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Plenty of people who have had their share of stress at the office dream about working from home. While remote work removes some of the hurdles typical for a workplace, it comes with a different set of challenges that you have to deal with. One of the most common ones is developing self-discipline so that you can remain focused throughout your workday.

Here are a couple of tips that can make working from home easier.

Create a Dedicated Space

When working from home, it’s usually difficult to separate work from life, which can hinder your productivity. When you create a dedicated space that you’ll only use for doing your job, it’ll be easier to detach from your everyday activities. If you can, you should turn a room into an office space and make your daily transition between life and work complete.

Determine Your Work Hours

Every person is most productive during a different time of day. You need to determine the time when you perform the best and establish your work hours around it. You should schedule your most demanding tasks for when you feel like you’re at your best and leave the simpler ones for when you’re “closer to getting off work”.

Remove Distractions

When you’re working, you should remove or restrict any distractions that may tempt you to procrastinate. The most common culprits are social media channels and other websites that you frequent. For most people, it’s enough to check out a post or notification to disrupt their workflow and drive them to keep scrolling and reading more. If you can’t make yourself stay away, there are plenty of apps and add-ons that can restrict access to these time-consuming temptations for you.

Establish Boundaries

When you establish your work hours, you also need to let your friends and family know when you’re available. If you don’t do that, people will often call you when you’re working and break your concentration. If you show them that you take your work hours seriously, they will start to see it that way too.

You can check out some of our other articles about work-related issues, such as:

• Is Working From Home the Best Solution for Me?
• 4 Ways To Beat Spring Fever in the Workplace
• 5 Steps for Decluttering Your Computer Files
• 4 Ways To Make the Most Out of a Long Commute
• 39% of Employees Admit to Faking Sick Days To Enjoy Summer

If you’ve just graduated, moved to a new town, or got fired from your last job, you probably need to find work as soon as possible. Job hunting can take from a few days to about a month, depending on the companies you want to work for. Some of them have a slow hiring process, and there isn’t much that you can do about that. 

What you can do is speed up the process on your end by taking all the necessary steps for overcoming job search hurdles and improving your chances of landing the job.

To help you get hired as quickly as possible, we present you with six essential tips:

1. Decide what you want
2. Update your resume
3. Track and follow up
4. Network
5. Prepare for an interview
6. Don’t settle

Decide What You Want

The first step is determining what kind of job you’re looking for. Plenty of people jump straight into digging through job ads without establishing the crucial aspects of what they want to do. You should jot down what your ideal job should be, focusing on the specific title, salary, location, workflow, company culture, etc.

When you have a clear idea of what you’re looking for, you can go through different job boards and social media channels and compare your list to what the companies offer and require.

Update Your Resume

Before you start emailing the companies you want to work for, you need to update and polish your resume. You should ensure that all the information is up to date and check for any inaccuracies and misspellings. The resume needs to look professional and reflect your career goals.

While some companies have people that go through each resume, others use applicant tracking systems to screen them quickly. This means that you need to focus on specific keywords that each company is looking for. The most important keywords revolve around your hard and soft skills.

Track and Follow Up

You should make the job search process easier by keeping track of all the companies you apply to. Create an Excel sheet with categories such as:

• Company
• Job title
• Ad link
• Contact
• Date applied

The last section is important because you need to pay attention to how much time has passed since you’ve sent your job application. If it’s been more than 10 days, you should follow up with a second email. Some companies will appreciate your interest and persistence. Those that don’t usually highlight it in the ad, so pay attention.

Network

Aside from sending job applications, you should tap into your personal and business networks. Get in touch with anyone who might be able to help you. Check with your friends and old colleagues to see if they can provide insight into a company you’d like to work for or even write you a professional recommendation. 

Go to LinkedIn and look for relevant groups to join where you can find professionals that can give you valuable advice and help you land a job faster. You can also use LinkedIn as a way to let recruiters know you’re looking for specific jobs. Go to the Career Interests section and set up the kind of work you’re after.

Prepare for an Interview

Interviews can be less daunting if you prepare for them properly. Look up the most common interview questions and come up with answers to them. One of the best ideas is to record yourself so that you can hear what you sound like and know what you should work on. If you’ve got a friend that’s willing to lend a hand, you can have a mock interview. 

Keep in mind that some companies conduct phone interviews, so you should prepare for that option as well.

