Let me share some of my personal career lessons so you may by-pass anything similar for your own career:

1. Pain is too comfortable. It took me several years to learn this lesson. While one may hate their job, it is familiar, and therefore, offers comfort. Such a convoluted feeling! After falling into my first career (a career by default, not choice), I spent over five years trying to figure out how to get out of it. How I wish I’d had access to a career coach back then! The solution to my pain? Change jobs, but stay in the same field. I thought it was the employer I hated, but it was really the work that I did. My first job in this career lasted nine years. Then I changed jobs twice inside of three years trying to find job satisfaction. Needless to say, this approach didn’t work at all. With serious introspection and reflection, I finally began to plot my next move to go where I wanted to be, a process that took a couple of steps before I landed a solid job in my chosen career field.

2. Beware of blurting out what’s on your mind. Oh, the innocence of youth! Yes, I learned to contribute ideas and such in teamwork situations, but inside the context of helping the project or mission succeed – never trashing the idea behind it. Unless you’re the CEO, your vision for the company is just your opinion. If you’re smart, you will be on the same page as your manager. If you operate from your own agenda instead of your company’s, you will quickly get labeled a troublemaker and end up on the short list when it comes time for layoffs.

3. Respect for your boss is expected. He/she doesn’t have to earn it. I’ll never forget the day when I told the company president not to call me a girl. A “mature” 25-year-old, I was hung up on the stereotype between men and girls. I wanted to be treated as a woman, not a girl. The president hadn’t said anything resembling gender harassment, but stupid me still had to point out that when he called the administrative pool “girls” he was being demeaning. Surprisingly, I held onto my job after that. I even got promoted. I realize now what a good leader he really was.

4. “Friends” at work are different from friends outside of work. No matter how close you feel to someone you work with, you can never completely trust them when it comes to your career. Maybe that’s a bit cynical, but wherever competition is involved, I’ve learned that each person looks out for Number One first. I guess the true scoop here is that those with whom you work are never your family. The workplace is for improving your company’s bottom line, not for building a safe haven for you. And what about dating someone with whom you work? Do so at your own peril!

5. Your career needs a plan to follow, similar to a business plan. Without a plan, you’ll continue to leap at whatever presents itself as new and shiny – not necessarily smart and wholesome. Not too many people know which career position they want three years from now. But imagine if you did! Now you could be developing the necessary skills for that move; acquiring the knowledge you need to succeed in that role; networking with the right people to help you make a smooth transition.

I look back on my career and see it as choppy, at best. I know that making a move for money was not always the best strategy. While I learned a lot about life and work over the years, the only career move I truly made as a planned choice was the one to start my own business. It took me six months of research to confirm that my goal was achievable and good for me. Thirteen years later, I know it was the right move, too. Can you say the same about your current position?

If you’re in your ’20s, heed what I say here as you begin to design your career. If you’re in your ’30s or ’40s, it’s still not too late to shift career course. If you’re in your ’50s or ’60s, you can still find that right career for you – many of us will be working into our ’70s, or longer.

Wishing you career success in 2012! – Originally posted on onTargetjobs by Meg Montfort

Career Lesson For 2012: Learn From Others’ Mistakes is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

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Before you go pasting on nametags three times a week, take a couple of lesson in stealth networking. Then consider how your career moves will look to your current boss, and what you’ll say if she asks you why you’ve been so active on the professional meeting circuit lately.

“You don’t want to look sneaky,” said Susan Joyce, publisher of the site Job-Hunt.org. Neither do you want to end up fired for active job hunting – and that does happen occasionally. (Unless they have an employment contract or a union contract, most workers can be fired at will for any reason or no reason.)

“Just do good networking in support of your job” and your employer, Joyce said. The more the networking can be an outgrowth or an add-on to your job, the more it seems natural and easy to manage.

