Career Tips and So Much More

• To improve vocal variety, read aloud from the phone book or a cook book with expression.
• To improve eye contact, have several of the audience raise their hands.  The speaker must maintain good eye contact for at least three seconds before each person will lower his or her hand.  The speaker must then raise the hands using the same procedure.
• To improve eye expression, use a sheet of paper with a rectangle cut out large enough to expose the eyes. Look into a mirror, through the paper, so that you can see only your eyes.  Use your eyes to express these emotions: joy, anger, surprise, sadness, etcetera. 

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Working at home is a major career move. With the decision to work at home, there are many considerations and decisions that must be made. First of all, decide whether or not working at home is the right career for you. Second, you need to know what type of job you will be doing. Opportunities for work at home women, both online and offline, are many. The success of a work at home career largely depends on knowing your own skills, requirements of the job, finding the right match, and making them work to your advantage.
 
Because of the amount of experience and expertise you have developed from your previous job, sometimes the best way to start your work at home career is where your out-of-home career has ended. Using your previous work experience and connections as your launching pad, becoming an independent contractor in the same field could be your best bet. Try finding a company that hires work-at-home people in your field. You may also use your previous experience to qualify you as an “expert” writer or consultant in your field.
Some women, however, take this work-at-home career step as a way break off from the lifestyle of their old job. There are many opportunities for entry level work as an independent contractor, should you decide to try something entirely different. Here are some careers you may choose from:


Customer Service, Data Entry and Virtual Assistant
You can work in the online customer service industry, dealing with customers over the phone. The equipment needed is very minimal when you work as a customer service agent—a reliable internet connection and a working phone. If you are familiar with the medical field, a medical transcription job could work for you. Some companies also hire virtual personal assistants to telecommute.
Sales
Business opportunities in sales are very vast. The simplest one to make money out of is the direct selling business where you are given a credit line as a start up to be able to sell different products from established brands. As a result, you can earn commissions through sales and/ or recruiting other people to sell the merchandise. There are hundreds of companies out there who are willing to take in sales agents.

Service
Everyone has a talent that can be profitable. One option for making money is to offer your service to the community in exchange for a certain amount. The most lucrative ones are day care center operators (works well for mothers with children), event organizers, hairdressers, florists, make-up artists, designers, and tutors. These all have the option of working at home. If you haven’t any experience in these fields, find classes to enroll in to learn a new skill which you can later apply in starting a business.

Internet Business
Many women have found a good source of home income through the interweb. There is a vast ocean of opportunities that can be found online. You can go into web design or writing. You may also set up an online store such as eBay where you can sell your own products or get commissions from selling the products of others such as Amazon and other affiliate-based sites. There are others who make a good business through internet marketing, by recommending certain products and directing web traffic to a site. They earn commissions for every sale made.

Most important of all, is for you to decide what type of job you would like to do. If you love to be around people, perhaps direct selling and consultancy is good for you. If you are the type who is comfortable working in front of the computer and practically lives online, try starting your own website or a business on the web. If you want the comfort of getting a weekly paycheck, perhaps telecommuting positions can work for you.
When you have decided on a job you like, do a good amount of research about it, so you will know what it takes to become successful in that business. Also be wary of scammers. That is part of the risk of having an online business.
Make a realistic computation of the hours and effort you will be spending on your new business, then sit on that decision for a week and see how it feels. Visualize how your life will be like when you make this career change. When you have thoroughly considered your options, finding the right match isn’t that hard to do.

 
 Copyright © 2011 Athena Goodlight

 
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The economic downturn of the United States followed by same in other nations during the recent past years has immensely transformed the outlook of the labor force. It is not an unusual scenario in a highly volatile and competitive global economy that companies would “want a workforce they can switch on and off as needed,” according to Ravin Jesuthasan , a compensation expert at Towers Perrin. This has created a seismic shift in the labor force away from traditional full-time jobs toward contract work, in the employees’ hopes of taking “control” of their own financial future.

Since 2009, about 30% of the US job market is comprised of part-time or temporary staffers, independent contractors, and the self-employed. Perhaps if this continues, this “contingent” workforce will grow to about 40% in the next decade as predicted by the experts.

Freelancing is expected to spread beyond its traditional structures to professions such as engineering, accounting, law, health care, and sales. All are now starting to rely heavily on contract work. According to Adam Sorensen, a compensation and benefits expert at Worldrat Work, an association of HR executives, “We’re in the early stages of what will be a really different era in the workplace, and a growing segment of workers will need to structure their career around this model.”

Because this is an inevitable occurrence in the business trend, you can take advantage of it by thinking and acting in an entrepreneurial manner career-wise. You may test the waters in the ocean of freelancing by finding what type of work you can land while still having a full-time job. There are numerous outside projects you can take on. The more common ones are consultations, teaching, or speaking engagements on the side. Make sure you have managed your commitments and schedules with your boss and present company before you moonlight.

