With today’s economy many of us may be faced with an unexpected lay off.  One thing you don’t want to do is panic. Here are some career and interview tips that will help you be prepared regardless of your employment status.

1.       Make sure your dressed appropriate:

If you are going on an interview or in your current position you want to make a good impression.

2.       Spend time to develop a resume that demonstrates the impact of your accomplishments:

Have someone else review it for spelling and grammatical errors.

3.       Bring extra pens and necessary information to complete the application:

Having 3 pens just in case is a great strategy; bring your list of references too.

4.       Make sure you take your time completing the application write neatly it represents you

Your penmanship says something about your attention to detail

5.       Bring a list of references with detailed information phone numbers, address etc

You want to ensure you have everything you need to fully complete the application

6.       Make sure you complete the entire application don’t put see resume

Don’t be lazy, remember you want to make a good first impression

7.       Make sure your greeting on your voice mails for home and cell are professional

Don’t allow an unprofessional message disqualify you from your next job

8.       Make sure you have a pleasant attitude no matter your circumstances

A smile will work wonders.  When you smile others return it, try it and see

9.       Write down questions to ask during the interview

Thoughtful questions prepared in advance say that you are interested in the job

10.   Prepare yourself  with the appropriate answers to the top 10 questions

Practice makes perfect. Having a mock interview can make all the difference.

11.   Have good eye contact

This shows confidence and a degree of interest in the interviewer

12.   Be patient many employers will not follow up immediately

Be sure to obtain the business card of everyone who you speak with so you can follow up

Ask the interviewer for the time frame for them to make a decision on the hiring of this position

Sending an email or giving a phone call a week after the time they said they would make a decision shows that you are interested and if they have made an offer to someone else and that person declined guess who will be in the top of the interviewer’s mind.

Practice these tips and you will be at a great advantage the next time you go for an interview.  Rita and Harry wish you the greatest success in your next interview.  Please feel free to share your experiences with us in the comments below, we enjoy hearing from you.

Rita says, we literally spend hours each day looking for something already in our possession. WHY?  Because we are unorganized and we haven’t taken the time to put things in its proper place, hmmm!

Well friends time is money! Did you know being organized can not only save you money and time, but it can alleviate stress?

How many times have we run late to work or a meeting or anywhere for that matter, because we were looking for something! How many times have you purchased the same thing more than once, because we weren’t organized enough to know we already had it!

Well no need to worry by the time you finish this article, you will find some simple tips that will not only save you time and money and help alleviate stress; but hopefully these tips will help you form positive habits in your workplace as well as home.

1. WHAT’S IMPORTANT?

Focus on your long-term goals and change them if necessary. Set mini goals and make those a priority to meet your Bigger Goals. Keep reminders around you of why you’re working so hard by turning them into a vision board.

2. WRITE IT DOWN/MAKE LISTS

Make daily, weekly and monthly to-do lists of important tasks. Review your daily priorities at the beginning of each day.

3. TIME MANAGEMENT

Do the hardest things first usually you will find your energy is higher and when you put them off procrastination will set in. Focus on the sense of accomplishment you’ll feel better. Make an accomplishment journal of the things you have completed. Keep a notebook in your car, purse or briefcase to plan your day’s activities especially if you commute.  This will give you time to think.

4. INVEST IN A CALENDARS OR DAILY PLANNER

Balance your work activities with your personal and family activities to avoid conflicts.

Pencil things in on your calendar/ planner, if they aren’t set in stone yet.  If you aren’t the best at remembering things use computer software to help you plan or schedule long term and short term projects.

5. DELEGATE

Assign tasks to others if it’s not your area of expertise. Give them a chance to shine.

Provide the training and give them feedback on the projects assigned.

6. MANAGE YOUR MAIL AND PHONE CALLS

Sort mail in the morning divide into categories of importance. Check voice mail 2-3 times a day morning, lunch and before you leave for the evening, identify level of importance.

7. REDUCE CLUTTER

Keep your workspace clean, only the most important items and information

you need on a daily basis should be on top of your desk. .

8. STAY ORGANIZED

Organize files by priority.  Spend time at the end of each day clearing your

desk and time the next morning planning your day’s activities.

Take the time and implement these tips.  You will find that you not only have more time during the day because you are more organized, but you will feel better because you have a clear direction of where you are going.  Not allowing yourself to become side tracked will give you more time to use to your best benefit as you determine, not having the situations and circumstances dictate what you should do next.  The adage, “Time is Money” is true and wouldn’t you feel better having more of both to spend?

Tell Harry and Rita what you think by leaving a comment below, we love to hear from you.

Rita says, many of us have completed many tasks in the course of our careers. As a matter of fact, it’s a key question that’s asked during the interview process. How do you juggle multiple tasks?
Employers look favorably on your ability to provide a positive answer to this question as a value trait. Multi tasking allows you to accomplish twice as much work compared to a co-worker that doesn’t have the same ability. This is an important skill set that can be used to climb the crystal ladder to success.

