From Big Corporate to Fast-growing SME

From Big Corporate to Fast-growing SME Success Story > From: Job To: Job From Big Corporate to Fast-growing SME “You're in the driving seat. You can make a change if you're just brave enough to take the first step.” * From Big Corporate to Fast-growing SME Linda Bridge was searching for a fresh challenge. Just when she thought she'd found her new niche, another opportunity came her way… Here's how she made a two-step shift into a career she loves. What work were you doing previously? I've spent the vast majority of my career leading teams within the HR / Resourcing space in the retail industry. This has involved working for market-leading brands such as Pizza Hut, The Arcadia Group, House of Fraserand most recently Amazon, where I headed up the UK Operations hiring team. I alsoledthe Amazon Centre of Excellence team for Europe, with responsibility for all EU Resourcing projects. What are you doing now? I'm now the Head of Talent for Carbon Law Partners, a commercial law firm that believes there's a better way for business and law to work together. It's a shortcut for fast-growing, enterprising and disruptive businesses to call on expert legal advice. I'm responsible for ensuring we have the right people strategy in place to support our growing business â€" attracting, recruiting and developing the brightest and best talent. How did you feel about your work before you decided to make a change? I've always really enjoyed what I do. I've always been very driven and have continued to push myself to the next challenge and work for market-leading brands. Why did you change? Having worked for large corporate businesses in a talent capacity for many years, I'd reached a stage where I felt I needed a change. This was partly driven by the desire to give something back to people, and in doing so, to find increased personal fulfilment in my role. At the time I wasn't sure how I'd get there, but there definitely was a clear desire to find a new challenge which could help and support people in some way. When was the moment you decided to make the change? I'd been thinking about making a change for a little while. There wasn't a defining moment as such; it was more a feeling that built over time. During the summer about three years ago, I finally decided to take the step and follow the calling! Are you happy with the change? Yes, 100%! At the beginning it was quite scary.I wasn't sure how I would channel my experience and expertise in a way that could truly support people and give back. But it was incredibly empowering to go on a journey of self-exploration. Not only did I realise what I wanted to do work-wise, but also I discovered some really interesting stuff about myself. Being in the driving seat is a very uplifting experience. What do you miss and what don't you miss? For me the most important thing is the people you work with. They share a journey with you. I've been lucky enough to share some incredible experiences with some great people along the way. What don't I miss? Without a shadow of doubt, I don't miss the early morning flights to Luxembourg! How did you go about making the shift? And how specifically did you choose your new career? I started to explore different avenues and options. That's when I discovered Careershifters. Something about them clearly resonated with me. I loved the brand. I loved what the team were striving to achieve. I decided to get in touch, and introduce myself, with no expectations as to where I would go from there. It was such a nice surprise to get a speedy response from Richard, the founder. From that point forward, I had some great conversations with the career coaches there. I got involved with the workshops they were running and I found myself thinking that this could be something I could really enjoy and add value to. I reflected on the fact that I'd actually done a lot of coaching throughout my career but had never really put a label on it. I love working with people, and I wanted to do work which genuinely gave back to others. So that's what I did! I trained as a coach and started my own career coaching business which I ran successfully for two years. During that time I specialised in career change and ran a programme engaging with mid-senior level professionals who wanted to find more fulfilling work. I also supported corporate businesses in a leadership development capacity. It was great fun and hugely fulfilling to help so many people achieve life-changing goals. But the story didn't end there! Just when I thought I had found my niche, I discovered Carbon. I spotted the opportunity to tie all of my experience together and work in an end-to-end talent role, in an environment that enabled me to fly. I would be working with like-minded entrepreneurial individuals who, like me, wanted to push boundaries and strive to deliver the best possible proposition for their clients. Added to that, it was a chance to work in a completely different industry and bring a fresh perspective to the legal world. What didn't go well? What 'wrong turns' did you take? I don't think there is such a thing as a wrong turn. As long as you keep moving forwards, following your instincts and doing what feels genuinely right at the time, then really you can't go wrong. It's all one big learning experience. How did you handle your finances to make your change possible? I'd been thinking about making the change for a while and so I'd prepared for that. When you're in the position of starting your own business, it's important to be realistic about how your business will build over time. Plan ahead financially. What was the most difficult thing about changing? Change is always going to throw up challenges. I moved from working in a large corporate environment to building my own business, and then on to working in a different sector entirely. It takes agility, flexibility and an openness to embrace new ways of working, but I personally thrive on that. And I do love a challenge! What help did you get? Throughout my career I've built an extensive network of professional contacts who've been very supportive of my career journey. I'm also fortunate to have a great personal network who have believed, supported, and understood what I want to achieve. What have you learnt in the process? That you're in the driving seat. You can make a change if you're just brave enough to take the first step. It's all about small steps. If you trust your instinct and follow your curiosity, you will head in the right direction. There are no wrong turns as long as you are moving forwards. That it never really ends â€" it's one big adventure! What would you advise others to do in the same situation? Take the first step. Small steps lead to big steps. Launching yourself in a new direction outside of your comfort zone is going to be uncomfortable at first. That's natural. But over time this will breed confidence and courage to keep pushing your boundaries. It will absolutely be worth it as you are about to embark on a truly life-changing journey. Keep following your instincts. Don't overthink things. You'll end up confusing yourself! Keep being curious and when something resonates, note it down and ask yourself why. Surround yourself with key supporters.Whether that's working with a group of people like Careershifters, or investing in a personal coach,I'd highly recommend having a key support network to help you through the change and hold you accountable. To find out more about Linda's work, visit www.carbonlawpartners.com. What lessons could you take from Linda's story to use in your own career change? Let us know in the comments below.

