How to Keep Your Employees Motivated

How to Keep Your Employees Motivated Keeping employees motivated is important for brands for many reasons. It improves productivity, raises the quality of work and makes the workplace a nicer place in general. But what are the qualities of a motivational leader? Find out the gritty details in infographic below, by Business-Management-Degree.net. Takeaways: Great leaders bring out the best in their employees by creating a positive work vibe. Emotional self awareness is an important trait to possess in order to be a good leader. Motivating employees works from the bottom line and can improve your entire brand Authoritative leaders are the  best at creating a positive work climate RELATED:  How to Motivate Your Employees and Foster Innovation

How to Destroy Your Career - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

How to Destroy Your Career - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career The seven deadly sins of career building: Laziness Carelessness Lying Stealing Arrogance Cynicism Self-pity There’s more of course, but that list is a really good start. Here’s the thing. You never intended for those sins to show up in your personal brand, but those exact things may be popping up before our eyes. How? We see you! On laziness and carelessness We see what you are doing and what you are not doing. Believe me, on behalf of your boss and clients: we know how many hours are in a day. We know if more could be accomplished. And if what’s been accomplished could be done better. For example, my organization has a mantra: First draft, best draft. That’s right. Intend on writing only one draft â€" and make it a really good one. Not something that shows you took a stab at it.   Not something that says: “I know I promised to get something out by today so I got to it, didn’t I?” If you deliver the best draft possible, someone else can polish it â€" and we are golden! If instead, you throw up whatever you’ve got, we are in receipt of your carelessness and laziness. And all those excuses that get thrown in? Throw them out. All we learn is that we can’t rely on you. You can’t be a great personal brand when your work betrays you. On lying and stealing That happens every day you take more than you give. Like when you are sent to a trade show and don’t get on the floor first thing. Or you get paid tuition and rather than do the work to earn an A, you dont study but hope youll get a passing grade. This everyday kind of lying and stealing is much less sensational than pulling a Bernie Madoff. But these small crimes of opportunity are much more likely to kill your reputation. On arrogance and cynicism When you say, “I don’t see the point in that.” Or, “that isn’t what I would do.” Well, that’s useful if you have the education, experience and insight to provide that business acumen. But, if you have that kind of acumen, you probably aren’t saying anything like that. On self-pity When the weight of your decisions or the actions of others trips you up: don’t spend much time feeling sorry for yourself. Charge your batteries before they run out. Check the fuel gauge and traffic before either makes you late for an interview. Take responsibility for what you could have done better and journal the rest in a chapter titled: Life Isn’t Fair. Don’t read it aloud; we know it by heart. On hope and change Consider there’s a whole lot of people who never have a chance â€" even the smallest chance, to make something of themselves. Consider what you must do to start a new path in the new year. Confess your sins â€" even if it’s just to yourself. Cleanse your soul. Heal yourself. Because theres only two good times for you to be the best representative of your personal brand: 1) any day before today, and 2) today. Author: Nance Rosen is the author of Speak Up! Succeed. She speaks to business audiences around the world and is a resource for press, including print, broadcast and online journalists and bloggers covering social media and careers. Read more at NanceRosenBlog. Twitter name: nancerosen