Don’t Settle

While you might be looking for work urgently, you shouldn’t settle for whatever comes your way. If a job isn’t what you’re looking for or you’re not the best fit for the role, you’re likely to be searching for a new one in a matter of months.

If you need the money, you might want to consider temporary work or turning a hobby into a side gig. This way, you’ll give yourself more time to find the job that’s right for you.

If you want to read more job-related articles, check out:

• 5 Ways to Jump-Start Your Job Search During a Vacation
• How To Adapt Your Career to Big Life Changes
• 6 Essential Steps for a Successful Job Search
• How To Overcome Common Job Search Hurdles
• 8 Surefire Ways To Ace Your Second Interview

In today’s highly competitive market, looking for a job can be a challenge. You need to be well-prepared and face various hurdles before getting hired by a company that you want to work for. 

While the process can be overwhelming, you need to approach it with a positive attitude. Be ready for different obstacles and face the fact that you might fail. Few people ever get it right the first time around. Don’t let yourself get discouraged and keep trying.

Let’s take a look at some of the most common job hurdles and how you can overcome them.

Writing a Killer CV

Plenty of people aren’t sure about what companies want to see in a CV. While it differs from business to business, there are some aspects that every CV needs to cover. 

For starters, it needs to focus on the information that is most relevant to the company you’re applying for, such as your skills and experiences. You need to present the information clearly and concisely, and make sure that your CV looks professional.

When listing your hard skills, you should support them with transferable skills that you’ve gained during your studies or volunteer work. This is important because plenty of companies look for excellent interpersonal, communication, and problem-solving skills.

Dealing With Low Confidence

If you’re feeling insecure during your job search because you don’t think you’ve got the right qualifications, you need to realize that no company expects to find an applicant that matches their job ad 100%. The listed requirements represent the ideal candidate, but most companies are looking for someone that meets about 80% of them. 

You shouldn’t worry if your previous work experience doesn’t fit exactly what the ad says, and look at the bigger picture instead. If the company’s looking for someone experienced with building customer relationships, it means that you need to have strong communication skills. If you’ve had experience working with internal stakeholders, you’ve got the right kind of skills for the job.

Explaining the Gap in Your Work History

People that have a gap in their work history often worry that it will affect their chances for landing a job. The best way to deal with this issue is to counteract it. 

You can dedicate a section of your cover letter to explaining what you were doing during that period. Elaborate on why you left your previous job and mention any activities you took on to hone your skills in the meantime. If you got any certifications during the gap, all the better. The best approach to explaining the gap is to be honest and straightforward.

Not Being Able To Find a Job In Your Field

If you can’t find a job in your field to apply to, you might need to expand your search. If you’re constantly using the same website to look for work, you should try other sources. Check out companies and job openings on LinkedIn or browse through ads in local newspapers. There’s also plenty of sites for specific fields, such as ITJobPro, Archinect, and Mediabistro. 

If you want to read other articles about job hunting, check out:

• 6 Secrets on How To Land a Job Quickly
• 5 Ways to Jump-Start Your Job Search During a Vacation
• Does an Unusual Job Title Hurt Your Chances of Finding Work?
• 8 Ways To Ace Your Second Job Interview
• 5 Lucrative Occupations for People With Associate Degrees

When a big life change comes along, such as getting married or moving to a new town, people are often forced to reevaluate their careers. 

For some, their previous career choices become no longer feasible because of a shift in their financial situation or the distance that they now have to travel to get to work. For others, it’s a matter of turning a new page in life because the big change pulled them out of their comfort zone and made them realize they want to do something new.

Whatever the reason, the big changes we face in life often demand that we adapt our careers to them. Regardless of whether making new career choices is a welcome shift or not, the transition can be difficult. 

If you’re struggling with this issue, here are a few pieces of advice that can help you.

Figure Out What You Want

When going through a big life change, deciding that you need a different career path is not enough. You need to be specific about what you want. While you may start with merely an idea that you want to do something more practical and fulfilling, you need to make a plan if you don’t want to get stuck.

You’ve taken a good look at your career thus far and decided that you want to do something different? Get a notebook, jot down your interests and aspirations, and try to pinpoint what kind of work you’d like to take on. When you come up with several concrete ideas, do your research on local businesses searching for new hires. Check out their job ads and see if you’ve got what they’re looking for.

