Why Challenging Yourself is Essential to Your Professional Growth (Pt. 2) Building Your Future Now

Why Challenging Yourself is Essential to Your Professional Growth (Pt. 2) Building Your Future Now Why challenge yourself? If this is a question you may have had before reading this article then please read on! Each and every day we are challenged by many different things in others lives: whether it be at work or in our personal lives there doesnt seem a day that goes by where someone or something throws us for a bit of a loop. Its easy to get frustrated and distance yourself from the momentits a way of dealing with it. Next time that happens try to analyse the situation afterwards when you have a clearer mind. Thinking logically can give you a new and interesting way of looking at that challenging moment. Also, think about how you reacted to itdid you react in a calm matter or kind of reacted poorly? Be honest with yourselfthis is one of the cornerstones of learning. Now look at other times you were challenged. Did you react in similar fashion? If so, how can improve? Ultimately as you continue to grow in your professional life you have to understand your role within the labour market. Who are your clients? Who are your competitors? You must find ways of making yourself better by continuously learning. And yes, you must be challenged and you must put yourself in challenging situations in order to learn, grow your experience and refine your skills. Be sure to take the time to study individuals who have had challenging lives or experiencesyou can learn a great deal on how they have dealt with the hand that they were given. Take some time to check out their stories of hardship and perseverance! Remember always challenge yourselfit can only make you stronger, better and better equipped to be the best professional you can be. Image: Qimodo

Rock That Job Interview Like Wonder Woman

Rock That Job Interview Like Wonder Woman Did you know that standing like Wonder Woman â€" feet apart, hands on hips, gaze slightly upward â€" before your job interview can increase your chance of success? Or that kicking back in a feet up, hands-behind-your-head position helps you exude more confidence and express yourself more authentically a few minutes later? But the secret is, well, doing it in secret. The posing is prep you do for a power boost before your big moment. You don’t want to do it with an audience. In her TED talk last spring, Harvard researcher Amy Cuddy shared fascinating work on power posing and how your body position influences your brain. [Cuddys TED talk, Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are is embedded below this post.] A social psychologist, Cuddy found herself observing what she calls the “power nonverbals” of MBA students in her classroom at Harvard. She saw behaviors ranging from stereotypical alpha-style actions like spreading out and taking up space, to the non-power postures of other students who Cuddy says were “virtually collapsing on themselves”. Her observations drove a number of questions, leading to her research. We already know that our non-verbals govern how others think and feel about us. But Cuddy set out to learn if those same non-verbals could govern how we think and feel about ourselves. Could standing in a powerful-looking position for two minutes be impactful enough to make a person feel more powerful? Enough to cause them to behave more powerfully a short while later? Turns out, it can. In her lab research â€" which included job interview scenarios â€" Cuddy found that power posing increased a person’s presence in stressful, evaluative situations. Subjects who had privately performed high-power poses for two minutes prior to a challenging job interview scenario were evaluated more highly than the subjects who practiced low-power poses. Cuddy reports that the increased feeling of power that develops from using high-power poses makes us appear more passionate, enthusiastic, confident, captivating, and more comfortable being our authentic selves. She states, “Our bodies change our minds, and our minds can change our behavior, and our behavior can change our outcomes.” So before you go into another stressful, evaluative situation â€" like a job interview â€" try striking one of the high-power poses she shares in the video. Just be sure to leave your lasso of truth at home. Image courtesy of Julian Fong.

Physician Assistant Cover Letter Sample - Algrim.co

Physician Assistant Cover Letter Sample - Algrim.co Physician Assistant Cover Letter Template Download our cover letter template in Word format. Instant download. No email required. Download Template

Research Assistant Job Description Sample - Algrim.co

Research Assistant Job Description Sample - Algrim.co Research Assistant Job Description Template Download our job description template in Word or PDF format. Instant download. No email required. Download Template Using Your Template Follow these instructions to use your new job description template Step one: Fill out all details in your job description template using the provided sample on this page. Step two: Customize your requirements or duties to anything special to your workplace. Be sure to speak with team members and managers to gauge what's required of the position. Step three: When the census of the team has agreed on the description of the work, add in a Equal Employment Opportunity statement to the bottom of your job description. Step four: Check with your legal department, management team, and other team members to ensure the job description looks correct before creating a job advertisement. Choose a job board that's specific to your needs. Related Hiring Resources 25+ Best Research Assistant Interview Questions Answers Research Assistant Cover Letter Sample Research Assistant Resume Example