Here are some tips how!

• Look for team projects where you can utilize your strengths.

• Start a project with the end result that you desire in mind so you will have an outline.

• Solicit buy in from others creating a winning plan for everyone to shine.

• Determine the strengths and weakness of each team member and leverage them to complete the task.

• Evaluate and combine task in instances that will increase productivity and efficiency

• Schedule tasks like checking email, paper mail, and return phone calls during less active periods during the day.

• Make a To Do List and work it to ensure you are productive and track your accomplishments.

Tips to remember in the process!

• Don’t take on a task just to show that you are a team player. If you are unable to deliver the results in the required time frame this could work against you.
• Remember to schedule regular meetings to make sure you and your team members are on task and no problems have occurred.
• Remember to have a detailed plan that outlines the direction of where you’re going e.g. whose doing what and the desired result?

Whether you are planning for your next interview or looking to move up in your current organization, your ability to multi-task and do it correctly can be an asset to your career

Rita asks the question: How many times have we heard stories of Holiday disasters or bloopers? I can think of several with the Holidays quickly approaching. Many invitations will be sent from employers and organizations that you are affiliated with requesting your attendance to join them in a Holiday or New Year’s Party.

Here are a few tips that Rita Reality recommends you remember to be perceived in the best light when attending these professional functions.

HOLIDAY PARTY TIPS

1. Be sure to attend the party. It’s always good to make an appearance.

2. Eat and drink in moderation. You do not want to be seen as unprofessional.

3. Dress appropriately. Remember you worked hard to create a professional image.

4. Don’t monopolize the conversation; others are waiting to engage in conversation as well. It is not all about you. This is an opportunity to develop a deeper relationship with everyone, so find out what interest them.

5. Don’t be a gossip. It’s amazing what people say when they become comfortable or have too much to drink. Be mindful this is a professional function in a social environment.

6. Watch you language and be mindful of jokes. You are attending a professional function and it is to your advantage to act professional.

7. Thank the host or hostess! This shows that you have manners and you would like to be invited next time.

8. Don’t DRINK and drive. Having a DWI charge will not boost your career.

TIPS FOR THE PARTY PLANNER

1. Consider diversity in your organization when planning so everyone can enjoy the event regardless of their culture. Music and specialty dishes can make the event more enjoyable for everyone.

2. Be specific who is invited to the function. Is it limited to the employee, employee and significant other, or are children included as well?

3. Have a plan how to diffuse awkward situations that may occur. e.g. making arrangement for a guest that’s too drunk to get a ride home instead of allowing them to drive.

4. Look at variety of options to add variety to a traditional party e.g. a holiday open house, breakfast or brunch, or happy hour.

Following these tips will help you enjoy the event, leave a good impression and improve your professional career. Please feel free to share you comments and additional tips that you think would benefit other below. Rita Reality and Harry Humorous would like to wish you and your family a very happy, safe and fun filled holiday. Thank you for reading our blog and allowing us to be a part of your life.

Rita says the average person spends at least 10 hours a week in meetings. If you were to poll the attendees you may be surprised to find the majority feel that the time they spent in the meeting could have been more productive. This unproductive meeting time can be broken down to approximately 5 hours week, or 250 hours a year or 6 weeks of lost productivity.

If you are like Rita and Harry then you have experienced or participated in an unproductive meeting. Rita would like to share some tips to help you make your future meeting more productive:

1. Invite attendees who have a vested interest and will benefit from solving the problem

2. If after attending the first meeting you find that your input or expertise is not required explain this to your boss. Ask your boss if you should continue to attend this meeting. It may be more productive for you to work on current assignments.

3. Prepare or request a meeting agenda. It should include topics for discussion, and goals within a specific time frame. Make sure the agenda is received by all attendees in advance of the meeting. Use the agenda to move through the meeting to ensure it will be productive.

4. Don’t allow the meeting attendee to become side tracked by a topic that is being discussed and is not a topic on the agenda. This can be accomplished by saying, “That’s a great point let’s table that for the next meeting agenda, or send me an email and we can have some additional discussions about that.” Another suggestion could be, “Why don’t we talk off line after the meeting I’m interested in hearing more about what you have to say.”

5. Decide what your plan of action is or next steps are after each point discussed on the agenda. Decided who will take ownership, how it will be handled and when it should be completed.

6. Make it a point to start the meeting on time and end the meeting on time. This will set establish everyone’s expectations and they will honor future meetings following this format.

7. Have a note taker prepare and circulate minutes for you. Remember you can’t have good meeting follow up without good notes and record keeping.

8. Before you schedule a meeting ask yourself is there another way to get what you need accomplished through an email or phone call.

Following these tips will increase your productivity and reduce the number of unproductive meeting hours.

Are you keeping track of your daily accomplishments and compliments from customers? If you are you are headed in the right direction. If you are not what are you waiting for? You will be surprised at the number of great things that you do every day that you just take for granted.