If there are people in the industry that you know, this is the time to contact them. Get their opinion on different businesses and see if they can lend you a hand. If they can’t help you get into a company, maybe they know someone who can. 

Hold On to Your Family and Friends

Big life changes can be difficult and confusing. Depending on the situation, you might have a lot on your plate. This is why it’s crucial to maintain the connections you’ve got, especially with your friends and family members. 

Change often drives people to sever the ties with some aspects of the life they lived before. Whatever you decide you want to leave behind, it should not include the important people in your life.

This doesn’t mean that some relationships can’t be put on hold. What’s important is that you have some of your closest people around to support you during the transition period. 

While some of us may be lone wolves, it’s generally harder to face big life and career changes alone. You’ll most likely need someone with a clear head to provide you with an objective viewpoint on the situation. Big change usually comes with plenty of risks, and two heads are better than one. 

Keep On Moving

No matter if the big life change is sad or exciting, it’s important that you keep on moving. Your career may have reached a hurdle or it has come to a halt, but it doesn’t mean that you should neglect it for too long. 

Deal with the big change, figure out how it’s going to affect your life from now on, and go back to working on your professional growth. Even if you’ve given up on a career and are in the process of starting a new one, you should spend time honing your skills and gaining new experiences.

It’s going to be significantly harder to get back on track if you let everything except for the big change lay down for a while. Keep working on yourself and evaluating new career opportunities. You might even end up realizing that you don’t need to make a big career change after all.

If you want to find out more about different career-related issues and situations, check out:

• How To Handle a Career Setback
• 5 Ways To Show Your Boss You’re Ready for a Promotion
• How To Negotiate a Raise When Your Boss Claims the Company Isn’t Making Enough Profit
• How To Advance Your Career As an Administrative Assistant
• 6 Steps for a Successful Career
• How To Overcome Common Job Search Hurdles

The question of how old you are shouldn’t be a relevant factor for a job interview. If you’re a professional with plenty of experience in the field, you should be valued for what you can bring to the table. 

The issue is that it’s likely that a person in their 50s that’s looking for a job is going to get interviewed by someone significantly younger than them. Sometimes, age difference can lead to awkward situations when it’s either the interviewer being condescending or the interviewee taking the wrong approach to bridge the gap.

If you’re a 55-year-old job hunter that finds themselves being interviewed by a 30-year-old hiring manager, you need to both be careful about your approach and know how to respond if the other party brings your age into question.

Here are some of the best methods for ensuring that your interview goes well without being sidetracked by the age gap.

Steer Clear of Any Stereotypes

When you come to the interview, you should ensure that you don’t bring up any stereotypes regarding both sides. If you don’t want to be seen as an older applicant with “typical” traits, you must also avoid stereotyping the younger interviewer. In a perfect environment, both of you should work on bridging the age gap.

Think about the stereotypes that you might know about Zoomers and Millennials and steer clear of them. Joking about how young generations are glued to their phones or trying to bond over that newest Ariana Grande hit isn’t going to work. The worst thing you can do is try to compliment the interviewer by stating that you’re impressed with how someone as young as them became such a relevant decision-maker in the company. 

Try To Mend the Gap

Even if both sides do their best to drop most of the stereotypes, the age gap can bring some common worries about. It’s common for younger employees to worry that someone older than them won’t show respect for their authority. Plenty of workers fear that your experience will show as invaluable and help you get promoted to a higher-ranking role faster than those that have been in the company longer than you.

You can try mending these worries by showing that age never presented an issue to you. If you’ve had an experience working for a younger manager in the past, you can mention it while talking about your previous work. Let the interviewer know that you don’t care about how old they are by treating them as peers. Ask them about their insights into the industry and how they think your role can help the company improve.

Present Your Skills

While both sides need to put away the stereotypes as much as they can, it’s hard to overlook the fact that they are sometimes true. This is why you should present your skills and experiences to counteract any misconceptions. It’s common for younger employees to think that their older colleagues don’t have the same amount of energy. Take the opportunity to present your problem-solving skills through creative suggestions. Your interviewer will drop any wrong ideas if you show them that you’re flexible and able to face new challenges.

Another common misconception is that older people aren’t in touch with current technologies and industry trends. Talk about any leadership roles that you might have taken on in the past and give examples of how you helped the team excel at each project. Show that you’ve got enough technological expertise by highlighting any relevant skills and knowledge that you’ve gained in the past few years.