10 Management Practices that Kill Morale in the Workplace CareerMetis.com

10 Management Practices that Kill Morale in the Workplace What makes you stay at your current job? Is it having great colleagues; an awesome boss who mentors you while giving you the freedom to accomplish your tasks; or senior leadership that supports a workplace that encourages further learning and career development?Maybe you’re currently feeling stuck in a rut, wishing you have at least one of these; and rather than trying to change the entire work culture, you’re thinking of simply leaving to look for another company with a better work environment.evalWhile76% of employees understand that having a strong work culture influences their productivity and efficiencyto help them do their best work, only 9% of them believe that their senior leadership is committed to improving company culture and employee experience. Yet, managers remain baffled as to why they can’t keep their best and brightest employees to stay with them.Indeed, turnovers are costly and can cause expenses to pile up, from the costs of finding and hiring the right candi dates to onboarding and retraining new employees. On top of that, regularly losing employees can be disruptive to the business.As much as turnovers can hurt a company, senior managers typically blame it on numerous trivial factorsâ€"overlooking the root of the problem, which is employee morale. More often than not, employees leave not because of the job itself, but how their superiors and company treat themâ€"in essence, bad management.When assessing an organization’s work culture and the state of employee morale, you must look into how managers connect, communicate, and collaborate with their team, as well as how they train and value their employees. Also, watch out for red flagsâ€"here are the top management practices that kill morale in the workplace:1) MicromanagingevalHave you ever had someone always breathing down your neck, causing you to mess up due to the unnecessary pressure and tension? Despite autonomy and trust being some of the top must-haves when it comes to boostin g employee morale, surprisingly, some managers continue to control every little detail, watch every step, and keep sweating the small things.In a recent studyof those who have been micromanaged in the past, 68% reported that it decreased their morale, while nearly 60% said it negatively affected their productivity and engagement at work. Aside from influencing team productivity, employee engagement enhances company culture. This unhealthy practice hampers creativity, especially in today’s current business landscape, where employees are encouraged to think outside the box and step outside their comfort zone. Look for an effective manager who mentors, guides, and encourages you through your work instead of dictating how you should do things.2) Overworking employeesevalGenerally, the acceptable working hours are not more than 8 hours per day; as exceeding this often results in decreased productivity and creativityâ€"not to mention, long work hours are exhausting.However, it is not un usual for people to pull overtime or all-nighters from time to time to catch up on urgent workâ€"which is okay, as long as it does not occur daily. Although, if you are constantly required by senior management to work after-hours while putting an unreasonable amount of tasks on your plate and taking on bigger responsibilities, then that’s a red flag.In fact, according to a studymade by John Pencavel of Stanford University, output falls sharply after working 50 hours in one week. While it may be tempting to overwork top-performing employees, it is counterproductive.In letting employees take on a heavier workload without proper compensation or promotion, it may feel like you are being punished rather than being rewarded for excelling and going the extra mile.3) Hindering personnel growth and learningevalManagers sometimes hold their employees back and unintentionally sacrifice their upward mobility by neglecting to provide opportunities that expand knowledge, teach new skills, and i mprove current capabilities.People have an innate need to continue improving to move up the corporate ladder, or just to expand their knowledge. In providing continuous training and enabling them to further their careers, management will have the confidence to promote from within the companyâ€"instead of going through the laborious process of hiring externally.Understandably, as an employee working with a senior who is unwilling to support in reaching greater heights, your morale is undoubtedly bound to drop dramatically.4) Finger-pointing and avoiding accountabilityEveryone makes mistakes; it is a known fact of life. No matter how smart or experienced you are, somewhere along the line, you’ve had a few missteps at work. Sometimes it only affects your tasks, but there may come a time when it becomes your team’s mess.Great managers treat such mishaps as a learning experience because as a leader, they know it’s their responsibility to monitor the team and ensure everything is ru nning smoothly. Not to mention, they see mistakes more as a learning moment.Unfortunately, not all bosses react accordingly. Some seniors choose to be carried away by their anger when things go southâ€"calling out employee mistakes and shaming them in front of their colleagues. A few even go around passing the blame to a specific subordinate or team despite knowing that they made mistakes as they are too proud to accept accountability.Finger-pointing creates a harsh culture filled with fear and anxiety, which, in turn, kills morale.eval5) Aggressively threatening staffEmployees are the backbone of every company. Therefore, it is essential to treat them with the respect they deserve despite their shortcomings. Repeatedly threatening your employees with termination as a scare tactic to improve their performance is simply unjust.In truth, it is an ill-advised approach to increase performance and motivation in the workplace. Aside from that, this age-old method is proven to no longer wo rk todayâ€"explore what works instead. In making employees feel disposable, senior management is deliberately shooting down morale.evalThere are other ways of motivating and keeping people in check, such as giving them room to grow, offering rewards, and providing them snacks. Letting your employees feel valued can go a long way in boosting morale. According to a studyby Psychology Today, one of the best ways to motivate employees is to recognize their efforts.6) One-uppingHave you ever experienced presenting a new measure, strategy, or idea to upper management? Your boss then offers suggestions to improve your work further.It may seem like proper management at first until you realize your proposals are frequently subjected to refinement, however unreasonable, also known as one-upping. This can be devastating to employee morale as it can make them feel undermined by senior leadership.As an alternative, managers can work together with their employees in implementing their plans rathe r than dictating steps outright to improve some weaknesses. In creating a collaborative workenvironment, employees are involved in further developing their ideaâ€"empowering them to take ownership and involving them in propelling the company towards success.7) Keeping employees in the darkWhen management keeps employees in the dark about information that directly affects them, such as their performance and output, it can hurt morale. Open communication is vital in any organization; By building walls that shut out employees from senior management, you are tearing down trust and allowing employee engagement to suffer.eval8) Hoarding decisionsIn neglecting the importance of employee involvement and making the decision-making process exclusive to senior management, primarily when certain decisions directly affect the team, employee morale will inevitably plummet as they lose any sense of ownership.For leadership to ensure their employees are invested in working towards the achievement o f the company’s goals, it is essential to avoid making decisions behind closed doors. Instead, bring together the entire team, hear them out, and brainstorm to come up with the best solutions and decisions that will benefit the organization as a whole.9) Playing favoritesHave you had that colleague who always seemed to get special treatment? Maybe they got better assignments, bigger bonuses, or more free passes than everyone else, even if they didn’t deserve it? In the process of playing favorites and treating direct reports differently, managers create a toxic, dysfunctional environment.High-performing employees who aren’t considered the favorites are demotivated, as their hard work goes unnoticed, while the favorites receive extra attention. Leaders should be able to treat everyone equally, even when they’re handling employees of different roles and responsibilities.10) Sitting on feedback and praiseAs learning is a continuous process, employees want to regularly hear cons tructive feedback from senior management to help them work on their weaknesses and improve their overall performance. Otherwise, they’ll grow complacent and will no longer make an effort to reach their full potential.Also, although relatively easy, senior management often forgets to show how much they value their employees’ hard work. To retain top talents, it is necessary to leverage the power of recognition. Other than making them feel appreciated, it helps in affirming that they are doing well.Before signing a contract with a company and getting stuck in a rut with a micromanaging superior or unsupportive management, it’s always a good idea to evaluate your future workplace. As these old-fashioned employee management techniques no longer cut it, find a modern, nurturing work environment where you can grow and thrive should be a top priority.