Make Friends with Your Brain Its Making All Your Decisions!

Make Friends with Your Brain… Its Making All Your Decisions! About 6 years ago I got a “Jolt” from a Tony Robins article. I realized that the choice of words I used inside my head dramatically affected my emotions and ability to work with others and see things clearly. Whenever I am faced with a negative and challenging situation I focus on the word “Peeved.” Previously I could have been angry, mad or frustrated now I am just peeved or mildly peeved. Just that small change in words means that I think more clearly, and I can salvage the best of any situation or conflict. In the full article below, Tony points out there are 3,000 words in English that describe emotion 2/3 of them are negative. Two things play out: What words do you use inside your head? What words do others use with you? A great learning from emotional intelligence is to not let others hijack your emotions. It is also true for you don’t hijack yourself with negative words inside your head. Remember the childhood rhyme ”Sticks and stones and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me?” It turns out words have a major impact on our emotions. Dr. Ron Bonstetter at TTI Success Insights is doing extensive brain research that has discovered that each of us, based on how our mind is wired, have a set of words that adversely effect our emotions and how we perceive a situation or another person. (These are pictures from the brain scan of some who has heard four different words. The red area shows strong reaction.) Based on this work we have been training people for a decade on choosing the words that will be best for another person and the situation or challenge. Simon Sinek, in his book “Leaders Eat Last”, describes the chemicals in our body that link to our emotions and how we can use them to either be a great leader/partner or to foster conflict and stress. Do you create cortisol or Oxytocin in yourself and others? Words matter! Realistically the business and political world we live today is continuously bombarding us with messages that seem filled with dangers and pressures to act. We are being emotionally hijacked and manipulated. BUT, It starts with a choice you need to make take control of your mind make it your friend. You can manage your emotions for your own well-being and for more effective relationships. For me it is just being “peeved “whenever I feel negative emotions. Read Tony Robbin’s complete article below get your jolt! Would you like to know which words work for you personally and those that don’t? Just email me jdryburgh@balancedworklife.com CHANGE YOUR WORDS, CHANGE YOUR LIFE THE SIMPLEST TOOL FOR IMMEDIATELY TRANSFORMING THE QUALITY OF YOUR LIFE Posted by:?Tony Robbins “Language shapes our behavior and each word we use is imbued with multitudes of personal meaning. The right words spoken in the right way can bring us love, money and respect, while the wrong wordsâ€"or even the right words spoken in the wrong way â€" can lead to a country to war. We must carefully orchestrate our speech if we want to achieve our goals and bring our dreams to fruition. â€" Dr. Andrew Newberg, Words Can Change Your Brain” Throughout human history, great leaders have used the power of words to transform our emotions, to enlist us in their causes, and to shape the course of destiny. From Winston Churchill’s focus on the “finest hour” to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s depiction of a “dream” we are well aware that beliefs are formed by words â€" and they can be changed by words. But what about the ability we each have within us to use words to ignite change, to move ourselves to action, and to improve the quality of our lives? We all know words provide us with a vehicle for expressing and sharing our experience with others. But do you realize that the words you habitually choose also affects how you communicate with yourself and therefore influence what you experience? For the past 40 years I’ve had the privilege of working with more than 50 million people worldwide and I’ve observed firsthand the power of changing just one key word in communicating with someone and noted how it instantly changes the way people feel â€" and how they behave. And I can tell you that simply?by?changing your habitual vocabulary â€" the words you consistently use to describe emotions â€" you can instantaneously change how you think, how you feel, and how you live.?This is the power of what I call?Transformational Vocabulary â€"?consciously using your words to improve and change your life. WHAT’S IN YOUR HABITUAL VOCABULARY? According to Compton’s Encyclopedia, the English language contains some 500,000 words. Yet the average person’s working vocabulary consists of 2,000 â€" 0.5% of the entire language. And the number of words we use most frequently â€" the words that make up our habitual vocabulary? For most people, it averages 200-300 words. Isn’t that unbelievable? (By contrast, John Milton’s writings used about 17,000 words and William Shakespeare used 24,000 words, 5,000 of which he only used one time.) Of those 500,000 words total, as much as 3,000 are used to describe emotions â€" two-thirds?of which are used to describe negative emotions. With such amazing resources with which to express our feelings and ideas, why should people accept such an impoverished vocabulary? Most people are not challenged by the size of the vocabulary they understand, but rather by the words they chose to use. Our brains are working at high speeds; they’re trying to help us to process what things mean and what we should do as fast as we can. As a result, we