Friday, November 29, 2019

How to become your bosss right hand man

How to become your bosss right flosse manHow to become your bosss right hand manYouve got the drive and goals in mind to become your bosss right hand and climb the career ladder. You earn this place through hard work, not by sucking up.To open the doors of opportunity, you must show youre a valuable team player but also that you take initiative - with the approval of your boss on bigger goals, of course. Get all the best opportunities and become your bosss right hand by following these tips.1. Solve the tiny annoying problemsBeing on the front lines enables you to see all the details that hinder office productivity. Some small things help workers get through the day, such as taking extra time to breathe outside or grabbing a cup of Joe. Other small things annoy everyone, but you move on and get the job done.You know the copier that always breaks down? Look for an affordable, slightly newer model that wont fail.You know how long employees spend checking emaille all day long? The aver age employee wastes a total of 2.5 hours checking their email. If only everyone could get paid $50 to check their email during the work week.This is an example of a process that can be automated or addressed through better email etiquette. Create email-free zones. Take advantage of automated replies, and program your own. Dont CC and BCC unnecessarily.Analyze the situation, create a proposal and bring it to the boss.Do offer to book a mini-appointment with your boss if a decision involves the budget or other items over yourpay grade. Its one thing to take care of the little things, and a whole other thing to overstep your bounds.2. Let the other small stuff goOffice politics come with the professional playing field, so you have to pick your battles. Mostly, you grit your teeth and move on. Matters blow over because everyone has a job to do. Let the small stuff go.In your early career, you may get asked to take on small tasks youre over-qualified for, such as coffee runs, scheduling meetings or add-on tasks that take longer to finish than assumed. Your boss was also a cog in the machine at some point, so get over your ego issues - keep your nose turned down and focus. Get the little things done, so your boss can focus on bigger matters.You should pitch projects you care about or ask for bigger responsibilities, but let the other small stuff go. A small assignment may look inconsequential, but details matter - your boss is watching.3. Focus on active communicationThe professional pleasantries of How are you? and A good day to you, too, sir only get you so far in a work relationship before its another routine. Active communication in personal and task-oriented engagement matters on the job, and the two are intrinsically linked.Aim to establish a working relationship beyond your daily to-do list. What are the priorities of your boss, and how can you help achieve the expected results? Find out their favorite sports team, and ask about their partner.Dont wait for annual wertmiger zuwachs reviews. Ask about how youre doing, and schedule your own meeting with your boss to track your progress in line with your career goals. Sixty-percent of employees want regular feedback, and for those under age 30, the number increases to 72 percent. Over 75 percent of workers believe frequent feedback is necessary for success, and 45 percent of employees also crave feedback from peers and clients.4. Manage yourself to successWhile its thoughtful to check in, you should take the lead in your role to accomplish your tasks. Dont let your boss mention an impending deadline more than once. Let your boss know when serious matters occur outside of your job that may affect your work performance or you need time off.Manage your time to improve your productivity, performance and contributions, and you will manage yourself to success.5. Stay in the industry loopYour boss stays busy and may not allocate time to keep up with industry changes and competitors. Keep reading and researching on the companys behalf, and youll learn to think with the perspective of someone higher up. Fail fast to recover when you do fail, and help the geschftliches miteinander pivot with the changing times to stay relevant. State that youd like to learn more about the changing industry and report back with a developmental summary. If something critical comes up, and you have an idea, speak up with timely information. Make sure what youve heard isnt gossip.These five tips will help you become your bosss right hand and gain their trust as an intrinsic part of business operations. As you speak up with ideas and solve the little problems, your boss will reward you with all the best opportunities.Your boss wont hand you these opportunities on a silver platter without the hard work. You earn all the best opportunities by leading with your A-game, solving the little problems, letting needless concerns go, actively communicating and continuously learning.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Getting Paid for Unused Vacation if You Quit

