iimjobs.com – an exclusive job portal for MBAs from premier business schools in India released the findings of second MBA Salary Survey. The survey was conducted to understand trends in compensation of MBAs from top business schools in India.

The survey was administered from May 16 to 31, 2010 with over 5600 MBA graduates sharing their salary data anonymously. (Note: this survey is conducted in India tabulating Indian MBA graduate salaries)

“We conduct this survey every year to help professionals benchmark their salary against their peers in the Industry. We made sure that we didn’t collect any individually identifiable information to maintain confidentiality during the whole process. The data was then tabulated based on area of specialization and years of experience. The areas being covered as part of this survey are – Finance, Marketing, General Management/Consulting, and Systems (IT)”, said Tarun Matta, founder of iimjobs.com

Salaries grew fastest at 12.7% for professionals working in IT sector, taking them closer to their batch mates working in Finance and Consulting. Average salary for MBAs working in IT sector was observed to be 12.9 lakhs for 3 to 4 years of experience and 17.3 lakhs for 5 to 7 years of experience.

Professionals in Sales & Marketing saw 11.8% growth in compensation this year. Average salary for MBAs working in Sales & Marketing was observed to be 9.8 lakhs for 1 to 2 years of experience, 13.6 lakhs for 3 to 4 years of experience and 18.1 lakhs for 5 to 7 years of experience.

Average salaries in Finance was observed to be 11.5 lakhs for 1 to 2 years of experience, 14.3 lakhs for 3 to 4 years of experience and 19.6 lakhs for 5 to 7 years of experience.

Average salaries in Consulting grew around 7.6% and was observed to be 11.5 lakhs for 1 to 2 years of experience, 14.7 lakhs for 3 to 4 years of experience and 18.4 lakhs for 5 to 7 years of experience.

“Even though, salaries in finance and consulting didn’t increase as much as other sectors, the average salaries were observed to be higher than sales, marketing and IT. Finance and consulting still remain top choices for MBAs graduating from top business schools”, added Tarun Matta, founder of iimjobs.com

“We also collected attrition data this time. Attrition rate was observed to be highest at 13.6 % for Finance graduates with 3 to 4 years of experience. It was lowest at 6.9% for professionals in General Management/Consulting. Average Attrition rate was 11.2%”, said Tarun Matta, founder of iimjobs.com.

Contact: info@iimjobs.com

No matter how sane and sound advice you receive on working from home the roadblocks are ever present and often times tough to navigate. An effective work-from-home routine depends on how well you manage to navigate past these obstacles and eventually work toward eliminating some of them.

Child care Dilemma

If you have young kids at home it is best to have them at school or under child care when working from home, it is extremely tough to concentrate on work and work for few continuous hours if you have the child being taken care of at home. At most circumstances it must be avoided but what if you cannot afford it. There are some state based subsidized child care programs that you could go for but in the  recent times (and also very relevant article from NYtimes on how Cuts to Child Care Subsidy Thwart More Job Seekers says) the government has slashed off these programs – well what do you do?
Millions of people at home are trying to supplement their income or even launch a home based business, you do not have the funds for expensive childcare, it’s kind of this vicious circle where you need time to make money and you need money to get some time to do so. Tough tough indeed!

Defining Time Frames for Work and Family

Most people working from home say that it is tough to know when to end work and give complete attention to family and household chores. Work transcends the boundaries mostly when you have the computer on all the time or feel the constant urge to check emails or to know what is happening on the blogosphere to twittersphere.

Spouse Family Support

If your spouse expects you to run the household errands while working from home and also get all the chores done because you “were at home” then it sure is a stressor roadblock. When you are on the ramp or even accelerating toward your goals to bring in a stable income the time on the ramp may offer little or no income flow and that can be frustrating, if your spouse expects you to bring in a certain amount of income as a requirement or an expectation, it adds on to the pressure. And of course, if you are home and “not making money” then you could be well expected to get the house work done and not leave it to the one who is the sole earner for the family. It’s always an uphill battle on the ramp!

Family / Friends Visiting

If you have close family staying with you for a short or extended period of time and you are in a project time crunch, it kind of becomes necessary to be at work and even cut down on the lunch time – and at times it becomes difficult for others to understand that working from home actually means “working” it is similar to an office space completely devoted to work but since you are “at home” the expectations are not the same anymore.

What are your thoughts on this issue and what solutions would you suggest? Please comment.

With hundreds and thousands of resumes being submitted for one single job opening, the only way you can make the recruiter open your resume is by having a smart and unique cover letter (and of course the other way is when you have a direct reach to the hiring managers). Remember that the employers are seeking the best candidate for their offered job description and it is to you how you can make yourself stand out. Here are the 4 secrets to the first step to get their attention, through your cover letter:

1.     Attention Grabber Headlines

Start your cover letter with bold headlines, above the greetings. Grab the attention in the first statement itself and be clear. For example: 

I am seeking an opportunity to Interview for the position of ….. Job ID 123 (if this position has been advertised under a certain ID/number)

2.     List your Qualifications

And do not beat about the bush. 