Discuss Your Most Recent Work History

When it comes to talking about your work history, you should focus on at least the past 10 years. While you might have had plenty of experience in the past, the younger interviewer might have trouble relating to what you’ve excelled at 20 or 30 years ago. 

Make the discussion as relevant as possible by talking about your most recent projects, experiences, and achievements. Aside from helping you bridge the age gap, this approach will also enable you to counteract the probability of being seen as overqualified for the job.

What To Do If the Interviewer Asks You About Your Age

In some cases, even if you do your best to bridge the age gap and be as respectful as possible, the interviewer will ask you how old you are. Remember that you don’t need to answer the question and it’s generally considered inappropriate with a reason. 

Instead of telling the interviewer how old you are, you can shift the focus to what matters. You can try to change the subject without addressing the question directly. Ask whether the interviewer is concerned about whether you’ve got the skills and experience that the role requires and reiterate how your previous projects and achievements make you the perfect fit for the job.

If you want to be more direct, you can state that your age has never been a problem in the previous companies you’ve worked for. Let the interviewer know that the maturity you’ve gained through your work enables you to contribute to the company. You can even ask why your age matters to the company openly.

You should pay attention to how the interviewer responds. See if they realize that the question was inappropriate or if they act like they didn’t get the answer they were looking for. This will provide you with insight into the organization’s philosophy on diversity. You might end up learning that you don’t want to work for a company that won’t respect your knowledge  and proficiency because of your age.

If you want to read more about various hurdles that job hunters face, check out:

• How To Overcome Common Job Search Hurdles
• 6 Tips on How To Ask for a Professional Recommendation
• 6 Essential Steps for a Successful Job Search
• How To Adapt Your Career to Big Life Changes
• 5 Ways to Jump-Start Your Job Search During a Vacation
• Does an Unusual Job Title Hurt Your Chances of Finding Work?

For plenty of people, working from home sounds like a dream come true. The idea of getting out of bed and moving to your home office in a matter of minutes without having to dress up and deal with co-workers face to face may seem like the best solution ever.

For those that have more experience with it, remote work has its good and bad sides. What’s important is that you assess all the pros and cons and determine whether it’s the best option for you.

Let’s take a look at what makes remote work great and what doesn’t.

Pros of Working From Home

While you still have to perform your duties and meet deadlines, working from home enables you to be your own boss in plenty of ways. Here are some of the major pros of remote work.

You Can Have More Flexibility

Working from home enables you to set your work hours based on when you’re most productive. You can schedule your daily tasks the way it suits you, and you don’t have to worry about what you’re going to wear and how your co-workers perceive you throughout your working day.

You Can Find a Better Work-Life Balance

When you’re working in an office, it can be difficult to find a satisfying work-life balance. Since remote work provides you with more autonomy, you can find more time for yourself without it affecting your job.

You Don’t Need to Commute

For most employees, dealing with long commutes is a big issue. With remote work, you don’t have to spend hours in a car or on a subway, and you can save some money.

Your Day Can Be Less Stressful

Remote work takes you away from all the stress at the office. You’ve also got more control over events that might trigger you, and you can take a break whenever you feel like your daily tasks are too much for you to handle.

Cons of Working From Home

Even though remote work gives you more freedom to set up your working day in line with your preferences, it’s also restrictive in a variety of ways. Before you decide that you want to work from home, you should consider these cons.

You Can Have Trouble Separating Work and Life

With remote work, the line between doing your job and living your life tends to blur. It can become difficult to clock out and go back to your regular activities without thinking about all the responsibilities that are waiting for you.

You Can Feel Lonely

Working from home restricts you to communicating with people via your phone and computer. Even if you’re a more introverted person, it can feel lonely being without human interaction for days. It’s also easy to fall into routine and have trouble making yourself get out.

You Can Misinterpret What People Mean

Even if you have Zoom meetings, most of your communication will probably happen through email and online chat. Without being able to see the other person’s body language, it can often be hard to determine the tone of their message and figure out what they mean to tell you.

You Need Plenty of Self-Discipline

Being your own boss usually isn’t as easy as it sounds. You need a lot of self-discipline to stick to the schedule you’ve set up and avoid the temptation of procrastinating by checking your phone, visiting social media channels, etc.

Depending on factors such as your personality and the kind of work that you do, it’s up to you to decide whether remote work is the best option or if you are better off working in an office.

