Five standing desk benefits

Five standing desk benefits by Amber Rolfe Not sure what a standing desk is for? We’ve got you covered…For many of us, sitting down for long periods of time every day is an inevitable part of our jobs. But if done without the right breaks, this can contribute to a wide range of health problems. And whilst standing for your entire shift might not be an option, there may be some key ways to counteract the risks and ultimately improve your wellbeing.To help you see the positive effects, here are five benefits of having a standing desk:  It lowers your risk of obesity It’s no secret that sitting down for long periods of time isn’t great for your health â€" and the problem only gets worse when you end up consuming more calories than you’re burning.And with most office workers prone to regular snacking (and/or cake in the kitchen), staying healthy at work can seem like an almost impossible task.But what if we told you that you could burn calories, just by standing still? Well, that’s exactly what we’re saying. In fact, working at a standing desk would mean you’d be getting rid of around 50 more calories every hour than you would if you were sitting.That’s 750 calories a week, and 30,000 calories a year.It’s basically like going to the gym. Sort of.Top 5 â€" Ways to keep fit at work  It reduces back pain Back pain is one of the most common complaints from people who spend the majority of their working day sat in front of a screen.Particularly if you’re an office worker, you’re probably familiar with those aches and pains you get after a long day of sitting still. Maybe even more so than a mild work-out session. Makes no sense, right? Wrong.Sitting increases the risk of slouching in your chair, arching your back, and bending your neck, causing weak muscles, poor posture, and more. A study published by the CDC proves the benefits of standing desks, revealing that the use of one in combination with sitting reduced upper back and neck pain by over 50%.Just make sure y ou refrain from leaning on desks/window frames/the nearest person.It makes you less susceptible to heart disease Moving around is good for your heart. Fact.Studies dating back to the 1950s show that those who sit for long periods of time (without regular standing breaks) are more likely to suffer from heart problems than those who are more active in their day-to-day.In fact, people who sit the most are twice as likely to develop cardiovascular disease.But this doesn’t mean you should stand all day. The key to maintaining good health at work is all about moderation. So aim to heed the benefits of sitting and standing, alternating between both throughout your shift.After all, standing for just three hours a day is practically the same as running ten marathons a year.Apparently…  It decreases your blood sugar levels Ever fallen victim to the afternoon slump, thanks to a questionably large lunch?You should probably stand up.Because your blood sugar levels increase after a meal, it†™s particularly important to stay active after you eat, in addition to taking regular breaks throughout the day.Standing is a great way to help prevent a potentially harmful build-up of sugars, which could not only boost your energy levels, but may also reduce your risk of diabetes in the long term. Sitting down for too long can also slow down your metabolism and promote fat accumulation.The result? You can say yes to that extra large portion, with slightly less guilt.It could boost your mood Standing desks don’t just benefit your health; they could actually make you more productive.Sitting for long periods of time is scientifically proven to contribute to thinning of the brain structures that we need to maintain memory â€" making standing breaks absolutely essential if you want to keep your mind healthy.Standing desks are also beneficial for your wellbeing and overall happiness at work, with studies showing that those who stand as well as sit feel less stress and fatigue than peo ple who only sit.And because you’ll be increasing blood flow to the brain by standing, you may also notice a boost in energy throughout the day, as well as a reduced risk of feelings of anxiety and depression.Six tips to improve your workplace wellbeingFive reasons you’re unhappy at work    Still searching for your perfect position? View all available jobs nowFind a job What Where Search JobsSign up for more Career AdviceSign up for moreCareer Advice Please enter a valid email addressmessage hereBy clicking Submit you agree to the terms and conditions applicable to our service and acknowledge that your personal data will be used in accordance with our privacy policy and you will receive emails and communications about jobs and career related topics. Life At Work Workplace culture

Headaches From Trying to Apply for Online Jobs

