Seven Secrets for a Healthy Job Search (Guest Post Kyle Oswald)

Seven Secrets for a Healthy Job Search (Guest Post Kyle Oswald) Depression sucks, doesnt it? I think most job seekers have depression in common, to some degree. I have a good friend (Kyle Oswald, LCSW-C)   is a is a social worker and does a lot of counseling.  I asked him about depression and the job search heres a guest post that he wrote for me you. 1. You feel the way you think “There is only one person in this world that can ever make you depressed, worried, or angry â€" and that person is YOU! This idea can change your life.” â€"David Burns, MD Author of Feeling Good. What an empowering statement! Consider another such quote from the Greek philosopher Epictetus, “Men are not disturbed by things, but by the views they take of them.” This means that your thoughts â€" not actual events â€" create your moods. In other words, the bad things that happen do not really cause us to become depressed. We get depressed because of the way we think about events.If you lose your job you may feel sad and self-critical because you tell yourself, “I’m no good. There must be something wrong with me.” You may also feel angry and frustrated because you tell yourself, “Life is unfair. Why is this always happening to me?” These negative thoughts are quite natural. Nearly all of us think this way from time to time. When you learn to change these thoughts, you can CHANGE the way you FEEL. But how? This leads us to our next secret… 2. You can change the way you feel The most important conversations you will have today will be with yourself. So what are those conversations going to be like? Feeling bad about being laid-off or not getting a call back from an interview is very different from saying to yourself “I am a failure” at the core. Recognize what you’re saying to yourself! To heighten your awareness, keep a thought record: Every two to three hours, stop what you’re doing and write for 5 minutes about the messages you’ve been telling yourself regarding your skills, abilities, competence, appearance, intelligence, and your worth. Keep doing this for a week or so, looking for patterns. Once you recognize these unhealthy thought patterns, replace them with healthy alternatives. 3. Get out of line before you jump! Recognizing depressed thoughts Imagine yourself as an 11 year old. You’re at the community pool on a hot summer’s day. The line for the high-dive platform is as deep as the cool water waiting for your splash down. As you get in line those nervous butterflies in your stomach start to appear. You imagine yourself on the platform looking down on the water below. You know you could step out of line right now and could probably get away with little to no guff for doing so from your buddies. If you wait, however, and keep going until you’re climbing the ladder or even on the platform looking down, your chances of turning back decrease as it becomes more socially and psychologically difficult. Once you take the leap into the pool, there’s no going back! Thus goes the battle every day in the silent chambers of your mind. If you are able to recognize when the negative dialogue starts â€" when you first get in line for the high-dive â€" the chances of your being able to push it aside, get out of line, and go swim someplace else that is healthier are much greater. Don’t wait until you’re up on the platform taking that leap down to psychological/emotional doom. Speaking of doom… 4. Stay clear from “all or nothing” thinking “I didn’t get so much as a call back from the interview; I must be a total failure. I’ll never get a job!” Seeing your search rejections in black-or-white distorts reality and forms the basis of perfectionism, which by-the-way, is NOT a virtue! Perfectionism causes you to fear mistakes and imperfections because you will see yourself as a total loser, feeling worthless and inadequate. NOT HEALTHY! If you try to force your experiences into absolute categories, you will set yourself up for discrediting yourself endlessly because whatever you do will never measure up to your exaggerated expectations. 5. Acknowledge Reality: “Nevertheless!” Acknowledge unpleasant external conditions without condemning your core self. You may sometimes have thoughts like “Because I have no job, I’m a loser.” Replace these with “Even though…nevertheless” thoughts, such as “Even though I don’t have a job, nevertheless I am still a worthwhile person.” 6. Remember the basics We’ve heard this countless times: Eat healthy, keep regular sleep hours, exercise daily. Yet nearly all of us who struggle with depression fumble and flounder in keeping with these healthy habits. Eating: Cut the carbs from your diet by replacing them with healthy protein alternatives such as nuts and lean jerky. Eat 5 small meals a day instead of 3 big ones. And do I really need to say it? Drink more water! Sleep: Studies show that it’s not just the quantity of sleep, but the consistency of sleep times that can really make the difference in your mood. For adults, 6 â€" 8 hours of regular sleep is best during the dark hours of the night. Waking early to “get stuff done” will also do wonders for your sense of well-being. Exercise: The benefits of regular exercise are endless, but let’s just consider one of the many side effects: Endorphin production. Endorphins are 18 to 500 times as powerful as any man-made pain reliever. They produce four key effects on the bodymind: they enhance the immune system, they relieve pain, they reduce stress, and postpone the aging process. How do you get these puppies to work for you? Get up and move! (Molecules of Emotion by Candace B. Pert, Simon Schuster, 1997) 6. Get and stay inspired! Wouldn’t it be nice if motivation to just sprang from us like an endless fountain? The job search can be monotonous, frustrating and downright discouraging. Filling out your 34th online application or following up on yet another networking lead can be emotionally draining. Find something to inspire you! Set a window of time for your search each day and then reward yourself with something along the way. For example, set a timer for 90 minutes while you do nothing else but search for new job postings (JASON HERE: UH, NOT IN JULY, WHEN WERE DOING OUR JOB BOARD FAST :)). When the timer goes off, TAKE A BREAK! Set the time for 10 â€" 15 minutes while you get up and stretch, eat something (preferably healthy), play a quick game, or call/message a friend. Then get back to it! Stay motivated over time by reading inspirational articles and books, staying connected to those who are also searching, and being active in your community, church or synagogue are all healthy ways to help you stay inspired and motivated during your search. Kyle is an outstanding person, and he knows what hes talking about.  Dont be ashamed of these feelings understand them, combat them, and work around them.  