Getting Paid for Unused Vacation if You QuitGetting Paid for Unused Vacation if You QuitAre you ready to quit your job? If your job status is about to change, you may be wondering, Will I be paid for unused vacation or sick time if I resign from my job?This is just one of many questions you may be wondering if you areconsidering leaving your current position. Before addressing this specific issue, it is wise to first evaluate your reasons for wanting to quit your job. First,hereare some other things to consider before making a final decision to quit. Determine What About Your Current Situation is Frustrating Figuring out the problem is the first step towards solving it. Identify how your job is failing you. Is the problem the people, the environment, or the work itself? After youve determined the main frustration, consider the scope. If you decide youre not able to be as creative as you like, for example, you may not need to fill the voidbyquitting. Try a creative hobby outside o f work or see if there is work available in another department or on a different project. Perhaps your company is in the midst of a restructuring, leaving you uncertain about your job security or future role with the organization. If this is the case, you may find relief from your worries bysimply sitting down with your supervisor or your human resources department to discuss the situation. Before you turn in your resignation, ask yourself whether there aregood reasons to stayrather than quit, or should your decision to leave be final? If Your Situation IsAbusive or Unbearable Be honest about how bad the situation really is. If your manager were verbally abusive, it might be time to leave (or make an appointment with human resources). If you are irritated, but not necessarily mistreated, figure out if you can tolerate the job while looking elsewhere or working towards your future goals from within the company. Goals for Job, Career, and Life Think about what you really want and how youll get there. Define your priorities. If youd like to make acareer change, think about all the necessary steps. They may include more school, a pay cut, or working your way up from the bottom. Once you know exactly what you want, you may want to ask How much do I want this career change, and how can I best orchestrate it? Plans for Attaining Next Job Figure out yourstrengthsand how you can leverage them. Think less about the job titles and dream companies and more about yourskill setand experience. If you discover you were lacking in an area, plan out how you will develop your skills. You may need to pursue more education, take a volunteer position, or start positioning yourself for the next job while leise in your current job. Getting Paid for Unused Vacation or Sick Time Once you know, without a doubt, that you are prepared for a job change and will definitely be leaving your current employer, it is time to think about any unused vacation or sick time you have. Because companies are not obligated toprovide paid vacation or sick timeto employees, they are also not required to pay employees for unused leave time(unless there is a company policy and/or state law providing for payment when an employee resigns). Federal Laws Governing Unpaid Leave In addition, there is no federal law governing if and when accrued vacation must be paid when an employee leaves his or her job. If you resign, whether you are paid for unused vacation and sick time depends on company policy and the law in your state regarding accrued leave time and whether that company policy sets thecriteria for paying employees for unused vacation or sick leave. If youre fired, there may be different laws and policies that coverwhat youll be paid for after a termination. On a federalgovernment contractto which the labor standards of theDavis-Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA)apply, holiday pay and/or vacation pay is required for specific classifications of workers only if the Davis- Bacon wage determination in the covered contract specifies such requirements for workers employed in those classifications. States That Require Payment for Unused Vacation The states where unused vacationmust be paid in all casesareasfollows California, Illinois, Montana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nebraska, North Dakota (unless the employee quits and has been notified in advance that thevacation wont be paid), and Rhode Island. The states requiring that unused vacation be paid if anemployment contract or employer promise/policy to pay existsareasfollows Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. States wherethere is no relevant law or state administrative policy(Florida, Idaho, New Mexico, South Dakota, Virginia, and Wyoming). Check with your Human Resources department orstate department of laborfor information on what unused leave pay you may qualify for. State laws may change, and special circumstances could apply to your situation. SourcesBusiness,Employment Law Handbook,Thomson Reuters State Departments of Labor, Management Daily.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

