Career Tips and So Much More

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The first five minutes of your day is very important. How you begin your work day often determines if you’re satisfied when it’s through.

You can improve the quality of your workday by deciding what it is you want to accomplish. You’ve got to specifically identify the self-defeating behavior in your early morning routine and set about to change it. Let us take a look at the common scenarios and identify some problems.

The distractions

• Small talks and social conversations in the lobby, in the elevator, at the coffee pot, in the ladies’ or men’s room, etc.

Although socializing is an undeniable part of work life, if it automatically and regularly occurs at the beginning of the day, chances are the socializing will get in the way of work that needs to be done.

• The mail

Even though you spam filter has done its job, it’s not likely to contain the most urgent and the most pressing items of the day, more so with snail mail letters. The habit of checking your mails first more often than not comes from a combination of childish curiosity and a desire to slide into the work routine in the least demanding way possible.

• Interrupting phone calls and text messages

Even more so than mail, unnecessary phone calls and text messaging distracts and steals time away from work.

• Chitchat with colleagues

This, most common interruption combines all of the problems of the above items with a double dose effect done by two or more people resulting to detriment of the task ahead. They come in the form of “important” dissemination of facts (office gossip) or “brightening up” someone else’s day (flirting).

• Coffee breaks

Coffee breaks are intended as a break from working productively. This is the appropriate time for socializing. However, if the worker hasn’t really begun working yet, it’s a different story.

Generally, the worker who is most productive can take full charge of his or her day. This is true because active, decisive responsibility is likely to be more productive than passive habitual response. Because of the nature and variety of work situations, every worker’s appropriation of these truths will be particular and personal. But general guidelines can be applied.

What do you have to do?

• Save the socializing for later.

Keep your greetings at the lobby, elevator, or washroom short and courteous. Your mind should be on your work and not to become involved in extended conversations at the beginning of the day.

• Start the day with a plan.

Before going at the end of the day’s work, the last task you should do is to arrange the next day’s schedule. Of course, there will be occasional emergency interruptions, but they will only be occasional, not daily.

• Spend the first hour on the most important task.

Devote the first hour of the workday to the accomplishment of an important task that needs to be done. Have your secretary or an assistant take all phone calls and handle other interruptions.

• Establish a phone policy.

We could work more efficiently if we devise and adhere to a “phone philosophy.” It would probably increase the productivity of workers in some specific company set-ups if this would even be a company-wide policy. You may also apply this as a single employee or in your own business set up. For example, you may inform your secretary or specify to your clients that you only accept calls at a specific time period, say 10 am – 5pm only. You may also use a different cell phone number for business and another one for family to separate the available calling hours.

One of the benefits that might result from this practice is that your business associates will respect you more. If they discover that you value your time enough to protect it, chances are they’ll begin to value it more highly, too.

Remember, also that answering the phone is a passive reaction, and not as productive as an intentional action.

• Make your coffee break an actual break.

This is your time for socializing. Even the most dedicated and disciplined worker’s attention span has limits. In the long run, it is just as counterproductive to attempt to conduct business nonstop for eight hours as it is to mix your professional and social life.

• Finish your day with a plan.

A productive worker always knows how to plan the next morning’s activity. At bare minimum, the next day’s most important item should be isolated and prepared.

Of course, no recipe, not even a general one, is suitable for each specific situation. Different individuals have different warm-up rates, and different jobs require different strategies.

For all of us, how we begin the day gives a significant impact on how we feel when the day is through.

Copyright © 2011 Athena Goodlight




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The resumé, a traditional document which describes your abilities and past experiences is, as we all know, a very important requirement. How you present yourself in a resume can be vital. You have to be concise and selective. Concise, because the average resume receives only five to seven seconds of viewing, and you won’t get a second chance to make an impression. Selective, because you can’t explain everything you’ve done or a list of all your abilities. That much information would be too much for a potential employer to process. You must be discriminating in choosing the items that most relate to the position for which you are applying. A selective approach helps to hold the employer’s attention and leaves him or her with a few unanswered questions. It serves to motivate the employer to want to see more of you and hence invite you for an interview. Obtaining an interview is the sole purpose of the resumé. No one is hired strictly based on how they look on paper.

The standard resumé, which is one or two pages in length, can be creative but must at the same time contain some basics:

1. an objective

2. a summary of your experience

3. a record of your education

4. other related activities

The objective section of your resume is one or two sentences that state, as precisely as possible, what you want to do. It gives anyone reading your resume a general framework of your direction and interests. To avoid being too general or too specific – which may at times exclude you from positions—do both. Indicate the major field you are considering or general job category, then list your specific job title preferences. For example: “A mid-level position in product management such as New Product Development Manager or Area Sales Manager.”