Headaches From Trying to Apply for Online Jobs At Find My Profession, we enjoy helping clients apply for online jobs. In the process of doing this, and looking for online jobs, we come across many companies who attempt to build career sections. These career sections have places to apply for online jobs. And that is where we come across the problems below.Headache #1: Billion-Dollar Company...10 Dollar Career SectionWe come across a LinkedIn or Indeed job posting that reads, “Apply on Company Website”. The website is run by a billion-dollar company, so we expect to see a sharp and clean application process.Not so fast. After landing on the application page, we find a text-only page straight out of 2001 that looks thrown together by a writer and web developer. Even worse than this, the links do not work or the page freezes. There are no company logos on the page and all the billion-dollar “gusto” is nowhere to be found.Solution: Read the job description and look to see if it mentions the hiring manager by name with an email . Then, reach out to the person directly and explain how you had tried to use the application form. You may also find the hiring manager on LinkedIn.Headache #2: The Elusive Job Posting on a Company WebsiteYou came across the perfect opportunity when looking for online jobs. You click the link and…The job is nowhere to be found.You then do a keyword search for the job and still have no luck. But you are positive you had just seen it!Solution: It is safe to assume that the link to the job was living on another site, but the job listing was removed. It happens and when it does it is best to move on. Forget about it. The job is no longer available or was posted by mistake in the first place.Headache #3: When the Application Process Is BrokenWhen you start looking for online jobs, the assumption may be that the application submission will be flawless. After all, talent acquisition is very important to the growth of a company!So, it may come as a surprise when you try to submit your re sume and come across technical issues. The “Submit” button has no link embedded or the page jumps to a dead link. Maybe, the screen freezes. All of this can be frustrating, especially if you spent a good amount of time filling out the application form. Solution: If possible, use the company’s live chat to see if you can get support. If this does not work, try the solution from headache #1. Reaching out directly to people in charge of hiring is a great way to network, not just for one job, but for others in the future.Headache #4: Company Databases Not Saving Logins and PasswordsThere are companies we all desire to work for. And quite often, we have to create a profile on a company database to get into their system. But when you try to apply for online jobs, the company database always seems to forget your login information.This is highly unfortunate and you would be surprised if you knew the big tech companies it happens with. They may do this for security reasons, yes, but if the login and password won’t be saved, they should just allow people to submit resumes.Solution: It is hard to tell some days if companies are actually trying to test job candidates with their application processes. If there appears to not be a terrible amount of resources invested in the talent acquisition tool, go around it. Try to find someone on LinkedIn to connect with. Of course, as frustrating as it may be, you can just fill out a new company profile every time you visit the website.Headache #5: Fake Job PostingsYou see a job you want and click the proper link to apply. The next thing you know, you are taken to a page asking you to fill out a profile. Only this profile is for a job listing website. The job you thought you were applying to does not exist, but the info was used to attract new profile creations from job candidates.This is as much a buzzkill as it is a headache for those trying to apply for online jobs.Solution: The best thing to do is back out and not fill ou t the profile. Unless you want to receive spam and job alerts from new websites you have no interest in. Better yet, you can skip this headache and get people to apply for you much like the services at Find My Profession.

Conquer Fear and Add the Leadership Attribute to Your Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Conquer Fear and Add the Leadership Attribute to Your Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Today, I interview Larina Kase, who is a speaker and New York Times bestselling author.   Today, the topic is conquering fear, rising to the occasion and obtaining leadership skills.   Its challenging to break yourself out of your comfort zone and try new things, especially when its in our DNA.   Larina is going to explain how you can do it, starting today. Larina, why are people so afraid of change and how can they conquer this fear? Fear of change is hardwired into our DNA. To our ancestors, change meant the prospect of starvation and death. Change also requires an expenditure of energy and time, and most of us don’t feel that we have much of those to spare. Think about Newton’s first lawâ€"a body at rest stays at rest and a body in motion stays in motion. The only way to change what we’re currently doing is by adding a new force (typically in the form of an action), and we fear what this new force will cost us in terms of resources (time, energy, money). We also fear how others will react to change, and rightly so. Most people resist change, even positive change. We live in systems and when we alter something about our behavior, we typically get a response from others, which is not always a good one. The way to conquer fear of change entails a combination of our thoughts and actions. The thought to ask ourselves is best in the form of questions: What am I truly afraid of? What do I feel is the worst thing that could happen? How likely is this worst fear to occur? If it did occur (which is unlikely) how would I handle it? With fear, we overestimate the likelihood of something horrible happening and underestimate our ability to handle it. These questions help you to see how unlikely the feared result is, and that you could indeed handle it. The actions to take begin with a small step in the direction of change. To break inertia, we need to