You’ll need other strategies though to stay in stealth mode, including these:

Create careful replies to key questions. Plan good answers for coworkers and people you meet at networking events when they ask: So why are you looking for a new job? Or what’s behind all that schmoozing? If you work in a field that is in flux, you could say something like: “Given the uncertainty in this industry, it’s wise to keep your eyes open for possible Plan B opportunities.” Or “I’m not actively looking, just looking to build my circle of connections.” Or you could craft a sentence or two that indicates how much you appreciate your current assignment or boss, but you’re concerned both could be about to change dramatically.  Once you’ve come up with a couple of statements and practiced them and polished them so they are clear, professional and positive, you will never be ambushed by a nosy co-worker who asks why you’re suddenly so interested in professional association meetings or what kind of job you’re seeking.  If they’ve guessed that you are actively seeking a job at a company, ask them to keep it to themselves.

Create a job search group.  In her book Wishcraft, Barbara Sher calls them success teams. They’re a group, usually six to eight people, who are collaborating to achieve similar goals, or sometimes quite different ones. Joyce suggests creating one for people who are all starting to seek new jobs. Then be sure to meet on off hours and not use any company resources for your group.

Volunteer to go to chamber meetings. This works especially well at a smaller company. It will help your employer become better known, and possibly bring in new business and it will “raise your own personal visibility” too, said Joyce. This is a good assignment to request even if you’re not in sales, as long as you can genuinely promote your employer.

Develop a second business card. In the Boston area they’re called networking cards and they omit your employer’s name or address and give your personal email and contact information instead, Joyce said. “Sometimes it’s more appropriate to give that out,” she said. And sometimes, you may give out your work card and your professional networking card to the same person.

Create a research project.  In a post on Yellow Brick Road, career transitions coach Darrell Gurney suggests this stealth networking approach: Come up with an aspect of your industry that you want to delve into; then arrange meetings with leaders to learn from them. Ask some questions about their experiences, then go into “some carefully prepared questions on a very granular level.” This creates relationships and referrals, which could lead to work.

Stay on your own laptop and time. Do not use your professional email address or work time to set up coffee dates or send thank you notes. Your employer may monitor your email, your web usage and even voicemail messages left for you, Joyce said.

Carefully raise your personal visibility. Join a professional association committee. Develop a strong LinkedIn profile and start using other social media sites too.  But do this slowly, and gradually so it doesn’t raise questions, Joyce said. And watch what you post on LinkedIn.  Sometimes even asking questions about job search or possible openings in a job search group can be spotted by someone else at your employer.

The key is to be low-key and professional in your networking, and also make sure you’re working first for your current employer and exceeding expectations there. If your boss wouldn’t give you an excellent recommendation and your coworkers are bellyaching about your absences, all the networking and brand-building in the world will not compensate.

How To Increase Your Visibility & Networking Quietly is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

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“There are a number of differences,” says Kathleen Downs, a recruiting manager at Robert Half International. “I wouldn’t say one is better than the other, but they are certainly different.”

From culture to job function, here’s a look at ten differences between working for a small firm and its larger brethren.

Getting the job

Even getting hired at a small business is different. According to Anita Campbell, Chief Executive of  Small Business Trends, chances are landing a job at a small business is going to be a much quicker process. “In large companies it’s not unusual to go through five, six even ten interviews before you are actually given a job,” she says.

The bigger the more bureaucratic

Everyone knows that when you work for a large company there are more hoops you have to jump through to get anything done. Small businesses, on the other hand, tend to have less bureaucracy, less organization and less complexity, says Kim Ruyle, vice president and managing principal at Korn/Ferry International. In a small business “it’s simpler to navigate the organizational maze to know who makes a difference,” says Ruyle.

It’s a family affair

If you work in a large company, its likely you’ll only get to know the people you work with day in and day out. At a small company you’ll probably know everyone from the receptionist all the way up to the boss. “There’s going to be more personal relationships,” says Campbell. “If you get along then it may feel like a family, but on the other hand if you don’t get along, you don’t have the distance of a big company.”