Where are all the Humanities PhD jobs University of Manchester Careers Blog

Where are all the Humanities PhD jobs University of Manchester Careers Blog If you’re a humanities* PhD who came to our graduate fairs, you may have ended up feeling like a poor relation to all those science PhDs â€" or even undergraduates. Dont despair! Humanities PhDs do develop challenging, satisfying careers but your job search strategies probably need to differ from many other graduates or PhDs. The “average” humanities PhD (including arts, humanities and social sciences subjects) is very different to the “average” science or engineering PhD. There are fewer of you and you’re more likely to be older, with previous employment and life experience to draw on. There are also fewer non-educational settings where you can directly apply your subject knowledge. This all has an impact on job hunting for humanities PhDs. *Humanities PhD â€" Ive used this term to include all doctoral researchers in arts humanities (AH) disciplines and social sciences (SS). Note: If you would prefer to download or print this information, it is available as a 2 page pdf here. What do humanities PhDs do after graduating? The following information is taken from data on the employment circumstances in 2010 of 2,505 UK and EU PhDs who graduated in 2006/7, ie ~3 years on from graduation (Vitae, 2013) The majority of humanities PhDs were working in Higher Education (AH: 57.5%, SS: 67.6%) or education outside universities (AH: 11.2%, SS: 3.5%). This is much higher than science or engineering. Unlike science engineering, only a small proportion of humanities PhDs were working in research roles outside HE (AH: 3.2%, SS: 3.4%). Outside research and teaching roles, humanities PhDs were in a wide range of “other” roles (AH: 36.5%, SS: 29.9%). The only other sector which stood out was “Finance, business IT” (AH: 4.8%, SS: 8.5%). A significant proportion of humanities PhDs were working in more than one job concurrently ie “portfolio working” (AH: 27.3%, SS: 19.9%). Whilst for some, this may be an unwelcome reality of establishing an academic career, the majority (~60% of AH PhDs) said it was a positive choice. Over 90% of humanities PhDs said they were very or fairly satisfied with their careers, 3 years after graduating. If you want some more inspiration, Beyond the PhD has examples of the interesting, often serendipitous, career paths of arts and humanities PhDs. A few starting points to consider Academia and education â€" research and teaching roles will be familiar (An Academic Career has example career paths and sources of jobs). Universities also employ PhDs in many “administration” roles â€" roles which, outside academia, would be called “professional and managerial” but inside academia are given the same label as data-entry jobs (don’t make the mistake of assuming they’re the same). Also consider other education roles, including on-the-job school teacher training such as Teach First or School Direct. Consultancies â€" the major management consultancies target PhDs from all disciplines. You do need to demonstrate commercial awareness and interest, but don’t need a management degree. Depending on your field and previous experience, there may be other specialist consultancies worth considering, such as educational, environmental or health consultancies. For more information, see our career sector pages for management consultancy. Policy and campaign jobs â€" consider civil service, local government, government agencies, NGOs, research institutes, think tanks, policy organisations and campaign groups. For more details, see our career sector pages for government). Social research organisations â€" the Social Research Association has some useful careers information. What does this mean for job hunting for humanities PhDs? If you don’t want to work in a university or other education role, or the roles described overleaf, there are very few generic sources of “humanities PhD jobs”. The jobs which humanities PhDs do are as individual and wide-ranging as humanities PhD graduates themselves. “Humanities PhD employers” come in all shapes and sizes and may only recruit one or two PhDs a year (which explains why they don’t want to come to recruitment fairs). This means you need to seek out individual roles, employers and jobs. You could consider: Jobs which draw on your skills Assess the skills you have developed during your PhD and previously. By the nature of a PhD, this will include highly polished analytical, communication, information management and organisation skills. You will certainly have shown determination, self-motivation and the ability to use your initiative as an integral part of your PhD. You may also be a great influencer, negotiator, leader, team worker or innovator. Many of these skills are transferable to a wide range of careers, either related or unrelated to your research topic. Jobs which draw on your knowledge This may be discipline knowledge, but unless you are targeting academia, you may need to think laterally. Who is interested in your topic, outside academia? Who would pay you to apply your knowledge, either as an employer or client? What sort of output would they expect to see from you applying your knowledge? Is there other knowledge which you have which might be the basis for a career? This might be an understanding of groups you’ve dealt with during field work or services you’ve used during your research. You may be able to apply your newly-honed skills to knowledge gained from previous work, to explore more senior posts. Jobs which draw on your passions An alternative approach to finding a career is to focus on something you care about and explore what sorts of jobs people do related to that field or topic. Enthusiasm and passion, some knowledge of a topic or field, coupled with an ability to learn fast and all those other PhD related skills might be an attractive package for a prospective employer â€" particularly if they meet you instead of just receiving a CV in the post. How to investigate career options and find jobs for postgraduates Job websites can be useful but before you jump straight in and start browsing, consider that the most common way humanities PhDs first found out about their jobs (3 years after graduating) was through “professional, work or educational contacts or networks”. This was particularly strong for those in higher education roles. The most effective way of uncovering those individual niche jobs suitable for humanities PhDs is probably through using your contacts. To help with your job search, have a look at some of our career guides (there are 18 in total) on our Postgraduate Careers website with tips, techniques and links to support all postgraduates, whatever your discipline. These include: How to explore postgraduate career options in person How to explore postgraduate career options online How to find jobs for postgraduates which are not advertised How to find adverts for PhD jobs outside academia How to network without hassling your contacts How to find potential career contacts How to find academic jobs All Postgrad-highlighted Postgraduate academia Careers fair humanities Options