tend to use the same words over and over again.?Many times we use shortcuts, but these shortcuts often shortchange us emotionally. WORDS AND EMOTIONS For more than two decades, I’ve been testing with live audiences all around the world, asking them to take on a very simple task: Make a list of the emotions you feel at least once a week. I have people take five to ten minutes, and write down not all the emotions they feel in a rare while (i.e. once a month or year), but simply the ones they consistently feel. Ironically, whether the audience is 2,000 people or 30,000 people, 90% of the people write down an average of a dozen words â€" and more than half of those represent negative feelings. That means literally, out of the 3,000 words we have for emotions, most people feel about five or six good feelings; and the bad feelings we find over and over again. We tend to get happy and excited, then angry, frustrated, sad, or even depressed, as an example. Have you ever taken the time to actually become aware of the habitual words you use to describe the emotions that you feel? Do you think it’s possible that when we feel negative sen sations, that those sensations are transformed emotionally by the word labels we put upon them? The problem is that most often we do not choose our words consciously to describe our emotions. Any emotions we experience that are distressing, we have habitual words that we unconsciously attach to them, and the challenge of course is?the words we attach to our experience become?our experience. Words have a biochemical effect on the body. The minute you use a word like “devastated” you’re going to produce a very different biochemical effect than if you say, “I’m a bit disappointed.” THE IMPACT OF LANGUAGE It’s not hard to see the impact of this when other people speak to us. For example, if someone said to you, “I think you’re mistaken,” versus, “I think you’re wrong,” versus, “You’re lying,” would you have a different biochemical response to that simple word? The same exact process happens with the words that we use within ourselves, but unfortunately, we’re less conscious of its impact. I first became consciously aware of the power of the words we use to label the experience of our emotions during an intense negotiation, more than a decade and a half ago. I shared information to the other side that I thought would help my two business partners and myself to cut through the positioning and show good faith. Unfortunately, rather than reciprocating with good faith, the other side ended up using that information to try to leverage us in an unjust way to close the deal that would not be to our advantage. To say it was upsetting at the time would be an understatement. As I left the meeting to sit down with my two other partners, I couldn’t help but notice that the three of us labeled the experience radically different. I was?frustrated?and?angry, but in the midst of my own emotion, I was literally jarred by the intensity of one of my partners. He was?enraged?and talked about how?furious?he was by their response; and how he felt that they were “putting a gun to our head.” His face was beet red and he was totally out of control. I was trying to calm him down â€" the intensity of his emotion struck me because it seemed over the top to my anger and frustration. By contrast, I couldn’t help but notice that my other partner seemed completely unmoved by the experience. When I asked him, “You don’t seem to be upset by this. Aren’t you angry?” He said, “Well, no, not really. I’m a?little annoyed?by this.” I was incredulous, “Annoyed?” I asked, “Don’t you realize w hat these people have done?” He said, “Of course I do. It certainly?peeves?me a bit.” “Peeved?” I echoed back the word. “What do you mean, peeved?” To which he responded, “Well, it’s really just not worth being upset over and that’s how I feel.” I was struck by how each of us used words that had such radically different levels of intensityâ€"enraged versus angry versus and annoyed/peevedâ€"and also how the experience of the event was radically different. How could it be that I was “angry” and “upset,” one of my partners was “furious” and “enraged,” and my other partner was “annoyed” and “a little peeved?” The word “peeved” itself “annoyed” me. I thought, “What a ridiculous word to describe what these people had done to us.” It seemed stupid in my mind. I thought to myself, I would never use this word to describe how I was feeling…but then again, I had never been that calm in an unjust situation. I began to wonder, “If I did, how would I feel?” Just to use the word “peeved” would probably make me laugh. It seemed so ridiculous. CHANGE YOUR WORDS, CHANGE YOUR LIFE Is it possible that the words we attach to our experience, actually become our experience? Do words have a biochemical effect? Over the next few weeks, I began to notice the pattern of language that different people had and how their language patterns produced a magnification of their emotion or a softening of it. So I decided to try a 10-day challenge with myself where I would first identify the emotions that I experienced most often that were most distressing, and find a new word â€" a word that would soften or actually seem ridiculous to break my own pattern of thought and feeling. I got my first opportunity after a long series of connecting flights, all of which were late. I arrived at my hotel at two in the morning, knowing I had to be up to speak at 8 a.m. and waited at the front desk for 10 minutes while the clerk searched for my name in the computer at a pace that would make a snail impatient. I felt the frustration gathering inside