How Do I Honor My Own Priorities While Juggling the Needs of Others - Kathy Caprino

How Do I Honor My Own Priorities While Juggling the Needs of Others Welcome to Episode 10 of Work You Love! Today, Im taking a question from Jodi about how to honor our own priorities and do what we need and want to in our lives, while also supporting the needs of others who rely on us. Heres my take on that: The top three takeaways from this video are: 1. Honoring your priorities doesn’t mean youre selfish and only focus on yourself.   To the contrary, it means you realize what gives your life meaning and commit to bringing those highest visions to life (and often, thats being of service to others in ways that fulfill your Life Intentions). 2. If you’ve given everything up for others and feel you have to do EVERYTHING for those around you and have lost yourself in the process, you’re honoring the wrong priority. 3. Don’t mistake utter selflessness and depleting your mind, body and spirit for the sake of others as generosity or good parenting. Heres a tweetable for you: Honoring your priorities means knowing what matters most to you in life and boldly living from that knowledge every day. @kathycaprino Click to tweet:  http://ctt.ec/b0ffi Are you feeling stuck between your needs and wants, and the needs of others?   How do you handle it?

Red FlagsSigns That Its Time to Make a Change Part I - Hallie Crawford

Red Flagsâ€"Signs That It’s Time to Make a Change Part I How do you know if its time to make a change in your career? You dread getting out of bed in the morning- every morning. Do you repeatedly hit the snooze button? Do you have an overwhelming desire to stay buried under the covers, far from demands, deadlines, and clamoring co-workers? One of the biggest red flags of job dissatisfaction is an unwillingness to face the dayâ€"not just some mornings, but every morning. What’s your body trying to tell you? Your work relationships and performance are beginning to suffer. You start to avoid certain people and tasks and you’re not doing your job as well as you used to. Remember when group projects were productive and enjoyable, chatting with co-workers in the hall was a pleasant break from the daily routine and “Happy Hour” truly was happy? If you now find yourself avoiding particular persons and duties, slacking on your reviews or really dreading company outings, chances are you’ve lost that loving feeling for your job. You work tirelessly, even staying late to accomplish tasks or finish projects because you feel like you have to, but you get no joy or satisfaction from what you produce for your company anymore. You start to slack off at work and have little or no motivation to perform. And this isn’t just a few days a month; it’s become a regular occurrence. You spend a good part of your work days immersed in “escapist” activitiesâ€"nonessential e-mailing, surfing the Internet, or micro-managing a project in order to procrastinate. You find yourself playing the avoidance game in any way you can. This is definitely a sign that something is wrong. If any of these red flags are waving at you, it’s probably time to seriously consider changing jobs, whether it’s moving into a new position at your current company or changing your course completely by choosing an entirely different career path. Whatever you do, don’t remain miserable. Discover the Essential Components to a Satisfying Career Today Want free tips, tools and expert advice on finding a career youre passionate about? Visit the certified career coaches at HallieCrawford.com, and sign up for their monthly career newsletter, right now. Bookmark their career blog for recommendations on resume writers, online career tests and more career resources. Schedule a free consult with HallieCrawford.com today