On the Job by Anita Bruzzese Cool Perks to Look for at a New Employer

On the Job by Anita Bruzzese Cool Perks to Look for at a New Employer Would you like to have your employer do your laundry? Or buy a new wardrobe on the company tab? What about having someone run errands for you while youre at work? If those ideas sound far-fetched to you, think again. Employers have been stingier with salaries and they have to think about offering some of these other benefits, saysLaurie Ruettimann, a human resources consultant. Even more: Companies are always open to ideas that dont cost them anything, such as getting discounts to theme parks, adds Sharlyn Lauby, author of the blogHR Bartender. And experts say anyone can bring up an idea for a new benefit or perk. Consider some of these cool perks already being offered to workers. PREVNEXT 1 of 25 A Surf Report Thinkstock California-basedPatagonias reception desk posts daily surf reports and lets employees know when they need to grab their boards and head out for some great surfing, even if its the middle of a workday. Physical fitness (read more here)

The Importance of National Coffee Association Resume Writing

The Importance of National Coffee Association Resume WritingNational Coffee Association resumes writing is a business association's resume writing guide. With a national coffee association resume, you can be certain that your resume will get good attention in the eyes of your future employer. This will allow you to get the job in no time if you apply and your have good presentation skills.Writing a resume is not an easy task to accomplish. It requires proper job history information and personal interest as well as academic qualifications. Natioanl coffee association resume writing should address all these details and more in order to be accepted by your potential employer.Your resume needs to speak for you and impress your employer. A great example of a good resume is that of a single cup of coffee. Your prospective employer cannot ignore the fact that a person with your skills and qualifications would be able to work in this kind of environment.Some examples of an excellent example of a good resume are 'Career of Service' written by a waitress. A long resume is considered a waste of time. Try to keep your writing short and simple. It will take less time for your potential employer to digest your resume if you are able to put in your desired information on your resume.If you want to add information about your particular field of interests to your resume, try to make this as helpful as possible. There are plenty of ways to do this, such as affiliations and credentials. Make sure to include any areas that are pertinent to your profession. Include the most basic of information such as your name, current or former address, your educational history, job experience, educational qualifications, and any awards or recognitions that you may have received during your career.Be sure to keep your professional resume as brief as possible. A lot of employers who make use of a standard national coffee association resume will notice the small mistakes in your resumes and be abl e to easily dismiss your application.You don't need to be a very good writer to be hired because many companies are looking for people who write very well. Try to write what you know. If you think that you may have some skill that you can bring to the table, write this up.Finally, don't forget to put in a cover letter as well. It's always good to have two things in one because this will keep you from having to do the task twice and will also help you look more professional as well.