me, it started to build into anger, and I finally turned to the man, as I felt my intensity grow, and said, “I know this isn’t your fault, but right now I’m exhausted and I really need to get any room you can find for me because I’m starting to feel myself getting “a little bit peeved.” Just saying the word “peeved” by itself changed the tone of my voice and made the whole situation seem silly. The clerk looked at me perplexedly and then broke into a smile. I smiled back; my pattern was broken. As ridiculous and overly simplistic as this sounds, the simple replacement of the word I used within my own vocabulary, broke my pattern. It was like the difference between saying you’re “mistaken” versus you’re “wrong.” The emotional volcano that had been building up inside of me instantly cooled. A SMALL BUT IMPORTANT SHIFT Could it really be this easy? Just by changing the habitual words we use to describe the emotions within ourselves, could we change the pattern of how we felt and therefore the quality of our lives? Ten days turned into a month and I can tell you, beyond a shadow of a doubt, it was a life-transforming experience. This is not to say there aren’t times when you want to feel angry or enraged, but wouldn’t it be nice to have that be a conscious choice versus just a habitual reaction? Here’s what I found: If you want to change for?life, if you want to shape your decisions and your actions, shifting your emotional patterns are the key. One fundamental tool that can change it faster than anything else is consciously selecting the words you’re going to use to describe how you feel. This is how you create a level of choice instead of a habitual reaction. I call this?Transformational Vocabulary?because it gives you the power to change your experiences in life by taking the most negative feelings you experience and lowering their intensity to the point where they no longer control you. It also can be used to take positive experiences and increase them to even greater heights of pleasure. Intellectually this sounds just like semantics, doesn’t it? What difference does it make to play with words? But if you test it in your own life experience, you’ll know it’s true. What would your life be like if you could take all your negative emotions and lower their intensity consistently? How much greater would the quality of your life be if you could intensify every positive experience you’ve ever had? Start small. Note the negative words you use on a consistent basis and ask yourself how you can change them. Can you be “peeved” instead of “devastated”? On the other hand, can you feel “ecstatic” instead of “pleased?” Whatever words you hold in your mind on a consistent basis directly shape your thoughts, which in turn shape your actions. Choose to start living a more positive, joyful life today and create beneficial habits that will change your life for the better.

How to Keep Your Employees Motivated - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

How to Keep Your Employees Motivated - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career This week’s post is especially intended for entrepreneurs, small business owners and managers. Every business owner and manager knows that motivated employees are more productive and also, they do more quality work. Therefore, you need to keep your employees motivated and make them feel excited to come to work every day. There are many ways to keep your employees happy and motivated without raising their pay. Below you can find some of them: Create a Pleasant Work Environment: Make sure the office looks nice cosmetically. Having plants around the office will increase positive feelings as well as help reduce stress, lower blood pressure, noise level and humidity. Also, neutral tones and earth tones are the best for an office because these colors are calming and warm. In addition, a softer light is much better than fluorescent lighting. Recognize the Achievements of Your Employees: When your employees accomplish their goals or achieve something, take the time to appreciate them. Write an email or a personal thank you note for their accomplishments and you can even give them a small gift like a gift card or tickets to a sports game. If a team achieves something, you can reward them with a nice lunch. Coach Your Employees: Feedback is great for motivating your employees. Nobody likes to be micro-managed. Instead they prefer someone who will motivate them and lead them towards a goal. If you notice that the performance of one of your employees is weaker than others, give him/her constructive feedback so s/he can also improve her/himself. Let your employees know that you care for them. Encourage Training: Encourage your employees to learn new skills and go to training sessions. Motivate them to get professional certifications that will be helpful for their job. Be Clear in Your Communication: You always have to be transparent when communicating with your employees. Even if the news are bad, you should still clearly talk with your employees and explain them what is going on within the company. Create time to listen to your employees’ concerns and do your best to solve them. Keep an open channel of communication and get their feedback when necessary. Casual Fridays: If your company has a dress code for business, making Fridays a casual dress day will boost your employees’ morale and motivate them. You can use holidays to create theme days as well. For example, you can ask your employees to wear something orange on Halloween or green on St.Patrick’s Day. This will let them feel the spirit as well as create a more positive work environment.

