One of the best ways to keep your appointments organized is to get yourself a planner. These in-depth calendars come in both print and digital versions and allow you to track important dates like interviews, orientations, and job fairs by date. Mobile electronic versions can even be setup to send you a notification of your upcoming event on the day it occurs as a reminder. Organizing your appointments is crucial to making sure you keep your events top of mind and don’t forget when and where you need to be during your job search.
Use Spreadsheets
Having trouble keeping track of addresses, emails, names, and titles of recruiters and businesses you’ve been meeting with? Looks like its time for you to start utilizing spreadsheets! I know, a lot of people hear spreadsheets and think “AHHH, Excel!”. And yes, while some spreadsheet programs can be tricky to learn, you will only need a basic knowledge of them in order to utilize them for your job search. They offer a great way to organize and sort all of the information you have collected on your job search in order to maximize your efficiency.
Create a Professional Email
When you’re looking for work, the last thing you want is a recruiter trying to reach out to you at partyg1rl38@hotmail.com. If you are on the search for a new job, you need to make sure that you have a professional email address setup just for your job search. This ensures that you have one place to go to respond to recruiter emails without other personal or spam emails getting in the way. It not only looks better on a resume, but a professional email also gives you more credibility as an applicant and makes your job search more efficient.
Take it On the Go
With the power of smartphones, all of these tools can be taken with you on the go! All the job search tools you could ever need are right there in your pocket and the best part is, you will almost always have them with you. Not sure if you have an interview tomorrow? Pull up your calendar. Need to remember the address? Look it up in your spreadsheet. Need to refuse an offer via email? Open up your professional mail account and send it out. In today’s day and age, job searching is portable and can be taken almost everywhere.
Your Control Center is your best friend on your iPhone. For those who don’t know, its the screen you swipe up to see to turn on things like your flashlight and airplane mode. Its a collection of shortcuts for commonly used apps and tools; and not many people know that you can actually customize it. You are able to switch out and add other settings and features to your Control Center to include things like a QR scanner for website links or a magnifying glass.
Go Live
The advent of live photos is one that may annoy some, but also opens doors for professionals. If you are someone who takes a lot of photos for work, be it for your company social media page or whatever reason, then you should be utilizing them. Live photos create a short collection of rapid fire shots that blend together to create a very brief 1-2 sec video. When you go back through the video however, you will have the ability to select any frame of it as the primary photo. It gives you a lot more leeway in taking photos professionally. Goodbye re-shoots because somebody blinked!
Undo Your Mistakes
Have you ever been typing on your phone and then accidentally delete what you just wrote? Infuriating, right! Well, as it turns out there’s an easy fix for undoing those pesky mistakes. Just give your phone a little shake and a notification should pop up with an undo button. Gone are the days where you would need to retype that entire text or email! Now, when you get angry and start to shake your phone in rage, you will be able to undo any mistake you made with a single press of a button.
Bookmark Important Documents
Sometimes we find an important document or article that we want or need access to later on, and there are times when we won’t have access to the internet to retrieve them again or we just forget what exactly we were looking at. Not to worry though, as you can save those articles to view offline by bookmarking them in your internet browser. Simply hit the share button and select the “Add to Reading List” option. The article will be saved to your device and can be retrieved by going into your Bookmarks, even offline.
Regardless of your reason for turning down a job offer, you should always lead by expressing your appreciation that you were considered for the position. It is not only professional, but it recognizes the recruiter who likely spent hours going over resumes and applications to find the right person. A considerate and thoughtful thank you letter or email is a small act that goes a long way.
Provide a Reason for your Refusal
You never want to refuse a position with just a “no”. Providing a reason is another respectful way of recognizing the effort made by the hiring staff and doesn’t leave them wondering why you did not accept their offer. This will help them moving forward by informing them what aspects of the position are attractive and which aren’t, which will inform their hiring techniques moving forward.
Keep it Short and Sweet
While you want to thank a company for it’s offer and provide them with a reason for why you didn’t accept the offer, you do not want your refusal to be the length of a novel. Keep it brief and to-the-point. You want to directly address your reason for refusing, and thank the recruiter for their consideration; ESPECIALLY if your reason for not accepting the offer is something that is a bit unsavory like a rude recruiter or lack luster pay rate. When turning down a job offer, less is more.
Don’t Burn and Bridges
The very last thing you want to do when turning down a job offer is to completely shut down communication by being rude or offensive. There is no reason to be anything but professional when crafting your refusal. Despite what you may think, people in the same industry often know each other even if they work at different companies: and word travels fast. You DO NOT want to be known for having a hot temper in the job searching market. It will limit your interviews and your chances of being hired before you even walk in the door. Always be respectful and professional when interacting with possible employers, even if you are turning down their offer.