If you want to read more work-related articles, you should check out:

• How To Stay Focused When Working From Home
• 7 Small Changes That Can Help You Love Your Job
• 4 Ways To Beat Spring Fever in the Workplace
• How Many Co-Workers Consider You a Friend?
• How To Adapt Your Career to Big Life Changes

Transitioning from one job to another can be a daunting endeavor. 

On one hand, you’re leaving a company that you’re used to, which includes not only a set of familiar habits and an office that felt like a second home but also colleagues that you’ve gone through peaks and valleys with. On the other hand, you’re moving into a work environment where you need to start anew, learn the ropes, meet the staff, and settle into your new job role.

While you might feel like doing so because you don’t want to feel tethered to the past, it’s important not to burn the bridges with your previous company. You should also remember that every new beginning is difficult, and that you need to go through a transitional period that usually lasts about 90 days.

Still worried? Here are our 10 tips on how to change jobs smoothly.

Notify Your Boss That You’re Leaving

The first important step that you need to take once you’ve decided to leave your old job is to notify your boss. You should set up a meeting and ensure that you’re departing on good terms. 

In most companies, the standard is to notify the management about your decision to quit at least two weeks ahead, but it’s a gesture of goodwill to do so a bit earlier. In most cases, your boss will appreciate that you’re letting them know on time so that any remaining projects can be wrapped out without hassle.

Ask for a Recommendation

While it may not be applicable in every situation, if you’ve had a strong relationship with your employer, you should show them that you appreciate the time and effort they’ve invested in you by asking them for a professional recommendation. Your boss could be one of the most important connections from your previous job, and they might even feel offended if you don’t ask them.

Say Goodbye to Your Colleagues

When you’re done talking to your boss, you should let the rest of your team know that you’re leaving. This is important because you both want to prepare them for your departure and make sure that you stay in touch in the future.

You can write a farewell email and send it to everybody. Let them know that you’re moving on to a different company and provide them with relevant contact info, such as your LinkedIn profile. You can check in with the co-workers you’ve befriended in person and ensure them that you’re not severing ties.

Wrap Up Your Projects

To leave your old job on good terms, you need to finish all the projects you’ve been working on. If you can’t wrap everything up in the few weeks before your departure, make sure that you leave instructions to your colleagues on how to complete your part. 

While you might have a lot to deal with at the moment, these projects are your responsibility. All your efforts to depart on a positive note might feel disingenuous if you leave your colleagues with plenty of work that you were supposed to finish. It’s also crucial for your professional reputation.

Keep Your Chin Up

Job transitions are often not what we expect them to be. You’ll probably experience a range of emotions because you’re taking the next big step in your career. It’s important to remember that you’ll likely face a variety of hurdles. Even if you’ve got plenty of experience with the role you’ve taken on, it doesn’t mean that you’ll fit into it as quickly as you might think. There’s a lot you need to learn about the new company before you’re back on track.

It’s important to do your best to remain enthusiastic throughout the process. Your new colleagues will notice your demeanor and it can help you start new relationships on the right foot.

Remember That You’re New

In the first few months, you should remember that you’re the new employee in the workplace. While the company hired you because of your skills and you should do your best to show them from the start, you need to take some time to settle in before suggesting how certain processes can be improved.

While it’s best to stick to your job description so that you don’t step on anyone’s toes before you settle in, you should take on any responsibilities that you get offered. This is an excellent way to show that you can contribute to the team and get your new colleagues and supervisors to appreciate you.

Learn As Much As You Can

Treat your first few months in the company as a learning experience. Look into how various processes within the organization work and take your time to get acquainted with the policies and procedures. While you may be used to performing some tasks a certain way, you need to get a grasp on the preferred approaches in your new workplace. 

It’s crucial to be open to constructive criticism. You’re likely to make mistakes and perform tasks the way that your supervisors don’t agree with. Don’t take it to heart—use it as an opportunity to learn and show that you’re willing to improve. 

Build New Relationships

You should start building new relationships as soon as you start your new job. Use every opportunity to approach your co-workers and start meaningful interactions with them. 

Relationships in the workplace are crucial, so your new beginning should focus on building ones that will make your experience in the company worthwhile. When you get acquainted with your new co-workers and even start making friends, you’ll have people that will be there to motivate you and give you a hand when you need it.

Formulate Goals

While you’re settling in, you still want to be clear on what the company expects from you in the upcoming months. Chances are that your interviewer discussed it before you were hired, but you still want to confirm everything when you start working. 

