4 Ways to Make the Most of a Bad Job Building Your Future Now

4 Ways to Make the Most of a Bad Job Building Your Future Now We have all been in a situation where we find ourselves not liking our job. In most situations its a matter of regrouping and discovering underlying opportunities to succeed. However, there are times when you simply need to find a new job because things arent working. Ok, so if you arent really stoked or engaged by your job how can you make the most of it? Here are 4 ways to make the most of a bad job: 1. Find the positives Having that aching feeling in the pit of your stomach before going to work isnt something to take lightly. However, if you make the decision to look for another job try to find some positives at your current job. It might be a manager or a co-worker or customers. Find something or someone that can be a guiding light in a dreary time for you. 2. Recommit yourself Sometimes simply recommitting yourself to the job is just what the doctor order. It might be our perspective that is making the job feel bad. Sit down with your manager and Human Resources and look for ways that can make your experience bad. Sometimes it takes others around you to give you some insight of getting the most from your opportunity. 3. Know your role We might feel its a bad job because we dont truly know our role. Like the tip above, recommitting yourself to the role and learning it inside out will give you a better evaluation of what your limitations, expectations and goals are in relation to it. Dont be afraid to ask for helpyou can only get better by learning from your mistakes. 4. Being the Best You Sometimes there is no getting around a bad jobpoor management, subpar co-worker support, or bad services. You have to think about how you can be the best you because you cant control outside factors. This might be your best better in getting through a bad job. Image: Raw Pixel

Signs Its Time To Invest In Your Business

Signs Its Time To Invest In Your Business It can be difficult to pinpoint the exact moment that you should consider investing more in your business. If you feel that you are not getting the results that you deserve, your workforce is disinterested and sluggish or maybe even that you have left your business plan far behind, then a change of direction and injection of cash flow, time and enthusiasm will work wonders. Remember, that even if you think that you know the market, the future is ultimately a factor that you cannot control. However, there are good reasons why you should take a risk and invest in your business, so that you can begin to gain momentum and ensure that you remain at the top of your market. Profits and projections First you will need to review just how well your business profits are meeting with your initial financial projections. Remember it will take time to make a profit from your initial investment, but this should not put you off. As long as you calculate how long you want to allow to gain a return on your investment, and remain in control, then you will meet with any business projections that you make. Take time to get to know and understand your market, in addition to working out which business loan provider or bank will work best for your needs. Sites such as Investor Mint provide financial tools including Betterment to help you to calculate and make informed business decisions. Be patient and plan your move, and the investments are sure to pay off. Improve your marketing If you are looking to reinvest in your firm, then you will want to make sure that you assign a large sum of your profits into developing a strong and effective marketing strategy. Remember, that you will need a watertight plan to ensure that you can push sales of your product or services and deal with those all-important business leads. Consider improving your digital marketing strategy and review it if it is time for you to update and improve your sales materials also. Improve your marketing, and your business will be able to grow.    When the leads start coming in, youll want to make sure they are of high  quality, so investing in tools that can help you  automate and enrich your leads  will be crucial. Grow your workforce Finally, it may be time for you to begin investing in your workforce, especially if you are still working for a small start-up. If you are looking to keep costs down, then you could consider using freelance staff or contractors to get the work done, plus you only need keep them on your books for as long as you need. When it comes to growing your workforce, it pays to get business savvy and invest in growing and developing your top talent pool. If you feel like your business is no longer getting the results that you require, then it could be time to reassess and invest in your company. Be sure to consider how you will spend your investment and keep an eye on the market. Consider improving your current marketing strategy to ensure that you are able to attract new deals. Finally, take time to grow and improve your workforce to ensure that your firm remains at the top of the market.