“The description of the open position as a senior software developer suits me perfectly. As you would see from my resume I qualify for all required attributes expected for this job description but I would also like to know about your other expectations on this job. I look forward to meeting with you and I hope you would be more than satisfied with my qualifications here over the past 12 years of my experience as a software developer:

… list your top experience/qualifications here … (upto 5 should be sufficient)

3.     Availability and Request

The cover letter should never exceed more than one page (well unless absolutely necessary) and use as many bullets and short paragraphs as possible. Follow the list of qualifications with a short paragraph on when you could be available to for a meeting; suggest something like: “I am usually available on Mondays to Thursdays between 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm. It would be great to meet in person and answer any questions that you might have for me. It would be great if you can suggest a time that suits you the best.”

4.     Now Ph Number and a Friendly Cyber Handshake

“I am looking forward to your reply to discuss the possibilities of making it as an employee of ABC (the name of the company you are applying for), it would be a privilege to be a part of this dynamic team. You may contact me at any time at my cell phone: 123 456 7890”

The secret is how effectively you can ask and present yourself in the short space you have for the cover letter. Follow these tested tips and see how you can increase your success factors of getting that important phone call!

Good luck!

I strongly believe that adversity and challenge are the essential elements of life which one must welcome now and then, it is nothing to shy away from or feel intimidated. Only through these hurdles we learn to leap higher and emerge stronger along the way or at the end.

Recently I came upon this very inspiring and informative article on Entrepreneur magazine about Tina Aldatz of Foot Petals who runs a $10 million company with 17 employees and three offices. And it all started when she was finding a solution for herself to wear high heels without the pain, Aldatz burned her feet as a child and wearing heels was a big issue for her since she was in the fashion industry. Over the last few years she had a plan and worked hard on it and finally has a great product which sells well and helps people find relief wearing high heels for longer hours. What’s to be noted in her story is how a challenge helped her find a solution to a problem and helped her reach heights which she would not perhaps achieved as an employee to a company. And so goes the story with many entrepreneurs who have taken upon a challenge in positive or negative way to churn up huge profits or better still to make the world a better place.

Adversity and failures are part of our lives, it is only when we learn how to turn it around to our benefits that we realize why they were such an important ingredients that have perhaps given more than what a smooth and tension free life would not have.

In the current world scenario where the economy is fluid and the concept of a stable vocation or income stream on unstable grounds, we are more than ever before exposed to challenges and problems that we would not have thought about. It seems daunting and the pressure affects us in many ways, but then again these challenges nudge us to go a step further than our present efforts, and how wonderful would it be if let us leap higher that what we would have done had we not encountered the challenge in the first place!

We often underestimate our abilities because giving up is much simpler than fighting back – that is what deprives us of the chance that destiny had offered – to find out how resilient and robust we actually are.

So next time when something knocks you down, I hope you not only fight to rebound back but come back on destiny to make your own path – your path to a new success goal – a destination that is larger than your present dreams but with a clarity and practical plan to get there.

“Opposition is a natural part of life. Just as we develop our physical muscles through overcoming opposition – such as lifting weights – we develop our character muscles by overcoming challenges and adversity.”

 Stephen R. Covey

How have you turned a challenge or a problem to your benefit? Would love to hear your thoughts or ideas, do share in the comments please.

Related Posts:

• 3 Ways to Eliminate the Core Reasons of Stress during Job Search
• Layoff Back off! You can’t get me Down
• 5 Essential Tips on Thriving after a Layoff
• Down Economy Sprouts Entrepreneurial Bloom

When are you making a presentation at your workplace? At the seminars, meetings, expos, sales presentations? Think again, presenting is much more diverse and is an inherent part of today’s workplace. Not only in a meeting but when putting up a proposal on why you must expect a pay increase this year, discussing your performance reviews or trying to move on to a more satisfying project, you are using your presentation skills to make the mark. And of course your main presentation skills are put to test during the interview process which is your make or break chance of getting that job.

Howsoever you use these skills, there are primarily three different levels of presentation skills that you use in your career:

• Business Presentation skills
• Public Speaking
• Communication Skills

Note that all three of the above involve formal or informal levels of presentation, but they are used at different levels and chances are that all of the above may not pertain to your present career but I am sure you are using one or more of these time and then at work or in your personal life. Let’s see how we can define these:

Business Presentations

Business presentations may or may not involve public speaking. During such a presentation you are using your persuasion, influencing skills or trying to convince a buyer into buying your product or service. Often business presentations are there to seal a deal or foster collaborations and/or mergers. Negotiations also fall in the business presentations category.

