There are a few strategies employees can take to help solidify their job status and stand a better chance of keeping their jobs in difficult times:
1) Be visible. Take your area of expertise and look for opportunities to increase your visibility by representing the company to the outside. One could pursue opportunities to speak at conferences in your area of specialty or publish scholarly articles bringing prestige to the company.
2) Take on additional roles at work. Increasingly companies have been posting jobs with a duality of roles for a position. Why not let the company know what else you are capable of accomplishing in expanding your role? If you are a PR or Editorial Assistant and can help maintain the website by coding in HTML, great. The more responsibility you can take on, the greater your value will be.
3) Help the company make and/or save money. If you can suggest and/or implement ideas that help the organization to make more money or save money, your value to the company and its bottom line will increase. Suggestions can include finding government grants appropriate to the organizations business, new sources of revenue or better ways of doing business. Creating reports and finding contacts to help facilitate these ideas will prove your seriousness to helping companies succeed.
4) Go with the flow and flow with the go. Tough economic times are an easy excuse for managers to get rid of employees who have been a thorn in their side. Be as open and agreeable as possible to do what you are asked to do, especially when the company is understaffed.
Tampilkan postingan dengan label Career Growth. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label Career Growth. Tampilkan semua postingan
Senin, 24 Januari 2011
Senin, 17 Januari 2011
The value of an online degree
There is currently a firestorm of controversy surrounding the value of for-profit colleges. Many for-profits have a strong online presence- either holding all, or many, classes virtually. Online degree programs tend to oversell the value of the degree. If you are trained correctly, your online degree may have some vocational application but will lack academic credibility.
The value in online learning is the skill you learned as opposed to the degree received. Many online institutions, especially those not linked to a brick and mortar school, will command less respect when you see their name on a resume, as opposed to a well known established institution of higher learning.
An online degree may be helpful for an Information Technology professional who would like to take a continuing education course in a new programming language or a Bookkeeper who needs to upgrade their knowledge of accounting software in order to be more competitive for the job market.
By coupling up to date skills gained through continuing education (potentially including online programs) and prior work experience, job seekers can remain competitive in the market.
Take a real assessment of what your needs are to obtain employment or advance in today's job market before making a serious commitment to obtaining an online degree.
The value in online learning is the skill you learned as opposed to the degree received. Many online institutions, especially those not linked to a brick and mortar school, will command less respect when you see their name on a resume, as opposed to a well known established institution of higher learning.
An online degree may be helpful for an Information Technology professional who would like to take a continuing education course in a new programming language or a Bookkeeper who needs to upgrade their knowledge of accounting software in order to be more competitive for the job market.
By coupling up to date skills gained through continuing education (potentially including online programs) and prior work experience, job seekers can remain competitive in the market.
Take a real assessment of what your needs are to obtain employment or advance in today's job market before making a serious commitment to obtaining an online degree.
Rabu, 12 Januari 2011
Demystifying Work from Home : Does it really exist?
Interesting article on MSN Careers on finding real Work From Home Jobs.
Ah, the illusive dream. With monthly Metrocards now over $100, wouldn't it be nice to roll out of bed and work in our pajamas all day? Actually I would get a bit stir crazy as I need to get some sunlight and be out of my apartment for the majority of the day. If you dream of working from home, here is some advice:
Legitimate work from home opportunities are very rarely advertised. Those that do acquire work from home jobs tend to have an area of specialty already as opposed to performing “data entry”.
Here are some examples:
An experienced Public Relations professional, with established industry contacts, can maintain regular communication with their colleagues, even from home.
A Graphic Designer for an events production company can follow the direction of a supervisor virtually and receive feedback on their work by email.
It is a win-win for a start up company as they eliminate the need for office space and the employee can cut down on their commute. With increased use of technology such as video conferencing, the importance of working in a traditional office is lessened.
Jobs that advertise “work from home” as a main selling point are rarely legitimate opportunities. Job seekers should approach listings with extreme caution.
If your goal is to eventually work from home, gain an area of expertise that you can leverage at a later date. Once you have the skills, employers will be more flexible on how you work with them, possibly including an opportunity to work from home either full time or balancing your schedule between home/work.
Many who work from home started at the company as a commuting employee and were later given the opportunity to work from home permanently.
Ah, the illusive dream. With monthly Metrocards now over $100, wouldn't it be nice to roll out of bed and work in our pajamas all day? Actually I would get a bit stir crazy as I need to get some sunlight and be out of my apartment for the majority of the day. If you dream of working from home, here is some advice:
Legitimate work from home opportunities are very rarely advertised. Those that do acquire work from home jobs tend to have an area of specialty already as opposed to performing “data entry”.
Here are some examples:
An experienced Public Relations professional, with established industry contacts, can maintain regular communication with their colleagues, even from home.