You need to figure out what your role entails in detail so that you can formulate your goals on how to succeed within the company and become a part of the team. Once you’ve got your goals pinned down, you can go over them with a supervisor to ensure that you’re on the right track.

Find a Mentor

When you start getting acquainted with your new job, you’re likely to still come across various obstacles. One of the best ways to get ahead of them is to find a mentor. 

When you’ve settled in and got the chance to know everyone better, you can seek out someone whose work you admire and ask them if they would be willing to mentor you. This can be an excellent way to build a valuable relationship within the company and gain new skills and experiences easier and faster.

When you manage to transition into the new role successfully, you can pat yourself on the back for making the right decision.

Here are a few more work-related articles that you might want to check out:

• 4 Essential Steps for Excelling at Your Career
• How To Get Hired and Advance Your Career Working for a Startup
• 8 Reasons You Should Consider Working for a Small Business
• How To Advance Your Career As an Administrative Assistant
• Top 12 Tactics for Finding a New Job
• 7 Small Changes That Can Help You Love Your Job

While many people dream of landing a high-paying job as soon as they finish college, it’s common to start your career working as an administrative assistant. It may seem like the kind of job that won’t get you far, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Working as an admin enables you to gain plenty of experience and build valuable connections. If you spend some time using every opportunity to expand your horizons, you can leverage all that you’ve built and learned to get a promotion. 

Here are a few tips on how to move up the ranks as an admin.

Learn As Much As You Can

Working as an administrative assistant, you’ve got the opportunity to gain more insight into the company and its business processes than most other entry-level roles. Read all the important documents that land on your desk, such as memos and reports, and use them as valuable sources of information that you can learn from. 

When collaborating with different departments, you can ask them about their projects and responsibilities. This can help you determine which role in the company you’d like to advance to and what kind of experience you need to be able to do so.

Show What You’re Capable Of

As an administrative assistant, you’ll work alongside various higher-ranking roles. This gives you an opportunity to build relationships with them and have them open new doors for you. Learn about the projects others are working on and offer to lend a hand. Take on tasks that will make their jobs easier and get you noticed by all your superiors. 

Giving others a hand with various projects will enable you to gain different kinds of experience and improve your resume. This way, you’ll get to show everyone in the company what you’re capable of.

Consult With a Manager

While you may be working hard on gaining new skills and improving them, you might need the perspective of someone more experienced to get an accurate picture of your performance. Consulting with a manager can help you identify what you’re good at and determine the areas where you need to improve.

To move up the ranks, you need to show that you’re willing to learn and take up new responsibilities. Working closely with a manager to come up with a personal development plan and showing progress along the way will let your superiors know that you’ve got the potential to take on a higher-ranking role.

Let It Be Known

When you’ve gained enough experience to progress your career, you should let it be known that you’re looking to get a promotion. Set up a meeting with your boss and talk to them about the position you’d like to take on. 

It’s important to be specific and present what you can bring to the table. Elaborate on how you can help the company grow and you might persuade your boss to promote you to a higher-ranking role.

If you want to read more job-related articles, you can check out:

• 5 Ways To Show Your Boss You’re Ready for a Promotion
• How To Negotiate a Raise When Your Boss Claims the Company Isn’t Making Enough Profit
• 6 Secrets on How To Land a Job Quickly
• How To Handle a Career Setback
• Why “Pay Your Dues” Is Not Good Career Advice

Finding a job can be an exhausting task even when a global pandemic isn’t making everything twice as harder. Now that we’ve got to deal with the mess that COVID-19 has made out of the economy and worry about risking our health wherever we go, job hunting may seem like an impossible endeavor. 

What’s important is to keep your chin up and not stop looking. When it comes to how you should approach your job hunt, the following four essential steps still stand:

1. Search
2. Do your research
3. Network
4. Get in touch

Searching

The first step consists of knowing how and where to search for jobs. You should use job search websites to find the companies you’d like to work for. Such sites provide various information about businesses, including size, location, industry, benefits, etc. 

When you find the companies that interest you, make a list. Find the contact info for each company and look them up on social media channels. If you’ve got contacts that work there, they can be of help.

Doing Your Research

Now that you’ve found the companies you’d like to work for, you need to do thorough research on them. Learn all you can about them on their websites, read any recent articles on them that you can find, and check out who their clients are. 