One of the first things many people consider when accepting a new job is the salary and benefits offered by the position. Compensation needs differ from person to person, and in the end this is something that you will need to consider for yourself. A lower pay rate may not be all that bad if other perks like medical and dental insurance are also offered, and a higher pay rate could be less desirable if they don’t offer any kind of benefits. It will all come down to personal preference and need, and you should seriously consider your finances in order to see which options work best for you.
Company Culture
An important factor to keep in mind when you are looking to get into a new position, is the company culture of that workplace. The last thing you want is to move into a company who’s very personality and feel clashes with your own. If you’re a more reserved, laid-back person then you would most likely not enjoy a frantic, high-energy workplace. You want to make sure that if you are accepting a new position, that you it will be in an environment that you will be able to work effectively in. One of the biggest reasons people leave a position is due to a change or issue in company culture. It’s important that you find a company that you will be comfortable and happy working in on a day to day basis.
Your Aspirations
Unless you have been offered your dream job, chances are, you will be looking to grow beyond the position you are accepting in a few years time. That is why it is important to take inventory of your professional goals and aspirations, and to ask questions about opportunities for growth during your interview. Some positions don’t offer the ability for you to transition into higher roles, and if you are looking to advance your career beyond your current job then you will want to accept a position that allows you to have that option. Before you jump headfirst into a new role, make sure you have all the information you need about advancement opportunities.
What are the skills I should develop to help make better connections at work?:
Communication
Communication is the single most important aspect of building better connections with your coworkers. It involves your ability to not only express your own ideas clearly and concisely, but also active listening to ensure you understand the thoughts being shared with you. No workplace can expect to be productive, let alone happy, without having employees that are comfortable and capable of expressing their thoughts and opinions.
Empathy
A critical life-skill as well as an effective one to use in the workplace, empathy is your ability to view a situation from another’s point of view. It puts everyday situations and conflicts into perspective and can provide info as to why someone may be struggling in the workplace. Say for example your coworker is responsible for turning in reports to you to be filed, but they have been turning them in late recently. Come to find out, they recently have had a child that has been up through the nights causing your coworker to lose sleep. Using empathy, you would be able to recognize and understand how the situation your coworker is in is effecting their performance and the two of you can move forward with a solution rather than arguing why the reports are being turned in late.
Negotiation
Along the lines of communication, negotiation involves two or more employees exchanging thoughts, though in this instance they differ in how they believe something should be done. This skill is critical for peacefully resolving conflict in the workplace and it requires humility, responsibility, and compromise from everyone involved. By using negotiation skills, you will be able to connect with your coworkers even in moments of conflict by recognizing their stance on an issue and working together to find a solution that works best for both of you.
How can I improve?:
Practice Active Listening
One of the best ways to improve your communication skills is to work on your active listening. Make no mistake, there is a big difference between hearing someone and listening to them. If you’re listening, you are receiving and understanding exactly what the speaker is trying to get across. The best part: you can work on this skill almost anywhere. The next time you’re in a meeting, talking with coworkers, or speaking on the phone with someone, do your best to focus on the core message of what the speaker is saying and offering up thought out and relevant responses. This goes a long way to building connections at work. People typically like to talk to others who they know are good listeners.
Put Yourself in Others’ Shoes
The next time you have a disagreement in the workplace, do your best to view the situation from the other person’s point of view. Put yourself in their shoes and try to understand why they may be feeling the way they’re feeling. This helps to keep you from taking the conflict personally and will help you find solutions to problem.
Put Yourself in Situations Where You’ll be Challenged
No one likes to disagree, but the only way to improve your negotiation skills is to be put them into practice. There are countless books and classes you can take in order to get the basics down, but the only way to really flex those muscles is to be engaged in an argument. Now, just because you are disagreeing with someone doesn’t mean you should be disrespectful or angry, in fact, it means quite the opposite. People with good negotiation skills always keep their emotions in check and approach conflict with a neutral demeanor. Once you have enough experience with workplace disagreements, you will learn which techniques work best in negotiating with the people around you.
Saying no can be difficult for a lot of us, but if you are trying to be your most productive you need to know your limits and learn to stop saying yes to new responsibilities. Its better to complete a few tasks well than to take on many tasks and not complete any of them because you’re stretched too thin. If you find yourself struggling to complete your daily tasks because you’re taking on other projects, its time to start saying no. Being productive isn’t about quantity, its about quality; and if your quality is being hurt by the quantity of work you have to do then you need to rethink taking on new responsibilities.
