GIT Geeks

How To View Your Job Differently

If you feel in need of seeing your job differently, the first question to ask yourself is whether you should you be looking for a new job? Maybe the reason you are having problems is because this job isn't the right job for you? Lack of fulfillment, poor work/life balance, long or unsociable hours, lack of control or autonomy, bad workplace politics and no promotional prospects are common reasons that people leave their jobs for. However, maybe you can't or don't want to change jobs, for whatever reason. You’ve weighed everything up and decided to stay but you know you need to change how you view your job. So what can you do to refresh your job for the new year?

Talk to Your Boss
See what options are available to you. Ask about other prospects and the possibility of promotions. Could you love to a different department and learn new skills or a new role within the company?

Make Your Workplace More Positive
What can you do to make your workplace more positive? Even if you have been in your job a long time, you can make a positive difference to the environment you work in. Avoid gossip, work at having healthier working relationships, offer help to colleagues, offer to make the tea. This will create a circle of positivity with your colleagues and help you to get on better together and be more willing to make each others days at work more pleasant.

Avoid Stress
Rather than just saying you won't get so stressed this year, do something practical such as learning some meditative techniques or start practicing yoga. With time, these can help you become a more relaxed person, better able to handle the stress. Regular breaks will give you time to switch off.

Switch Off
Detach when you leave each day. Don't take your work home with you. Look at what you have achieved and focus in the positive accomplishments.

Develop Yourself
Seek out Training prospects from work, or find your own, outside of work, maybe online. Feeling more skilled in your job may help you better enjoy it rather than feeling that you struggle to achieve. Training and learning is a great way to relieve boredom and refresh your work, create new challenges, help you to look at your job from new perspectives. Impress your employer.

Start Your Day Positively
Avoid the bad starts to the day. Get up early, have a healthy breakfast, get to work on time and try to walk or exercise beforehand if possible. Avoid watching the news or reading emails before you have given yourself enough time to wake up and prepare yourself in a positive manner for the day.

Dress Well
Maybe you could get a new wardrobe? This doesn’t have to cost the earth and will help you present a smarter, more professional version of yourself. How you dress has a direct link to how you feel and perform.

Which came first, the hen or the egg? Marketing, or Sales?

10 Mistakes to Avoid if You Want a Promotion

It always surprises me when I meet oh so clever university graduates who have read just about every book there is on salary negotiation and career advancement, but don't have the slightest idea about how not to irritate their boss.

Unfortunately, unless you open your own business, chances are high that you are going to have a boss for a rather large portion of your career. And chances are equally high that getting on the wrong side of said boss is not going to do your career any favors.

While that certainly doesn't mean that you need to bring your boss a cup of coffee every morning, it does mean that you should probably avoid making any of the following mistakes. After all, you do want to be promoted, right?

Attempting to Hide Problems

When you've lost an important client or you're behind schedule on a big project, the urge is always there to try to keep the fact hidden. Unfortunately however, the chances of you keeping it a secret forever are incredibly small. And when your boss cannot trust you to bring bad news to him when it happens, that's likely to be an even bigger problem than the one that you were trying to hide in the first place. Therefore it's simply a necessity that when you mess up, you own up.

Pretending You Know Things You Don't

When you're boss asks you a question, ideally you are going to know the answer. There are always going to be occasions however when you don't. During such occasions, the last thing that you want to do is to make a guess. This is because while you might look smarter when your guess is correct, you are going to look like a complete fool when your guess turns out to be wrong.

Regularly Talking Behind His Back

Very few people exactly like their boss and disagreements are not uncommon. Although discussing such disagreements with your boss can be highly beneficial, discussing them with your co workers is simply asking for trouble. You would be surprised by just how fast backhand comments tend to get around the average office. Therefore either discuss your problems directly or don't discuss them at all.

Being Unable to Handle Criticism

In much the same way that discussing disagreements directly can lead to a more effective professional relationship, it's also important for your boss to be able to tell you when he/she has a problem with your performance. Unfortunately, not everyone knows how to handle criticism and this can be a major problem. If you get upset, or worse angry, whenever your boss questions how you are doing something, chances are he/she will simply stop doing so. Although that may seem like a nice idea, in the long run, it's going to significantly harm your career prospects.

Being Full of Excuses

Unless you happen to be a robot, chances are that you are going to make a number of mistakes throughout your career. Such mistakes are inevitable, regardless of how hard you work or how smart you consider yourself to be. What's important is that you both accept when you make a mistake and that you attempt to learn from it. If you keep coming up with excuses, it tends to give the impression that you have no intention of learning from the mistake that you've made.

Not Knowing How to Use an Iron

If you work in a casual environment, and one that is free of customers, provided you remember to wear pants, you can show up looking whatever way you like. But if you work in a more formal work environment, a certain appearance is expected. You need to shave, keep your hair presentable and your suit shouldn't look like you've slept in it. Although it may seem unfair, when it comes to formal workplaces and promotion, appearances do matter.

Not Keeping Your Word

When you say that you are going to do something, you do actually need to do it. Many people seem to get the impression that as long as they say yes to everything, they are going to look good in their bosses eyes. Unfortunately, this only actually works if you actually mean it when you say yes. If you say that you are going to take on a particular task and that it will be done within a certain time frame, make sure that you keep your word.

Keeping Agendas Hidden

As well as wanting your boss to believe you when you say you will do something, you should also want him to consider you a credible, honest person. Everybody has agendas and there is nothing wrong with that. But if you attempt to hide an agenda from your boss and he subsequently find out, your career is going to suffer. Unfortunately, attempting to manipulate your boss can seriously backfire, it's simply not worth the hassle.