Your experience is probably the most important information on the resume for the potential employer. This category states what you are doing now (listed first) and what jobs and what jobs you have held in the past. List the three of four most relevant positions. Choose which are most relevant by the following criteria:

1. how similar the position or specific responsibilities are to the position being sought (always emphasize similarities between your past and potential job),

2. how long you spent in that position, and

3. how recent your experience was.


Your job responsibilities should be described from many business angles as possible. What did you achieve? How much responsibility did you have? Did you supervise anyone? Did you have any budget responsibility? Were you promoted? Did you work independently or as a team member? Did you take projects from start to finish, or were you responsible for a specific part of a process? Did you work with customers? Did you sell any products or services? What innovations, improved productivity or cost improvements did you bring to your previous positions? These are the type of questions that provide useful information to potential employers. Numbers, percentages, and time periods quantify and qualify your past, and should be used whenever possible. Professional organizations, committees, volunteer activities and special projects which relate to the position you are seeking should all be included in the “Other Related Activities” section of your resumé.

Some modern resumés do not include pictures or extensive personal information, and they mention very little unrelated experience. References are becoming less frequently used now because of legal restrictions, so they should not be specifically listed.

A cover letter will often need to accompany your resume. It should always be sent to a person (not a department or function) with whom you have already spoken. The personal contact increases your chances of getting special attention throughout the job hunting process. The cover letter must be clear and direct, starting with an attention-getter, mentioning highlights of your resume and ending with an indication of what action YOU will next take. Do not ask the employer to call you. If you are creating work for them before you are hired, even if only a phone call, how much work can they expect you to create once you are hired? As an employee, your job should be to help make their job easier.

Copyright © 2011 Athena Goodlight


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The location can make or break the success of your career, either in a short term or a long term plan. Decide where you want to be located. Do you like your present place of residence or are you already tired with it? Do you wish to live someplace else? Is this the place you have lived in since your childhood days but have never resided at any other place? Have you gone on a vacation somewhere and considered living there?

Part of narrowing your territory and channeling your job search efforts to precision is to decide on the area where you’d like to apply your skills and talent and maximize them to create a wage paying job. It is not productive nor is it progressive for you if you find a job you desire but dislike your living situation. Finding a good job includes getting it in the location you like.

So, start your research now and gather information on your top five chosen places to live. Narrow down your choices until you get a specific area and then the specific towns. Then, determine and gather more data about not only the town itself but also the enterprises located in the area that are in the line of business(s) you’ve specified for yourself. The local chambers are willing to give information and may even be equally pleased to see you become a part of the community. There are many of fantastic places to live in a country. Take advantage of them.

If you have taken a special interest in a particular area, start gathering information about that place. If possible, visit it, by all means go around and discover what the town has to offer.

Having the lists of businesses in those areas and locations on hand then it’s time to narrow down your list. Choose your top two locations and focus on finding employment there.

Update your resume. A lot of resources both printed and online, can be found on this subject. Write it in the way experts suggest. Present your skills first if that says more about you than where you have worked. Check out the local educational programs in the areas of your choice in case you may need further training in the areas you wish to do more with. Don’t relocate to a place that does not have jobs in the fields you like and are adept at or intend to develop your skills further.

Finally, begin establishing contacts with key people. Check the availability of local job hot-lines and other employment identifying features. Make sure to contact specific businesses that you have already identified as potential employers.

As you set forth in gathering your data with which to particularize the territory in terms of place, skills and interest, there are several resources you can use, most of which are either free or have a minimal cost to get the information that would facilitate your decisions regarding your future career.
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When you are at a career crossroad, you may sometimes question yourself if you really are in the right job. Here are some questions that will help you rate your job satisfaction:

Like a shoe that doesn’t fit, being on the wrong job or wrong workplace will pinch you all day. Eventually, all that “pinching” will take its psychological and physical toll on you. Go ahead and ask yourself these questions to determine whether this manner of earning a living is costing you too much. Read More......

It is important to bear in mind that looking for a job is first of all a matter of right and positive attitude. You probably won’t find exactly what you want. Be realistic. The employment scene has become very competitive. Education and training requirements are rising for a growing number of jobs. Even a college diploma is not a guarantee for a job.







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