Train Station Customer Service Assistant Insiders Career Advice

Train Station Customer Service Assistant Insider's Career Advice When we think about careers within the rail industry, train driver and train guard immediately spring to mind. However, there are many different and varied jobs available (drawing different salaries) that are designed to ensure the trains run on time and the level of service provided is the highest it can be. One such role is the Train Station Customer Service Assistant.Other roles within the Railway Industry include:Project engineer;Project manager;Project planner;Scheme project manager;Site manager;Signaller;Track maintenance operative;Customer service assistant;HR administrator;Team organiser.  However, if you do want help for getting the obvious role, click on the banner below!Of course, due to the intense levels of competition amongst trainee train driver applicants, another option is to choose a different role with the Train Operating Company first, before eventually applying for your preferred role. This option also has the benefit that the TOC will get to see what you are lik e as an employee and how effective you are at helping them deliver a high level of customer service.In this article we will specifically take a look at Train Station Customer Service Assistant is and what the role involves.As we are all aware, train stations are very busy places and the role of a Train Station Customer Service Assistant can be extremely demanding. The key areas of the role include:Dealing with members of the public;Answering train-related queries, such as train times, delays and ticket information;Helping customers and ail passengers who have mobility issues;Manning the station information point;Being available at the reception;Carrying out security reviews and patrols.As you can imagine, you will need to have lots of skills and qualities to deal with customers, especially when customers become frustrated and agitated due to train delays and issues with disruption due to inclement weather.Train Station Customer Service AssistantIn order for Train Operating Companies such as South Eastern, CrossRail, EuroStar, Virgin Trains and West Coast Railways to operate effectively, their customer service must be the best it can be. Often, the first person a passenger will come into contact with at any train station will be the Customer Service Assistant. Therefore, it is crucial you have the following qualities before you apply and complete the application form:Confidence (required to deal with difficult and upset customers. In addition, confidence is required to know and learn your job so that you can provide the information required when requested by customers and rail passengers)Fitness (required as you will be on the go for most of your shift.Flexibility (Customer Service Assistants within the rail industry are required to work shifts; therefore, you will need to be in a position to work at short notice)Consistency (this is required when providing information to customers and also when dealing with customer complaints)Retain information (required for when you start to learn your role. You will need to retain a large amount of job relevant information and apply it on a daily basis)Vigilance and tenacity (this is required for when you conduct security patrols and checks on the train station and platforms.Some of the larger train stations, such as Kings Cross, Manchester Central, London Euston and Birmingham New Street will have more facilities than the other smaller stations that form part of Network Rail. These include information points, mobility centres and receptions.Manning the Information PointWhen you carry out this particular role you will have constant access to the live rail times. If you look at the reception point at London Victoria, there are people queuing for information every hour of the day. Although there will be boards provided that offer live train times, some customers want to speak to a customer service representative. Computer skills will be required for this role.Train Station ReceptionThe railway station r eception point is often the first place passengers will come to in order to ask for directions, train times, purchasing tickets and also requesting train platform locations. You will need to greet passengers in a friendly and welcoming manner. You will also have to deal with other members of the rail industry group, such as engineers and people working on the track. They will be required to sign in and you will need to collect their risk assessment and health and safety forms.Offering Mobility AssistanceSome customers will book in advance for mobility assistance and you will need to arrange this for when they arrive, greet them and provide a mobility buggy for them and their baggage. They will then be taken to the relevant platform where they can wait for their train to arrive. Customer Service Assistants are also often required to learn how to drive the mobility buggy, too.Security PatrolsAs you can imagine, within the current climate, security is becoming more and more important. During your training you will learn how to carry out security checks at the station, on trains and also on the platforms, looking out for suspicious packages and baggage. You will also have to provide security updates over the train station communication system. Whilst full training is provided, you should have excellent communication skills, both verbally and in writing. Attention to detail is absolutely imperative for this role.Before you applyNow that you have taken the time to learn more about the role of a CSA, think carefully about whether or not you have the skills required to carry out the role. If you do have the skills required, and you are certain it is the job you want, you would be encouraged to arrange a visit at your local train station to find out more about the role and the Train Operating Company you are applying for.Our Transport for London Assessment test questions are a great way to prepare for a CSA assessment:Practice TfL Style Train Station Customer Service A ssistant TfL Test QuestionsLike How2Become on Facebook! This entry was posted in Train Driver, Career Advice. Bookmark the permalink. Joshua Brown 7 Tips for Passing the Train Driver Assessment DayQuestions To Ask At The End Of An Interview

