16 Traits of Winning Employees

16 Traits of Winning Employees There is no such thing as the perfect employee. However, there are certain tell-tale signs that will either allude to the fact that a hire will work out or will turn into a headache. The saying goes a job seeker is either part of the problem or part of the solution. When a new hire is part of the problem, they cost the company money, emotional energy and if nothing is done about it can become a significant management issue. On the other hand, when a job seeker who is hired utilizes the below traits they currently possess and work to acquire the ones they don’t yet have, they turn into leaders and winners within the organization. Top traits of successful employees: The individuals with the below traits become the wealthiest, most successful and respected in the professional world. 1.  A  strong  work  ethic coupled with a passion for improvement. Work ethic is the foundation of anything worthwhile. In life, the most rewarding goals require diligent work and focus. Intelligence, creativity and passion become nearly useless without the willingness to work hard. 2.  Exceptional  organizational  skills and an understanding of the time, business and money organization brings. 3.  High  energy that becomes contagious and is one significant component to becoming a leader. 4.  Positive  outlook with a realistic sense of what to the difference is between optimistic and overly confident and unrealistic. 5.  Strong  sense  of  accountability. In life and work, things don’t always go as planned. Mistakes are part of the journey of becoming better and better…unless you don’t fess up to the mishaps, which is a habit that will hurt others perceptions of you for the rest of your career and life. 6.  Confidence  in  varied  social  and  professional  settings with a keen ability to put oneself in the shoes of others and see their point of view. 7.  The  ability  to  communicate  effectively  with  everyone  from  the  newest  clerk, to  the  CEO  with  respect,  appropriate  demeanor,  and  friendliness 8.  Professional  appearance  and  business  formal  apparel  for  client  calls. It is a fact that interviewees, co-workers, clients and bosses significantly factor in your looks when judging things such as competency, intelligence, drive and overall fit within the corporate culture. 9.  Integrity  in  personal,  professional  and  financial  matters  at  all  times. 10.  The  ability  to  work  with  a  team  of  varied  skills  and  personalities. A  strong  desire  to  build  and  maintain  substantive  professional  relationships  with  clients  and  coworkers is the foundation of leadership, happiness and success. 11. Foresight. The ability to see around corners and anticipate market changes. Great employees use their brains and are perceptive of what’s going on around them with co-workers, bosses, competitors, industry trends and anything else that will affect their ability to do their job and assist the organization in becoming successful. Hindsight is universal, foresight can change an employee’s universe (both professionally and personally). 12.  The  ability  to  be  realistic  about  one’s  skills  and  abilities  and  those  of  one’s  coworkers. 13.  A  habit  of  seeing  work  through  to  its  completion. 14.  The  ability  to  analyze  problems  from  a  neutral  standpoint  and  discover  creative  ways  to  remedy  any  and  all  issues. 15.  Having  a  professional,  robust,  diversified  and  informative  presence  on  the  web. 16.  Intelligence  both  emotionally  and  intellectually  speaking. Job Seeker Assistance: For job seekers, this information can also be used to improve communication during the interview process and ensure that key points are discussed throughout the conversations with the employer. Remember that the most inhibiting habits are hard to live with, difficult to get rid off, but end up paying off in spades. Image Credit: Shutterstock