Seriously, give what he says a shot! Seven Secrets for a Healthy Job Search (Guest Post Kyle Oswald) Depression sucks, doesnt it? I think most job seekers have depression in common, to some degree. I have a good friend (Kyle Oswald, LCSW-C)   is a is a social worker and does a lot of counseling.  I asked him about depression and the job search heres a guest post that he wrote for me you. 1. You feel the way you think “There is only one person in this world that can ever make you depressed, worried, or angry â€" and that person is YOU! This idea can change your life.” â€"David Burns, MD Author of Feeling Good. What an empowering statement! Consider another such quote from the Greek philosopher Epictetus, “Men are not disturbed by things, but by the views they take of them.” This means that your thoughts â€" not actual events â€" create your moods. In other words, the bad things that happen do not really cause us to become depressed. We get depressed because of the way we think about events.If you lose your job you may feel sad and self-critical because you tell yourself, “I’m no good. There must be something wrong with me.” You may also feel angry and frustrated because you tell yourself, “Life is unfair. Why is this always happening to me?” These negative thoughts are quite natural. Nearly all of us think this way from time to time. When you learn to change these thoughts, you can CHANGE the way you FEEL. But how? This leads us to our next secret… 2. You can change the way you feel The most important conversations you will have today will be with yourself. So what are those conversations going to be like? Feeling bad about being laid-off or not getting a call back from an interview is very different from saying to yourself “I am a failure” at the core. Recognize what you’re saying to yourself! To heighten your awareness, keep a thought record: Every two to three hours, stop what you’re doing and write for 5 minutes about the messages you’ve been telling yourself regarding your skills, abilities, competence, appearance, intelligence, and your worth. Keep doing this for a week or so, looking for patterns. Once you recognize these unhealthy thought patterns, replace them with healthy alternatives. 3. Get out of line before you jump! Recognizing depressed thoughts Imagine yourself as an 11 year old. You’re at the community pool on a hot summer’s day. The line for the high-dive platform is as deep as the cool water waiting for your splash down. As you get in line those nervous butterflies in your stomach start to appear. You imagine yourself on the platform looking down on the water below. You know you could step out of line right now and could probably get away with little to no guff for doing so from your buddies. If you wait, however, and keep going until you’re climbing the ladder or even on the platform looking down, your chances of turning back decrease as it becomes more socially and psychologically difficult. Once you take the leap into the pool, there’s no going back! Thus goes the battle every day in the silent chambers of your mind. If you are able to recognize when the negative dialogue starts â€" when you first get in line for the high-dive â€" the chances of your being able to push it aside, get out of line, and go swim someplace else that is healthier are much greater. Don’t wait until you’re up on the platform taking that leap down to psychological/emotional doom. Speaking of doom… 4. Stay clear from “all or nothing” thinking “I didn’t get so much as a call back from the interview; I must be a total failure. I’ll never get a job!” Seeing your search rejections in black-or-white distorts reality and forms the basis of perfectionism, which by-the-way, is NOT a virtue! Perfectionism causes you to fear mistakes and imperfections because you will see yourself as a total loser, feeling worthless and inadequate. NOT HEALTHY! If you try to force your experiences into absolute categories, you will set yourself up for discrediting yourself endlessly because whatever you do will never measure up to your exaggerated expectations. 5. Acknowledge Reality: “Nevertheless!” Acknowledge unpleasant external conditions without condemning your core self. You may sometimes have thoughts like “Because I have no job, I’m a loser.” Replace these with “Even though…nevertheless” thoughts, such as “Even though I don’t have a job, nevertheless I am still a worthwhile person.” 6. Remember the basics We’ve heard this countless times: Eat healthy, keep regular sleep hours, exercise daily. Yet nearly all of us who struggle with depression fumble and flounder in keeping with these healthy habits. Eating: Cut the carbs from your diet by replacing them with healthy protein alternatives such as nuts and lean jerky. Eat 5 small meals a day instead of 3 big ones. And do I really need to say it? Drink more water! Sleep: Studies show that it’s not just the quantity of sleep, but the consistency of sleep times that can really make the difference in your mood. For adults, 6 â€" 8 hours of regular sleep is best during the dark hours of the night. Waking early to “get stuff done” will also do wonders for your sense of well-being. Exercise: The benefits of regular exercise are endless, but let’s just consider one of the many side effects: Endorphin production. Endorphins are 18 to 500 times as powerful as any man-made pain reliever. They produce four key effects on the bodymind: they enhance the immune system, they relieve pain, they reduce stress, and postpone the aging process. How do you get these puppies to work for you? Get up and move! (Molecules of Emotion by Candace B. Pert, Simon Schuster, 1997) 6. Get and stay inspired! Wouldn’t it be nice if motivation to just sprang from us like an endless fountain? The job search can be monotonous, frustrating and downright discouraging. Filling out your 34th online application or following up on yet another networking lead can be emotionally draining. Find something to inspire you! Set a window of time for your search each day and then reward yourself with something along the way. For example, set a timer for 90 minutes while you do nothing else but search for new job postings (JASON HERE: UH, NOT IN JULY, WHEN WERE DOING OUR JOB BOARD FAST :)). When the timer goes off, TAKE A BREAK! Set the time for 10 â€" 15 minutes while you get up and stretch, eat something (preferably healthy), play a quick game, or call/message a friend. Then get back to it! Stay motivated over time by reading inspirational articles and books, staying connected to those who are also searching, and being active in your community, church or synagogue are all healthy ways to help you stay inspired and motivated during your search. Kyle is an outstanding person, and he knows what hes talking about.  Dont be ashamed of these feelings understand them, combat them, and work around them.  Seriously, give what he says a shot!

