Stress can be good or bad. A certain level of stress is essential for high performance. Whether it’s a sales target deadline to be met, or a closure of a business deal, to reach a high level of efficiency, the adrenaline surge triggered by stress will play a pivotal role. And yet we also know that very beyond a certain level of stress, frustration will start to build up and focus will fizzle out. To find out where the thin line lies while moving from good stress to bad stress, pay attention to your behavior. When your stamina starts to run out, or you get a headache, or you start to become irritable at the small things, it is an indication that your stress level has crossed the line and needs to be managed now. Here are some tips to manage stress:
Engage in a calming activity
Yoga, half an hour walk, meditation are all useful. Watching TV or surfing on the net are less likely to reduce the stress levels.
Get enough sleep
Sleeping at a stretch is healthier than small irregular naps. A good night’s sleep has more calming affects on the mind as compared to dozing during the day.
Exercise
Going to the gym will be perfect. But even a walk around the block or a nearby park should be a part of the daily routine.
Have a balanced diet
Fruits and vegetable act as antioxidants. Eat plenty of those and drink lots of water. Eating hastily should be avoided and small frequent meals should be preferred to eating more at one time.
Tuesday 10 Nov 2009 by Faryal Humayun |
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Job Interview Tips
An ideal candidate for a job is not just the one with the best degrees or experience in a large firm. What recruiters look for in a job seeker is a combination of skills as well as the personality traits listed below:
Confidence
It is important to a recruiter how the applicant sells his/ her competence. Carry in your persona the confidence of your achievements and highlight them during the interview.
Punctuality
Coming late to the interview is a big put off as it suggests that the candidate is not serious about the job or the company. Always arrive earlier than the given time.
Honesty
If you do not know the answer to a question, simply say so. Not knowing the answer is better than being dodgy.
Enthusiasm
Show excitement about the job as well as being able to work in the particular company. Do some homework and find out more about the company before you go for the interview.
Common Sense
Most of the questions that are asked during the interview are not very technical but require common sense. A lot of applicants are turned down on the basis of lack of basic information and the ability to answer simple yet tactful questions.
It is not arguable that during the current downturn economy, managers are over occupied with immediate issues and seemed to have postponed their career development goals. They do not necessarily have to.
What can be done is the reduction in time spent on achieving the long-term goals. It is important, however, with your current job, to keep the focus and take effective measures.
Another step is to reduce the horizon from let’s say ten years to a minimum of two to three years. When the economic situation is to improve is a million dollar question right now. Therefore, planning for a very long-term goal may not be advised by most successful business personalities.
Lastly, managers should plan and organize their career development activities and should keep two or three alternatives in mind rather than staying on one path.
Thursday 22 Oct 2009 by Faryal Humayun |
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Former employees who once had been valuable to the company are likely to hold value after the rehire. However, before you rehire a former employee, investigate two important things. One, why did they leave in the first place and secondly, whether they were on of the top performers on their job. It is not very wise to hire back a person who had in the past shown poor job performance. A former employee can prove to be a highly valuable worker because of the following reasons:
Familiarization with the company culture
A former employee is already aware of the company norms and the organizational culture and does not need induction training. This will reduce some of the recruitment costs and increase productivity.
Skills known
All strengths and weaknesses of a former employee are generally known to the managers. This helps in building a quick rapport and does not leave any surprises for the company.
Low cost per hire
The cost of hiring will be reduced considerably by directly contacting the former employees as opposed to the general advertisements for the job post.
Added skills
In all likelihood the former employee who has now gained experience of working in a different company might have learnt new skills and has become more experienced. Sometimes employees leave the job to study further. When they are brought back they are able to add more value to their work.
Tough times have been experienced by younger workers all over the globe during the current times of recession. The situation is not expected to get any better in the near future. Workers below 35 are struggling with rising bills, rents, and not being able to get a job or a ‘good’ job. Many have been laid off as a result of downsizing and are now jobless with families to feed. Unemployment numbers in the United States a few weeks ago reported that about 1.7 million fewer teenagers and young adults were employed in July than a year before.
One of the many problems these younger workers are facing is that they are overqualified for most of the jobs they apply for. Companies are generally looking for less experienced and less qualified workers since they have very low salary figures in mind. Tough competition is yet another issue as career development is something almost everyone is working at all the time.