Public Speaking

Public Speaking largely involves speaking to a large audience or at least a group of people. Here you are presenting or perhaps promoting a product or service that your audience must know about. Speaking in expos or workshops is where you are using your public speaking skills.

Communication Skills

Communication skills are something that you are using daily at your workplace and in personal life, communicating with your colleagues, manager or with a face-to-face meeting with a customer or a remote client.

Evaluate which of the above skills are most relevant to you and which ones you would give yourself a thumbs up or a thumbs down. Note which skills you need to work on first and prepare an action plan on how to enhance your knowledge and experience in these areas.

The Difference between a Presentation and an Effective Presentation

How many times have you sat through a presentation which was “just another one” – a regular “nothing special”  presentation which fails to leave a mark on the audience. And how have you felt after witnessing an awesome presentation that leaves you feeling either ecstatic, o impressed or motivates you to take an action (either on buying a service that was offered or a course of action that was proposed during the presentation)? That is truly the difference between a “sleep inducer” and a energizing presentation. To be truly successful and effective in presenting skills, see if your presentation is achieving the following:

• Well practiced and timed speech
• Confidence and honesty in what you are presenting
• Effective tone and vocal variety in your speech
• Catching attention right from the introduction and maintaining audience involvement
• Wrapping up your presentation with a general Q&A with the audience or some sort of feedback to monitor any unaddressed issues that you can either cover there or later on

 If you can achieve the above and can see that you have truly engaged audience interest – there you go you just made a successful and effective presentation. Don’t work toward getting things done, strive to do it more effectively with success as the final goal. Also think about how you can make your next presentation unique and stand-out from others or your previous ones. Doing the same thing over and over again does not lead to better success.

A Leader must be a good Presenter

If you wish to lead a team to success one day or are currently on it, then just be ready to work on your presentation skills now. Presenting well does not only mean that you are working on giving flamboyant presentations, but it truly means how effectively you can influence and charm others to get the work done or a sales deal sealed right there on.

How to get Experience?

Some of the easy ways to hone your presenting skills is to join a Toastmaster’s group or start a new one at your workplace, taking seminars and courses (which can be expensive but if your company can reimburse you for such courses, take on the initiative to enroll in a couple of them). Another effective way is to take initiative to present in meetings and later in large gatherings to practice your presentations skills. Practice makes perfect – nothing else!

But none of these methods will be effective if you do not ensure a proper feedback process, either by recording (video/audio) and self-evaluation or through a feedback process where you actually get to see or hear your audience respond to the effectiveness of your presentation. Do better by learning from this process and avoid previous mistakes.

And always remember that good presenters can be motivators and movers and shakers of an organization, they are sought after to present the product or service in a client presentation or large expos and get into the good books or upper management faster. And if you really want to move up on the corporate ladder, then this is an essential skill you must strive to perfect.

Presenting for Introverts

However all said, it is not easy for everyone to be up there and make a jaw dropping presentation and take on the deal in the first go. It takes time and practice and also depends on your skills and your personal outgoing attitude. For most introverts presentations can be mighty scary and bring jitters and sweats which can be demoralizing. However you must not let this be a drawback to your career. Learn to identify how you can use your “other” skills for example making effective presentations online or on special software can help divert the main emphasis on “you” to something awesome that you have done. Just finding new ways to present is also something that can make you more confident. And confidence in yourself and your skills is the key to success in anything!

What do you do to better your presentation skills at your work?

Related Posts:

How do you Brainstorm?

Self Promotion for Introverts – A book review

5 Essential Tips to Influence and Persuade Others at the Workplace

Poor Communication Skills can Cost you the Job

Guest Post by Dr. Ann Gatty

Is there such a thing as a stress-free career path?  Probably not but at least we should try to minimize stress while working as much as we can.  It is a fact that most of us have to work to pay the bills.  We invest a lot of our time making a living so, doesn’t it make sense that if we are going to invest so much of our precious time earning money, can’t we try to find work we enjoy?  Can we develop a life that is fulfilling for professional ambitions, personal enjoyment and family connections?  I want to offer some advice from my many years in the workforce.  Hopefully, some of the information will make sense to you and offer some strategies for crafting a more stress-free career path.  So here is my list of 10 strategies to build a successful (and hopefully stress-free) career.

Know thyself.

You really can not know what type of career to choose until you take a honest look at yourself.  Identify the strengths that you can bring to a job, the weaknesses that need to be improved and your genuine interests.  Be honest with who you are.   As you set your goals in life- make certain that they are your goals that you are trying to accomplish for your own self-worth, not for family members, friends or colleagues.  Choose a career because it is the right fit with your personality and a career in which you believe. There is nothing worse than working in a job you hate.  One other thing about personal assessment–don’t forget identifying your learning style.  How do you like to learn new information?  On the job learning is important and constant, and if you find that your style of learning does not match that of the job you are pursuing, you will be frustrated and stressed.   Through your assessment, you should be able to identify what your competencies are knowledge-wise; what your skills are that you use with job performances; and what your abilities are that you can add to your organization.  This unique combination that you possess is your competitive edge and indicates why an employer should hire you.