start moving, but we don’t want to push ourselves too far or fast or we’ll resist the change and get stuck. Is everyone capable of being a great leader? Why or why not? Everyone is capable of being a great leader in some aspect of their life, either leading themselves or others. If you’re going to lead others, you must first be a great leader of yourselfâ€"it’s a prerequisite. In terms of leading others, I think that about one quarter of leadership ability is natural and the rest is learned. [googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=174158574027659604hl=en] Inherent or inborn characteristics of great leadership include qualities like thought process (great leaders are often “big picture” people rather than data-driven types, which helps them to create and communicate a powerful vision), and the personality traits openness and conscientiousness. Contrary to popular belief, research has not shown the personality trait of extroversion to correlate with great leaders (not all great leaders are extroverts). Qualities that can be learned if someone has the interest and desire include the emotional intelligence factors that are so important to leadershipâ€"things like self awareness, empathy, confidence, communication, influence, and being a catalyst for change. What are some common characteristics of great leaders? Great leaders positively influence others. Two of the most important features of influence are empathy and communication. Empathy is the ability to understand the thoughts and feelings of others. Without empathy, people feel that you don’t get them and resist your influence. With empathy, people feel heard and understood and in alignment with you. When people are empathic, they naturally communicate well. This is because empathic people mirror the body language and emotions of others, which creates a synchronicity. Communication skills are made up of nonverbal (body language, tone of voice, etc.) and verbal (what you say) behaviors. Your nonverbal are most important, and through training everyone can improve their nonverbal communication. What do Seth Godin and Tim Sanders have to say about how to become a great leader? I had the good fortunate to interview Seth Godin, Tim Sanders, and five other innovative thinkers for The Confident Leader, and interestingly, all of their interviews had a similar theme: That we must push our own limits, act consistently with our values and passion, and forge ahead even in the face of setbacks. Seth Godin clearly values innovation and sharing ideas with as many people as they are meant to help. All his work is consistent with this theme. Tim Sanders believes strongly that true leaders bring their values to work and base everything they do on responsibility to making the world a better place. I enjoyed how all the authors shared their experiences and theories on moving beyond what’s comfortable, as this is what’s necessary for change. Another bestselling author I interviewed for the book, productivity expert David Allen, said something I found profound, “You’re as organized as you need to be to take on the comfort zone that you’re willing to tolerate.” Even our levels of organization are designed to keep us within (or break us through) our comfort zones. How have you built your own brand into a well-known author, speaker and coach? When I started out I did not know exactly what I wanted my platform to be or how I’d share my message. I began by becoming clear on the heart of my message, based on my knowledge and passion. I realized that it’s about helping work through all of the obstacles that stand of the way of what they want most (building thriving companies). Most of the obstacles are internal and related to fears. For me, I’ve found the most reward when I’ve accomplished something that I feared or doubted my abilities to do, and I knew this is what I wanted to help others experience. My background in the research and treatment of anxiety and confidence-building was a great fit so the puzzle pieces came together. I don’t think you can have a strong platform without both expertise and passion for your topic. Once I got clear on my message I started to think about how to best deliver it. I looked at my natural strengths (written and verbal communication and maximizing the performance of others) and the methods became clear: writing, speaking, coaching. Then it simply became creating the intention of what I wanted and doing everything possible to make it happen. Writing is my true passion so I focused all of my energy on getting my first book deal, and that set my platform in motion. Of course image and all of those things go into branding, but I think most important being clear on your message and sharing it with everyone who can benefit from it. One of the best ways to share your message is by partnering with others who have a similar mission and audience but different angle from you. Larina Kase, PsyD, MBA is a professional speaker, author, and recognized expert in peak performance, anxiety and stress management, leadership, and entrepreneurship. Dr. Kase has a doctorate in psychology and masters in business administration, and her unique approach is regularly seen in media such as Inc., Entrepreneur, SELF and on national TV and radio. She is the author or coauthor of 7 books including The New York Times bestseller The Confident Speaker. Her latest book is called The Confident Leader. She has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs and executives from companies such as Verizon, Intel, Morgan Stanley, Ernst Young.