The Feel Factor - Why no workplace can afford to ignore what people feel - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

The Feel Factor - Why no workplace can afford to ignore what people feel - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog According to a study many employees do not want their co-workers to express any type of strong emotion positive or negative. Employees expect others to hide negative emotions in order to maintain what they call professionalism. They also expect co-workers to hide positive ones by not showing too much pleasure with promotions or raises because someone else might have missed out. Emotions have been getting a bad rap in the workplace. If youre a true professional, the thinking goes, you never show emotions at work. In fact, the really true professional has no emotions at work. Hes a little like Spock from Star Trek who said that Emotions are alien to me. Im a scientist. Consequently, in many workplaces showing strong emotions, good or bad, can be career suicide. If you allow your frustration at a bad decision or your elation at a victory to shine through, you will be seen as volatile, untrustworthy and, of course, unprofessional. Theres only one problem: Human beings dont work that way. We have emotions. We have them in our private lives, and its not like we can leave them in the car in the parking lot at work. Whether we want them to or not, theyre coming to work with us. The best workplaces know this, and leave room for both positive and negative emotions. As a result, people are happier at work, are more creative, function better in teams and are more productive and motivated. On the other hand, companies that ignore and/or stifle emotions are setting themselves up for massive doses of conflict, frustration, disengagement and unhappiness at work. Read on to see why no company can afford to ignore emotions in the workplace. 1: We make no decisions without emotions The evidence has been piling up throughout history, and now neuroscientists have proved its true: The brains wiring emphatically relies on emotion over intellect in decision-making. We found everyone showed emotional biases, more or less; no one was totally free of them, De Martino says. Even among the four participants who were aware they were inconsistent in decision-making, they said, I know, I just couldnt help myself, he says.(source) Many, many people think that decisions (especially business decisions) should be made rationally. You know, we coolly list the pros and cons, the risks and opportunities and then choose the best possible course. Well Ive got news for ya: Thats not how we make decisions. In reality, our emotions play a huge role in each and every decision we make, and if our decision making process does not acknowledge this, the process is sure to suffer. And so will the qualities of the decisions we make. 2: Emotions guide workplace relationships No team, department, workgroup or company can function without good working relationships between people. Whats more, good workplace relations are one of the largest causes of happiness at work. And once again, we form workplace relations with our emotions. The reason you work well with George and Tina isnt that youve rationally decided to create a good relationship with them, because that would be good for the project. No, you work well with George and Tina because you like them and they like you. And when you have those kinds of relationships in a team, the team functions much, much better. Contrast that with the team where everyone can kinda see that the other guys are good at what they do, but nobody cares about each other. 3: Emotions are at the core of employee engagement and motivation Workplaces today want employees to be more than just wage slaves who only come in for the salary. Companies want people to be motivated and engaged at work and exert a lot of effort in team building, bonus schemes, motivational speakers etc. to further this. And guess what: Engagement and motivation are emotions. Its not like employees rationally tally up all the pros and cons of being motivated and then decide to be it or not to be it. Whether or not we care about our workplace is a non-rational, emotional process. The caring itself is an emotion. 4: Emotions are crucial to creativity and innovation Businesses are also crying out for more creativity and innovation from their people and unsurprisingly, since I mention it here, this also relies in peoples emotional state. Teresa M. Amabile has studied how employees emotional state affect creativity and has found that: One, people have incredibly rich, intense, daily inner work lives; emotions, motivations, and perceptions about their work environment permeate their daily experience at work. Second, these feelings powerfully affect peoples day-to-day performance. And that: If people are in a good mood on a given day, they?re more likely to have creative ideas that day, as well as the next day, even if we take into account their mood that next day. There seems to be a cognitive process that gets set up when people are feeling good that leads to more flexible, fluent, and original thinking, and there?s actually a carryover, an incubation effect, to the next day. So if we want people to be creative, we need them to feel good at work. More emotions! 