What is The Perfect Fit

What is “The Perfect Fit” WANTED: Single / divorced woman, age 25-29; must have long blonde hair past their shoulder but no  longer than mid-back, with tight natural ringlets; blue eyes, figure 36-24-36 (plus or minus one inch only  on each); 5’3” 5’6” and 100 125 pounds, politically liberal but loves target shooting and the outdoors.  IQ above 130. No children but willing to have at least three; demure outside but wildcat in bed; certified  disease-free; no criminal history. Must be practicing Eastern Orthodox. Must enjoy reading, museums,  and the theater. Financially stable with high credit score from a good family with at least a Bachelor’s  degree â€" and only had relationships longer than two years. No long-term unattached people.* Are you rolling your eyes? Can you imagine someone actually writing such a multi-point singles ad… and  complaining nobody answered? You’d laugh. Serious people know that such idealized perfection is for  fictional romance novels there is no factory cranking out fantasy mates to specifications. People arrive  at dates with the physical features they’re born with, and personalities and histories that are as much  random-walk as intentional development. Yet companies regularly post job ads with similar levels of detail. And when “Ms. Perfect” doesn’t  appear they don’t rethink what they’re asking for â€" they blame the candidate pool, throwing out terms  like “skills shortage”. They’re willing to wait, without considering that waiting for perfection has a cost  too: a DeVry University survey had some interesting tidbits about the attitudes and expectations of both  job seekers and hiring managers. I shake my head at this one: Sixty-seven percent of hiring managers don’t feel like they have to settle for a candidate without the  perfect qualifications for the job. In search of candidate factories: A few months ago a job posting appeared in my inbox; at the bottom: “Only apply if you meet all the  requirements.” All eight of them. The perfect fit mentality in practice. I had seven with no problem. On the last, I have over double the time-experience required in doing CAD modeling; I just have that  experience with different CAD software packages. Learning a new CAD software, given my background,  would be a snap, so off went my resume to what I would call a solid 90%+ fit. And nothing; the job is  still listed as open. As with the dating scene, candidates arrive at job postings with the experience and education they have,  which is more often than not a result of a semi-planned progression (at best) punctuated by involuntary  job shifts and the need to take jobs for an income’s sake. Just as there is no fantasy date factory, there  is no fantasy candidate factory. The economics of hiring: Companies claim there is a shortage, and have been claiming so for almost a decade. Yet if there were a  true shortage, what should be happening? If there is a demand exceeding supply, then wages should be rising. Are they? In a few, very specific  fields, I am given to understand there are â€" but more broadly, I don’t see it. In my own job search I have  been told that finding a position at a salary even equal to my last is unlikely. This does not square with a  â€œshortage” of people, particularly in STEM fields where the clamor about a shortage is most shrill. If there is shortage there should also be Elasticity of Substitution; i.e., a willingness to be flexible and  consider people from different industries or who didn’t match every requirement perfectly. After all,  people from other fields bring fresh eyes perspectives. Returning to the dating analogy â€" my wife,  one day, wanted to go to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Understand that I hadn’t been there since  elementary school field trips, and art-loving was not even on my dating radar screen as a hint of a  requirement in a mate; I was skeptical, but it was a wonder. We routinely go there and other art  museums in the area too â€" thanks to an interest of my wife that I had never considered important. And one last thing about shortages: if there were a shortage, when a candidate fit or was close,  companies would act. Yet positions stay open for month after quarter (after year), with no action taken.  People in a crisis act like there’s a crisis. The need for leadership: In Who’s to Blame for the Perfect Fit Syndrome? Ira Wolfe states: If raw materials or supplies are in short supply, the COO, plant manager, and general manager are  held accountable for developing a strategy to correct the problem â€" at least that’s how it works in  top performing companies. Rarely does senior management just give up, chuck the strategic plan, and  contract the business. If they can’t find another source, they re-write the rules and do whatever it takes  to divert resources from competitors. His comment rhymes with something I’d written too (emphasis added): …where are the hiring managers managers? Nobody expects a VP or director to tell a hiring manager  whom to hire. But observing that the perfect fit has not appeared for months and with their greater  perspective seeing that not hiring also carries risks that must be weighed against hiring the wrong  person one should reasonably expect a company leader to give explicit permission to hire outside the  box, and yet allow for a learning curve that may be steeper and longer and risks that are higher. That  perspective may also recognize that todays hyper-competitive world demands continually examining the  business with fresh eyes for improvement opportunities. What can be done? First, there are no counterbalancing forces to the ability of a hiring manager to extend searches to  infinity hoping for a candidate with a red cape and “S” on their chest. There need to be opposing forces  to create an equilibrium. Second, recruiting professionals, as good service providers, need to push back. For example, when a  specific software is called