You get to wear more hats

Working for a small business can give you much wider exposure to job functions, because everyone tends to wear more than one hat. For instance a comptroller in small company may have his or her hands in budgets, forecasting and creating financial statements while in a large company he or she may only be responsible for preparing financial statements, says Downs.

Better working conditions

Small businesses typically have less rules and thus more flexibility in the work life balance they offer. They know they can’t provide the same benefits that a large corporation can, so often times they will go out of their way to make the working conditions really good, says Campbell.

More specialization at large firms

At a large company you’ll get the chance to specialize and more fully develop a specific expertise or job function. If you want a career in the tax side of accounting that can be great, but according to Ruyle it may be less appealing to the person that’s seeking a broader perspective of the business.

Opportunities abound at big companies

Most of the time at a large company there’s more opportunities to grow. After all large companies typically have a structure in place to move up the career ladder. That doesn’t mean you will be stuck in a dead end job at a small firm. According to Ruyle many companies start out small only to grow into huge enterprises.

Exacting change

Many people go into a career not only to make money but to make a difference. Chances are much higher that you can affect change at a small firm. “A publicly traded company has documented processes and procedures for doing everything,” says Downs. At a small business things can “change on a dime,” she says.

Mission is more than the bottom line

Every business is created to make money, but at a small company it’s not only about pleasing shareholders. According to Phil Marsosudiro of management consulting company Marsosudiro & Company, at small companies the owners can have multiple goals. “A small business may have other priorities like the environmental benefits or other social benefits,” says Marsosudiro.

More job security

When you get a job at a small company, often times you are considered part of the family, so letting you go may not be as easy. It can be “painstaking,” for the small business owner, says Downs. “Sometimes at larger companies there will be a mandate from someone at the top that cuts will be this deep and they don’t know the people personally.”

Small Vs. Large Companies: Ten Differences Between Working For The Two is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

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As the economy continues to drag, the group of people who have been without a job for weeks and months on end seems to continue growing. And it can seem like finding a job becomes more difficult the longer you remain without one. But it’s not hopeless.

If you’ve been without a job for a long time, here are five tips for breaking through and getting hired, according to Erin Peterson at Aon Hewitt, a global leader in human capital consulting and outsourcing solutions.

1. Confront Bias. Yes, there is bias against the long-term unemployed. “The best way to deal with it is head on,” Peterson says. “Talk about what you’ve been doing to build your skills in the meantime, and be flexible. Hiring managers know it’s been hard for millions of people for over three years. They will cut you some slack if you don’t try to cover it up.”
2. Consider Retraining. Taking classes or getting trained in a new area “absolutely works because [it] gives you new skills and new confidence, two key ingredients to being marketable,” Peterson says. She suggests targeting your retraining efforts by visiting job boards and USAjobs.gov and look for trends in open positions. “If you see one or two profiles that most companies or government agencies seem to always have available, go out and acquire those skills,” she says. “Remake yourself into what the market seeks and you may never be unemployed again.”
3. Consider Volunteering. Try volunteering with a local charity as a way to keep busy while you’re looking for a job, and you never know what good things will come of it. “Let’s say an unemployed machinist loved dogs,” Peterson says. “While he was unemployed, he volunteered at the local dog shelter to help get their facility in shape. While volunteering, he met another volunteer with a need at her company for his skills and voila! She gets a referral bonus from her company for referring him, and he gets a job.”
4. Get Creative. “Market yourself the way companies market their products; appropriately but with a flair that fits your personality,” Peterson says. “If you’re looking for a marketing job, send a hiring manager flowers with a CD of your portfolio attached. Also, use your contacts. [Being unemployed is] the perfect time to reach into all the areas of your life and connect with former colleagues, friends, and friends of friends on social media, and let them know you’re looking. Go find those long lost friends from high school and college and connect with them; you never know what you’ll find. The Germans have a great saying that is translated loosely as, ‘You always meet twice.’ And it’s true!”
5. Keep up Your Professional Contacts. It may seem obvious, but “the worst thing you can do when you’re unemployed is to stay at home and isolate yourself,” Peterson says. “Join a support group for job seekers at a local church or synagogue. Volunteer and network, network, network.”