Use the Two-Minute Rule
If you work in an environment where small tasks could pop up throughout the day, then you would definitely benefit from utilizing the two minute rule. The next time something small comes up, rather than wasting time thinking about if you could fit into your day without delaying other tasks, just ask yourself “Can I complete this in 2 minutes?”. If the answer is yes, then you can work on it. If the answer is no, then focus on your primary tasks first. This will ensure that you stay on time in delivering on your most important daily tasks while also working in smaller ones as your schedule allows.
Group Similar Tasks
If you’re trying to increase your productivity, one of the most effective ways you can do so is to group similar tasks together when you’re working them. This approach to working is built on the science behind the psychological concept of chunking. Essentially, our brains do best at completing tasks back-to-back if those tasks are related to or similar to one another. When you’re setting up your schedule for the day, try to structure it by grouping related tasks together to ensure you work with maximum efficiency, which will in turn increase your productivity.
Don’t listen to music with lyrics
Ever try to work with people talking in the background? It can distracting right? Not so much that you can’t work, but it can definitely keep you from doing your best. Well, it seems that having music playing in the background while you work can have the same effect if the music includes lyrics. Studies show that lyrical music activates the language centers in your brain and can distract you even if you are passively listening to it in the background of your workplace. That’s not to say you can’t have any music in the office, just make sure that it is instrumental in order to minimize distractions.
Avoid multi-tasking
Despite what you may think, no matter how much you may brag about being able to do it, nobody – and I mean NOBODY – can truly multi-task. There have been countless studies proving that the human mind cannot focus on 2 or more things at the same time. Instead, your focus shifts rapidly between the tasks you are trying to complete. While this may be possible for a few small, simple tasks; once you start to do more complex things that require more focus it becomes difficult to keep the tasks separate. This quickly leads to mistakes being made. To be your most efficient, only focus on one task at a time to minimize your chances of making mistakes and causing more trouble for yourself in the future.
One quick and easy way to make your office more eco-friendly is to work on your energy efficiency. The best part is that this is super easy to do and typically involves very minor changes. Make sure all unnecessary electronics are turned off or unplugged when you’re leaving for the day, invest in high efficiency light-bulbs, turn off lights in rooms that aren’t being used, and minimize your use of non-essential electronics. This not only helps you go green, but save green as many of these tactics have been shown to lower electric utility expenses for companies that put them into practice.
Implement a Recycling Program
Most workplaces, ESPECIALLY offices, go through large amounts of paper and plastic every week. Just think of how much good it could do to start moving some of that waste to recycling. This is another low-cost option to make your workplace more eco-friendly. Have a few bins in place around the office in areas of heavy foot traffic and encourage employees to use them on a regular basis. You could even introduce a competition between departments to see who can collect the most! Its a fun way to get everyone involved in creating a greener workplace.
Cut Down on Plastics
Another idea you can also try to cut down on waste products is to start to phase out single-use plastic items around the workplace. This can include getting rid of plastic silverware in the break-room and replacing it with reusable, washable silverware. Anywhere that you can eliminate plastic products for ones that are more sustainable, you should do your best to.
Bring in Some Plants
It may seem strange, but one way to help your office go green is to have your office go green. Encourage employees to bring in office plants to have on their desk or around the office. They not only add to the atmosphere, but they also produce oxygen and remind everyone to do their best to be eco-friendly in the workplace. There are many low-maintenance options out there from succulents to small ferns. Explore your options and add a touch a green to your workplace.
When you’re looking for work, especially through staffing agencies, it can be difficult to tell one company from another (Trust us, we get calls meant for other agencies all the time!). To set ourselves apart, we’re taking the time today to explain a little bit about what makes us here at Staff Source stand out from the crowd.
First things first, what types of jobs does Staff Source offer?
A good deal of the positions that we have come available include general labor, warehouse, assembly, quality inspection, and forklift positions; but we do also have driving (both CDL and non-CDL), machine operator, CNC programmer, PLC programmer, electrical and mechanical maintenance, and clerical positions that come up from time to time as well. We do our best to keep an active list of positions on our website that can be reached under the Candidate Services tab by clicking the Jobs option. However, sometimes we have positions come available that are filled so quickly that they don’t even make it to the site. If you are ever curious as to what jobs are available on any given day, be sure to give our office a call for the most up-to-the-minute information.
How easy is the application process?
Our online-only application found on our website is incredibly streamlined and only takes about 5-10 minutes on average to complete. After clicking on the blue Apply Online button and creating a new account, you will be asked to upload a resume and enter some basic contact information. If you don’t have a resume to upload, don’t worry! You will have the option to enter the information in manually. Once your application is completed and we receive it on our end, we have one of our recruiters review it and reach out the same day to schedule an interview.