Is Glassdoor a Platform for Corporate Cyberbullying

Is Glassdoor a Platform for Corporate Cyberbullying Ben Martinez is the VP for HR at HireVue and has some thoughts he wanted to share with us on the employer review site Glassdoor. Hes also passionate about great coffee which youll find out in this interview. Have a listen to our chat below, keep reading for a summary and dont forget to subscribe to the Employer Branding Podcast. A  corporate version of cyberbullying please explain? I shared on Facebook, Glassdoor is equivalent to the corporate version of cyberbullying. My point of that is the verification process  is  a mystery in terms of who can comment on your companys Glassdoor page. They can be a candidate, or they can claim to have worked at your company at some point and then decide to write a Glassdoor review. But its a mystery if they actually did work there. The reason why that becomes a problem is that you will have people thatll make a claim about your company that is without merit, and they will say something that is completely not true. Theres a completely other side of the story, but youre boxed into this corner of the comment on your page, and they become very hard to take off. I am all for good feedback and  saying how it is, but there are times where anybody could make a comment about your company, and then it can be not well  thought out. Sometimes, youre not even sure if the person actually worked there or even had an experience. It could be a troll out there bullying your company. Thats why I  call it the corporate version of cyberbullying. Somebody with ill intent could go after a company and really cause havoc for them without actually having a bad experience at that company. Is there any way to verify if someone was actually in employment or in a recruitment process? One of the verification methods is they require a company email. So  a current employee at that company  will  have to have the companys email to prove that they work there, which makes sense. But then the part that gets a little bit of a mystery is the former employees because they can just claim that they worked there. But to my knowledge, it does not match their LinkedIn or anything like that, or maybe the person does not have a LinkedIn. So they could just say that they did work there and maybe they did not work there, and they can make a claim. So  as it stands, we have comments on our Glassdoor where Im not 100% certain if that person actually ever worked there. They just made a comment about our company. Its not overly bad, but its not really a good one, and you just think, Well, Im not sure why this person feels that way So  where it becomes a mystery is the past employees and how they verify they actually work there. Can we really blame Glassdoor for this? If theres a negative review, if we deserved it, then give it to us. I think where Glassdoor could do a better job would be taking more accountability at verifying that the review came from an actual former employee. That way theres more truth to the whole process, and people can get a real view of what that is. Thats where I would put more accountability on their part. We had a candidate come in a few weeks back, and he made a claim on our Glassdoor page. He was here for probably three hours for an interview, and he made a claim. He called us white America, he made claims about us being racist, that we had a draconian work environment, and we only allowed 10-minute work breaks. This candidate was completely crazy. We get this thing on our Glassdoor page that gets sent out because a lot of our employees and customers follow our Glassdoor page. My team has to immediately look into this, and we get with Glassdoor, but it takes roughly seven days for them to take that comment down, which they did. They worked with us on that, but my point is that it was up there, and people saw it, and we took it down. And then theres a lot of chatter in the office about, Wow. What was that review about? Why does it work well employers like  HomeServe and LOréal and not so well for others? We  dont do the paid version of Glassdoor, and it still has worked well for us. We take a lot of pride in our Glassdoor page, and thats probably why I get so passionate about it. How it works well for other companies is first of all, youve got to complete the profile out about your page be as transparent as you can about sharing everything. But youve got to respond and be authentic in your responses, because people can see through that. As you do this, you expect some bad reviews and take it as feedback. Weve had reviews where it was our bad, and we did not treat the candidate right in the experience so  we apologized on there. Weve even sent some candidates a little package, our apologies on your experience. Then weve had the really good examples that you get out there where people give rave reviews, and theyre really a big fan of what you do. How these companies have been successful is, it will never be as awesome as the page reveals itself to be, and it  will never  be as bad as the pages reveals itself to be. Somewhere, theres a middle ground, and I think that these companies are just real in how they respond to these questions and what they say about it.  