Generally Being Irritating

If you have done even the slightest bit of research on career advancement, you are likely to be well aware of the importance of social skills. Although, you certainly don't need to be an enigmatic extrovert to get ahead in your career, you do need to be able to hold a conversation without making it painful. You need to know how to make small talk and you need to know when not to make small talk. It might sound unfair, but if you're boss can't stand talking to you, he's very unlikely to promote you.

Showing Zero Initiative

Finally, there are many times when it makes sense to ask your boss to help you with something. But if you get into the habit of asking for your bosses assistance with everything other than tying your shoes, you are not exactly going to look like management material, are you? While you should never be afraid to ask for help on important matters, if the decision is even remotely mundane, you should always use your brain, not your mouth.

Career-Change Options For 2013 !!!***********

Are you looking to change your career this year? Have you had enough of being an accountant, a lawyer, or a personal assistant? Why not consider one of the five careers below as a great way to break out of the mold:

Writer -- Do you have a passion for writing that you haven't been able to explore until now? If so, it may be time to become a writer. There are millions of websites floating around the Internet, and all of them need quality written content. You will find that there are many websites looking to hire writers, and you can turn your skill with the written word into an income. As a trained professional, you have knowledge of a career that you can use to help others that read your writings.

Freelance Professional --Do you have a passion to work as a truck accident attorney an accountant, or a paralegal, but it's just your current job that's driving you nuts? If so, why not consider starting your own career as a freelancer? You can market your skills on online job boards and sites like eBay or Craigslist, and there dozens of websites where you can find freelance work. You can keep working on the jobs you love, but you can set your own schedule!

Webmaster -- Want to make a difference selling something you love, promoting a product you're proud of, or providing valuable information? If so, starting a web-based business is a wonderful way to go! More and more websites are being created every month, and you can earn a living selling or promoting all kinds of products. There are no end to opportunities for making money online, and it can be a great career move!

Of course it always makes sense to find a company that wants to maximize individual, team and business performance. An organization that utilizes a 'train the trainer' model like www.developingpeople.co.uk is a great way to beef up your skills and competence.

Teacher -- If you have something to teach others, rest assured there will always be people that want to learn. Rather than being part of the conventional teaching system, why not try teaching online? You can get a teaching job with local companies, or you can market your skills via the Internet. With Skype, you can teach classes to people around the world without ever having to leave your home. It will be a fun way to share what you know, and you can continue your career as a teacher without the rigidity of set classroom hours.

Human Resources -- Do you have a knack for dealing with people and situations? If so, why not consider training to be part of the Human Resources Department? Forbes reports that Human Resources jobs have gone up 5% since 2010, and there are always more openings for professionals who have people-handling skills. If you're sick of sales, accounting, or programming, why not deal with people in a productive way that will help them to improve your life? You can make a difference, and get paid to do so!

Steps to Finding a Career Mentor!!

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Having a mentor is vital for your career success, and discovering great ways to find a career mentor can be a shortcut to boosting your career. What makes having a mentor so great? In short, it's all about information! A mentor has already experienced the “school of hard knocks” and can thus tell you what you should avoid. If you are lucky, your mentor might even have tips passed down from his or her own mentor! In this way, you are potentially gaining access to generations of mentors. This factor will make a difference in your career and increase the chances that you achieve your goals.

Step One - Ask

Ask? You may be thinking that it isn’t that easy, right? If you spot someone that you think might be a great mentor, simply conjure up the courage to ask them. Of course, few people ever find a mentor by saying, “Would you mentor me?” but that approach can actually work.

Finding a career mentor can be a more organic process. If you discover someone that you know would be a great mentor, ask for advice and see if you can build up a relationship over time. If you are shy or have trouble asking for help, you will have to overcome these obstacles. However, the benefits you will potentially receive will be well worth it.

You may not realize it, but many successful people depended heavily on a mentor in order to reach their goals. For example, Gary Cooper was a mentor to Kirk Douglas. Jerry Lewis was a mentor to Stephen Spielberg. Madonna is a mentor to Gwyneth Paltrow. The list goes on and on.

Step Two - Ask Around

If you need a mentor, check around to discover who the best candidates are. Don’t let uncertainty or confusion keep you from finding a mentor. Ask coworkers if they know someone who is an expert on what it is that you need to know. Your potential career mentor candidates may materialize before your eyes.

Step Three-Don’t Limit Your Options

The biggest mistake that you can make where finding a mentor is concerned is that you can only have one. This notion is a huge obstacle and one that you should avoid. Instead embrace the idea that you can have several different career mentors. After all, it is unlikely that you can find one person that can completely embody everything that you need in a mentor.

Step Four-Grab Their Attention

If your potential career mentor is a power player, you might have to do something to grab his or her attention. This doesn’t mean stalking anyone, but it does mean that you need to think of ways that you can stand out and impress. Quite often it is the mentor that finds the apprentice, but that means you’ll need to stand out from the herd. What are the best ways that you can stand out from the crowd and get noticed? Answer that question and you might garner the attention or your career mentor and even open up new mentor possibilities.

These four steps will all help you find your mentor. Remember that information is key and that you can acquire the information you need in different ways. Asking is, of course, one way to succeed, but observation is also important. Your best mentor candidates may not be instantly recognizable, but may only manifest themselves after an extended period of careful observation. Finally, if you are having trouble finding the kind of mentor that you need to make it to the next level, consider what bold steps are necessary to stand out from the crowd. Who knows? At this point, your mentor may reach out to find you.