out, ask: is it the software or the competency behind it that matters? Are all  eight criteria truly must haves, or are there 3-4 must haves, and the rest are negotiable? Third, if the perfect fit isn’t showing up, work with the hiring manager with their boss’ involvement to  determine what requirements can be relaxed, and what training would be required to bring someone up  to snuff on each relaxed requirement. Fourth, actively solicit people from networking groups of people looking for work. Develop relationships  with people whose backgrounds indicate they might be a good fit, and then develop a customized  training program to propose to the hiring manager as they are presented. (E.g., David’s has 7 of 8 points  you’ve requested â€" see here â€" and knows CAD very well; he’d just need two courses in XYZ software and  he’d be good to go.) Without people in the recruiting business taking an active role, there will continue to be positions open  for long periods, resulting in damage to the bottom line… and people without jobs for long periods. I  think it’s possible to solve both problems simultaneously. (*I made these up, and added a little sarcasm â€" especially on the last requirement.) Author: David Hunt, PE, is a Mechanical Engineer “in transition” and searching for a product development  / project management role in southern New Hampshire / northern Massachusetts. More than just  another pretty engineering face, he blogs at davidhuntpe.wordpress.com, including on engineering  topics like design, plastics, and problem-solving, but also HR and recruiting issues, economics, and  whatever else moves him â€" thus demonstrating a wide-ranging intellect and intellectual curiosity.

How to Address Unpaid Gigs as a Freelancer - CareerMetis. om

How to Address Unpaid Gigs as a Freelancer - CareerMetis. om Source : Pexels.comAs a freelancer, you depend on your clients to pay you on time, and usually, they do. Occasionally, though, you find yourself waiting for a check that never comes â€" or one that comes monumentally late. How can you address this issue?If this happens to you, start with gentle reminders and work your way up to more severe methods. Sometimes, all it takes is a little nudge for your client to send your check, but you also need to be prepared to bring the heat if you have to.Even if you do have to escalate the situation, it’s important to remain professional at all times, so you don’t end up damaging your reputation with other potential clients.evalIf you don’t get your payment and expect it won’t come without you taking some action, go through these eight steps.1) Send Your Invoice AgainevalIf you don’t receive your payment within the required amount of time, the first step you should take is simple â€" send your invoice again.Sometimes, things get lost in t he shuffle, and receiving the invoice a second time is enough to get that check in the mail. If you still don’t hear anything, you can try one more time with a note attached, asking whether they received the previous invoices.2) Send a Reminder EmailIf resending your invoice doesn’t get a response, consider sending an email directly to your point of contact. Start by asking them whether they were satisfied with your work. Then, tell them you sent your invoice and asked if they received it. Hopefully, you’ll get a prompt response explaining the situation.3) Give Them a CallIf you don’t get an email response, pick up the phone and call them. Sometimes, people have disorganized email inboxes, or maybe your email went to the junk folder. Calling them may be a better way to communicate with them and may get a faster response. If they don’t pick up, you should make sure to leave a message.4) Talk to the ManagerIf those attempts at reaching your initial point of contact fail, itâ €™s time to find a new one. Go up the chain of command and call their boss. You might also want to call a company’s accounts receivable department if they have one. The right person to call will depend on the company and the situation.5. Add a Late FeeevalIf you couldn’t get into contact with anyone or you talked to someone but still haven’t gotten compensation, it’s time to send a new invoice with a late fee attached. This will make it clear to your client that not paying on time doesn’t come without a consequence.evalIt’ll also give them an incentive to pay you as quickly as possible since they don’t want to rack up any more fees. This is one method to stop clients who consistently pay late from continuing to do so.6) Call Them OutIf private conversations don’t get your client to cooperate with you, consider going public. Call them out on social media, and they’ll likely respond quickly, as they don’t want to damage their reputation with their customers and oth er clients.You should still stay professional in your posts. If you take the high road in this situation, it makes them look worse. Likewise, you look better, thus increasing the effectiveness of your call-out.7) Stop WorkingAt this point, you should probably stop working for the client. If you do ongoing work for them, give them a date when you will stop work if you don’t receive payment.evalThis can sometimes motivate the company to pay you since they don’t want to lose your service. If the gig was a one-off, make a note describing the situation to remind yourself not to work for them again.8) Lawyer UpIt’s best to avoid taking your client to court. Pursuing a lawsuit is expensive, plus you’ll miss out on time you could spend doing work for other clients.However, if a client owes you more than $10,000, it may be worth it. Otherwise, write off the client and spend time taking steps to prevent similar situations from happening in the future.PREVENTING PAYMENT ISSUESYou can t ake several preventative measures to make late or missing payments less likely. They include the following three strategies.1) Using a ContractEvery freelancer should have a client contract that specifies how much they