If you get a bad one, just own up to it, Yep, that was our bad, and we apologize for how we treated you in that process, Then the ones that deserve a better response, if it wasnt your bad then I think its okay to stick up for yourself. Ive had a good experience with Glassdoor and how theyve approached us with it. Obviously, they want our business, but they do tend to take an approach of, Heres your information. If you want to do something more with it, you have to give us money. but our score is 4.5 out of 5. Theres not a lot they can really say that will  make a difference. Im not opposed to paying, but were a smaller, mature startup. We dont have a lot of budget. Amazon  have  a score of 3.5, Uber have  a score of 4.1, HireVue  are on 4.5, any comments on that? Amazon:  In the last year or two its declined a lot. Probably because a while back, there were letters going around about the way they were treating the employees. And there was something around being unfair towards women. On  a scale of 1 to 5, 3.5 isnt awful, but its not awesome. You do have to look at how big that company is too, but theres definitely room for improvement. Uber:  Considering what theyve gone through; all the sexual harassment stuff, and toxic work problems, with 4.1 maybe theres something good going on there still that the press is not focusing on.  Its easy to get reactions out of the bad stuff. So 4.1 is still pretty good, especially considering what theyve gone through. HireVue:  So we were at 4.8. Thats why  I got hot on some of these reviews. The reason why weve declined, is because of  a natural change. We have a new CEO, and hes great, but when you get a leadership change, you  will get  people who are good with a change, and people who are bad with the change. I think that change drove our score down a little bit. Are there any other alternatives for employees wanting some transparency about the experience of working there? The one we use a lot is called Comparably, think of it in a similar fashion as Glassdoor, except you can rate the CEO, you can rate the company, and you can do a lot of things in terms of rating. What I like about it, is it breaks it down into an individual level, with more diversity. So you can find out the percentage of people who rate your CEO who are female.  Maybe they rate your CEO, they really like him, and its 95%. But  maybe the men dislike him, and its 58%. Obviously Im making these numbers up, but I like it. It gives you  a deeper look than Glassdoor. It  does a good job of focusing on the diversity of how things are being rated. The comments are not as anonymous. You can still get really good feedback, but they can be really targeted at areas you can improve, versus someone just randomly making a comment about how bad your coffee is in the workplace. Were 92/100 executive rating, 98 quality of coworkers, 96 for future outlook, so  were in a good place. What do you think is next for Glassdoor and employee review sites? Theyre getting a lot of data and a lot of insight thats just continually building. There are still companies that are sending out the annual employment surveys and engagement surveys. I think whats next is they can turn this into an ongoing engagement tool where they can start to get a real-time pulse of how a company is doing, what people really think real-time.  Theyre collecting real  data from people who is always ongoing, versus the company-administered survey that becomes  static. Thats where they will use this data for a lot of other things. LinkedIns now been acquired by Microsoft, but I see  LinkedIn and Glassdoor  being able to play really well together.  I know they used to not like each other for a while, but thats been four or five years back now. They are both in the same area, and they hold a lot of data about employees, so theres a lot of stuff you can share. Follow Ben on  Twitter  @benmartinezJ.

Why Using The Best Resume Writing Services Is Important

Why Using The Best Resume Writing Services Is ImportantThis year, New Jersey is going to have a lot of changes in terms of the employment market. The year 2020, New Jersey had many new companies which were established from New York to Connecticut. The year 2020 will be another year in which the economic situation of the state will be quite uncertain.There are many factors that cause the unemployment rate of NJ to change. One of the factors affecting this rate is the recession. Recession will never affect everyone equally. Therefore, unemployment rates will vary widely for different regions of the state.Another important factor that affects the unemployment rate of the state is the government spending. There are many taxes which the government needs to impose. When these taxes are imposed, the entire budget of the state will be affected. The only solution to avoid this type of negative impact is to cut down on the overall expenses by reducing the spending power of the government.Anoth er major problem that causes a lot of unemployment in NJ is the overuse of credit cards. This is the main reason why people are not able to repay their debts. It is necessary for the debtor to pay all his or her creditors in full so that the debt can be canceled. In most cases, the debt will remain unpaid and therefore the consumer will become unemployed.The third factor which causes unemployment in NJ is the recent financial turmoil that occurred due to the problems faced by the financial institutions. The state suffered a lot in terms of its economy. Many small companies were shut down because of the loss of income. Some large financial institutions also faced the brunt of the unemployment.The last factor which caused financial instability in the state was the closure of many companies. Companies closed down due to the state of its economy. When a company is shut down, there is no one to receive the salary of the employees. It is a loss for the state and an increase in unemploymen t rate.Any job seeker who wants to get a job in NJ must take into consideration the state of the economy. The reasons which cause high unemployment rates must be avoided. This is the main reason why these services provide a resume writing service which is very useful to the job seekers.They are equipped with the knowledge and expertise of hiring individuals who have jobs in NJ and they help them to create resumes that can help them get a job. This is what the best resume writing services do and it can be done by any person. Therefore, if you want to get a job in NJ, use these services which can help you create a great resume.