Know your passion.

As you consider a career path, ask yourself, “What do I love to do?”   Where is the passion in your life?  Have you considered how you can make money pursuing this passion?  When you identify what you really love to do, then pursuing the passion will bring you the most satisfaction and allow you to stick with the learning curve and the ensuing tedium without loosing your enthusiasm.  Remember that doing exceptionally well is the result of obsessively focusing on one thing and getting passionate and inspired by it.  I believe that by pursuing your passion means that you will shine.  And people will notice.  They will notice competency, self-confidence and a smile.

Guard against career stress.

What causes you stress within your job?  Is it the long commutes, or the obnoxious bosses?  Maybe you feel career instability or burn-out from the long working hours.  The flip-side of knowing what you like, is knowing what you don’t like.  So take time to define what stress looks like in your life and then identify where it shows its ugly face in your career.  Can you label the sources of your stress or describe what triggers your anxiety attacks? Some of you may be looking to change jobs soon in your career path so it is best to identify job patterns to avoid.  The economic climate is shaky at best right now so you don’t want to be job hopping.  That causes more stress.  And a word of caution for you single ladies.  Single women can feel additional burdens as you pursue your career path.  You may be afraid to make a job change, even if it is warranted, because having a single income.   Financial fear is a real issue and often causes stressful choices for those reliant on a single income.

Enjoy the journey.

It will be full of surprises, some good, some not so good.  By journey, I actually mean action plan.  And the action plan is really a set of directions that allow you to move down a path toward a goal.  But the goal is just the end point, and getting there is the most important activity. Learn from the people you meet and the experiences that occur.  Learning is a lifetime activity.  It never stops. With your career path, strive to enjoy the process and use all of these components to enrich your perspective and continue towards your goal.  Find the benefits in the work you are doing now that can make positive contributions moving you forward.  Be optimistic and keep looking ahead.   Change the path if you need to, but keep a forward perspective.  Know when to move on, when to stay and keep your head up, looking forward. The experience needs to be enjoyed.

Play nice.

As you keep moving up in your career path, take care of the people behind you.  Let them have the benefit of what you have learned.  Help women climbing below you on the corporate ladder.  Give back to those who helped you.  Don’t make enemies.  You may need them and never know where they will end up in their career path.  It is much better to work together to accomplish goals.  It applies to all facets of life.   And this is a good networking tactic.  People notice who they can trust and rely on to get their work done.

Read.

Yes, you need to read and read different types of news and different types of books.  If you read the NY Times, then read the Wall Street Journal.  Get different perspectives.  Know what is happening in the world around you.  The more you read the more you shape your personality.  And you become more interesting to your colleagues.

Keep a portfolio of your work.

Put aside materials that you have produced reflecting relevant skills and accomplishments.  These can be work assignments that you have produced in various phases of your career or reflective of different job capacities.  Choose about five examples of your very best work that make you proud.  Keep these works as a reminder to yourself about what types of assignments and tasks you prefer.  Having concrete reminders is helpful for your self confidence and allows you to sell your capabilities to future employers when job interviews come down the road.

Build your self confidence.

It is the best gift you can give yourself.  But show confidence not arrogance.  Confidence comes from doing your job well and also from feeling good about yourself.   Take care of yourself, know where you derive your confidence and protect that attribute.  Confidence comes from many sources including the way you dress–clothes–your shoes–or the accessories you add.  You can also gain confidence knowing that you are taking care of yourself with good skin care, proper diet and exercise. Maybe you enjoy relaxing after a long day at work.  Taking care of your well being goes a long way towards feeling good about yourself.

Develop a game plan.

What is your dream?  I have talked about the journey but really a journey is only as good as the plan that creates it.  Your plan should provide a sense of direction, but leave your doors of opportunity open so you can make changes when appropriate.  Your career plan is developed with a sketch of information as you start, and then it becomes more detailed as you learn and experience more.  You become more knowledgeable and your expertise actually comes from your many contributing experiences.  Yes, it is ok to fail as long as you learn from it.  As a matter of fact, I don’t know anyone who has not failed at one point or another when building a career.  Keep your eyes on the prize and don’t lose track of the big picture.

Know that your life is not always in balance.

Really, work, family, community, and you are never in balance.  Sometimes there is a tradeoff.  I have found that you can not wait for time to be exactly right in order to make a decision.  You are always living in the present, not waiting for some future event to occur.  Emotions can only be felt in the present.  Past is a memory and future is unpredictable. So live now, listen to others, and know who you are and what you want to do.  Then do it.