You need to find out what each company is looking for. This way, you can determine both whether you’re a good fit and if you want to work for them at all.

Networking

When you’ve got a clear picture of what each company is about, you need to tap into your professional networks. Get in touch with relevant people in the industry and the contacts you might have in the organizations you want to work for. See if you can schedule informational interviews with them to gain insight into the companies.

Aside from getting valuable information from these people, you might be able to expand your network and find a way to get hired more easily. If they are contacts that you’ve worked with before, you might even ask for a recommendation.

Getting In Touch

When you’ve collected all the information that you need and combed your professional network, you need to get in touch with the hiring managers of the companies you’re interested in. Go to LinkedIn and look into each company’s HR department. Find the people you can contact and see how they operate. 

You can get in touch with the hiring managers directly via a concise message about who you are, what you’re looking for, and what you can bring to the table. You can also try to get their attention first by engaging with the content on their LinkedIn pages. By replying to their posts with relevant and valuable comments, you can show that you’re interested in the company’s goals and vision.

If you manage to grab the hiring managers’ interests, they’re likely to respond and let you know about any further steps that you can take.

If you want to read more articles about job searching, check out:

• 6 Foolproof Tips for Landing a Job Quickly
• Top 12 Tactics for Finding a New Job
• 5 Ways To Get Noticed by Recruiters
• 5 Ways to Jump-Start Your Job Search During a Vacation
• How To Overcome Common Job Search Hurdles

Do you think you’re ready for a promotion? While you may feel like it’s due time for you to climb up the corporate ladder, it doesn’t have to mean that your managers share that opinion. Maybe you’re the perfect material for a higher-ranking job role, but you haven’t shown others that you can and want to take it on.

When it comes to a promotion, you need to have a plan. Working hard on your regular tasks isn’t enough—you need to make yourself visible. It’s important to look at the big picture, understand what you can bring to the table, and show it to the people that matter.

Here are five ways that you can show your boss that you’re ready for a promotion:

1. Own all your projects
2. Make your boss’ job easier
3. Act as a role model
4. Treat others with respect
5. Talk to your boss

Own All Your Projects

When you take on a project, don’t approach it as just another task on your list. If you want that promotion, you need to show that you’re able to lead. Take initiative with what needs to be done, provide your best ideas, and follow the project from start to finish successfully. 

If you show this kind of attitude consistently, the management will begin to see you as an indispensable part of the company and the right person for a promotion.

Make Your Boss’ Job Easier

Your boss has a lot on their plate, including a variety of tasks that are preventing them from focusing on more important business processes. You can show them that you can be trusted by volunteering to perform some of these tasks. 

Not only will your boss appreciate you making their job easier, but they’ll also see you as an employee that’s ready to take on more responsibilities.

Act As a Role Model

Employees that get promoted are often those that act as a role model to the rest of the staff. You need to show that you can perform well in stressful situations and meet all your deadlines. You should ask relevant questions and provide constructive suggestions on how to solve different problems. 

Let your managers see that you can learn from mistakes and offer solutions that will make the clients satisfied.

Treat Others With Respect

You should treat everyone at the workplace with respect, regardless of their job role. This way, you earn respect in return and show your superiors that you’ve got strong interpersonal and communication skills, which is crucial for managerial roles. 

Do your best to avoid office gossip. While it may be tempting to point out something funny about a colleague or supervisor, it can hurt your chances of getting a promotion in the long run.

Talk to Your Boss

One of the best approaches is to be direct about your goals. Leverage your performance reviews, schedule a meeting with your boss, and let them know what you’re after. You should keep in mind that it’s not all about you, so make sure that you present your case in line with the company’s goals for the entire team.

Having a conversation with your boss is important because it can help you create a clear path for your future. While you may have an idea about what you should do to get to the next phase of your career, it doesn’t have to mean that your boss agrees with you. They can provide you with the feedback that you need to figure out the necessary steps for climbing up the ladder.

If you want to read more about how to deal with various job-related situations, check out:

• Why “Pay Your Dues” Is Not Good Career Advice
• How To Advance Your Career As an Administrative Assistant
• 5 Ways To Get Noticed by Recruiters
• How To Negotiate a Raise When Your Boss Claims the Company Isn’t Making Enough Profit
• 6 Tips on How To Ask for a Professional Recommendation
• How To Handle a Career Setback