You might say I do this all the time or this is just who I am, but the reality is your boss might not be aware. If you start to track these accomplishments and customer compliments then you will have the opportunity to gather them together like the squirrels gather nuts together for the winter. You will have these accomplishments at your finger tips to use when ever you need them. This means when it is time to do your self review or prepare your monthly report you will have information that you documented ready to use.

Some people have said, Harry that is too much work. I suggest that it is really a time saver. You can spend just a few minutes every day reviewing what you have accomplished and writing it down in one centralized place or hours trying to remember with the risk of forgetting something that was really important. Tracking your accomplishments and collecting them in one centralized place for use as you need it later is a simple, time saving, easy way for you take control of the development your career. It is also an opportunity to analyze what is working well and what you need to improve on. Over the course of several months you will start to see patterns and trends revealed to you. Keeping track of these events will show you what is and is not working in your office. Considering all of the benefits of hording your accomplishments in a centralized place like the squirrels gather nuts for the winter is an easy way to be successful at work. Like Rita says, “You’d be nuts not to.”

Rita asks the question, “How many of us really listen to someone when they are talking to us do you even know how to listen effectively or are you just waiting for your turn to talk?”

Listening is a skill we can always improve on!

Here are 8 ways you can improve your listening skills!

1. Focus shut out the rest of the world while you listen

2. Remind yourself to pay attention

3. Make eye contact with the speaker

4. Avoid interrupting while they are talking

5. Give verbal cues for example “I see” “yes” “ok” “go on” “oh really”

6. Give non verbal cues, we know it as body language some examples are; smiling, nodding or leaning forward

7. Ask questions or maybe reiterate a date example OK! The meetings on November 17^th at 9:00.

8. Summarize close the conversation with good to see you I’m glad we had a chance to discuss or catch up on, name whatever topic that the conversation was on.

Now that you all are challenge to become better listener here’s a little exercise that I would like you to do.

1. Think of someone at work or in your family or maybe even an organization that you feel is a good listener.

2. Now think of a time when someone interrupted you. How did you feel?

Now that you have read this I ASK YOU, what steps do you plan to take to improve your listening skills?

Just think about it, what does it mean to be a best friend to someone? To me it means someone who is there to support you in good and bad times, who cares about you and will not allow you to get yourself in trouble, not allow you to put your self in dangerous or highly risky situations. Sometimes best friends are the voice of reason you listen to before you make a decision to act on something.

Well having a best friend at work is no different than what I have already described. At work you could benefit from someone who you knew you could confide in, had your back, looked out for pitfalls and informed you of them, cheered you on with your successes and offered needed advice when faced with a challenge. And yes you need to have someone you can trust to talk you down from the top of the roof before you jumped. We all have bad days at work, having a best friend allows you to get though them in a less stressful manner.

Did you know that establishing a best friend culture at work will not only increase revenue, productivity, improve customer service, but it will also reduce employee absenteeism and turnover. If you are looking for your organization to out pace the competition than you must establish a best friends work culture.

• Get a Good Night’s Sleep - In this busy life we lead we tend to forget that we really need to get a good 7 to 8 hours of rest to feel good and be mentally fit. Having a good night’s sleep will make you less stressed and help you get a better reading when your vital signs are checked.

• Arrive Early - Plan to arrive early to the place where you are going to receive your testing. Why? Well an unexpected accident on the road or construction could delay you and make you late for your appointment. By planning to arrive early you will be there on time incase an unexpected event occurs.

• Drink A Lot of Water Several Days Before - If you think that you are going to be scheduled for a physical in the coming week make sure you drink a lot of water every day prior to your exam. This will help you clear your system and give you better results.

• Relax - Do what ever will make you feel calm, read a book listen to some jazz, meditate, to reduce your heart rate and give you better test results. Too many times we are concerned how the test will come out that we work ourselves up, become excited and give false readings.

• Do not drink alcohol the night before - I am not sure if your prospective employer will be checking your blood alcohol levels but why take the chance. Steer clear of the alcohol until after you have passed the physical then celebrate if you like.

The pre-employment physical is like the final exam at the end of a school semester. You know you must pass it to get the job so prepare for it just like you did for your final exam when you were in school. With the right preparation you can ace this exam and start working at your new job the following week.

When an employee can answer that they strongly agree with the questions asked they are considered highly engaged. Conversely, when they answer strongly disagree then it is a tell tale sign that something is wrong. The problem may lie with the employee, manager or the communication within the organization that is not allowing the issues to be raised to the surface.

Establishing an environment where people feel safe to have open communication is key to developing a culture of engagement. Harry and Rita have addressed this problem in various arenas, with unionized, inner city, suburban, multidimensional organizations and they have found that nothing can break the ice of a highly tensioned environment like humor. It is one thing that everyone can identify with, meet on common ground providing an opportunity to develop open communication about how they feel, what they fear and the needs that they would like to have met.

If increasing your staff’s productivity is important then you must increase their engagement. If you do you will reduce your operating expenses and increase your revenue at the same time.