Guest post by Jacelyn Thomas - Staying motivated to get up and go to work every morning at 9 am (or, god forbid, earlier) can be a real challenge. Even the most motivated of individuals have those days where they just don’t want to work. However, it is essential in today’s competitive job market that we stay active, alert, and motivated with our work. Employees who put in their full effort all the time are the ones that move on to bigger and brighter futures. We can likely all admit it—there are days that we are under motivated and fairly in active at work. Rather than waste your employers’ and your own time, find ways to stay motivated throughout your work day and before you go in.
Hello readers! Welcome to another awkward post on Sexual Harassment. Today we’re tackling the sensitive topic of (potentially) unsolicited, unwarranted and/or unwanted (verbal and physical) sexual attention, as we debate the following controversies: Should you enjoy it? Resent it? or Report it? Leaving personal thoughts, feelings and beliefs aside, let’s ...
Every so often we receive devastating news of grim events and unexpected deaths of those we love and admire. We grieve, we mourn and we recover – but we never forget those who engage in life threatening occupations – for a passion so deep, to the point of obsession (or sheer insanity).
Their remarkable talent and their drive is infectious, and they serve as inspiration to us all – in both, our brightest and darkest moments of our personal and professional lives.
And without any further ado, these are some of the controversial public figures that today we remember and continue to be touched by their legacy:
If you had the misfortune of being interviewed by Human Resources or an external company representative, only later to come face-to-face with what seems to be the knuckle-dragging incompetence of the potentially out-most idiotic boss, you know you’re in for trouble.
So, to implement some ‘regain-your-sanity’ measures, cool your jets, buckle up and tune out of the That’s It, I’m screwed! My Boss Is An Idiot! mode and look out for benchmarks and solutions to your dilemma. For now, please resist the temptation to assault the idiocy and stab him/her in the back with the stapler, we do not recommend such conduct. Sources tell us you could serve some serious time for it!
After-all, if you’re unable to emotionally and psychologically detach from the ‘hopefully-not-contagious’ idiotic boss, his/her corporate cluelessness could have detrimental effects on your well-being (as you habitually lye awake at night -dark circles and bags under your blood-shot eyes- planning the perfect retribution), not to mention potentially terminal to your career prospects.
No wonder why Southwest Airlines is so well rated in customer service (link to airlinequality.com).
Some jobs are so regulated and uptight that anything resembling normal human behavior tends to get forbidden.
I was surprised to find that something so boring, dull and repetitive as a pre-flight safety briefing could be turned into an enjoyable experience, as demonstrated by the flight attendant below.
Sometimes you don’t need to put extra hours, suck up to your boss or be a swiss watch at your job to get recognized and praised.
Sometimes, being yourself, is more than enough.
Cheers to this guy: [video after the jump]
WTF? -you might be saying- That’s the most stupid, counter intuitive and bizarre piece of advice I’ve read on the internet and BTW, I’m getting out of here in case what this guy says is contagious.
But wait, give me a second to explain myself.
As a full disclaimer, today I’m going totally off script. I’m writing something that I may regret tomorrow. So don’t crucify me for this post. Thank you.
I’ll start this story by telling you why some people become popular, are loved by millions and followed in flocks.
Shocking revelations to follow.
You know what pisses me? People that label themselves as CEO.
Dictionary.com doesn’t say much: CEO: chief executive officer. Although, I found a more complete definition at BusinessDictionary.com and some funny definitions at urbandictionary.com -if you are in for a quick laugh-.
I also did a quick search on Linkedin to get some grounds to rest my case and these are some of the results I got:
Yesterday at around 10pm EST we got hacked by Oaddah, a pro Palestinian group.
The blog’s header suffered an extreme makeover and looked like this:
Guest post by Angelita Williams - Years ago when I first graduated from college, I had a difficult time finding my dream job. Too clumsy to wait tables and no patience for retail, I decided to look in the classifieds for a quiet office job to fill the void.
All of the postings seemed boring—until I ran across one that caught my eye: “First Impressions Officer for Hire, Bachelor’s Degree Preferred But Not Mandatory.” I remember immediately thinking, “I have a bachelor’s degree! And this sounds fun and important.” A phone and in-person interview later, I finally realized that First Impressions Officer was just a fancy way of saying receptionist, but I took that job and proudly presented myself as a First Impressions Officer to family and friends.
Alright, if you are at work, stop for a second and take a look around your cubicle. Does it look so bad that It could actually qualify as art? Is a video of that piece of art worth an exchange for a brand new office space? And you think… who could possibly want to reward my messy-ness?
Group interviews are more commonly used for entry level positions and trainee programs. As you move up in seniority level they tend to become less common but still, no one is exempt from having one at any point of his/her career.
The idea behind them is to test out candidates on soft skills, assess how they perform among a group of peers, identify potential leaders and define which role candidates tend to occupy in a work group.
When pitted among other job seekers, people often asume that they are competing with their peers for the job. While this may be true in some way, it’s not the main purpose of a group interview. In reality, the candidate is being pitted against himself.