About the Author:

Dr. Ann Gatty is an educator, author, organizational strategist and personal consultant.  She has taught in classrooms, museums, boardrooms and employee seminars.  She has mentored and coached.  From her work and personal experiences, she finds a continuous need among women, of all walks of life, to find answers to questions about their life balance, goals, and health.  Because of these needs, Ann Gatty hosts a website, www.stress-management-4-women.com.  The purpose is to answer the questions women share as they negotiate life’s many challenges.

This post celebrates the passion and love for the work you do.

How do you feel when getting to work is a pleasure you look forward to?
How do you feel when everyday you wake up with a bounce in your step and excitement in your heart to start a new day – working on what you like?
A true satisfying and exciting feeling for sure! Though most of the internet searches would be to get away from what you do at present, there are many many of us who just love doing what we do, maybe because we have found our calling and have figured out how to make the best of the both worlds doing what we want (job/business etc.) and getting what we desire (the money, satisfaction or extra time) or just because doing what we do brings us happiness in all possible way we had imagined work-life to be.

A friend who was in a layoff one and half years back felt extremely dejected when the layoff happened, he had been with the company for 11 years! He was not prepared for it and of course was a rude shock. But knowing him I knew that he would not take it lying down, I was not at all surprised when just after 3 months of his layoff he had launched his own company and had two friends working together on a couple of wireless applications. Today he is satisfied and happy doing what he does, and not only that, he seems excited and driven than ever before. He says, “I had been doing my best at my job, and I liked what I use to do at my previous company, but THIS is completely different! I LOVE doing what I do now and it is so exciting and fulfilling. It is something like suddenly finding wings to fly high and get wherever you want to.. my whole perspective of work has changed, it is not work anymore, it is fun, excitement and love.”

Elisabeth is a health coach at Take Shape for Life and exhibits deep passion and love for her new career. She says, “For 16 years I had an independent bookshop–loved it, but worked 6-7 days a week, 10 hours a day. Because I loved it, I kept it open much longer than I should have. I was proud of not being a bottom line person, but guess where that got me? I’m still not a bottom line person–I could double or triple my income in two months if I wanted to work that hard. I don’t want to work that hard. Now I have almost no overhead (have to actually create overhead–luckily I have clients and other coaches I work with all over the country and can travel, something I love doing), and I’ve built a great business that doesn’t require me to work non-stop, gives me flexible hours, and supports my family comfortably. And when I want a raise, I give myself one (that is, I put in that bit of extra time to make it happen). I guess there comes a point when we stop and look at what our building for the future is doing to the current quality of life we’re living. Once we do that, sometimes we are able to let go of some of the things that take time/effort without a pretty clear payback within a reasonable time frame and put that time and effort into better daily living or into other things that may bring the needed results. All I can say is that my work IS my pleasure, and I’m grateful to have found a great opportunity that allows me to do what’s important to me–while I help other people do the same.”

Well said Elisabeth and I’m sure you’d say “I’d rather be working!”

Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.

– Kahlil Gibran

What do you love about your work?

Related Posts:

• Why do we don’t do what we WANT to do
• The ABCs of Success at Work
• 5 Steps toward Overcoming Challenges of a Career Change
• What do you want to be when you grow up?

There is so much we want to do there is so much we need to do, though simple words are they need and want often forces us on different paths; it does not a matter if we like it or not.

We often don’t do what we want to do because of the various hurdles that we have or we make in our lives. But whatever this discussion comes to it is safe to say that it is easy to do what we want to do if we take care of the “need” first. Read on and please share your thoughts too!

Are you doing (or are you in a career) that you truly want to do/be in this life? If not then why don’t we do what we want to do; this article takes a look at the major hurdles we face in our life that stops us from doing so.

You may have learnt to love what you do but there is a big difference in doing what you love. The former is a compromise – but hey nothing bad about it! The latter is a way of life how you define on your terms, a way to live when survival is not an issue. But at times it is not easy to do what you want because there are constraints there are needs which much be taken care of first. Let’s have a look at the reasons on why we don’t do what we would love to do.

Money Money Money – We need money

We should be thankful if we can do what we want on our own terms because for many of us it is not a choice at all.

 A single mother of three working two part-time jobs to get her kids through school and pay for the rent; it is most often not a choice for her to do what she loves – because it may not bring in the kind of money she needs to sustain her family’s needs. A person who has a family member with a medical problem or disability has to work hard to get the medical bills paid. The priority is to make that much money to get the bills paid and the family taken care; you might take on a job that you is not exactly to your liking but pays you well.

But say, you had been diligent and had saved for the ‘rainy days’ enough that you can survive well for a certain period of time till when your plan will see the light of the day – you can most certainly do what you want to do because money is not a hurdle anymore. Sure enough that is one major lesson we have learnt from the recent recession, to save well and for long-term equates to sustainability and security.