Why a Personal Email Address Matters - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Why a Personal Email Address Matters - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Do you have one? Do you have more than one? How many personal email addresses do you have? Personal Email Addresses Matter In my case I currently have three that I regularly stay connected with and respond to inbound email. How many do you have? If none, why not? Perhaps this post will help change your mind if you have none. If you have at least one I’d like to hear how you use your personal email address(es) to stay in touch, stay connected and to keep the communications channels open. Why do Personal Email Addresses Matter? In this every changing world of job shifting it’s no longer wise to assume your company email will follow you wherever you go. Its better to be prepared now. Exceptions and Caveats: Exception 1 If you have your own company It’s safe to assume this will not change quite as regularly. Exception 2  â€" If you have your own personal domain. Which is a wise move. Caveat  things still change. What’s the Point? A lot of people say and think that email is dead and dying. And it might be. But, today when you want to apply for a job, subscribe to a newsletter, apply for a loan and lots of other day to day (seemingly mundane) tasks … you WILL be asked for your email. Having an email address that you know can always be accessed by you … any time, any place and on any device is a smart thing for you personally and professionally. Let’s consider a few scenarios: Coordinating a Party  â€" Not only may this be a violation of company email policies it’s just bad form to coordinate your parties on your work email address. Ordering on Amazon  â€" In a similar vein anything you order on Amazon or other online shopping adventures don’t need to be archived forever on your work email. Auto Loan  â€" Your personal information  â€" including credit scores, SSN and more are shared here. Again, this is not something you want to be stored as a record within the company email servers. Home Loan / Rental Application  â€" Same as above. Newsletter Subscription  â€" When you leave your current company (not if … when) you don’t want to have to remember and re-subscribe to the newsletters, websites and other information you have grown accustomed to reading. The point is … Respect the Value of a Personal Email Account. Why Do This? Staying in touch matters. Staying connected matters. Do you want to forced to remember something like this: Oh yeah, I subscribed to that newsletter or applied for my loan with my “old work” account. Now what do I do to regain access? Then realize that a) you aren’t getting notified of important information or b) missing a payment because you just plain forgot and were relying upon email for your task management (yes, this does happen). Keeping A Personal Email is Smart It’s also easy. It will also help you to Stand Out In Your Career! It’s never been easier to setup a personal email account. Taking 5 minutes to set one up (perhaps more than one if you have multiple interests) is a wise move and one that will pay dividends down the road. I say you’ll stand out in your career because you will not need to spend time re-creating subscriptions, loans and other important (and perhaps sensitive) documentation, etc. and you will be able to get on with your life and career. Side Benefit of having a Personal Email Address: Most corporate email servers keep EVERYTHING and file them as records. This is just one more reason to have a personal email address. Sure, these servers keep everything too, but when you aren’t working for said company anymore you’ll have a teensy little bit more privacy. There are more than a few free email services out there. The most common are Microsoft’s Outlook.com and Google’s Gmail  â€" which are quite robust and have a lot of additional features for calendar and task management. There are also the old stalwarts in AOL and Yahoo (a caveat with these … they may brand the user of these email domains as older. Beware of ageism). I’m sure there are many other ways to do this. I’m pretty sure there is at least one great business idea wrapped up in a better way. Perhaps you will be the one that will solve this for all of us. If you already have created a solution … please share. Got a Different Opinion? Please drop a comment here. I’d really like to hear how you handle your correspondence, communications and connections.

Monday Must-Reads Are you part of the new driveby culture

Monday Must-Reads Are you part of the new driveby culture The Psychology of Making Huge Career Jumps.   Its all about psychology folks.   Read this great example.   Also, if you arent already subscribing to Ramit Sethis blog, I highly recommend you do.   Its awesome for young professionals trying to get their financial life together. Its tax time, so I had to post this article on 7 Simple Mistakes that can lead to an audit. Driveby culture and the endless search for wow. I often think about how our dependence on technology is changing society.   For example, I have a sister who is almost 10 years younger than me.   Her teenage years are completely different than mine because of technology.   The more we rely on technology, the more we want answers right now.   The more we search for instant gratification, the more  we get a false sense of satisfaction.   Technology makes it easier to walk away from important things because you figure you can quickly replace it.   Technology makes people afraid of the phone and  impatient.   We want it all right now.   We can Google the answer to anything, so we dont bother learning.   How do you think our dependence on technology is changing society? 8 Places You Wont find Inner Happiness   To piggyback on the previous article, I think all this technology sometimes makes us more lonely than we would be with out it.   Why?   Because we are so used to being inundated with instant messages, tweets, new emails, and Facebook updates.   If we dont get any, it feels weird.   If we arent constantly being entertained, we are bored.   We dont know how to just  be with ourselves  anymore (I cant even get through an elevator ride without my iPhone).   This article lists 8 places  most of us have  tried finding happiness, but havent.   Do you think that technology has changed the way people get happy?   Do you think technology has changed our need for instant happiness highs?