If you jump into a group interview with this perception, you will probably end up being discarded.
Guest Post by Brittany Lyons - Earning a college degree today is not the same as it was a decade ago. At one time, degrees that were obtained outside of a college classroom were the brunt of jokes and were scoffed at when they appeared on resumes. However, with an increasing number of reputable institutions offering online courses, students often find themselves wondering if online degrees are considered to be as credible as those obtained the traditional way.
Guest Post by Katheryn Rivas - Part of becoming an adult in the working world means learning to manage and respond to constructive criticism in a productive manner. This is something that parents, instructors, and schools have been training their pupils for since the start of their schooling.
Criticism is an inevitable in life. And, although it is negative in some ways, it is rarely intended to be hurtful. In the working world, you are going to receive negative feedback on things that you do from your authority figures. Just as you received negative marks in school to indicate that you needed to change something or put in more effort, your boss will also provide negative feedback on things you could improve on.
How you deal with this negative feedback is one of the things that may determine how successful of an employee you will be.
Follow these three steps to better manage and react to negative feedback from your boss or supervisor.
and this may be your first day at this blog, so WELCOME to this professional corner of the blogosphere.
Make yourself comfortable, grab a cup of coffee or your favorite cigar and come down the rabbit hole by going to our start here page. A perfect spot for you to see if what we have to offer helps you make the most of your career.
We want you to stay. We need to hear your thoughts and criticism. We want you to sit on the front seat, raise your hand and shout your mind out.
Without you, this place is an echo chamber of our thoughts, it’s empty space filled with words that go nowhere, inspire no one. WE NEED YOU.
This blog may have my name at the top but I’m not the only voice around here. Get to know my wing-woman, Ioana Lazarov, who also runs her own careers and personal development blog and tens of contributors from around the world which, on a weekly basis, provide you with a constant stream of information.
We hope you enjoy reading these stories and decide to join us and leave your first comment, subscribe to the mailing list or RSS feed, follow us on Twitter or add us to your circles on Google+ to stay in touch and share your ideas and thought provoking links or guest posts.
Once again, thank you for being here.
Thank you for making your voice heard.
We are all ears.
The fernandotarnogol.com Careers Blog Team
Guest post by Lindsey Webster - The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assessment is psychometric questionnaire designed to measure how people perceive the world and make decisions.
It is often used in the areas of career counseling, team building, group dynamics, professional development, marketing, leadership training, executive coaching, life coaching, personal development, and workers’ compensation claims.
The test uses four indicators that, when viewed together, create 16 different personality types. It is said that individual personality types prefer or exceed at specific careers. For this reason, the Myers-Briggs Test is often used in career counseling as a way to narrow down what type of work or career a person may find interesting or fulfilling.
Just like any other test, there are a few tips for taking the Myers-Briggs test. Although there are no “wrong answers” on this test, there is a “right” and a “wrong” way to approach it. Listed below are five tips for taking the Myers-Briggs Test.
We usually focus our branding efforts on the internet: social networks, websites or blogs. But what we often forget, is to put energy in “real life” promotion. At best, we limit ourselves to giving away business cards.
Surely, business cards are a nice and easy way of staying in people’s wallets and being easily reached.
The one problem with business cards is that they are intended solely for the person you give it to. It has virtually no use for someone you haven’t met or someone who stumbled upon your card on a table. Unless the receiver of your business card carries his or her Rolodex everywhere they go in case they run into someone that may be in need of your services, your card becomes a dead end.
So, what could work as a business card and get people to visit your site or business? Good old pens.
Even on a low budget, you can get a couple dozen Amsterdam Printing cheap promotional pens to give away with your business card or leave them in visible places. Keeping a lonely pen you found laying on a table does not qualify as stealing, does it?
The advantage of having a branded pen is that even if the person loses it -or someone pouches it… admit it, who hasn’t pouched a pen?- the finder or offender will have your brand’s name in front of them every time they need to jot something.
So there you go, one extra way of expanding your reach for just a few bucks.
Job Seeker Premium Impressions
I’ve been test driving Linkedin Premium for a month. Starting at $19.95, you get these features:
- Job Seeker Badge: a fancy icon on your profile to “make you stand out from the crowd”
- 5 inmails: message any Linkedin member even if they are not in your network
- Featured listings
- Search organizer: advanced filters and the ability to save profiles to your contact book
- Openlink: enables any Linkedin member to message you without having to resort to inmail
- Extended Who’s Viewed Your Profile: unrestrictedly see who’s viewed your profile
Read on to know my experience using the advance features that Linkedin Premium enables and if the bang for your buck is worth it.
![Post image for Sexual Harassment: Should You Enjoy It, Resent It Or Report It? [Infographic]](http://fernandotarnogol.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/sexual-harassment-in-the-workplace2.jpg)
![Post image for Signs Your Boss Is An Idiot And How To Work Around It [Video & Infographic]](http://fernandotarnogol.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/idiots.jpg)