 “You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you.”

– Maya Angelou

Where to go?

As with any step in life, you must first know where you want to go and for that knowledge is the first stepping stone. You must take time to first understand and know what you want and how to get there. Without a plan there is not much success to count on. Often you have difficulties in finding the right-plan that ‘works’; you are not alone.  Almost everyone has gone through this phase, to conquer this hurdle you must first have faith in your plan and then you must seek guidance from mentors or those you know who have “been there” in the field of your interest.

Once you are armed with the knowledge and the knowhow on how to do what you want to do, you have conquered the biggest hurdle to do what you want.

Quotes: Alice in Wonderland
Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?
The Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to
Alice: I don’t much care where.
The Cat: Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go.

Lack of Drive

We continue doing what we do because that is what we have done so far.
Change is not my cup of tea and what happens if I don’t like it when I switch to another job or career?

This situation is called the ‘foot-rest’ state. And of course the fear of change. To do what you truly like to do needs a strong drive (or call it enthusiasm and persistence) and at times external and internal motivation and risk.

The recent tough economical times have shown us how things can change quickly, millions now are jobless and there are thousands who had been in their present job for more than 20 years and that is the only skill set they have- and now they find themselves in a completely clueless situation – no jobs so how do I find a job?

We were perhaps too comfortable doing what we did… diversification was never in our portfolios because the world seemed to be going along well. The current situation teaches us to be more proactive in dealing with our careers, it is your skill set that is yours to keep rest all can shift or melt away in a matter of minutes. The point is – think about it, if you continue to do what you do without anticipating change you might find yourself in a tough spot later on. Always be ready to move on, to move with the Cheese.

“Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.”

–  Lou Holtz

 Fear of Failure

Ahh another colossal hurdle- the fear of failure and the word “expectations” that we have from ourselves and that others have from us. What if I fail to be successful at what I truly want to do?

Sure enough a tough hurdle, but as the saying goes: The only real failure in life is the failure to try. It is your choice to give it a try rather than never having it done at all.

And failure plays a large role in your success, think upon this quote:

“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” 
–  Colin Powell

There can be a lot of excuses that you can come up with, oh yes, some are genuine for sure but most of these are excuses. What has stopped you from doing what you truly WANT to do?

Related Posts:

• 10 Reasons why you are not in your Dream Job
• How Men Stifle a Career Woman’s Growth

Here are the ABCs of success at work – this is how I make the best of work at my workplace!

A

Attitude – When I wear my confident-happy-attitude at work; that is who I am that day. When I wear my ‘can-do-anything’ and ‘I-am-Successful-at-what-I-do’ attitude; that is who I am that day. I am always aware of the fact that my attitude defines who I am. My attitude at work and towards work has helped me make my workdays a pleasure, everyday.

B

Boss – I keep my boss informed on my current tasks and those I would want to work in future. I make all efforts every week to update my boss on my accomplishments – I want to be in my boss’s good books for sure!

C

Customer /Client – What I do today is significant to my customers’ and clients’ expectations. It is because of my customers/clients that I am here. I make sure that every now and then I try to find out how my work is satisfying my them. I always am on the alert on what can I do now and in near-future to make them happy and feel ‘treated-well’.

D

Deadlines, I keep a note of all task deadlines on sticky notes all over my workplace. When you consistently meet deadlines at work it shows how efficient you are at time management and how driven you are; in short meeting deadlines is critical to success at work.

E

Effort – Sometimes I just have to put in that extra effort to get the work done. I do not shy away from putting in a few extra hours and that extra effort that can get the work done on time. I show my diligence and the eagerness to be good at what I do.

F

Focus – I give special emphasis on focus at work. There are many things that distract me, email, coworkers gossip or politics, meetings.. with too much to do focus can take a backseat. I try my best to avoid distractions when I am my productive best. It has helped me keep up to my deadlines and do what I am being paid for.

G  

Goals – I always keep in mind to define goals and keep them SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound). To get somewhere you ought to know where to go, without goals I would have no idea if I ever was successful at anything.

H

Helping others – I have my workload brimming most of the time, but I take out 2-3 hours every week devoting that time to help my colleagues or new hires or my manager if they need help with something they are working on.

I  

Ideas – I work on having a lot of them, but I make sure that I sift through to get the best and work on it to see the light of the day. An idea without “make-it-real” strategy goes nowhere.

J

Jog – oh yes, you didn’t expect this word to be on the best worker’s work list, but it is! I jog for half an hour around midday; it helps relieve tension and gets me fresh and focused for the rest of the day. I have noticed that I tend to get a little lethargic around mid day so it is time to take a break and I understand that being healthy is directly propotional to my success at the workplace. I have to take care of my body and mind first and only then I can be exceptional at work.