Tips on Resume Writing Phoenix AZ

Tips on Resume Writing Phoenix AZLooking for tips on resume writing Phoenix AZ? If you are looking for a job in Phoenix AZ, it is essential to write a resume that is as appealing as possible. Employers want to read that you have skills and a lot of experience in your field.It is easy to give information about yourself. Your resume must be one hundred percent relevant to the job you are applying for. It can say the difference between a job interview and a rejection letter. By putting your best foot forward in the resume, you can be sure that employers will not only be impressed with your qualifications, but also by your enthusiasm.Jobs in Phoenix AZ have really become more competitive. There are many jobs available and many more are opening up every day. When employers get a resume, they want to know everything about the person. It could be about what he/she did for a living before joining the company. They may also want to know about some special skills that they believe the applican t might possess.Having a resume, if properly formatted, will allow the employer to make an assessment about your ability to do the job. You can go in for personalized resume writing services, where a professional will write your resume according to your needs. Personalized resume writing companies will help you in this regard. They will be able to customize your resume so that you are impressed by it. All you have to do is write your resume according to the requirements of the company.If you are qualified for the job, your resume must stand out from the others. A good resume should speak volumes about your capabilities. It must include things like your work history, educational background, experience in specific fields, etc. Your resume writing service provider can suggest the layout of your resume. They will also advise you on how to go about writing an impressive resume.Online services are fast becoming popular these days. You can opt for online resumes writing services, which can help you get your dream job. You just have to provide the required information to the company and they will get back to you with the appropriate format that can help you get the desired job.Job seekers should make sure that their resume does not get lost. They should learn to write a resume that is free from grammatical errors. The resume writing company will keep a track of your mistakes so that you do not repeat them again. They will also help you when it comes to choosing the right fonts and colors for your resume.When you apply for a job, you should not forget to keep your resume updated. Make it as impressive as possible so that employers can see that you are serious about the job. The resume must also include your contact details.