5 Tips To Overcome Long-Term Unemployment is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

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1. Update your material​

It’s the new year, and it’s time for an update – go through your job search material and refresh it. Update your resume with new experience, skills, or information; update your cover letter format to reflect any changes or to include new examples of your accomplishments and goals.​

Take your updates online: update your portfolio or website (if you have one) with new projects or new material. Update your blog (again, if you have one) with new material. Update the biographical information on your social networks – Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, especially.​

2. Analyze your status​

Take a good, hard look at where you’re at in your job search. Have you met your prior goals or objectives? What’s been successful and what hasn’t? Now, turn and look at yourself — have you gained any new skills or experiences? What do you bring to the table for an employer? Is there anything that might be a red flag to a prospective employer? Taking inventory of the current state of your job search and your “employability” will help you figure out what you need to do to get where you want to go.​

3. Set new goals​

Speaking of getting where you want to go, a new year means new goals! Besides all of the administrative updates to your application materials and online presence, be sure to update your job search goals and objectives for the year. ​

Take the information you gained from analyzing your job search status and apply it to your new goals — set goals for what you need to work on, what you want to accomplish, and where you want to be in 2012. Make sure to make your goals realistic. Specific, attainable goals will help keep you motivated during the year.​

4. Revamp your plan​

You have updated material, a grasp on the status of your job search, and new goals; take these three things and revamp your job search strategy. Every job search needs a plan; this plan isn’t limited to where you want to ​be or what you want to do (i.e., goals), but also includes specific tactics for how to accomplish your goals and a timeline to keep you on track. Update your current plan or start from scratch — either way, it’s important to have a solid sense of direction for your job search, and a good idea of how to get where you’re going.​

5. Meet new contacts and keep the old

Ex-Girl Scouts may remember the familiar anthem: “Make new friends, but keep the old; one is silver and the other’s gold.” This applied in your Scout years and now it applies in your job search. Networking is essential at every stage of your job search; to kick-start your 2012 job search, attend networking events, engage on social networks, and reach out to relevant people to build your network and add new contacts.​

As important as it is to add new contacts to your network, it’s also important to support the network you already have. Remember, networking is about creating a two-way, mutually beneficial relationship — continue to engage with and help out people in your existing network while building it larger.​

6. Try something new​

It’s a new year and time for some new approaches to your job search. Think hard: what are some things you haven’t done yet for your job search? Maybe you have yet to build a portfolio, start a blog, set up informational interviews, or jump on the Twitter bandwagon. Pick one or two (or three or four…) tactics you haven’t yet tried in your job search, and make a resolution to try them in 2012. ​

Job seekers, how are you jumpstarting your 2012 job search? Let us know below.

6 Ways To Jumpstart Your 2012 Job Search is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

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But many don’t see themselves that way or sell themselves that way. And they don’t find the ways they can really shine before they send off their resume. They need to assess how their talents and traits could really benefit the person who’s about to read their resume and hire someone crucial to their team.

So this year, give yourself enough time and many opportunities to stand out in your job search. This may mean cutting back on the number of resumes you send out a week or a month. But a few carefully crafted resumes and cover letters that connect the dots may do more to open doors than sending out hundreds of copycat CVs.

“It takes quite a bit of energy” to do some research and become a “standout candidate,” said Elena Bajic, founder and CEO of Ivy Exec, which offers targeted career advice and jobs for members. She agrees candidates need to be selective in applying for jobs;  “pick and choose those that are highly relevant” to their skills and expertise

Then follow these five tips to make yourself a standout as you apply for work:

Know the traits that impress.  Some will be written right into the job posting. Others may be in your future employer’s core values or mission statement. Sometimes they can be identified by reading a few blog posts or an in-depth profile of the CEO or senior executive in charge of the area where you hope to work. Look at industry trends and best practices, too. The American Management Association identified the four Cs as skills employers really want: critical thinking and problem solving; collaboration; communication and creativity / innovation.