K

Keen – I am a keen person. I am interested in learning more and maintain a spirited interest in the news and breakthroughs in my industry. I strive to be better every day and this would not have been possible if I was not a keen learner and explorer or new ideas.

L

Language – I mind my language at work. I work in a multi-cultural environment and with clients in various countries over the globe. I know that respecting my colleagues is of utmost importance to me. I want to build healthy relations and learn from my colleagues and therefore I make sure that I’m respectful of their culture and beliefs.

M

Meetings – like them or not they are there. I try to make the best out of them by knowing beforehand what they are about and how they affect my current work and tasks. And if they are not so important then I just skip them to get my priority tasks taken care of first.

N

No – I have learnt that work never ends, there is more somewhere all the time. Learning to say NO has helped me prioritize my work and be an expert on the very few areas I want to be working on. Doing more is always not efficient. Less but doing a great job matters most to me.

O

Organization – there is so much to do and limited time at hand and therefore I need to be more organized to make the best use of my time. Organization helps me be efficient and not lose any precious time when on time-critical tasks.

P

Performance Reviews are essential monitors of my growth at work and I want to stay on top of them. I do not wait for the annual reviews to daunt me; I take charge and am proactive towards my reviews.

Q

I Question a lot at work. Observation and right questioning have been most effective in helping me find out how to get my work done in the best possible way. And my coworkers and managers like me more because I guess they like to be asked!

R

Respect the time of others, I do not hang out in their work areas or gossip around the water-cooler now and then. I do not interrupt my co-workers or manager without prior appointment (unless of course urgent) and expect the same from them. I am at my work for a certain time, the best way to make complete use of this time is to respect time itself.

 S

Synergy – no man is an island and teamwork is the only way to achieve breakthroughs on whatever we do. I honor teamwork and often work on my team building and collaboration skills at my workplace.

T

Training – I am true believer in training, I ensure that I keep myself abreast on new technology and change in the workplace by training on new systems and software that my industry endorses. I train to learn more, I train to ensure that I remain valuable in the job market.

U

Urgency – I am a good listener and an active participant in my team’s tasks. I understand when things are urgent and need my extra efforts and time; I am ready to shift my schedule to take care of urgent matters first. I know that by doing this I am making myself more visible and valuable.

V

Value – I want to be a valuable resource to my organization and also provide the best value of my work. I want to be recognized for what I do and for that I ensure that I provide the best quality value from my side and the adulations will follow.

W

Workaholic – Ok that’s not me. I do not intend to be one because I want to enjoy my work and for that I have to be away from it to have a balance in life and then I would want to get back to work refreshed with a happy mind and relaxed body. I remind myself often – do not be a Workaholic!

X

X-Ray – Alright I admit I did not find a good word for what I have to say here but I do have a point which refers to X-RAY! Through an X-ray exam you can reveal internal structure which is not visible from outside. It is an in-depth analysis and that is what I like doing at my work. Quality of work is the essence of success and if you can provide the best possible quality of your products and services to your customers you can build a sustainable business. That’s exactly why I like X-rays at work – a deeper look to make your product solid at the core.

Y

Yield – yield by definition here would mean ‘production of labor’, or what is the return on your input. The amount of work I put in at my workplace, I want to see an optimal return – the yield that I desire for my work input. I ensure that I am proactive about asking for promotions or pay raise – it is my job to ask my boss or upper management, the first step must come from my side.

Z

Zeal – Nothing great was achieved without enthusiasm. And that is true even at work; I am passionate about my work and work with zeal to make the best of each day. It makes my work life satisfying and happy, that is exactly how I want to be everyday!

Which one of the above is your favorite?

Would you share more tips with us?

Related Posts:

• How to avoid the 5 Major Distractions at Work
• How to be a Good Employee – 5 Lessons from the Golden Rules of Buddhism
• 25 Ways to keep Your Career Healthy – Always
• How to Talk to your Boss about your Career Goals

If you are looking for different options to advertise and to promote your business and want to narrow down on the best options for your particular needs, then this article will help you in finding out the different ways to advertise online and how feasible it is to your budget and business needs. Although the article focuses primarily on the internet listings, the traditional personal approach of postcards and mailers should not be written off completely, although we are seeing it as a dying trend – the web has indeed strengthened over the years and will be a highlight for all major advertising for small and mid size businesses this decade.

Local Listings

Getting listed n your local search pages is essential to your advertising strategies; most of the searches that happen on the internet are in search for business listings in close proximity to the customer (searcher). Here are a few ways you can use local listings to advertise your business:

Yellow Pages

According to Wikipedia: A particular Yellow Pages (YP) is a print directory which provides an alphabetical listing of businesses within a specific geographical area (e.g., Greater Chicago), which are segregated under headings for similar types of businesses (e.g., Plumbers). Traditionally these directories have been published by the local phone company, but due to the highly profitable nature of the business there are numerous independent directory publishers. Yellow Pages directories are usually published annually, and distributed for free to all residences and businesses within a given coverage area.