A Graphic Designer for an events production company can follow the direction of a supervisor virtually and receive feedback on their work by email.
It is a win-win for a start up company as they eliminate the need for office space and the employee can cut down on their commute. With increased use of technology such as video conferencing, the importance of working in a traditional office is lessened.
Jobs that advertise “work from home” as a main selling point are rarely legitimate opportunities. Job seekers should approach listings with extreme caution.
If your goal is to eventually work from home, gain an area of expertise that you can leverage at a later date. Once you have the skills, employers will be more flexible on how you work with them, possibly including an opportunity to work from home either full time or balancing your schedule between home/work.
Many who work from home started at the company as a commuting employee and were later given the opportunity to work from home permanently.
Senin, 10 Januari 2011
A look into why we change jobs so frequently
I am quoted in a recent article on CVENT on why employees tend to switch jobs more frequently than in the past.
Here are my expanded thoughts on the subject:
The nomadic trend of changing jobs every few years is partly due to the abundance of information available today. At any moment, you can stay up to date on the jobs available within your industry and apply in just a few moments. In the past, one had to fax or mail a resume and regularly check newspaper listings for appropriate vacancies. Additionally, you can connect with other professionals and network your way into a job with resources like Linkedin.com.
It tends to be younger employees that move around more than older workers. Professionals in their twenties and thirties are less grounded than those who are older. They are still determining exactly what type of job they would like to do and are unlikely to have moved beyond a mid level position. Many workers in their 50’s and beyond already have a good sense of their career direction and there are fewer opportunities for change available higher up on the ladder. Older workers are more familiar with the idea of a ‘stable’ job as they, and very likely their parents, worked in only a handful of jobs and fully expected to retire there. This is one of the reasons that job loss is especially difficult on the older worker.
I am not sure if fault should be assigned as it is mainly a sign of the times. In order for companies to survive (if not thrive), they must remain lean and only retain workers that bring them revenue instead of a focus on loyalty to long time employees. Employees must be on the lookout for career growth in order to advance in their careers. Loyalty is a two way street and it is a bit shaky on both sides at the moment.
A person may work for a company for five years but at what cost? Having a track record is important but only if they can advance their careers. The next great opportunity may come in 2, 3, 5 or even 7 years and one has to stay on top of the market in order to seize that opportunity.
I am a Job Search Advisor but can also reflect on my own career as well. My first opportunity was with a large workforce development agency. I worked there for three and a half years. It was an excellent opportunity to learn how to help others find work. After a few years, I was still seen as a newbie (young kid/ recent college graduate) and needed to move on in order to spread my wings. I made somewhat of a lateral move into a not for profit, learned some more skills and stayed for one and a half years. When the opportunity to move into the field of education and teach career development courses became available, I made the move and stayed for two years.
Agree? Disagree? Post in the comments section.
Here are my expanded thoughts on the subject:
The nomadic trend of changing jobs every few years is partly due to the abundance of information available today. At any moment, you can stay up to date on the jobs available within your industry and apply in just a few moments. In the past, one had to fax or mail a resume and regularly check newspaper listings for appropriate vacancies. Additionally, you can connect with other professionals and network your way into a job with resources like Linkedin.com.
It tends to be younger employees that move around more than older workers. Professionals in their twenties and thirties are less grounded than those who are older. They are still determining exactly what type of job they would like to do and are unlikely to have moved beyond a mid level position. Many workers in their 50’s and beyond already have a good sense of their career direction and there are fewer opportunities for change available higher up on the ladder. Older workers are more familiar with the idea of a ‘stable’ job as they, and very likely their parents, worked in only a handful of jobs and fully expected to retire there. This is one of the reasons that job loss is especially difficult on the older worker.
I am not sure if fault should be assigned as it is mainly a sign of the times. In order for companies to survive (if not thrive), they must remain lean and only retain workers that bring them revenue instead of a focus on loyalty to long time employees. Employees must be on the lookout for career growth in order to advance in their careers. Loyalty is a two way street and it is a bit shaky on both sides at the moment.
A person may work for a company for five years but at what cost? Having a track record is important but only if they can advance their careers. The next great opportunity may come in 2, 3, 5 or even 7 years and one has to stay on top of the market in order to seize that opportunity.
I am a Job Search Advisor but can also reflect on my own career as well. My first opportunity was with a large workforce development agency. I worked there for three and a half years. It was an excellent opportunity to learn how to help others find work. After a few years, I was still seen as a newbie (young kid/ recent college graduate) and needed to move on in order to spread my wings. I made somewhat of a lateral move into a not for profit, learned some more skills and stayed for one and a half years. When the opportunity to move into the field of education and teach career development courses became available, I made the move and stayed for two years.
Agree? Disagree? Post in the comments section.
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