will get paid and when. It should also include information on late payment fees. This way, clients have little room for excuses, and you can take legal action if need be.2) Billing PromptlyAlways send your bills right away. That way, you still get your payment on time even if the client is somewhat slow.3) Acting Quickly on Late PaymentsIf a late payment issue arises, start taking steps to remedy it as quickly as possible. The longer you wait, the lower the chances are that you’ll get paid.DETERMINING THE CAUSEA client might not pay on time for many potential reasons. Every once in awhile, you come across a client with bad intentions who never planned to pay you in the first place. Usually, though, it was a mistake, or there is a reasonable explanation for the missi ng payment.In your communications, try to figure out why they haven’t paid you. This can clue you in as to what type of actions you might have to take to get what you’re owed. Your client might give you reasons such as these four.1) Dissatisfaction With Your WorkevalOne reason a client might give you for not sending payment is that they are unhappy with your work. You should include a clause in your contract about what happens in this situation.If there was a genuine mistake on your end, you should offer to fix the problem â€" especially if you want to work with that company again in the future. If you can’t fix the issue, consider offering a discount. If there doesn’t seem to be a valid reason for their dissatisfaction, you may, unfortunately, need to cut your losses and move on to a new client.2) Financial IssuesSometimes, financial issues within an organization can prevent them from paying you. In this situation, you could set up a payment plan that allows them to pay the ir balance over a more extended period.If you fear the organization might not recover from its situation, consider putting any other projects you have with them on hold to avoid losing out if they go under.3) Differing Payment TermsSome companies pay their contractors on monthly or even 90-day cycles. This could confuse if you expected payment on a different schedule.evalHopefully, you worked this out before you started working for them. But even if you did, it can cause problems for a company if they’re used to doing things a different way. If you want to encourage the client to pay you earlier, consider offering a lower rate for earlier payment.4) DisorganizationYour client might not outright tell you they’re disorganized, but this could be the reason they missed your payment. They might tell you they thought they paid you, that they never got your invoice or that the person responsible for payments is on vacation.At a small company, inexperience or being short-staffed may lea d to disorganization. At a large company, there may be too many people or too much red tape involved. A disorder can happen anywhere, but hopefully, reaching out to the client will get them to fix the issue â€" or at least send you your payment.Freelancers don’t want to spend their time chasing down clients to get them to pay. Unfortunately, though, that is sometimes the reality they face.If one of your clients isn’t paying you, follow the steps above to get the money you’re owed and make it less likely that missed payment issues will arise again in the future.

How Compensation Decisions Are Made - CareerEnlightenment.com

How Compensation Decisions Are Made Understanding how employers make compensation decisions is critical if you want to be effective in negotiating your own compensation package.Compensation has been very much in the news during the past year.   From the fervor over a $15.00 per hour minimum wage to robots coming to take people’s jobs to an accelerating employment market, compensation is on the minds and hearts of just about everyone. Before you can begin to get a handle on any of these issues, you first must have a basic understanding of how employers make compensation decisions.Current Factors Impacting Compensation. Like any other aspect of compensation, trends in the current market are impacting the compensation offered for specific positions.   Here are five of the factors that dramatically impact compensation ranges for virtually every position:The value of the work being done. Labor costs are almost always the single largest expense item incurred by any employer, other than the costs for the goods and services produced.   Labor costs include components such as base compensation (hourly or salary), variable compensation (such as bonuses or commissions), benefits, payroll taxes, and related insurances. So there is always pressure to assure that the value produced by each employee exceeds the costs associated with that employee.   Because the market sets to price for the goods and services it consumes, compensation must be tied to the value of what an employee’s work produces â€" or the employer cannot afford to remain in business. Supply vs. demand. This factor affects both industries and regions.   If there is a shortage of qualified candidates for a position in a particular area, compensation will tend to be on the high end of the range, with some employers electing to pay sign-on bonuses to attract candidates.   Likewise, if there is an over-supply of qualified candidates, compensation will be on the lower end of the range, with relatively few people hired in the higher ranges of comp ensation.   You will need to understand the dynamics of your industry and region. New job vs. raise. People changing employment (either inside their own company or moving to a different employer) tend to have larger compensation increases available, versus those staying in the same job or role.   The typical range for an annual increase is about 3%, while the average increase achieved when changing jobs is about 10%. Difficulty of filling the position. The difficulty an employer has experienced or (is anticipating) in filling the position will tend to increase what the employer is willing to pay.   