Just Five Minutes ... Twice a Day - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Just Five Minutes ... Twice a Day - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Take 5 minutes twice a day … to clear your mind. Write down everything that crossed your brain. Get it out. Dump it. Then decide if you should own it. Whats the Point? Everyone is inundated with stuff. Every day more and more stuff is crossing our streams. From what we see on TV, consume on the Internet and to what we are exposed to at work. Also, to what we hear on the radio, in the hallway and out in public. The volume of stuff is increasing, but the quality is not necessarily keeping pace. My suggestion is take a FMBD â€" A Five Minute Brain Dump Of course, you can’t possibly document EVERYTHING that crosses your brain, but you can and should take some time periodically for a Five Minute Brain Dump. Pro Tip: Put it on your calendar … add “Take FMBD” A FMBD allows you to take stock of all the things that are coming at you and decide which ones deserve and/or require your time. The end result is that you will have more control over your time and you will stand out in your career. What Can You Do About It? The current buzzword is “curate” the stuff that crosses your data streams. Curate â€" cu ·rate kyo?o'rat,'kyo?o?rat/ … to select, organize, and present information. Whether you agree with the term or not there is some logic here. When you take the time to parse through the steams of content that are coming your way you can make a conscious decision to take action, delay action,  to  delegate action, or as the FMBD implies to dump action. Meaning just drop it off your radar and forget about it. Where to Start? There are a lot of ways you can do this. I prefer a combination of notes, lists and white boards. Depending upon what I have readily available. A few of the options I use are listed below along with a brief description. Mind Map  â€" This is a tried and true method that may allow you to see associations that may not have been obvious from a list or a mental map. Lists  â€" The goto standard. Everyone likes to check off items on their todo list. Having a list of items on your mind, then stack ranking them, and finally deciding what to do with them is freeing. White Board  â€" This can be a modified mind map or it be a combination of things where you may be working with yourself and you may included others that might provide useful input and guidance. Paper  â€" Whether it’s a notebook, a sheet of paper of a butcher block roll of paper there is something freeing about being able to write things down. One advantage with paper is that you can wad it up and toss it into the trash for that added extra freeing feeling. Post-It Notes  â€" Again, this is a lot like paper, but there are a lot of options that can be employed. Something as simple as using different colors for different projects (or if working in a group for each person) can easily be employed. Index Cards  â€" I have used index cards for years to capture my thoughts. Very much like post-in notes you can quickly re-arrange content to suit your needs. Talk it Out with yourself, your team, your peers, your mentor Tools: I prefer Microsoft OneNote. Evernote is also a popular option. Both are free and can be used across all of your devices. Whats in it for you? When you do this you will find that you are more productive and you make better use of your day. Also, by dumping everything from your mind you will find that you can be more present in every conversation. As mentioned above you will standout in your career too. Why? Because you will be able to focus on whats important, delegate tasks and projects, and drop things that dont align with your goals and priorities. The end result is that this soft skill becomes a critical tool in your arsenal of productive daily activities. Simple, right? The goal is to make you more productive while helping you be more mindful of where you spend your time. The goal is to allow you to dump the stuff you don’t need to deal with … or at least hand it off to someone else or push it off until a time when you can deal with it. “Our life is frittered away by detail.   Simplify, simplify.” ? Henry David Thoreau Take 5 Five Minute Brain Dumps (5MBDs) Im suggesting you do 5MBDs twice a day. I typically do one first thing in the morning after looking at my calendar and again mid-afternoon. If you find a different rhythm or frequency works better for you Adopt it and Repeat Often.