What are You Wearing this Fall Meet the Transitional Dress

What are You Wearing this Fall Meet the Transitional Dress As Ive attempted to pick up some list minute things for my trip to Hawaii on Monday, its become strikingly obvious that summer fashion is on its way out  of stores and the season is changing.  My sisters and I always talk about how tough season changes can be on your personal style and wardrobe especially at work.  Should you wear boots or sandals?  Bare legs or tights?  Is it too early to pull out your favorite scarves and jeans?  Anyone feel me here? In the case that we do get another few weeks of warm weather, let’s make the most of it and  leave legs bare and feet in sandals for as long as possible! Now might be the time to start loading up  your fall wardrobe with the help of some stylish yet cheap  ladies fashion.  In my quest to figure out whats cute this fall, Ive discovered something I call the Transitional Dress. The Transitional Dress If you work in an office with a reasonably smart dress code then a transitional dress will be ideal  for this time of year. What’s a transitional dress? Well, it’s a dress that will take  you through the change of the seasons. You can wear it with bare legs and pumps while the  weather is still warm, then switch to opaque tights and your fav boots when it gets  a bit chillier.  Its also a dress that you can wear to multiple types of functions depending on how you accessorize it. Anyone else a huge fan of dresses? No pant hemming needed (well for me at least- Im really short) and much easier to throw on in the morning. Matalan (a store my friend from London introduced me to) has lots of great transitional dresses which are ideal for the office or number of other weekend activities.  Add a great blazer or cardigan to any of these looks to extend the look! The above dress is totally my style. The combo of camel and black in this sleeveless  ponte dress will suit pretty much all hair and skin tones and will look fantastic with polished black  boots later on in the year. In my opinion its classic yet with the addition of a belt, jewelry and/or boots it can look more trendy. For now wear it with simple black pumps and a chunky gold bracelet for a  simple and sophisticated look. This gorgeous peter pan dress is the perfect shade for autumn and with its cute collar detail and  skinny black belt, it hardly needs any accessorising at all. Keep things simple with some jet earrings  and some black wedge sandals with purple toes to match! Later on you can have some fun with this  dress and make a bold statement with clashing colored tights. The look might not be quite right for the office but at the weekend anything goes, right? And finally, to add a little bit of retro with a modern twist to your work wardrobe, go for something  like this geo print shift dress, which again will be perfect with sandals or pumps while it’s officially  still summer and will look great with killer heels and sheer black tights when the leaves start turning.  Team it with a little pink cardigan if you want to add a pop of color. Anyone else have any cute dresses or fall looks to share?   Ive been attempting to Pin favorite looks so if you have a Pinterest board that may inspire those of us looking for cute new fall outfits, please share it with us in the comments section!

Deal with People and Build Your Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Deal with People and Build Your Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career In today’s technologically advanced world, building your brand has never been so easy and yet so complicated. There are so many platforms you can utilize, and one platform that has marketers standing up and taking notice is social media. There really is no better time for brands to take advantage of what social media has to offer than today. But of course, it’s important that you plan your strategy before jumping in, as you may very well crash and burn if you don’t utilize social media properly in your branding campaign. Managing channels Because this is where most people are, social networking sites have become the place for people to talk, discuss and air out their concerns about your brand. This is why both business and personal brands need to ensure that they’re managing their social media channels well â€" otherwise, it may develop out of their control, which is not a position anyone wants to be. The key here is to ensure that the channels for communication between the people and your brand are always open. Though you may offer customer support on your website, not all of your customers or clients will always follow proper procedure when it comes to their concerns. They want a response fast, which is why you will see them posting in your Facebook page, in a community forum, in your blog. So it’s very important that you make sure that their concerns are quickly addressed. Customers like knowing that they are valued, and this means that any concerns they have should always be responded to and not ignored. Though you wish that they would always use the proper channels when airing out their problems, they may not know about this channel, or it may mean that their problem hasn’t been addressed yet or hasn’t been addressed well, which is why they are using other channels to get their message across. You should actually consider this a good thing, because it means that they really want you to address the problem. Rather than making bad reviews or complaining in other media, they are posting their concerns in your social media accounts so that you can respond to it. Think of it this way â€" a customer that complains is a gift. Without social media, the complaint may be routed in more harmful ways, and could result in crippling your brand. That’s what great about social media â€" it’s incredibly viral and fast. This is also what’s bad about social media. This is the reason why it’s essential for brands to make sure to monitor their social media accounts well so that they can easily respond to any concerns or problems. You should look at it this way â€"   social media is an excellent channel for communicating with your audience. Nowadays, it’s not enough for you to communicate with people via advertisements or marketing campaigns. You have to deal with people personally to build your brand. People want to interact with you â€" they want to know who they’re conversing with. This is why you can’t tell your customers or clients to do it the right way and use the proper channels. You should be happy that they’re airing out their concerns in channels that you have access to, rather than outside channels that you cannot address. In building your brand, you always have to deal with people, and you should make sure to treat them with respect. Don’t ignore or turn away their concerns just because they weren’t routed in the proper channels. Make sure that you monitor all your accounts so that you can address any problems quickly and efficiently. Author: Maria Elena Duron, is managing editor of the Personal Branding Blog and is also the CEO (chief engagement officer) of buzz2bucks.com â€" a word of mouth marketing firm. She helps create connection, credibility, community and cha-ching through mobile marketing and social commerce around your brand. She is co-founder of #brandchat a weekly twitter chat focused on every aspect of branding.