Highly specialized skills, experience, and education are often the largest reason for the difficulty in filling a position. Benefits add 10% to 70% to total compensation. While benefits such as healthcare have been in the headlines during the past few years, the cumulative value of non-salary benefits is significant.   Here is an excellent calculator from CalcXML to determine the value of the benefits being offered. Want to Read More Articles Like This One?Sign up here to receive weekly updates from Career Enlightenment, and never miss another powerful job searching tip! SUBSCRIBE! You have Successfully Subscribed!We hate spam too. Unsubscribe any time. The Mechanics of Compensation Decisions.   Employers have established a range of what they are willing to pay for a particular position.   For example, a position with a target average annual salary of $55,000 might have the following range:Minimum $45,000Mid-point $55,000Maximum $65,000The interview process â€" the candidate’s credentials (résumé, social profile, and the like) and the results of any pre-offer background check (references, social media) â€" all influence where within the compensation range the initial offer will be made.Researching compensation.This can be done via the internet by Googling salary ranges or visiting compensation sites such as salary.com, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, or p ayscale.com. Because information may be self-reported, tend to view these figures as optimistic about the position evaluated.  While the information provided on these sites is generally accurate ( ± 10%), there are regional differences, as well as differences from organization to organization.   Another helpful site for salary research is Glassdoor, which provides an inside look at jobs, companies, and compensation (as reported by current and former employees).   When calculating total compensation, bear in mind that benefits can be worth as little as 10% of base compensation, or as much as 50% or more.   Employer-paid expenses, travel allowances, hiring bonuses, tuition programs, insurances, paid time off, and other benefits add up quickly.Some companies provide a lower starting salary, with a compensation increase once the new employee completes his/her training period (usually 90 days) and proves him/herself.   In a slow economy, there is an abundance of people looking for posit ions, so salaries can be somewhat depressed.   Likewise, when the economy is booming, starting salaries may be increased to attract better candidates.Finally, understand that regional cost-of-living factors greatly affect the market-based compensation for any position.   A $60,000 position in an average cost of living area may translate to $48,000 in a low-cost area and $110,000 in a high-cost area.   Based on the relative cost of living of the area, the $48,000, $60,000, and $110,000 benchmarks reflect the same equivalent purchasing power.Bottom LineLike anything else in life, proper preparation prevents poor performance.   Never enter into a compensation negotiation without first having done your homework, with includes not only understanding how compensation for the position is established and what the reasonable ranges for compensation for your position by market, but also how you can prove that you’ll be able to deliver excellent value for the compensation you desire.This art icle was excerpted from the most recent edition of Get a Better Job Faster? now available on Amazon.com.

How To Choose A Resume Examples

How To Choose A Resume ExamplesThere are many ways to choose a resume and you will come across many resume examples before you choose the one you want. One of the simplest ways to start is by picking out the letter. Try to have a basic idea about the letter.There are many samples available for the sample resume, these samples are mostly offered free by many employers. The letter is a very important aspect of the resume. You need to know that a well structured resume is a must have. All the companies are now more on resume writing.Many sample resumes are also provided online. The candidates can choose any one of these examples that are provided on the websites. Many of these samples are very detailed and contain the exact same content. They help to save a lot of time and also they help to choose the right sample.Apart from the sample resumes, there are a lot of resources available that can be used to make the resume. The candidates can use the internet and pick up the free resources f rom there, they will also find many examples in the career web sites.All the professionals including the professionals working in the field will use the resume examples which are available online to make their resume more effective. These examples are very useful for candidates who work in the field.The good candidates have a chance to choose their resume as it is all in a format. They can take a look at the sample which has a well-structured format, and they can easily make their own template. The candidates can just choose a template, which is presented in a very detailed manner.The candidate has to think of what is the perfect example of the letter that they have chosen. There are many free samples available and you can also find a lot of online resources that help to select the perfect one. There are a lot of sample letters and sample resumes available for free on the internet and candidates can use these examples to get an idea about the type of letter that they want to write.I t is always helpful to take help from others and if you are using examples then you can ask someone else to give you an example. This will help a lot and this person will be able to provide you with some sample samples of how to structure the resume. You can then take a look at the sample resume and decide on the one that suits you the best. Once you have decided on the type of resume you want to use you can go on and pick up the free samples.