8 Ways to Stop Being a Perfectionist

8 Ways to Stop Being a Perfectionist There’s something you should know about me: I’m a recovering perfectionist. And it almost derailed my career. In a way, that was lucky because it forced me to take action to change. But how about you? Do you (or anyone you know) suffer from perfectionism? The thing is, being a perfectionist can kill your career. And it’s easy to get sucked into the cult of the perfect. It’s a helpful trait when you’re just starting out. In fact, you get praised for it. It’s often called attention to detail, diligence, work ethic, or being highly organized. So you double down on it and pursue perfection even harder. But gradually, this becomes a bad thing. When people start referring to you as being a perfectionist, that’s when it becomes a show stopper. Perfectionism is a career limiting behavior Perfectionism becomes a career limiting behavior as you move up through the ranks. As an individual contributor Trying to get everything “perfect” can mean you take longer to produce results. And I’m speaking from personal experience. First of all, I would put off getting started because I didn’t feel I had enough time to do it properly. That’s called procrastinating. Once I got started, the perfectionist in me meant I spent way too much time researching, improving and polishing. That took time away from other important projects as well as time to prepare how I would present my material powerfully in the meeting. Most importantly, my health and well-being suffered. For most people, the saying “there’s plenty of time to sleep when you’re dead” is used to justify staying longer at a party or something fun. For me, it gave permission to work more and forget about sleep. As a manager Being a perfectionist when you’re a manager can hold you back even more. Frankly, applying ultra high standards to everything you do is usually a sign of insecurity. That will lead you to burn through a lot of resources, and gain the negative reputation that goes along with it. In my case, perfectionism meant preparing for every possibility ahead of a client meeting. This led me to demand extra analysis and material from my team, most of which ended up not mattering at all. Juniors complained, I gained a reputation for wasting resources, and people didn’t want to work for me. It took me four years to overcome this. If I hadn’t, it would have derailed my career. “The perfect is the enemy of the good” Perfectionism puts you under greater stress and is just plain bad for your health. All of which makes you less efficient and effective. It’s a downward spiral, and not a sustainable way to do business or live your life. On the flip side, imagine how liberating it will feel once you let go of “perfect” for everything you do. What would it feel like to have that weight lifted off your chest? However you look at it, it’s worth letting go of perfectionism. But the question is how? 8 Ways to Stop Being a Perfectionist Here are eight ways that helped me let go of my perfectionism. I’m still a work in progress. In fact, it’s taken me longer than usual to write this blog post because I wanted to make it, well, perfect! I guess this topic hits a little too close to home. So, before you get excited that there’s a “cure”, know that this is something you have to keep working on consciously and consistently. But you can definitely improve. A lot. 1. Acknowledge The first step to letting go of perfectionism is to acknowledge that you’re doing it in the first place. I didn’t say “admit you’re a perfectionist” because I hate labels. Labels are an invitation to buy into an idea about yourself that doesn’t serve you well, and makes it harder to change. By seeing it as a behavior, you can change it. It’s easier to change a behavior than something that's imprinted on your identity. As you acknowledge, think through what situations bring out your perfectionist behavior most strongly. For me it was anything I had to hand in to someone else or otherwise share publicly. Just like being back in school. That’s why it used to take me weeks and even months to publish my first blog posts. 2. What does it feed? Understanding why you challenge yourself with ultra high standards is also helpful. Like any other habit, perfectionism must be serving some part of you, even if it doesn't serve your higher self. For me, it’s a potent cocktail of fears (like “what if I get it wrong? it’s got to be perfect or else”) and glory (“if I nail this, then…”). And of course, there’s the insecurity or lack of confidence aspect that we talked about earlier. Simply identifying the underlying beliefs that drive your perfectionist habit is a good step toward changing them. You can choose the beliefs you want to hold, and the ones you want to feed. 3. Face the worst case Perfectionism is often a way to make sure you don’t fail. But a prevention mindset is hardly the best one for creativity and innovative thinking. To get over this, I’ve found it useful to look at the worst case scenario, and how (un)likely it is to occur. And to realize that there’s probably something you can do in that remote situation anyway. If you’re a champion catastrophizer too, then it’s helpful to list out all the worst things that can happen versus the most likely scenario. Then talking them through with someone you trust is even better (preferably not a fellow perfectionist!). Getting those dark thoughts out in the fresh air takes away their potency. 