Make Your Next Family Vacation Great by Traveling in an RV

Make Your Next Family Vacation Great by Traveling in an RV If you have reached a point in your life where you want to spend a majority of your time traveling and seeing exciting things, you may want to consider investing in an RV. An RV allows you to go and see unique and interesting things without having to worry about finding a hotel to stay in. The guide that follows walks you through a few things to take into consideration when choosing the right RV for you. Owning an RV Will Save on Travel Expenses When you own an RV, you will not have to stay in hotels when you travel, which will save you money in travel expenses. RVs are very affordable and available in varying price ranges to ensure that they can fit into your budget easily. You do not have to pay for an RV in full when you buy it. It is possible to get a loan for the RV from a lender such as Southeast Financial to allow you to make payments on the RV over an extended period of time. RVs Are Available in Varying Sizes Take the time to determine the size of the RV that you feel would be right for your family. You will be driving it around the country and need to be sure that it is a manageable size for you to operate. You will be able to take any RV you are considering for a test drive to ensure that it is easy for you to operate when you are on the road. Determine the Number of Sleeping Options Your Family Needs Next, you need to consider how many sleeping spots you will need. If you plan to take an entire family on road trips with you in the RV, you need to be sure that you have ample places for everyone to sleep comfortably during the trip. Many RVs have designated areas that double as sleeping areas so that you can make the most of the space that is available. Determine the Kitchen that Is the Best Fit for Your Family When searching for an RV, you need to take the kitchen in the RV into consideration. If you plan to cook on a regular basis, you need to be sure to choose an RV that has a kitchen that can suit your needs. Many RVs have stoves, ovens, and some even have microwaves in them to make preparing food quick and easy. You can power the appliances in the RV at a campsite with power hookups or with a portable generator designed for RV use. Ensure the RV Has Ample Storage for Your Belongings Taking the storage availability within the RV into consideration is important because you will be carrying everything you need to live on the road in the RV. If you have multiple people traveling with you, that means that you will need ample storage space available. There are some RVs that have storage built within them and there are even shells that can be placed on top of the RV to create even more storage space when needed. Take your time when choosing an RV. An RV is a long-term investment and you want to be sure that will suit your life now and in the years to come.

What is Your Current Salary - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

What is Your Current Salary - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career What is your current salary? Im sure you have been asked early in the interview process, What is your current salary? If it was up to me, I would have everyone respond indigentlyâ€"None of your %^%#( business! However, that does not work in our current work environment. So, how should you answer the question, What is your current salary? I have a client who, just the other day, was asked this by a recruiter. It was the beginning of a series of interviews or, as I call it, she was going to run the gauntlet. My client very politely said it was early in the process and that she would discuss salary later. It was all about total compensation, benefits, yada, yada, yada. Pretty standard response. The recruiter persisted in wanting to know. She finally said, we need to know whether we can afford you. What is your current salary? My client broke down and told her, but added twenty thousand. It turns out that this was in her range. I told my client I would have turned it around. Oh, you want to know whether you can afford me. What have you budgeted for this position and I can tell you whether you are within my range? Make them give you a number! What are you worth? Recently, I wrote in a post called Managing Your Career is Like Selling a Vintage Fiat that a car is worth what someone else is willing to pay. Plus, you only need one buyer! You are worth what a company is willing to pay you. That amount has nothing to do with your currently salary. This is particularly true if you have worked for the same company for 5 or more years. Relocating Salaries can vary a lot based on location. Living in Austin, Texas I have had many discussions with Californians moving to Austin. They needed to understand that, if you move from San Jose to Austin, the salaries and cost of living will both be a lot lower. Check out sites like Glassdoor.com and Salary.com for salaries in the area where you plan to relocate. Ask Around In todays work environment, it is perfectly acceptable to ask what someone makes. This is a big departure from when I started working in the 1970s where it was both taboo and could be a fire-able offense to disclose your salary. In fact, a few companies are making all of their salaries public. Determine a fair salary range that you would be willing to accept. Salary is not everything! What else do you want? You will need to determine how much Paid Time Off (PTO) you want. How much are you paying for health insurance and is your spouse currently covered on your plan? He/she may not be when you change jobs. Many businesses are dumping insurance coverage for your spouse. Read my recent post called Evaluating the Job Offer â€" What is Missing? So what is your current salary? If they insist on knowing your current salary, you can say, I am looking for $xxxx in salary, but I will be evaluating the entire compensation package, which includes, salary, bonus, and benefits. Do not tell them your current salary, but what you want to be paid! Marc Miller â€" Career Pivot Check out my book Repurpose Your Career â€" A Practical Guide for Baby Boomers Do not forget to follow me on Twitter or FaceBook