Your resume matches your job.  Anyone looking for a job in sales or marketing needs to promote themselves very effectively. An editor cannot afford misspellings or grammatical errors, Bajic said. A manager must show that they are organized and can engage people with their resume. An IT manager’s resume needs a different structure and look than an interactive advertising manager. Different jobs and sectors require varied approaches. So each time you send out your resume, take just 10 minutes to adjust it so it’s a closer match to the job posting.

Follow-up – twice.   After the resume’s gone out, send an email or make a call to promote yourself again. Then another one week later. When one candidate did this with Bajic, she gave his resume a second look, which led to an interview.  “I don’t receive that many follow-ups,” she said, “maybe 5 or 10 percent” of job seekers connect even once after applying.

Speed your replies.  When she’s requesting an initial phone interview, Bajic sees those who respond to an email quickly, in a few minutes or so, as “a high energy person who’s engaged.” Someone who does not reply for two or three days may imply that they are less energetic and engaged or not all that interested in the job, she said. Other employment experts say it’s important to show you’re energetic and a quick study, especially if you’re a mature job seeker or one who has been out of the workplace for a few years.

Prepare for phone interviews.  Take care with this and don’t take it on the fly. When the HR manager calls for a phone screening interview, ask to schedule it the next day – and use those 24 hours to research the company and the job you’re seeking. Take time to envision the job and what it entails, Bajic says. Ask yourself: What is the company trying to achieve here? That way your questions will be more in-depth and your impact better.

Remember too that what works to make you a standout with IBM may not be as impressive at Apple Computer or a small start-up in Ann Arbor, Mich.  Core traits that work for small entrepreneurial organizations may be miles apart from the ones that turn heads at a Fortune 500 corporation. The key is to draw on your list of strengths and best traits and bring up those that your future boss really values.

It’s knowing what will stand out and shine in the galaxy where you’re hoping to land next that could lead to success.

5 Tips To Really Standout & Land A Job is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

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It is interesting to me because reviewing the backgrounds of the two students would lead one to believe these two would have ‘no problem’ finding the right employer, really one would think employers should be doing all they can to pursue them, but they aren’t. I have a couple of ideas as to why the situation is what it is and more importantly, have suggestions for students looking for internships or work aligned with career desires.

One of the students I am working with is a merit scholar at a university in the southwest and is studying to graduate with degrees in economics, philosophy and Latin American Studies. The other will graduate from a top engineering school in the southwest with a degree in aeronautical engineering and has a high GPA.

So these descriptions beg a couple of questions:

1. What do students do to find the right opportunity?
2. Why are HR organizations for companies not aware of these students?

Let’s take these one at a time and we will get to suggestions, so bear with me.

What it appears students do to find work…

The answer to the first is what most people looking for work do – they review websites for job/opportunity postings and submit their resume, and then what happens? Nothing – crickets chirp louder and why? Easy, companies don’t have the resources to manage inquiries and few executives understand the need and upside for making investments in talent acquisition through great relationship management. In the late 90’s, because of the Internet the future was described as one where companies would seek out and value talent relationships ahead of need…that HR would become strategic versus reactive and all in the world would be wonderful. Based on the discussions I’ve had with these students and others, we missed and we missed badly. Not only are students not finding work easily, they hear a negative outlook on the future of work, at a time when the reality is we have positions to fill in this country and companies complain the right talent is not available. For smart people, we are not solving this problem very effectively.

Why don’t companies build relationships with talent ahead of demand?

Resources are at a premium and few companies understand the value of searching out talent ahead of need and establishing a relationship of value. In the descriptions here every company that does business in Latin America should know every merit scholar studying Latin American studies and Economics at major universities in the US and around the world. They should have already established a relationship and begun a nurturing process for future need. There are not that many and it is not that difficult. Same can be said for the Aeronautic Engineering major but rather than reach out it appears companies and students sit back, use the Internet and wait.