4. Identify standards needed Most of the time, we don’t need to do things perfectly. Good enough is good enough. Challenge your assumption of “perfect” as the standard for everything you do. This is where it helps to ask what the standard is that’s needed for the job at hand. Do they need “quick and dirty”, client ready, or something in between? I remember taking extra time to polish the look of a presentation, turning it in to my boss, and then finding out that he just wanted it as background and not for the client presentation. What a waste of time and effort. I could have been working on any number of things that turned out to be more important. It’s like arranging transportation. Sometimes nothing short of a stretch limo will do, and other times a bicycle would be sufficient. Make sure you ask first so you know what to deliver. 5. Adjust your standards Even when others have lower standards, those of us in perfection mode can have a hard time letting go of our own super high standards. We think we must go above and beyond what’s expected. To outperform. I’ve found it helpful to make two adjustments to my own standards. First, I’ve adopted my mother’s concept that “good enough is good enough”. That’s about giving myself permission to accept what others have set as the standard and stop there. And while it’s hard to stop at “quick and dirty”, I hear my mother’s voice telling me that “good enough is good enough” and I stop myself from outperforming. I also had a great boss who told me, “I want you to do things to 100%, not 120 or 150% like you usually do”. He really meant, “just do 80%”, but he knew that I wasn’t able to do less than 100% of anything. So the first step was to get me down from 120 to 100. Second, I’ve adopted the idea of setting situational standards â€" that is, I have different standards for different things. For example, for internal meetings I’ll share copies of my hand drawn diagram rather than have someone turn it into a PowerPoint slide. That’s “good enough” for this purpose and saves time. On the other hand, for client meetings I will spring for the branded presentation material. At the same time you adjust the standards for yourself, make sure you apply these differential standards to your team as well. So don’t delegate and then transfer your perfectionism to others. 6. Watch your self-talk As you retrain yourself, one of the most powerful obstacles in your way will be your self-talk. When the voice in your head says things like, “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right” or “Don’t be lazy” or “Everything is riding on this”, it’s hard to stop yourself from going for perfect. So start noticing your self-talk and how it supports your perfectionist behavior. And when you catch yourself in that self-talk spiral, you can choose to replace it with something else. And also look out for times when you apply positive self-talk to feed your perfectionist habit. For example, it could be when you keep cheerleading yourself (and your team) past the point of usefulness with, “let’s just do one more [edit/example/run-through/etc.]”. When you catch yourself in “just a little more” mode, step back and ask yourself whether that’s necessary for the task at hand before you dive in. 7. Give yourself a reason to move on This one is about doing the very best you can do, but within a specified time limit. That way, you won’t be able to keep re-working something until it’s “perfect”. Sometimes you just have to put a limit on how much you can work on something. Deadlines are great for this. For example, if you have to turn in your paper by 5pm to make it in time for the FedEx pickup. You'll do so whether or not you've gotten to perfect. If you have a tendency to strive for perfection in a task, then decide you’ll only spend 30 minutes (or whatever timeframe) on it. Set a timer and make it “pencils down” when it rings, just like those college entrance exams. Or, plan something really fun or that you have to go to when time is up. 8. Do experiments This is about testing out what works for you, and practicing it regularly. Since every situation is different, it’s useful to try out different techniques and see what happens. Start with low risk situations (so, the regular team update instead of the board briefing) and learn as you go. Then practice delivering “good enough” instead of “perfect”. Find at least one situation each day when you can practice. After all, perfectionism is a habit and you’re creating a different habit so you have to keep practicing. Back in the day, I remember spending 3 hours on a Sunday afternoon scripting out and recording the weekly market update voicemail for Monday. It was my first time doing it and, while it was only 2 ½ minutes long, I must have re-recorded it 50 or maybe even a hundred times until I got it perfect. Sure, it went to hundreds of colleagues around the world and my reputation was on the line, but 3 hours? When my husband and kids