Work life balance has been a buzz word for the last 5 years, every body wants it and job adverts are increasingly focusing on it? However, what does it REALLY mean and how do you get it?
Read our newest article to find out more
http://www.incitecoaching.com.au/articles/work%20life%20balance.pdf
Showing posts with label career. Show all posts
Showing posts with label career. Show all posts
Monday, September 21, 2009
Navigating the job market: Alternatives to using agencies and online job boards
Are you looking for a new job and getting frustrated that your efforts to seek work in the "usual" ways are not working? Are you spending hours trauling through online job boards with little or no success? Does the thought of sitting in yet another recruitment agency interview make you want to bang your head against the wall?
Read this article to find out some alternatives to navigating the market place and making it work for you!
Enjoy
http://www.incitecoaching.com.au/articles/Navigating%20the%20job%20market%20Alternatives%20to%20recruitment%20agencies%20and%20online%20job%20boards.pdf
Read this article to find out some alternatives to navigating the market place and making it work for you!
Enjoy
http://www.incitecoaching.com.au/articles/Navigating%20the%20job%20market%20Alternatives%20to%20recruitment%20agencies%20and%20online%20job%20boards.pdf
What's in a name?
When looking for a new job, what are the key factors that you look for? Is it the company? Is it the pay? Maybe the culture?
For too many people, the position title takes a huge importance in their decision making. But what does a position title actually mean?
Check out http://www.incitecoaching.com.au/articles/Job%20Titles%20What's%20in%20a%20Name.pdf
For too many people, the position title takes a huge importance in their decision making. But what does a position title actually mean?
Check out http://www.incitecoaching.com.au/articles/Job%20Titles%20What's%20in%20a%20Name.pdf
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
The case for work life balance
Over recent years, numerous surveys have found that employees are wanting better work life balance, and it has consistently been in the top 4 requirements of employees looking for a new job.
We have seen some businesses embrace this requirement and offer more flexible working hours and others offering better maternity or paternity leave. How does this actually impact employees? Do they actually see the benefit of these new policies?
Some of my clients have told me that although their company releases new policies and says that they are working hard to offer improved work life balance, it can often be frowned upon when employees actually TRY to make the most of these benefits.
Other companies see work life balance as fluffy and not relevant to running the business. These companies are severely missing out on potentially making increased profits. Improved retention, motivation and performance as a result of better work life balance arrangements has been shown to increase organisational profits.
Freek Vermeulen has written an article in the Harvard Business Publishing to address such issues. It is a most interesting read and is a must for all Business owners and executives.
http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/vermeulen/2009/04/the-case-for-worklife-programs.html
For more information on how you can manage your work life balance visit our website or email Jennifer.
We have seen some businesses embrace this requirement and offer more flexible working hours and others offering better maternity or paternity leave. How does this actually impact employees? Do they actually see the benefit of these new policies?
Some of my clients have told me that although their company releases new policies and says that they are working hard to offer improved work life balance, it can often be frowned upon when employees actually TRY to make the most of these benefits.
Other companies see work life balance as fluffy and not relevant to running the business. These companies are severely missing out on potentially making increased profits. Improved retention, motivation and performance as a result of better work life balance arrangements has been shown to increase organisational profits.
Freek Vermeulen has written an article in the Harvard Business Publishing to address such issues. It is a most interesting read and is a must for all Business owners and executives.
http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/vermeulen/2009/04/the-case-for-worklife-programs.html
For more information on how you can manage your work life balance visit our website or email Jennifer.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Back to work blues to Maximum Motivation
Well it’s back to work for some of us, after a great and well deserved long weekend, how do you feel? Are you excited about getting back or are you wishing you were still lying in and eating Easter eggs?
A lot of my clients tell me that getting back into the swing of work after a holiday or long weekend is really hard. Finding your focus and motivation (and sometimes brain) after a few days off can seem so foreign.
How can you get yourself motivated to get back to work? Follow these 3 simple steps to get you on your way....
1. Know where you are heading - set an intention
When you analyse some of the key success strategies of leaders and influential people, more times than not you will find that they know exactly where they are headed and why.
Do you know what you are going to achieve today? Or are you returning to work, hoping that checking your emails and talking to colleagues and clients will give you some direction? Define what you are going to achieve at the beginning of the day to give you direction. Combine this with a short daily intention and you will find that your focus is significantly increased.
Intentions are 1-6 words that will quickly remind you of what you are to achieve today. Write it somewhere you will see it all day or share it with a friend, boss or colleague to increase accountability. I have an intention daily and it really helps, today my intention is to 'Be Creative.'
2.Success breeds success
Once you have defined what you are going to achieve today, think about what steps you need to take to get you there? What is the one thing that will make you the most profit? Get you closer to your goal? or save time? Do this one thing first and gain momentum as you tick off the most relevant tasks first. You will quickly see that success does actually breed success.
3. Reward yourself
It is hard to get back on track, so be sure to reward your successes. At the beginning of the day set milestone rewards for completing tasks (e.g. going out to get a coffee, or meeting a friend for lunch). Ensure that the rewards are something that you actually want to ensure that you are motivated to get them.