Real Revies Resume Writing Service

Real Revies Resume Writing ServiceThe use of real revies resume writing service is a wise choice for many professionals that wish to have a better resume for interviews. A resume is more than just a document. It can be used to get the job you want and it should be as professional looking as possible.Resumes are sent to hundreds of employers each day. Many will not even look at a document with spelling and grammar errors. Resumes that do not accurately portray the skills and qualities an individual possesses are most likely not a good first impression for prospective employers.So how does the real revies resume writing service do this? To begin with, the company you hire will go through the same process as you would to prepare a document for any other interview. The only difference is that this professional will spend more time on the content and the formatting. If you are not sure if the revies resume writing service you choose has the appropriate training and experience in the field , a few things to look for include:Experience - This means there should be no problem finding this service. A resume writing service that has been in business for more than six months would be good, but this does not necessarily mean they have the expertise to write your resume. It is also important to make sure the content is high quality. After all, employers will read a resume if it is worth reading, and a bad resume may cause them to pass you over for a different candidate.Training - They should have some type of in-house training that is published. Their skill is based on what they have done in the past and what is their track record in the industry. This includes having made the effort to create the material professionally and submitting it to as many employers as possible.Proofreading - Make sure they provide proofreading. A resume can look good on paper, but without the necessary help of a proofreader, it will not look professional. You may want to inquire about their proofr eading program before agreeing to do business with them. You can also request proofread material at any time to ensure the company's work is accurate.These are some of the basics, but your resume writer should not just tell you what you should know. They should help you craft a great resume that will make a positive first impression. A resume is a reflection of your skills and knowledge. A good resume will help you get the job you want.Using a real resume writing service can help you create a great resume for interviews. Once your resume is complete, give it a test run. Ask to view the contents for any other employer and see if it matches up with your expectations.

Skills to Put on a Resume

Skills to Put on a ResumeHard skills are something that many employers look for in someone's resume. For example, an applicant who has won a national competitive trivia contest will have hard skills that would be a good fit for a company that specializes in trivia contests.Skills are very important. Therefore, it is very important to put a skill that you have on your resume. This is one of the most important skills to put on a resume and should be used as an opportunity to talk about what you have done for your organization.Many people think about their talents and what they do best when they consider skills. However, this is only part of the picture. They focus too much on the work experience and forget to add other important things that could help someone to get a job. So here are some of the things that you need to include on your resume and skills.You need to use these skills in order to build your resume to be more appealing. Physical skills are very important. Those who have co mpleted an internship or a similar type of training may be asked to fill out an application where they can demonstrate what they have learned and what they have done to bring this knowledge to them. Therefore, you need to put a list of physical skills on your resume.This list should include any physical skills that you have completed or that you have claimed as yours. Examples of physical skills include writing skills, computer programming skills, physical activities, and other similar skills. Any of these skills should be on your resume. They should also have your contact information.Another skill that you should include on your resume is cognitive skills. These are skills that help you think and reason. This can be as simple as something as putting yourself in a new situation to something as complex as trading in an old car for a new one. Whatever you decide to put on your resume, you need to make sure that you include some types of cognitive skills.These skills can help you to fi nd something that may be a bit complicated. Therefore, it is important to list all of your skills and explain why you have chosen each one. These are the skills that can help you get a job. For example, those who have been invited to the company home on a regular basis may be able to use some of the skills that are taught to them. That is why it is important to have the list of skills on your resume complete with a few examples of these skills.This is just the beginning of a listing of skills. Once you have the list of skills that you need to include on your resume, all you need to do is add your contact information and a short summary of what you can do for the company. Putting your contact information on your resume helps to make the cover page that much more attractive. Thus, this is a good way to show how you can help the company.