How do you know which of your skills are in demand? You can start by studying the company that you work in. Try to see what job functions your employer is outsourcing. It is also helpful to visit websites that specialize in giving job offers to freelancers. Included among these are oDesk.com, Elance.com, Getafreelancer.com, Sologig.com, and Guru.com.

You could also go to the extreme. Start your own business. Now could be a good time to be starting your own company, if ever you have already thought about striking it out on your own. Ken Moore of the MIT Entrepreneurship Center stated that, even if the economy is mired with recession, rents and equipment are still cheap. He also points out that with the rising unemployment there are still plenty of highly skilled workers that you can hire.

This is not to suggest that starting a business will be easy, especially with the tight lending policies of the banks, that’s why it is advisable to start small. Don’t rush into giving up your steady paycheck just yet. Most entrepreneurs begin their businesses even while they are still in a full-time job, according to surveys.

Always be prepared for any possibility, whether you plan to do it on your own or not. Start networking. Be present in industry conferences, broaden your range of contacts, and spread word about your projects and opportunities you came across. It may be an old-fashioned advice, but why not try to do a favor for a freelancer today. Perhaps, in the future the favor might be returned.


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 Doctors have long known that attitude can affect physical health. A patient can contribute to her own recovery from illness by changing from a pessimistic to an optimistic outlook. The same approach works on the job, too. It’s been proven that positive attitude does produce personal power. It has helped a number of people.

In many job situations, proper attitude is at least as important as technical ability. Some employees may even have multiple business degrees or a Ph.D., but their attitude still prevents them from becoming effective employees. They refuse to complete tasks because they resent suggestions given by supervisors. They sometimes argue, “We didn’t do it this way at my last employer.” They criticize management decisions to subordinates. When they are with the superiors, they criticize the work of their subordinates. Because of their constant criticisms, they become a disruptive influence. This negative attitude overshadows the functional value of their department. They refuse to recognize failure on their part. Instead, they spend time looking for reasons to blame others. Many failures are direct results of negative responses to changes that maybe required of a new work environment. There is little doubt that, with a cooperative attitude, any career can prosper more.
Do you have a form of insecurity that causes you to resist change? Do you feel threatened by change and regard people who promote it as personal enemies? Control these feelings. Generate an attitude that welcomes change. An open mind will shape your responses and increase your chances of success.

Self- Expectancy
You may have noticed, in your relationship with others that most people respond to pretty much according to what you expect from them. This is called “self-fulfilling prophecy.” It says that a person’s level of performance is largely determined by the person’s understanding of what is expected from him or her.
This kind of correlation is even truer when that person is your self. Many of us fail simply because we expect failure. If our subconscious self-image is one of a loser, our actions automatically set up loss situations to help us satisfy our self image. Turn that around. Expect a lot from yourself.

A pessimist is defined as a person who, when opportunity knocks complains about the noise. To capitalize on opportunity, you must use all your capabilities. A job doesn’t have to be monotonous. You don’t have to settle for whatever happens to come along. Find out what you are, decide what you want to become, and develop an attitude to achieve it.

What kinds of things do you enjoy? What are you good at doing? Do they frequently happen on your job? If they don’t get busy and define a job that fits your talents and interests. Help your mind develop the positive attitude you need to get what you want.

Proper attitude will help you overcome the toughest problems you will face. Discipline your mind. Plant positive thoughts, take positive actions, have a positive attitude, surround yourself with positive people, then harvest positive results. Another day starts tomorrow. What can you lose by making a positive step once you get out of bed?

 


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Many people –even skilled speakers—often fail to get their points across when intensive issues come up during meetings or on-the-site encounters. The main reason behind this is that they have never been taught to get their message across under difficult situations.

Suppose you’ve just been severely criticized, here are ways to help you handle critics and criticisms in a meeting:
1. Compliment
Compliment the critic if he has made an important observation. Often just a little praise and recognition disarms critics and changes their attitude toward you.
2. Pause
If the criticism is unjustified, one good way to handle this is to pause, remain silent and say absolutely nothing. Someone in the audience realizing that the question is unfair will often answer for you. Don’t dwell on the point; get on with your presentation.
3. The survey
If an accusation is made in which you feel there is absolutely no way you could answer and win, here’s the best way to handle it. In a calm voice, ask the critic to repeat the statement so you can write it correctly on a chalkboard or whiteboard in front of the room. Then you may hand out small pieces of paper and ask each person in the group to write either “agree” or “disagree.”
Have someone other than your self or your critic collect and tabulate the votes and announce the results. If your points were valid, you’ll find the group will normally agree with you. If the group doesn’t agree, be sure to acknowledge their position and quickly get on your next point.