N.B. Spending hours organising your day and setting goals and intentions as this will totally defeat the object. Invest 10-15 minutes at the beginning of the day whilst having your coffee or breakfast.
A lot of my clients tell me that getting back into the swing of work after a holiday or long weekend is really hard. Finding your focus and motivation (and sometimes brain) after a few days off can seem so foreign.
How can you get yourself motivated to get back to work? Follow these 3 simple steps to get you on your way....
1. Know where you are heading - set an intention
When you analyse some of the key success strategies of leaders and influential people, more times than not you will find that they know exactly where they are headed and why.
Do you know what you are going to achieve today? Or are you returning to work, hoping that checking your emails and talking to colleagues and clients will give you some direction? Define what you are going to achieve at the beginning of the day to give you direction. Combine this with a short daily intention and you will find that your focus is significantly increased.
Intentions are 1-6 words that will quickly remind you of what you are to achieve today. Write it somewhere you will see it all day or share it with a friend, boss or colleague to increase accountability. I have an intention daily and it really helps, today my intention is to 'Be Creative.'
2.Success breeds success
Once you have defined what you are going to achieve today, think about what steps you need to take to get you there? What is the one thing that will make you the most profit? Get you closer to your goal? or save time? Do this one thing first and gain momentum as you tick off the most relevant tasks first. You will quickly see that success does actually breed success.
3. Reward yourself
It is hard to get back on track, so be sure to reward your successes. At the beginning of the day set milestone rewards for completing tasks (e.g. going out to get a coffee, or meeting a friend for lunch). Ensure that the rewards are something that you actually want to ensure that you are motivated to get them.
N.B. Spending hours organising your day and setting goals and intentions as this will totally defeat the object. Invest 10-15 minutes at the beginning of the day whilst having your coffee or breakfast.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Relax and enjoy the process
Have you ever felt like you really 'must' do something or you 'need' to get a certain outcome?
You are not alone. I don't know about you, I recently found I was putting more and more pressure and deadlines on myself. Think of the tasks that you do on a weekly basis, work tasks, home commitments, social engagements, sporting commitments, child care responsibilities as well as trying to find time to look after yourself.
I soon realised that with all this running around and trying to get to my goal, I was no longer enjoying the process of actually working towards my goal. I was stressing myself out!
You are more likely to reach your goals if you enjoy what you do. This doesn't just apply to your work, it applies to all areas of life. For example, if you enjoy a certain sport, such as hockey, making time to play that sport will go higher up your list of priorities. You are more likely to play and receive the health, well being and cathartic benefits associated with playing the game.
If you enjoy your work, you will be increasingly motivated and focused whilst in the office and therefore achieve more, or reach your goals sooner.
If you are putting undue stress on yourself you are less likely to enjoy the process of completing the actual tasks that will help you reach your goal and this can lead to procrastination, panic, indifference as well as other states.
"Relax" I told myself "Enjoy the process and the results will surely follow" and they did. Within a week of relaxing and enjoying what I was doing, I realised that I had already moved closer to my goal, had met some amazing people to help me along the way and most importantly, had FUN!
Do you need to relax a little?
You are not alone. I don't know about you, I recently found I was putting more and more pressure and deadlines on myself. Think of the tasks that you do on a weekly basis, work tasks, home commitments, social engagements, sporting commitments, child care responsibilities as well as trying to find time to look after yourself.
I soon realised that with all this running around and trying to get to my goal, I was no longer enjoying the process of actually working towards my goal. I was stressing myself out!
You are more likely to reach your goals if you enjoy what you do. This doesn't just apply to your work, it applies to all areas of life. For example, if you enjoy a certain sport, such as hockey, making time to play that sport will go higher up your list of priorities. You are more likely to play and receive the health, well being and cathartic benefits associated with playing the game.
If you enjoy your work, you will be increasingly motivated and focused whilst in the office and therefore achieve more, or reach your goals sooner.
If you are putting undue stress on yourself you are less likely to enjoy the process of completing the actual tasks that will help you reach your goal and this can lead to procrastination, panic, indifference as well as other states.
"Relax" I told myself "Enjoy the process and the results will surely follow" and they did. Within a week of relaxing and enjoying what I was doing, I realised that I had already moved closer to my goal, had met some amazing people to help me along the way and most importantly, had FUN!
Do you need to relax a little?
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Is your lack of motivation causing you stress?
Motivation is key if we are to succeed and achieve our goals. Without motivation, we will not take action, and no action = no outcome. So learning how to sustain motivation is key if you want to succeed.
We all have those days when we just don't feel as motivated to do the tasks that we should be doing. If this happens sparingly, it may not be such an issue. It may be your body's way of telling you to take some time out. However, if your lack of motivation is cutting into your day and weeks go by without you feeling like you have really achieved anything, then you do have an issue on your hands and this can lead to stress, as a result.
So how do you control your motivation rather than it control you?
There are 2 major types of motivation:
- Motivation that is towards your goal (e.g. I am going to achieve this goal so that I can get my promotion at work)
- Motivation that is away from your goal (e.g. I had better get this goal so that I don't get sacked).