What happens after the interview?
Once the interview is completed, we do our best to place you at a position that is most in line with your previous experience and career interests. There are several avenues we can take at this point. At the time of the interview, if there are any open positions, the recruiters will likely offer you the position to see if you are interested. We also offer orientations for positions that we will have available in the future, or for positions that require them before being sent out for employment. If there are no open positions available, or if you are not interested in scheduling an orientation at that time, then we mark you available and call or text you as positions come up while taking into account your availability, commute distance, preferred pay rate, and job interests.
What kinds of job searching tools do we offer?
Along with interviews, public job boards, and resume critiques, we offer several resources to aid you in your job search:
Blog: Our blog posts are meant for candidates and clients alike and cover topics ranging from resume building tips and interview etiquette to digital marketing trends for the staffing industry. We pride ourselves on delivering new content every week to offer up helpful insights to make the job searching process a little more simple.
Ask the Recruiter: You have questions, we have answers. On top of our normal blog posts, we also offer opportunities to interact directly with our staff of experienced recruiters with our Ask the Recruiter posts. In these posts we answer real questions from real job seekers and provide insights into the best way to approach your job search. If you’re interested in getting your questions answered, be sure to message us on social media and stay tuned for the latest posts.
The Available Candidate List: As a job seeker you are more than just a resume, you are a unique individual with personality that just can’t be expressed through a piece of paper. We wanted to give our candidates the ability to express themselves in a way no other agency had before and so we created the Available Candidate List. The ACL is our one-of-a-kind, stand out tool that gets your name and face in front of over 3600 businesses and hiring managers across NWI and Chicago-land. It allows you to show more of what makes you unique and to express your personality. No other job search resource in the area even comes close to that type of exposure. The process involves sitting down to film a short 30-45 second video discussing your job history and the positions you are currently looking for. We take that video and add it to our bi-weekly client newsletter that is designed specifically with candidate exposure in mind. As soon as we get a call from a client regarding your video, we reach out to you to discuss the next steps in starting your new career. Click on contact us to schedule your ACL today.
Recharging is one of the most important things we can do to help not only our performance at work, but our overall health in general. Without taking time to care for yourself, you run the risk of becoming burnt out, overly stressed, and exhausted which can lead to poor performance and mood in the workplace. This is why it’s important to use your time off to recharge so you come into work rejuvenated and ready to tackle the week!
Be active
While you may want to spend your time off curled up in bed binge-watching your favorite Netflix show, studies have shown that if you’re looking to boost your performance and energy at work you should spend your off time being active. Think about it, have you ever spent an entire day in bed and woken up the next day feeling rested? Chances are you haven’t; in fact you probably woke up feeling even more tired. This has to do with a lazy day’s effect on your sleep cycle or circadian rhythm. Essentially, by not moving much your body never really wakes up and begins to change the times of day it expects you to be alert and when to be sleeping. If you stay in bed all day, you can expect to feel tired the next day at work because your body is expecting you to do the same thing again. You don’t need to necessarily put in work at the gym, but going for a walk or a bike ride is a great way to get moving and keep yourself alert for the next day.
Eat healthy
I know. Its tempting to reach for your favorite comfort food when on a day off when you’re trying to relax, but it is a better idea to eat healthy even on days when we would rather cheat. Many times, comfort food is full of fat and is typically heavy which can lead to you feeling sluggish for the remainder of the day and even into tomorrow. Instead, try to stick to healthier meals and snacks which combined with staying active will help you feel more alert and primed for action come Monday morning.
Get outside
Going hand-in-hand with being active is getting outside. Spending time outdoors is shown to boost your mood and help relieve stress; both things you should be doing on a day off work. Combine that with doing physical activity and you’re getting a double whammy of performance boosting benefits. Spending time outdoors has also been proven to boost our immune systems, spur creativity, and restore focus. If the weather allows for it, try to spend at least part of your next day off outdoors. It may just turn into your next healthy habit.
Treat yourself
Days off are at their best when you spend them pampering yourself. Have a spa day, go out with friends, see a movie, do something you enjoy doing! Give yourself a reward for working hard! This is a great way to decompress after a stressful week at work and it can help you in the workplace by giving you something to look forward to at the end of the week. Making sure you give yourself time to do the things you enjoy will help make sure that you keep your stress to a minimum during the work week. After an exhausting week at work, unwind by treating yourself. Just make sure you do so responsibly.