Are yellow pages economical for small business advertising? Although yellow pages advertising is appropriate for all businesses but it may prove expensive depending on the option you chose for the listing and the city where you advertise it. It all depends, you may pay less for a one line ad but the options are numerous, you can use bold, highlighted ad or half page or full page ad and thus increases the cost. It is a good idea to be on the yellow pages but one must poll the customers as to what percentage of your clientele comes through yellow pages. If is not as effective as you would want to be and not the right ROI then perhaps other options might be better for your business advertising.

Yellowpages.com has made the data input and instant access to the internet listings pretty easy and fast and some listings are free as well. So no harm in trying them once and finding out whether they are really worth investing more or time to move on to the ones listed below.

CitySlick.net

Another very interesting online resource for advertising. They feature free listing for one category; you can even add your URL address and add a coupon as well. Impressive, why not try them out?

Local.com

They offer a lucrative free package as well as other incentives for the paid options, check out the comparison here: http://corporate.local.com/advertisewithus/local_businesses_compare.asp

CitySearch.com

Some businesses are doing great with the citysearch listings and personally I feel the restaurants are doing great using citysearch listings, for the others of course, try it by all means, but yet again the price per month is on the higher side as compared to other local listing websites. You must analyze how effective it is to pay the monthly charges they demand and the amount of clicks you get through the ad.

Google Local Business Center

Yes, for sure something of this kind was expected from Google and they did not fall short on expectations. Google’s Local Business Center offers as many coupons as you want to create for your listing, provides a link to your Google analytics account and you can see the clicks and call to action from the advertising straight away. Good service for sure, customization and upgrade options available, worth a try, and since it is free it should be a must on your checklist of advertising.

Online Marketing

Online marketing is a big maze in itself and can be extremely time-consuming and may not prove to be as fruitful as you expect them to be if you do not know which method works out the best for your particular business.

Businesses which benefit tremendously from online marketing are:

• Website design or website template designing
• Online branding and web marketing services
• Real estate agents (offers at new houses on sale etc.)
• And pretty much any online business that you have be it in the beauty sector or garden supplies, the list goes on

Businesses which might not get as many customers from online marketing as compared to traditional forms of advertising (through personal mailers or yellow pages books) are:

• House Cleaning services
• Handyman plumber services
• Automobile services
• Haircutting Salons

Now what are the ways to use online marketing, here are some of the popular ones:

Email Marketing

Reaching out to your customers/clients through direct mail is one of the most effective ways of online marketing. You can either “buy” an email list or build on your own to ensure credibility and powerful personal reach to your current and prospective clients. This particular method is very effective for those businesses which sell products or services through the internet, those who sell services like paid webinars and e-books or online courses and also selling affiliate products. You may want to read a precious article titled The Good and Bad of Email Marketing to get a better understanding on Email marketing.

Google AdWords

Thinking of advertising or marketing your business on search engines? Then this method could be one of the best ones to use. The first part of this century is pretty much influenced by Google and its omnipresent technology. According to the Google AdWords website:

With Google AdWords, you can create and run ads for your business, quickly and simply. Run your ads on Google and our advertising network — no matter what your budget, you’ll only pay when people click your ads.

AdWords ads are displayed along with search results when someone searches Google using one of your keywords. Ads appear under ‘Sponsored links’ in the side column of a search page, and may also appear in additional positions above the free search results. That way, you’ll be advertising to an audience that’s already interested in your business.

Look up the website for more details and pricing information.

• Also there is more to search engine marketing than just AdWords, do look up this document from SCORE/OPEN for some in-depth analysis: Marketing Your Business on Search Engines

Social Media

Of course, you will say! The amazing “discovery” of social media in our lives has been as recent as around two years, we are in the beginning stages of this social-media-cloud-burst but already the waves are reaching far and wide. You can leverage the social media in different ways to promote your products, increase credibility or just stay visible in the fierce competition that you see around.

• Here is a good article to get started with if you want to leverage social media marketing using Facebook, Twitter, Google Buzz etc. to advertise your business: 5 Steps to Leverage Social Media for Businesses
• SCORE along with Sony have a simple concise article titled Demystifying Social Media: Using Its Power to Connect with Customers which might introduce you to the various ways social media is helping out in advertising. Most certainly the maze is still there, you have to figure out what best works for you and how much time you want to invest in such advertising – since most of them are pretty time consuming if you can delegate such tasks to your partners or friends/family it could be an added asset to your overall marketing plan.

How are you advertising and what has been most effective for you? Do spare a few minutes to comment and share!