How to neutralize objections
Never forget—it’s always a critical moment when objections come up. The way you handle them is directly related to your chances of getting your message across. Here are four suggestions:
1. Keep calm.
Always keep calm. Show empathy. Never be resentful. Never raise your voice or attempt to gloss over the objection. None of these things work!
2. Request more information.
Ask your challenger to expand on the objection. If it’s a valid objection, it’s your responsibility to respond. More frequently your challenger, not being as familiar with your point as you are, quickly exhausts his or her position and is unable to push you further.
3. Restate the objection as a question.
Most objections are presented as statements. Regardless of how they are presented, the secret is (1) to restate the objection as a question and (2) to verify whether this is or is not your opponent’s objection. An example follows:
“Your question, Mr. Jones is: ‘How will the newly proposed database system affect the business productivity?’”
The next step is to verify whether this is or not the objection. Simply say “Mr. Jones, is that the question?” If Jones says “yes,” you know exactly what his question is and you can answer it precisely.
Just suppose Jones said “no.” Then say, “Mr. Jones, if that’s not the question…then what is the question?”
4. Comparison
Another way to neutralize objections is to draw a large “T” on the board in front of the room. On one side list the advantages of your idea or proposal and on the others side, with the group’s assistance, list the disadvantages. If the points you were presenting had merit, this will be self-evident from the material on the board and you can continue with your presentation immediately.


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 Visual images in presentations, whether for business or for other social events, are idea enhancers. Keep in mind that audience members are still listening to what is being said while the graphics are shown. Why is this an effective approach to present products or ideas? The “double message” reinforces the memory process.

Here are some basic guidelines for making creating effective visuals:
• Use visuals to reinforce key points
• Use only one idea for each visual
• Use only one illustration for each visual
• Make letters big and readable. Presenters shouldn’t have to read the visual to the audience; it should be readable from any point in the room. One good rule calls for titles and main headings to be three inches high when projected in an average meeting room.
• Use no more than three sizes of letters on each visual; uniformity aids in easier reading.
• Use no more than four colors on type-only or graph visuals.

The impact of colors
Colors draw attention and brighten a presentation. Colors can also be used to emphasize key points. For example, when four lines of blue are followed by one in bright red, the red type screams “this is important.”
A study on color versus black and white advertisements in magazines showed that readership of color ads was 80 percent greater than that of black-and-white ads; that sales of the products advertised increased 50 to 85 percent when color was used; and that the retention of ad content was increased 55 to 78 percent when ads are printed in color. In colorful visual presentations, similar benefits should be expected.

Psychologists have shown that when people are accustomed to color, presentations that are not in color receive less attention. In today’s world or colored media, everyone has become color oriented.
Color visuals can be created easily with a number of means from the least expensive multimedia feed from the computer to the most elaborate set-up imaginable by man. Technology is readily available and study results are in. The fact is, using visuals in a meeting or training session improves attention and retention levels, increases the perceived value of the material and the speaker, and creates a more interesting and professional atmosphere.

So, in your next presentation, if you’re not using at least eight color visuals, you could be coming up as many as 8,000 words short.


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A company resident reviews a feasibility study for an environment protection project in a small community where the company’s headquarters building is located. A personnel manager discusses with union leaders the forthcoming collective bargaining agreement. A marketing manager reviews videos of proposed media campaigns. A group of employees discuss the latest changes in the top management over coffee at the cafeteria.

If corporate communication is not generally well understood, it may be because corporate communication is still evolving. The concept is an offshoot of the growing recognition by top management of communication as a strategic resource in achieving corporate goals and objectives.
As the term implies, corporate communication encompasses all the communication activities undertaken within the corporate context, whether formal or informal, regardless of direction or flow of information (i.e. top-down, bottom-up, horizontal).
What corporate communication aims to achieve is to integrate the various communication activities within the corporate organization and recognize them as key management functions. It seeks to upgrade public relations. It seeks to upgrade public relations, organizational communication, and advertising into the level of scientific discipline quite removed from the level of gut feel. As the International Management Magazine (June 1985) noted, corporate communication-related activities a common direction or framework.
The growth of corporate communication can be attributed to the trend among progressive companies to appoint a communication man to top managerial positions (and even in the executive board). Corporate Executive Officers (CEOs) are beginning to realize that the success or failure of corporate strategies depends on how communication resources are harnessed.
Communication: The Nervous System of Organizations
A review of definitions of the term organization indicates how critical communication is the very existence of an organization. Koontz and O’Donnel define organization as a communication decision-making network. Peter Drucker states, “The organization is above all, an information decision-making system.” Communication is not a secondary or derived aspect of an organization, but rather the essence of organized activity and is the basic process out of which all functions derive.
It is quite clear then that communication links the various parts of an organization; it is the principal tool of managers. Through communication, the manager receives the information needed in making the right decision, and once the decision is made, manager must communicate it to others.
Perhaps you often hear managers saying, “Our problem is communication.” Indeed, many managers use communication as an excuse if they are not able to achieve their goal or objective. While it is true that communication is a vital skill of managers, it would be wrong to conclude that an effective communicator alone makes a good manager. An effective communication for a wrong decision will not do any good to the company. Conversely, for a manager to be an effective planner and decision-maker is not enough. A good decision (or action plan) must be translated into action.

Copyright © 2011 Athena Goodlight





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