Top 10 Reasons Why Job Satisfaction Surveys Are a Waste of Time - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Top 10 Reasons Why Job Satisfaction Surveys Are a Waste of Time - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog I?ve been with my current company for 9 years, and our ?engagement score? just hit an all time high in a year when I have heard more employee concerns about the company than ever before. Over the last five years, I have personally seen a combination of rewriting survey questions and ?teaching to the test? that I believe solely explains the reason for the current score that clearly doesn?t match reality. Comment on a previous post Staff satisfaction surveys many people mistrust and dislike them and yet most workplaces have them. Conducting, analyzing and acting on these types of surveys can take up a lot of time and money and?I suspect that they are just not worth it. Ive rarely seen job satisfaction surveys have much of a positive impact on a company. I suspect that the typical approach used by most companies is fundamentally flawed. Here are the the top 10 problems I see with staff satisfaction surveys. 1: They have too many questions (and the wrong questions) A client sent me their annual job satisfaction survey recently. It had 138 question (Im not even kidding) and among them were gems like: How satisfied are you with the lighting at your workstation? How satisfied are you with the temperature in the workplace? Do you experience any problems with noise in the office? Surveys can have upwards of 100 questions and consequently take a long time to complete.?I have visited several workplaces where employees complain from survey fatigue. 2: Theyre conducted too rarely Typically, staff satisfaction surveys are done annually which means that there can be a huge lag from when an issue arises in the workplace until its discovered and addressed. As a tool for improving workplace conditions and employee happiness, this makes them nearly useless. 3: They measure satisfaction not happiness One major flaw is that these surveys dont actually measure how happy people are at work they measure job satisfaction. While happiness and satisfaction are certainly related concepts, they are not the same thing. Basically, job satisfaction is what you think about your job. When you weigh all the pros and cons, what do you think about your job? Its a rational judgement. Happiness at work is how you?feel?about your job. When you are at work, do you mostly experience positive emotions (pride, happiness, gratitude, etc) or mostly negative emotions (anger, frustration, sadness, etc). Of the two, happiness is by far the most important and the most relevant, because happiness more than satisfaction affects employees job performance, health and general well-being. 4: Too much time passes from survey to results Heres how it may go in many workplaces: April: The survey comes out May: Results are due August: Results become available September: Departments and teams start following up on results In many cases months ?pass from when employees fill out the survey until they see the results. By that time, no one remembers the survey questions any more and the results will most likely be outdated before people ever see them. This is the age of instant gratification and instant data, so why the huge lag between survey and results? 5: Survey creates an expectation of change then nothing happens I have never seen any step taken based on job satisfaction survey. Previous comment on the blog I recently talked to a client that conducts an annual job satisfaction survey. They told me that every year for the last 5 years, the same handful of teams in this company have scored very low on the survey. Everyone knows why: The managers of these teams are bad managers. And yet, nothing has been done about it and these teams continue to be miserable. Asking employees about their situation creates an expectation that the workplace will act on the survey results. Why conduct the survey, if the workplace doesnt act on the results? And yet, survey results often arent acted upon, leaving employees with the (often correct) impression that this is a sham process and that the company wants to create the illusion that it cares, when really it doesnt. 6: No perceived value for employees All of this means that responding to the survey becomes a chore for employees who cant see the value of the survey and have no expectation that it will improve conditions in any way. This again leads to very low response rates in many workplaces which is no wonder. Why?should they waste time filling it out, if they cant see the value? 7: Negative focus I gave a keynote at a bank recently and just before I went on stage, an HR consultant presented the results of their latest employee satisfaction survey. While their overall results were quite OK, he spent 95% of his presentation talking about the areas where the scores were low compared to other banks or where they had fallen since the last survey. Looking at the numbers, I could see several areas where results were really good, but zero time was spent examining what those areas were and what the company was doing right.?Also, while some teams were clearly much happier than others, they got no attention all the focus was on the lowest scoring teams. Of course a survey should be used to pinpoint problems so they can be fixed, but if thats all its used for the company misses a huge opportunity to identify best practices and spread them by learning from the best performing areas and teams. 