The Best 13 Career Tips I’ve Ever Got

The Best 13 Career Tips I’ve Ever Got

by Karin Singh 30/01/2018

When I’m providing lessons on career counselling for experienced professionals I often share the following 13 career tips. They are based on my personal experiences gained in 20 years, in different countries, in different jobs and industries.

#1. Choose your career wisely because it will have an impact on your finances, your health, your happiness and your self-esteem. Do something you are passionate about, but that allows you also to earn a decent income!

#2. Become a master in communication! If you show poor communication skills (written or/and verbal), you leave a bad impression. People will not forget it, no matter how well qualified and experienced you are! Learn to express yourself in an articulate way and know the difference between assertive and aggressive language. “How” you say something often matters more than what you want to convey to people.

#3. Polish your manners. Having good manners will get you further in life. Being pushy and rude doesn’t benefit you in any way. But if you are polite and kind, you will achieve your goals quicker, easier and better.

#4. Be best prepared for any situation. Thorough preparation is crucial, no matter whether you are going to a job interview, chairing a meeting, holding a presentation, taking part in a tough negotiation, approaching an angel investor etc. It shows one more time how professional and well organised you are!

#5. Be positively curious! Before taking important (maybe even life-changing) decisions, ask a lot of relevant questions. The more you know, the less mistakes you will make, and the smaller the chance that people will fool you.

#6. Don’t underestimate the power of networking, online and offline! Having the right connections and making effective use of them at the right time can make all the difference. Believe it or not, but getting a job, winning a new client, getting advice, etc. can become much easier if you have the right people in your circle. It’s not always what you know, but WHO you know!

#7. Be sceptical in what people are telling you. If impressive claims are made, ask for proof! It the claims are genuine, they shouldn’t have a problem to share it with you. There are too many scams and fake people out there.

#8. If you want to stand out, you need to think differently, more creatively. Ask yourself how you can make things better, quicker, more efficiently, in a more personalized and impressive way.

#9. When it’s time to ask for a pay raise focus always on the value that you added to the company’s success. Never mention the change of your personal circumstances, that will not convince any boss to give you a pay raise!

#10. Don’t wait for other people to teach you. Be proactive and teach yourself everything you need to know. There is no shortage of options to extend your knowledge and skills via online learning. Become better than anyone else. Strongly believe that you can become a master, an expert in your subject matter!

#11. Be interested in others, in a genuine way! That’s the key to success of many professionals! Building and maintaining meaningful relationships can become time-consuming, but it can be very rewarding in the long term.

#12. If you want to impress others, always go the extra mile. Do what others would never do, or never think, to do. Differentiate yourself, exceed other people’s expectations and you will be in high demand!

#13. Check out people’s online reputation. Don’t ignore this great (free!) opportunity to find out more about people on various social media platforms. Make sure you associate yourself with people who are decent and not with those who continuously post inappropriate content. Be aware that others will google you as well. Thus, make an effort to shine online!

What great career tips would you like to share? There are many options available for career counselling for experienced professionals, get in touch with one of Talentese’s career guidance counselors!

How Happy Are You With Your Boss?

How Happy Are You With Your Boss?

by Karin Singh 23/01/2018

Have you ever thought you couldn’t stand your bad boss’s behaviour anymore?

Let’s also not ignore the result of a Gallup study that revealed that about 50% of 7.200 adults surveyed left a job to get away from their bad boss!

What are the indicators that should make you re-think whether you really want to work for your current boss?

Watch out for this:

# 1 – Your boss is incompetent and doesn’t know what s/he is doing.

If there is a lack of leadership and the wrong information is passed on to staff, it doesn’t really set a good example. The consequence is confusion, loss of respect and unproductivity.

# 2 – Your boss treats their employees with disrespect.

Have your ideas been ignored? Have you been talked over? Have you been criticised unfairly? Have you been sexually harassed? Has your holiday request initially been approved and then in the last minute been rejected? Have you experienced discrimination on a regular basis? If yes, then you should seriously consider looking for another company where the boss knows how to appreciate their employees. Checking out the company’s ratings on Glassdoor, where employees have the power to rate their boss, would be a good idea!

# 3 – Your boss is utterly self-centred.

Is your bad boss self-obsessed, having a big ego and always looking for approval? Does s/he take criticism very badly? Then it’s time to change company or ask a career guidance counselor for some advice what you can do about it. If a boss gives their employees the impression that s/he is the superstar, while everyone else is just a waste of space, it should raise a red flag.

# 4 – Your boss is a micromanager.

Do you feel that your boss is looking too much into every employees’ job? Do you have the impression that there is a lack of trust and that every task that is carried out, is being questioned? Does he not give you the freedom to decide by yourself how you are going to do your task to achieve the set target? What a pity! Your boss misses out on the opportunity to empower their employees in achieving outstanding ideas and results!

# 5 – Your boss has a negative attitude.

Dealing with a person who is manipulative, shows an unreasonable behaviour, is selfish and spreads gossip, is not easy to work with. Do you really want to waste your time working for a boss that is disruptive and has a negative impact on the whole staff? Or would the company start offering training sessions for their staff on career counselling for experienced professionals to tolerate their unruly boss?

# 6 – Praise doesn’t exist in your boss’s vocabulary.

If your boss is a master in criticising you, but never notices when you do a good job, it’s obvious that your motivation will not be high. How long can you really take such kind of behaviour?

# 7 – Your boss forgets that you have a life outside work.

If your boss expects you to work over time for weeks (without any recognition or even paying you for it) then serious steps need to be taken.

# 8 – Your boss sells your ideas as his own.

If you have great solutions to the company’s problems, the last thing you wish is that your boss considers them as his own. It’s a real sign of disrespect and lack of management skills if this ever happens to you.

Unfortunately, behaviours like these happen every day in workplaces. Remind yourself that you don’t need to spend and waste your career with people that suck your energy, belittle you and destroy your self-confidence. Get out of there and if you need help to cope with certain situations, don’t hesitate to get in touch with a career guidance counselor.

By the way, you would be surprised how many people on Twitter are complaining about their bad boss. Ever tried to enter #ihatemyboss on Twitter? Give it a try and you will see… you are not the only one to feel that way!

Remember, using social media to criticize your boss is NEVER a good idea. It does not bring you any benefit. On the contrary, you are sabotaging your own career, do you really want to do that to yourself?