Away from motivation is associated with a negative feeling and although it can give you the initial motivation to take action, generally produces inconsistent results. With away from motivation, you are only propelled to take action when things get bad and stress increases. This causes a lot more stress than if you were to use toward motivation which would elicit more consistent action and therefore results.
Think about your goals, are the towards or away from your goal. If they are away from motivation, write them down and ask yourself, how can I make this into a more positive goal? What positive reasons are there for me to achieve this goal? Associate the goal with something you love/enjoy to get even more motivation to take action.
Friday, February 6, 2009
How to get your dream job
Thank you to all who took part in last night's tele-seminar, how to get your dream job.
We had an action filled 50 minutes, with plenty of exercises to help you find out what type of job and company you would be best suited to. I truly believe that we all owe it to ourselves to invest time into planning our careers. John Lees suggests that we spend 80% of our waking energy at work, travelling to or from work and worrying about work related tasks!
If you missed the seminar, and want help planning your career transitions, fear not , there will be a full edited version available to download soon!
If anyone has any comments or questions about the seminar, I would love to hear them.
Also, keep an eye out for the Career Momentum Workbooks, jammed full of exercises to help you through your career transition. They will be hitting stored soon.
We had an action filled 50 minutes, with plenty of exercises to help you find out what type of job and company you would be best suited to. I truly believe that we all owe it to ourselves to invest time into planning our careers. John Lees suggests that we spend 80% of our waking energy at work, travelling to or from work and worrying about work related tasks!
If you missed the seminar, and want help planning your career transitions, fear not , there will be a full edited version available to download soon!
If anyone has any comments or questions about the seminar, I would love to hear them.
Also, keep an eye out for the Career Momentum Workbooks, jammed full of exercises to help you through your career transition. They will be hitting stored soon.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Survive Redundancy
With redundancies on the rise due to the global financial crisis, we have already seen mass redundancies across many Australian industries. The Reserve Bank of Australia is predicting that as a result of the economic slowdown, 100,000 people will lose their jobs in the next 12 months – pushing the unemployment rate to five per cent. As of November 2008, unemployment sits at 4.4%. Now is a crucial time to start practising techniques that will increase your chances of keeping your job.
Firstly, as with any goal it is important to know your outcome so that you can work towards it. Make sure that both you and your bosses expectations of your work align.
Be productive! How many hours a week do you waste going for a coffee? Talking to colleagues? Busying yourself with admin? A study conducted in 2005 by Microsoft found that Australian employees are unproductive for 2 out of 5 days a week. Other studies have found that workers are unproductive for 90 days a year due to lack of planning or poor management.
Continue with this behaviour and you are in the firing line for redundancy! Be productive and work for 8 hours a day. Leave 5 minutes earlier and get your coffee on the way to work. Write a to do list for the following day before you leave the night before to stop time wasting in the morning.
Give up the email addiction. When the email alarm goes off, do you quickly jump onto your email screen? You are not alone, the eRoi Email Addiction Survey found that 66% of people read email seven days a week and expect to receive a response the same day. If you are addicted to email you are severely wasting your time. Every time you are distracted, it takes approximately 20 minutes to get back to where you were prior to the distraction. In 2005, a psychiatrist at King’s College in London administered IQ tests to three groups: the first did nothing but perform the IQ test, the second was distracted by e-mail and ringing phones, and the third were stoned on marijuana. Not surprisingly, the first group did better than the other two by an average of 10 points. The e-mailers, on the other hands, did worse than those on marijuana by an average of 6 points!
I challenge you to try these three simple steps over the coming 2 weeks and see how much more praise you get from your manager. If you have any comments, questions or would like more techniques, I'd love to hear from you.
Firstly, as with any goal it is important to know your outcome so that you can work towards it. Make sure that both you and your bosses expectations of your work align.
Be productive! How many hours a week do you waste going for a coffee? Talking to colleagues? Busying yourself with admin? A study conducted in 2005 by Microsoft found that Australian employees are unproductive for 2 out of 5 days a week. Other studies have found that workers are unproductive for 90 days a year due to lack of planning or poor management.
Continue with this behaviour and you are in the firing line for redundancy! Be productive and work for 8 hours a day. Leave 5 minutes earlier and get your coffee on the way to work. Write a to do list for the following day before you leave the night before to stop time wasting in the morning.
Give up the email addiction. When the email alarm goes off, do you quickly jump onto your email screen? You are not alone, the eRoi Email Addiction Survey found that 66% of people read email seven days a week and expect to receive a response the same day. If you are addicted to email you are severely wasting your time. Every time you are distracted, it takes approximately 20 minutes to get back to where you were prior to the distraction. In 2005, a psychiatrist at King’s College in London administered IQ tests to three groups: the first did nothing but perform the IQ test, the second was distracted by e-mail and ringing phones, and the third were stoned on marijuana. Not surprisingly, the first group did better than the other two by an average of 10 points. The e-mailers, on the other hands, did worse than those on marijuana by an average of 6 points!
I challenge you to try these three simple steps over the coming 2 weeks and see how much more praise you get from your manager. If you have any comments, questions or would like more techniques, I'd love to hear from you.
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