8: Cooking the books I worked for a bank for many years that used annual Gallup surveys. As a member of management, it was my job to inform the employees about the questions they would be asked pertaining to their satisfaction with their jobs, co-workers, management, and the company?s values. It was drilled down to me that these marks needed to be the highest (10 out of 10) in all categories to ensure maximum ?satisfaction.? In actuality, if you had worked for the company long enough to take a second survey, you knew that you?d better just put a 10 to avoid the drawn out action planning after the branch results were reviewed. Previous comment on the blog I recently heard of a company that wanted to do really well on the Great Place to Work national rankings, which are determined in part by a satisfaction survey among employees. So before the survey ran, management sent out an email to everyone saying how important it was for the company to score well and how it would really help their image and business results. But, hey, no pressure! I have seen several ways that management can influence the survey results. In some companies, results are not presented to the whole company, before HR and top management have had a chance to see them first and remove any results that are deemed too explosive or bad for the corporate image. 9: Little trust in anonymity Apparently the director of my particular group was unhappy with her ratings. A week after the results were shared, she called an urgent meeting with our entire team, where each of us had to go up to the whiteboard and write down the areas we had ranked highest and lowest. So much for anonymity ? and the credibility of the survey. Previous comment on the blog While these surveys are supposedly anonymous to allow employees to be brutally honest, many people dont trust that. In a recent survey we did, 40% of respondents didnt trust the anonymity of job satisfaction surveys in their company. 10:?No local ownership The survey is owned by either the whole company or HR. Individual departments have no say in how or when the survey runs. That way there is no local ownership over the process or the results that come out of it and therefore much less incentive to act on the results. The upshot So if job satisfaction surveys are so useless, why does everybody do them? I believe there are three main reasons: Everybody does them because everybody else does them. Its become one of those standards that every company feels they should have. Its an alibi it lets workplaces say they do something to improve conditions for workers even if its not very effective. Theyre easy to sign off on. Companies just forget that theres much more to it, than just sending out surveys. So what to do instead? I would suggest a process that reverses each of the 10 problems above. Some way of surveying employees that lives up to this: Very few questions Is conducted often Measures happiness, not satisfaction Results are available instantly Results lead to action Clear value for employees Focuses on the negative AND the positive There is no way to cook the numbers Anonymity is guaranteed Survey is owned and controlled by each department It wouldnt even have to be electronic. Some companies measure workplace happiness with tennis balls and buckets. And mostly we can do one thing: We can talk. We can create forums where employees and managers can have an actual dialogue about the current state of the workplace. This will always trump a survey, no matter how good it may be. Your take Would you agree with me ?or do you think job satisfactions are worth the effort? What does it take for them to actually work and improve conditions for employees? Please write a comment, Id love to hear your take on this. Related posts Kill the suggestions box heres a much better way. Top 10 reasons why performance reviews are a waste of time. Top 10 signs youre unhappy at work. 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

LinkedIn to let all users post articles - Hallie Crawford

LinkedIn to let all users post articles This is an interesting new development from LinkedIn. Posting articles you have written is another powerful way to establish your brand in your field by demonstrating your knowledge and expertise to your peers and possible employers. If you decide to leverage this tool keep these basic principles in mind: 1) Keep it concise â€" short and sweet and to the point. Readers online typically want to digest information quickly and articles that are easy to scan are more appealing than those you have to wade through. 2) Focus on 1 topic at a time, going into greater depth and specificity than broad strokes. This will keep your reader more engaged and interested and will better showcase your knowledge and expertise. 3) Take a stand. Don’t be afraid to voice an opinion in your articles. Be mindful that you may need to defend it, but put yourself in an employers shoes, would you want to hire someone wishy-washy or someone who has a thoughtful response to an industry issue. Job Coach P.S. How do you know if your resume is good?  Take this  Resume Quiz  to find out how to keep your resume out of the trash can.