemployment or severance, but the smart thing to do is to start your job search… pronto! 7)           You aren’t growing.   If you are increasingly finding yourself in what seems to be a dead-end job, you are just treading water in your career.   A good employment relationship is one based on give and take, where both the employer and employee benefit. If this doesn’t match your situation, it’s best to start planning on moving on to greener pastures. Making this decision to leave your employment is never an easy one, and should never be made in haste or in the moment of extreme emotion.   Taking the time to thoroughly analyze the implications of such a decision is important to ensure you don’t act rashly or endanger your future employability. Ultimately, you need to come up with an action plan that based on a plan that benefits your career (and mental health) positively!

Bullets to Use in Bullet Points When Writing a Resume

Bullets to Use in Bullet Points When Writing a ResumeAlthough it may seem an obvious idea, I have found that too many people in the computer field fail to use effective words when writing a resume. More often than not, you will find that these people think it is sufficient to merely list their education, work experience and job titles, and then they are guaranteed a job.Obviously if you are looking for a job you want to make sure that your resume does not contain any 'dry' or generic information, because the simple fact is that no one wants to read something that says, 'I graduated from college.' Rather, if you are looking for a position as a computer professional, you will want to make sure that the facts of your experience match what the employer is looking for.Now, here is where the term 'bullet points' comes into play. You may have heard that using this format is very effective when it comes to making a resume, but the reality is that most people do not understand how bullet poin ts are created.What I am saying is that when it comes to bullet points, most people do not know what they are. This is why the majority of resumes you see today contain lots of individual points, which when looked at alone are not very impressive. However, when put together, you begin to realize that they give a more complete picture of what you have done in the past.Now, when it comes to creating bullet points for a resume, you can simply use the alphabetical order of the experiences that you have had. For example, if you attended college as a computer science major, you could break down this experience into the categories of 'certification, internship, mentor, co-ops, project, summer, staff member, faculty member, staff writer, researcher, writer, editor, etc.' If you use these terms with a specific organization such as McDonald, they can identify your accomplishments in a very short amount of time.If you decide to include the full span of career experience on your resume, you can also use the terms 'management positions,' 'computer science roles,' 'computer programming roles,' and 'apprentice degrees.' It may seem like this is a lot to type, but you can simplify the process by simply writing each term in its own paragraph.Although you may not want to waste the opportunity to get a job, there is no reason to write your resume in a way that it is not effective. In fact, if you follow the steps that I have given, you will find that many employers can tell that you understand the importance of writing a resume and the importance of giving them everything that they need to make a good decision.Just remember, when it comes to bullet points, simple is best. Do not over-complicate the job of writing a resume; do not be afraid to simplify it if it is not working.