were waiting for me to go out bike riding? Instead, I could have experimented with reframing the weekly voicemail as a lower stakes exercise. After all, it came out every week and I would have a chance to keep improving. Also, I could have experimented with saying kinder things to myself rather than “that sucked, do it again”. And I could have experimented with setting a limit on how much time I could allot, or setting my standard at 100% instead of 120%. You always have options, so experiment with them and keep practicing. You’ll get better! Conclusion The irony about perfectionism is that none of us adopt it as a way to hurt our careers, yet if we don’t keep it in check, it ultimately will. So start to recognize it in your own behavior, and experiment to find the ways that work best for you to apply it only in those situations when it’s needed. That way, you can make the tendency toward perfect work for you, not against you. Make being a perfectionist work for you, not against you. And once you let go of “perfect” as the standard for all things in life, just think of how great you’ll feel. If you’re in the habit of perfectionism too, then leave me a comment and let me know how you’ve been working on it and what’s working for you.

Looking for a New Job 5 Ways to Up Your Job Hunt - Margaret Buj - Interview Coach

Looking for a New Job 5 Ways to Up Your Job Hunt Are you looking for a new job? The job force can be a little daunting if you are a fresh college graduate or someone who hasn’t applied for a new job in several years. There is definitely a system to job hunting and once you figure it out you can start to see results and hopefully get your dream job. This process isn’t cut in stone and can take longer for some people than others. There are some best practices that you can follow to make sure you are an ideal candidate which increases your chances for interviews and job offers. Job Search Engines These search engines are used by a lot of employers and are the most common way for companies to post new job openings. There are a lot of search engines out there and it is important to know that different companies post to different job sites. It is good to have several accounts with different search engines to get a broad view of what jobs are available. Monster, Indeed  and Glassdoor are all good places to start your job search. You can create an account and save jobs that you are interested and they will track your progress with them, such as applying and interviewing. Staffing Agencies This is a great option if you need a job quickly while you are searching for a more permanent one. There are a lot of staffing agencies that specialize in specific jobs such as manual labor, it staffing, and teaching. This is a great way to narrow down your search because you already know what kind of job you want and don’t have to deal with a bunch of other jobs that don’t fit your search. Other agencies specialize in more temporary jobs that are great if you need money now while still searching for a job. You can get in contact with the agency by calling them and making an appointment. Network This is so important because a lot of jobs aren’t posted on search engines and are open through word of mouth. LinkedIn is a great place to start because it allows you to connect with people around the world. College is another great place to connect with colleagues and professors. Most people will get jobs based on what they know and who they know. Build a brand for yourself  and show people that you are a worthwhile employee and hard worker. Be Proactive Don’t sit around and wait for a job offer to fall into your lap. Companies won’t call you asking for an interview if you don’t put some effort into your search. You have to apply to a lot of jobs before getting an interview set up. You may have to email companies after you submit a resume and email them again after they interview you. This shows that you have great communication skills and are interested in the job. Do some serious research before you go to an interview because it lets the interviewer know that you are serious about the job and know the company structure and background. Be Patient It can be frustrating not having a job, especially if you are providing for a family or loved ones. Finding a new job does take time so don’t give up hope if you have been applying for jobs for several months. If something doesn’t come up right away, don’t give up hope. While searching for a job it can be a great opportunity to take some feedback and make some changes to your interview approach or resume. This can be beneficial to you in the long run because you will be a better interviewee and job candidate. You can use the support of your friends and family during this new and difficult time. It’s best to keep your head up and know that with hard work and determination you will find a new job that is right for you. Author bio: Kevin Gardner graduated with a BS in Computer Science and an MBA from UCLA. He works as a business consultant for InnovateBTS where he helps companies with staffing, training, and retention. He shares his knowledge and expertise not only with his clients but with his fellow bloggers and readers.