Students and companies alike must think about standing out in the market by doing things differently than everyone else:

Network to establish personal relationships
Students – look to Glassdoor to understand how employees think of their employer
Companies – look to Glassdoor to see how employees think of you
For both – be different by thinking and acting strategic in your search for work or talent

We as students, employees and companies must do a better job of career relationship, transition and transaction. It is past time to get this right.

How New Grads & Companies Should Find One Another is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

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Long gone are the days when volunteering meant working in a soup kitchen or taking part in a clothing drive. These days, non-profits need all types of skills from marketing to accounting. Sure you won’t get paid, but the experience you’ll gain can go a long way in landing your next paying job.

“Volunteering is a fantastic way to build skills, contacts and get your foot in the door,” says Sara Sutton Fell, chief executive and founder of FlexJobs. “It’s a great opportunity to show your motivation and contribute.”

But how should you go about getting that volunteer gig? According to career experts you’ll need to approach it similar to how you would tackle finding a paying job. After all your goal is to get into a company where you can use your current skills or learn new ones and at the same time have access to the people that can help you transition from volunteer to employee.

“You have to do some soul searching and figure out what it is you want to do and then tailor all your volunteer work to filling the tool box with those skills,” says Mary Marino, founder of EmployementPipeline.com. “This market is very competitive so getting more skills and more experience is going to help.” Let’s say your chosen field is accounting but you want to move into advertising and marketing.  Instead of offering to balance the budget ask to work in the advertising department.

Strategically Find Volunteer Work

Once you’ve figured out what you want to do as a volunteer, the next step is to find a company to give your time to. That will require research on the internet and a bit of cold calling of non-profits and for-profit companies.  Don’t focus only on the large ones. Chances are there are a lot of small organizations in your neighborhood that would welcome the help. It also pays to align yourself with a cause you care about. It will make the volunteer work more rewarding if it’s something you feel passionate about.  “Even in a volunteer work setting you are selling yourself,” says Nicole Williams, a career expert and connection director at LinkedIn. “There are a lot of qualified people looking to volunteer. This isn’t a secret.”

The holy grail of volunteering would be to serve on the board of a non-profit as an un-paid member. It’s an ideal way to network since typically the people on the board are well connected in the community. But not just everyone will be able to pull this off. According to Heather Krasna, author and career coach and you’ll need to be a lawyer, accountant of have specific skills the non-profit is looking for.

Include It on Your Resume

After you’ve landed your volunteer job it’s important to list it on your resume and profile it on your professional networks like LinkedIn. These days hiring managers consider volunteering as legitimate work experience. What’s more, it shows you’re not just sitting around, but are out there trying to keep your skills fresh.  Don’t pretend it was a paying job but do make sure to highlight the expertise you gleaned and honed from the volunteering experience. “Employers don’t care if you were paid. If the work is substantial then its work,” says Krasna.

Volunteering Your Way To A Job is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

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Write down your ideal job profile – and be sure to consider both the slot you want to fill and the type of employer where you’re most likely to thrive.  By defining both, you will make it easier to create an action plan for getting there, said Paul Glover, a business and executive coach in the Chicago area.

“People are not as intensely focused on what they need to be. I’m continually asking people: ‘What do you what to be when you grow up?’” said Glover, author of a book called WorkQuake, which looks at the differences created by huge shifts toward the knowledge economy.

Identify your ideal career by focusing not just on your skills and experience but also on your well-being and wants: What feels meaningful, what would make you feel happy or successful or useful, Glover said.

“Those opportunities are out there. When we don’t focus on them, we don’t see them,” he said.

If you’re not sure, start browsing through some job listings and save those that most appeal to you in a file. After you’ve amassed 10 or 20, look through them for trends and common traits in the job and employer. Or start a career journal and write regularly about what you like about your job – and what you visualize in the next one.  I once created a list titled “I want a job that…” and showed my interest in a kind collaborative boss and team, flexible hours and the chance to write about topics that interest and appealed to me (such as careers). I carried it around with me, and posted a copy in my home office – and now, I’m in the middle of it.