Prepare for your work day
It may go against everything you want to do on a day off, but a great way to spend your day off to improve your performance in the workplace is to prepare for when you return. Making sure everything is in order and ready to go before returning to work can help reduce workplace stress and boost your efficiency. You’ll be able to get more done if you’re confident in what you need to do and if you have things organized and ready to use so you don’t waste time in the morning by trying to find where you left off.
Spend time with friends… not Friends
As much as you may want to binge watch your favorite shows and scroll through social media when you’re not working, you would actually benefit a lot more by unplugging for awhile. Studies have shown that disconnecting from technology can help you recharge by helping you sleep better. Keeping your phone nearby when you sleep can lead to you being woken up throughout the night by notifications, and the blue light given off from screens have been shown to disrupt sleep patterns and cause headaches and eye strain. If you spend your work days staring at a screen, then you shouldn’t be spending your days off doing the same. Give your eyes and your brain a break and spend time with friends. Human beings are naturally social creatures and being around friends can help to relieve stress, improve mental functions, and boost your mood. Next time you have some time off, make sure you spend it with friends not your computer screen.
Coffee has long been the drink of choice for those of us going in to work early on a Monday; and in today’s age there are many different options to choose from. However, each type of coffee has its benefits and its drawbacks and it may be time to consider switching from your plain old drip coffee to something that could actually benefit you at work.
First things first, all of the options we are going to discuss today have one benefit that they share in common: caffeine. Caffeine has been found to temporarily boost focus and concentration and can help you feel more alert, which is typically the reason most of us drink it in the morning: to wake up! However, these different coffee types each have different pros and cons that can affect your not only your mood and concentration in the workplace, but your long-term health as well.
Drip Brew
This is probably the most common method that America’s workforce uses to get their caffeine fix throughout the day. Almost every office or workplace has at least one Mr. Coffee with half a pot sitting on the burner somewhere in the building. While this method is fast, easy, cheap, and allows you to keep refilling from the pot; there are a few drawbacks that come along with it. The paper filter that is used to keep the coffee grounds from entering the pot, while inexpensive, is filled with chemicals that can leak into the coffee during the brewing process. The filter also strips away a lot of the antioxidants and healthy fats that are naturally present in coffee. It will definitely do the job in making you feel more focused in the morning, but beyond that it won’t be doing much else.
Espresso
Espresso has long been enjoyed by coffee connoisseurs for its bold taste and high caffeine content, but it has now become a mainstay at many coffee chains around the country. Starbucks for example has many drink choices that feature espresso as an add-in or as the main ingredient. With it being such a fixture in coffee culture today, chances are you’ve enjoyed a cup of espresso either on its own or as part of a specialty drink.
Contrary to popular belief it actually has about the same amount of caffeine as a standard cup of coffee, but the serving size is typically a fraction of the amount. This is where espresso can be unhealthy as many people over indulge and start to do more harm than good. In standard servings, espresso can boost focus and concentration by providing your body with healthy fats, antioxidants, and caffeine thanks to its unfiltered brewing process. This will help you feel more alert during the day, can help with long term heart health, and will boost your immune system to help you from having to use up those sick days during flu season. However, drinking too much can lead to caffeine crashes, headaches, and more serious acute heart complications if you have an existing condition. If you want to enjoy espresso, do so in moderation.
Cold Brew
Another up-and-comer in the coffee scene is cold brewing. It involves a longer filtering process and uses room temperature water rather than hot water which gives it a naturally sweeter taste. Cold brew coffee offers a multitude of benefits to help you in the workplace included the normal boost of focus that caffeine provides as well as being easier on your stomach than hot coffee because its not as acidic. This can help those of you with more sensitive stomachs get a caffeine boost in the morning without having to sacrifice comfort for focus. It can also boost metabolism, strengthen your immune system, and lift your mood; all of which will make your day a bit better.
Tea
I know what you’re thinking: “This is supposed to be about coffee! Why are you bringing that weird leaf water into this?!”. Remember, this blog is about rethinking your morning cup of coffee, and tea is a caffeine alternative to consider. Tea, in most of its forms, contains caffeine in smaller amounts than coffee which can help you achieve the benefit of focus without the drawback of that mid-day crash. Some teas, like green tea, even contain a compound that releases caffeine slowly into your system instead of all at once which can make the focus effect last longer and reduce the chances of getting a caffeine buzz like you would from drinks like espresso. It is also full of antioxidants and the trendy new matcha green tea has roughly 137x the antioxidants as in a standard cup of green tea. This can help with mental clarity and cognition, as well as supercharging your immune system to keep you at your desk instead of at home sick. While you may be used to coffee, it may be time to consider tea as an alternative.