The Benefits of Using LinkedIn For Your Career

The Benefits of Using LinkedIn For Your CareerThe Benefits of Using LinkedIn For Your CareerLinkedIn has been around since 2003 and is widely considered the benchmark for professional networking social media platforms. But is the site still relevant, or is it a waste of time? If you dont useLinkedIneffectively, your searches, messages, and other activity on the site can take hours, squandering considerable time. However, when used correctly, and with panache, LinkedIn can perform near miracles for your careers development. Recruiters and employers internet both use LinkedIn to source candidates for employment, sometimes even using recently departed employees or newly-placed employees for career-networking opportunities of their own. Do You Need a LinkedIn Profile? The short answer is Yes. Even if you choose not to spend a lot of time on LinkedIn, or any time at all, its still worth taking 30 minutes or so to set up yourcompleteLinkedIn profile. Then, make an appointment on your c alendar to check in on it every six months or so, and update with any new, big accomplishments. In addition to those scheduled check-ins with your profile, of course, you should update it anytime you switch jobs. Recruiters and hiring managers use LinkedIn to search for candidates. So, if you dont have a presence on the site, you wont come up during searches.Having a LinkedIn account also means that you can use the site to research companies, interviewers, recruiters, and hiring managers, which is helpful before submitting applications and showing up to interviews. In short, having a profile is a good idea. Even if you are not actively searching for employment, you can use LinkedIn to connect with current and former colleagues and link to people you meet at networking events, conferences, and so on. To engage even more with the site, join LinkedIn Groups. While theres more to know about whether LinkedIn can help with your job search, heres a snapshot of the good and not-so-good feat ures The Benefits of Creating a LinkedIn Account Aside from your time, its free, although there is a paid option. And for many recruiters or hiring managers, their first step after receiving a resume or job application is to look up the candidate on LinkedIn. More and more companies have moved to standardized online applications, and it is more common than ever to see a LinkedIn section near the resume upload tool, where you can upload your LinkedIn profile right next to your CV. If it is well crafted, this is a huge advantage since potential hiring managers will not only be viewing your resume but your LinkedIn profile as well. LinkedIn is an easy, modern way to maintain a Rolodex of connections that may be helpful in your career. That person you met at a conference five years ago may very well wind up working at your dream company, or that colleague from your very first job may know a hiring manager youre eager to contact. With just a quick message you can reconnect and pursue a new lead. Why LinkedIn Could Waste Your Time and Money While creating a profile on LinkedIn is highly recommended, the site can take up too much time for which youre not being paid. Here are a few things to keep an eye out for It can be pricey- and doesnt necessarily deliver.One of the features LinkedIn offers is Job Seeker Premium. You get a month free, and then there is a monthly fee, which as of early 2019 was $29.99 per month. With Job Seeker Premium, you can see whos viewed your profile and how you compare to other applicants, get access to video courses and salary insights, and send direct messages to recruiters. Premium also allows you to move your application to the top of the list as a featured applicant. However, the recruiter sees a badge next to your name, indicating that you paid for that position. As a social media tool, it becomes easy to lose focus. Like any social media platform, LinkedIn wants engaged users who interact with the site frequently and stay on i t. Just as putting in hundreds of applications to jobs that are not a good fit for your experience isnt productive, so too is spending hours scrolling deep down into the profiles of hiring managers. At a certain point, it becomes more akin to browsing Instagram or Facebook than doing any real job searching. How to Make LinkedIn Work for You Start by creating or updating your profile. Thats what you use to connect with people in your network. Your profile is also how you get found on LinkedIn because it contains information about your skills and experience, which are crawled by the bot to match recruiters employer search parameters. LinkedIn wont work for you if you dont identify yourself. Setting up a LinkedIn profile with Private Profile or Human Resources Manager (if youre seeking applicants) instead of your name and asking someone to connect isnt going to be effective. If confidentiality is a concern, dont worry. LinkedIn is one of the most private social networks. Connect on ly with people you know well. Be strategic if youre job searching while employed, and dont announce it to your connections. There are ways you canjob search confidentiallywithout jeopardizing your current position. Once you have your profile in place, youll want to invite people to join your network. Start growing your network and writing messages to your contacts. You can send LinkedIn messages to request recommendations as well as for job search and career assistance and advice.