9 Ways To Leap From Student to A Professional

9 Ways To Leap From Student to A Professional How do you jump into the scary world of work after studying in the safe world of education in your teenage years? You may have had a taster through holiday jobs and volunteering or even a work placement and internship. The leap from student to a professional can still be daunting.Here are 9 ways to make the leap from student to professional a softer landing:1. Shift your MindsetevalYou only need to be concerned with yourself as a student. You don’t tend to have responsibilities for other people. Your deliverables are assignments for your course and studying is a personal activity, albeit alongside other individuals.evalThat changes when you get a job and work with others. Then you become part of a teamCheck out the typical dress code and fit in. Find out if it changes according to different situations.6. What You Say and Don’t SayYou are surrounded by people your own age at college. You will find different generations in the workplace with different motivations for being there. D on’t try and be the office comedian until you’ve proved yourself. Don’t be a know-it-all. If you don’t know how to do something, don’t say “I don’t know”. Say, “I’ll find out”. Accept tough love if you get things wrong.7. What You Do and Don’t DoFacebooking, Instagramming and Snapchatting when you’re bored are no-nos. Leave outside arranging your social life and Internet surfing. Unless you’re online for specific work purposes. Do not bitch online about colleagues, your job or the company. Check out the work ethic of your colleagues. How hard and smart do they work? How do they communicate? Take your lead from them. Be resourceful. Be sociable, join in and build your network. Go the extra mile, get your hands dirty. Don’t let people down, do what you say you are going to do. Be confident but without the right attitude.8. Be CuriousevalAbsorb. See yourself as a reporter. Capture what being professional means working for your employer. Observe how people talk, dress and behave. Look out for what is and isn’t acceptable around here â€" using the phone, emails, at meetings. Discover the stories that people like to tell about the company. What is not being said? What clues do they give about what is important to people who work here? Watch out for the latest news about the company, the sector or field. Show interest, have an opinion.9. Take the InitiativeDo things without being asked. Offer your ideas to help the business. Ask intelligent questions that get your colleagues thinking. Make a customer happy. Be a team player and help your colleagues. If you want feedback, ask for it (and avoid being defensive).What would you do or avoid doing?