How to Write an Ecq Resume

How to Write an Ecq ResumeWriting an Ecq Resume should be made easy for you to write. This is because there are a lot of things that you need to remember to make it easier for you to remember them. It is not as hard as you think.The main thing that you need to remember is the beginning of your Resume. First of all, you need to put the name of the company, company name, position and job description. In this case, it is the Ecq Resume. The position could be Manager, Vice-President, or Executive Assistant.You need to remember that the job description is in the order that you need to write it. It will usually be in bold letters. There will be numbers at the beginning and at the end. When you go to fill up the words, there will be a comma to use in between your first and second, and so on. If you have any spaces or indent in between, you need to type it after.The next important thing is to give some important information about yourself. What are the things that you can share about yoursel f. Describe your past employment, provide the best thing about your job, and include your educational background. Do not forget to put your name as well. This is what makes it easy for you to remember what you are writing.The next important thing that you need to know is to say that you are fit for the job. It is important that you emphasize the important part of your resume that can help you find a job. You should also tell them what skills you have that will be useful to your employer. This is also important to make your resume more appealing.Then, you need to tell what you need to learn in your job. Explain your skills that you need to know about your field. This will allow you to explain what you have to add in your work. The information you give must be logical. Give only facts that are reliable.When you finish the part of what you need to tell about yourself, you can write the skills that you want to put in your job. This can be a combination of skills that you learned in scho ol, or work experience. Make sure that you put the basic skills such as typing, reading, and basic arithmetic. You can also put other knowledge that you learned in school, like computer programming, or data analysis. These skills are the most important part of your resume.Remember that you need to have a theme for your resume. Your resume should be one that matches the company's requirements. You need to know what they are before you write your resume.

You will be asked this question, so prepare your answer NOW

You will be asked this question, so prepare your answer NOW Tell me about yourself? What does someone really want to know when they ask you this question? When you are asked this question during an interview, what they really want to know is: ARE QUALIFIED FOR THIS JOB? For anyone else asking, for example when you first meet someone at a networking event, what they really want to know is: SOMETHING MEMORABLE ABOUT YOU! Spiff Up Your Pitch Your answer fits somewhere between 15   seconds (during a networking encounter) and a minute   (during an interview). It shouldnt go longer than this, ever. One of my favorite tools was  Harvard Business Schools Elevator Pitch Builder (but it is no longer available.)  It prompted you to answer questions about yourself and then analyzes your pitch. Here are the questions: WHO: What would you like people to remember you for? WHAT: What value do you bring/offer? WHY: What do you do that is better than others? GOALS: What are your goals (measurable/realistic) One of the best reminders shared in this tool is that verbs are more powerful than adjectives. Interview Scenario Your pitch should be a summary of your benefits (the problems that you solve).   It should not be a chronological regurgitation of your work history and academic experiences. Instead of saying I am a recent graduate of XYZ college state instead My recent studies and experience at XYZ college have enabled me to gain tangible skills in (the skills the job requires, as long as it is true). Instead of saying I have over 25 years of experience as a PDQer state instead My cumulative experience has enabled me to hone my skills in (the skills the job requires, as long as it is true) and have delivered tangible results. These phrases encourage your listener to hear what you can do for them, so it is obvious and memorable. Here is more information on how to prepare for an interview. Conversations In a networking situation, you will more likely be asked What do you do?.   In 15-30 seconds, how will you answer this? Make it interesting.   Make it understandable to all! Never assume you know your audience. I help (who) do (what) I (what type of problem do you solve)? Your job title may not be meaningful to anyone other than you and your past employer.   It may not be descriptive enough to help your listener understand what you do. Make it clear. Here are some more information on preparing your answer to this question: Have a good answer for So, what do you do? Dont forget to check out the related posts at the end for more information. Add your pitch to the comments and Ill provide my 2 cents (if you dare!)

It isnt Time for New Years Resolutions Already, Is It

It isnt Time for New Years Resolutions Already, Is It They are popping up all over- articles, posts, tweets about how to make solid resolutions for the New Year. I am not ready for the New Year yet. I want to enjoy Christmas guilt free. I want to indulge in the fudge and cookies. I want to buy one more gift (it is a practical one, not extravagant or expensive). I want to cherish each hectic moment leading up to the grand finale of Christmas morning. This time of year goes by so quickly. I am going to slow it down. I am not going to plan for the future right now so I can enjoy the present and presents. There is a season which only happens once a year. By gosh, the stores start promoting it in October, but the real deal doesnt start until December. I want to get swept up in the emotions and meaning of Christmas this year. And so, I will not be writing about resolutions for at least another week (promise). If you want to begin reading some of these, be my guest! RESOLVED: This Year I will find a job I really wantfrom CareerRocketeer New Job, New You book giveaway from M.A.P. Maker Top 10 Talent Resolutions for 2010from Great Leadership Taking Stock of 2009 from Adventures of the Job Search Ninja On MyPath.com: 3 Ways to Make 2010 Your Best Career Yearfrom Lindsey Pollack