Then, once you have your ideal job identified and written down, come up with a few goals that will aid you in achieving it, Glover suggested.  Create a concise career action plan for yourself with your ideal job as the big goal and some smaller stepping stone ones leading there. Write down your plan and goals so they feel more real.

Glover’s plan for this year, which includes a second book, is written down and “will be pasted up on the wall right next to my desk. I can’t avoid it,” he said.  If you put yours on the wall at work, make sure your supervisor knows you’re gunning for a promotion before she reads it there.

Then you use your ideal job and the goals you set as the target and GPS to guide you. You probably need to expand your network “to get to the table,” Glover said. “The networking you do now has a different focus” – one that brings you closer to your first choice job. As you consider what seminars and educational opportunities to take, you choose those that will fill in skills and knowledge needed for the ideal job.

If your goals look too huge, break them down into quarterly and then monthly steps. “You could break it down into weekly goals” that are small, he said. Start by joining your alumni association and then add its networking events to your calendar. Decide how many and what kind of people you want to meet at each one.

“The concept of the action plan requires exactly that – action,” said Glover. So build in some ways to measure progress toward your goals and ideal career and look for someone – a co-worker, a mentor, an old friend or a coach – to hold you accountable.

Sometimes your career path could take a detour or an opportunity that seems outside of your target area. “Be open to the opportunities that come your way,” said Glover, and also decide whether they will move you toward your ideal job. For those who think setting a target means you can rule out everything else, think again. “You cannot be so choosy about what you’re willing to do as long as it’s moving you toward your goals,” he said.

Identify Your Ideal Job & Set Up Your GPS For Getting There is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

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Resolve to:

1.Keep Good Company in 2012

2. Be Good Company in 2012

Let me explain.  One of the interesting paradoxes of the high-tech, modern world in which we live is that it has elevated the importance of – and therefore, the benefits associated with –  the very old-fashioned Golden Rule.  You know, the one that starts with “Do unto others……..”  Technology-fueled people power (of which Glassdoor is a prime example) has created an increasingly transparent world, making it more and more difficult for any of us – as either individuals or organizations – to get away with bad behavior.

To “Keep Good Company” (resolution #1) you need to consider your role as a consumer, employee and investor.  By buying from Good Companies – those serious about protecting the well-being of their customers – you’ll point yourself in the direction of being healthier.  Think Seventh Generation.

By working at a Good Company – one that takes seriously its commitment to employees – you’ll get the benefit of on-the-job training and development, which will enhance your lifetime employability and income.  (Glassdoor is an excellent source of information for finding these types of prospective employers.)  Yes, yes – I realize that jobs aren’t growing on trees these days.  But as long as you’re looking, you might as well aspire to find yourself a Good Employer, as opposed to a Lackluster Employer (or worse).

Finally, investing in Good Companies is yet another way to become wealthier because, believe it or not, they make more money than the “bad guys.”  And yes, I realize that money also doesn’t grow on trees.  But take the money you do have and invest it in Good Companies.  It will serve you well.  No kidding – we’ve written the book on this!

As for resolution #2 – Be Good Company – it obviously covers a lot of territory.  Everything from flossing your teeth, to getting more exercise, to eating better, to remembering to call your mom at least once a week.  This is the part that will make you wiser– especially the exercise part, because it improves cognitive abilities.

As I’m writing this, I realize that resolution #2 is perhaps not as simple as it sounds – hence why so many of us have already broken our New Year’s resolutions.  So if you decide to bag it, I understand.  But please try to stick with resolution #1.  Not only will it make you better off, it will make the world a better place.  And that, at least, is another way for you to make some headway on resolution #2!

The 2 New Year’s Resolutions That Will Make You Healthier, Wealthier & Wiser is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Related posts:

1. 6 New Year’s Resolutions For Your Job Search
2. Tips For Making & Keeping New Year’s Resolutions
3. Five Top New Year Career Resolutions