Top 10 Blogs To Stay Up-to-Date

Top 10 Blogs To Stay Up-to-Date Heres a list of the top 10 blogs to stay up-to-date with your career and whats going on in todays world. Staying up-to-date sometimes is the last thing on your mind. After all, youre working a job, (or looking for a job) and spending time with family and friends, who has time. Or maybe you find yourself overwhelmed by resources or dont know where to go. There are tons of opinions, angles, experts, gurus and professionals sharing their messages out there and not all provide the same advice. That is the good news! If everyone were saying the same thing, what a boring world it would be. Ive shared these job search and career lists before, so I wont rehash.  They rocked then and the still rock today! Best Sites and Blogs For Job Search I Read These Top 10 Blogs To Stay Up-To-Date This list is about inspiration, motivation, deep thinking, bigger thinking, opening up to new ideas, and learning new things! Honestly, I regularly read them all. How do I fit it inmy little secret? I wake up at 4 am and start my day by catching up on the articles that catch my attention. Personally, I used to use Google Feedreader which let me surf articles by topic, keyword, or date. I recently migrated over to Feedly which is visually appealing, easy to use and does the trick. I dont want my email clogged with blog posts (I get too much email already) so the reader lets me browse the material when I want it. I hope you check these top 10 blogs to stay up-to-date out and add your new favorites to a reader of choice (or if you prefer, subscribe to get their updates emailed to you!) TedX- Ideas Worth Spreading You can find all of the above on this one site! TedX is filled with new ideas, great thinkers, and just great information. It is truly the thinking persons site.  Search around. Youll certainly learn something new! In case you dont know, these are videos of presentations. Keith Ferrazzi Keith is an author and thinker. He is also a huge advocate of networking and professional development. These are just some of the topics he addresses, you only need to look at the categories on his sidebar- they say it all: Behavioral Engineers, conflict resolution, communication, goal setting, leadership, our values, relationship mapping, virtual teamsthese are just some, to give you a flavor! LifeHacker What a wonderful way to improve your life! They cover almost every topic, from how to de-fog your shower door to the best computer tricks and everything in between.  Theyve got career advice too! Mashable This is one of the best sources for news and resources about social media.  If you have a question about Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or any network, Mashables got your answer. Im a Gen Xer and have a mild obsession with technology, in order to stay up with all the changes, this is a good place to go! 99U This site is brought to you by Behance and it is very career-related.  It is visually appealing and offers practical advice and insights for productivity and personal and professional growth! If you arent familiar with Behance, it is a network that showcases creative work by designers, etc. It offers online portfolios and a place businesses can go to source solutions from graphic design to website development. Fast Company Originally a magazine, theyve grown into an amazing online mega-media resource. Topics include business, innovation, leadership, technology, ideas, and more. Some of their regular features include: Harvard Business Review Where cutting edge thinkers write and review and share! I could spend all day on this site.  The short daily management tips are simple yet effective reminders for anyone (manager or not). While some of the materials and articles are only accessible for a fee, the majority of this site is pure gold. Smartbrief Your Career What a great way to see some of the popular and/or important issues around careers. This content is collected from various sites by the Smartbrief career editors. A variety of voices and topics ensures this is always fresh! Chris Brogan Generating new business ideas, trying new things, leading the packthats what Chris is doing. His is on the cutting edge of social media and how to use it to capture the attention of your market, whoever that may be. It is interesting to see and hear what hes up to and the way he writes to his audience makes me feel like hes writing just for me! Seth Godin Author, marketer, and crazy creative out-of-the-box inspiration. My early days blogging were inspired by the the short, thought-provoking posts by Seth. Even today, I am moved and motivated by many of the posts he so succinctly writes.

How Long Should Your Resume Be?

How Long Should Your Resume Be?You can find a plethora of information about job opportunities online. There are a lot of websites, with job postings and even employment listings that will provide you with a lot of information on how long should your resume be. While it's important to get as much information as possible before applying for a position, the length of your resume is not nearly as important as it once was. In fact, the information you put in your resume may not even be entirely relevant.Employers use resumes to search through a lot of information that you put in your resume. They do this to determine whether or not they should interview you. Employers are only allowed to check the relevant information that you listed on your resume. This includes your past employment history, education, and any certifications or degrees you might have. They will then choose whether or not to interview you based on these factors.The length of your resume is so important to an employer that they have the right to see your entire resume and eliminate anything that is irrelevant. If they see that you have additional education, you may be ineligible for certain positions. However, there are many companies that will accept more than one resume. So if you only have a few years of experience but some certifications, you might get in over your head.A crucial question that you should ask yourself when you are designing your resume is what information are you truly seeking? Do you want to be interviewed? Do you want a promotion? Or are you looking for a more specific type of career? When you are writing your resume, you will need to answer these questions.An important question to ask yourself is 'What kind of career do I want?' When doing research for your resume, you should look into the career types that will fit your desires. Many career counseling services will give you information regarding specific career paths. Before you sit down to read through your resume, be sure to ask for the information.The information on your resume will also help determine which positions you are most likely to get. For example, if you don't have any certifications, but you have certain skills, you might be more likely to be hired than someone who does not have certain skills. Again, be sure to research each position before making a decision. Also be sure to check out the position's requirements before choosing one.Remember, online information is often outdated. Before you spend your hard-earned money on a resume, be sure to read through all of it and make sure everything you have on your resume is relevant. You want the employer to be able to accurately evaluate your abilities and present you to them for an interview.