5: Emotions are integral to learning at work Learning on the job is also hugely important today. Few people get to work a job that never changes, and many employees are regularly learning new procedures, IT systems, regulations, etc. Again, many companies view learning as a purely rational process. As in Theres a chunk of knowledge in the teachers head we shall now transfer that knowledge into your head. But all theories of learning show, that emotions play a huge role in learning. When we are scared, upset or stressed, we are terrible learners. Were less able to concentrate, less able to recall past learnings and less able to make mental connections in the things we learn. When were relaxed and having fun, learning happens much faster. 6: Its not like we can leave our emotions at home Emotions are a huge part of us human beings. What we love and hate and enjoy and fear is a large part of who we are. Placing us in a situation where we have emotions but cant show them is stressful and unpleasant. 7: When we stifle bad emotions we strengthen them If an employee is angry, disappointed or frustrated over something at work and is not allowed to display that emotion, theres a good chance the emotion will grow stronger because that person cant get it out in the open and deal with it. A study shows that these negative emotions should not be ignored: If employees have emotional reactions and their employers dont pay attention to those reactions, they can withdraw. They are more likely to take sick days, and if their frustration continues to grow they will actually leave their jobs. (Source) 8: When we stifle good emotions we weaken them And when we stifle positive emotions the opposite happens: We weaken them. Lets say you make that huge sale youve been working on for weeks. This is your best work for the company yet. A true triumph. It feels really good. If youre not allowed to show your elation, that positive feeling will soon dissipate. That is why the best workplaces are very good at celebrating victories, big or small. Celebrating keeps the good feeling alive for a longer period of time, and motivates people to go out and create more victories. 9: Emotions are a sign that people care about the workplace The only emotionless workplace is the one where no one gives a damn! If people feel happy when theyre successful and sad when theyre not, its a sign that they care about their work. This is a good thing. The upshot: How the best workplaces handle emotions So, should all business devolve into endless meetings where we can talk about our feelings? Should all meeting rooms be equipped with Kleenex in case someone starts crying? Should we express our tiniest, most fleeting emotions and go into full-on tantrums whenever we feel like it? No. But workplaces should: Make room for the emotions that employees have. Theyre there, might as well deal with it. Learn how emotions influence business success factors like learning, creativity and teamwork. Learn how to deal constructively and even appreciatively with displays of emotion negative and positive. Southwest Airlines get this theyre fine with people showing what they feel, good or bad. One manager leaving the company after 22 years wrote this after his farewell party at the company: Damn, that was brutal?brutal in the sense that it makes leaving all of this even harder?I think it?s a conspiracy, a torturous way to keep you from leaving. They have all this food for you, balloons everywhere, and gifts galore?even a new sports coat to wear in lieu of the polo and shorts I wear today. And the People?my friends?the smiles, tears, comments, and stories?man this is killing me. Anyone that ever questioned the Southwest Culture and Spirit never understood it to begin with?Why am I leaving? Confusing huh? Smiles and tears. Thats what I would want, leaving a company after 22 years. Not just a gold watch and a carefully prepared, professional(!) send-off. Smiles and tears :o) Kent Blumberg tells a great story about Listening meetings in a company where the CEO meets with various teams and simply sits down to listen to whatever is said. And thats how the best companies handle emotions. They ask questions like: So, how do you feel about this meeting/decision/project/whatever? How are you doing? I can tell youre not happy with this meeting. Whats your take? And then they shut up and listen! What about you? Do you show how you feel at work? The good or the bad? How does your company receive displays of emotions? Write a comment, Id really like to know. Related: Podcast with Anna Farmery and me about emotions at work Why Motivation by Pizza Doesnt Work How to turn around a bad day Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related