New Year, New You! Resolutions for 2023

New Year's resolutions are a tradition for many people, as a new year brings with it a sense of renewal and the opportunity to make positive changes in our lives. Whether it's getting in shape, quitting a bad habit, or achieving a personal or professional goal, setting a resolution can be a powerful motivator.

However, it's important to remember that making a resolution is only the first step. In order to achieve success, it's important to have a plan in place and to make a commitment to following through on your goals. Here are a few tips to help you make and keep your New Year's resolutions:

1. Be realistic: It's important to set goals that are achievable, rather than setting yourself up for failure by setting unrealistic expectations. Break your goals down into smaller, more manageable steps and focus on making progress rather than perfection.

2. Make a plan: Once you've set your goals, make a plan for how you will achieve them. Write down the steps you will take, create a timeline, and make sure you have the resources you need to succeed.

3. Stay accountable: Find someone who can hold you accountable and check in with them regularly. This could be a friend, family member, or even a therapist or coach.

4. Be persistent: Change is never easy, and there will inevitably be obstacles and setbacks along the way. Stay persistent and don't give up on your goals, even when things get tough.

5. Be kind to yourself: Remember that change takes time, and it's important to be patient and kind to yourself. Don't beat yourself up if you slip up or if things don't go as planned. Instead, focus on what you can learn from the experience and keep moving forward.

Overall, New Year's resolutions can be a powerful tool for personal growth and self-improvement. By setting realistic goals, making a plan, staying accountable, being persistent, and being kind to yourself, you can increase your chances of success and make positive changes in your life. Happy New Year!

Working During the Holidays - Make the Best of It!

The holidays are a time for celebration, relaxation, and spending time with loved ones. But for many people, the holidays also mean continuing to work and balancing the demands of their job with the desire to enjoy the festive season. If you find yourself working during the holidays, here are a few tips to help you stay focused and maintain a healthy work-life balance.

1. Set boundaries: It can be easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holidays and feel like you need to be available all the time. But it's important to set boundaries and make sure you are taking care of yourself. This might mean setting specific times when you are available to work and sticking to a schedule. It could also mean saying no to extra projects or tasks that would push you beyond your limits.

2. Take breaks: Working during the holidays can be stressful, so it's important to take breaks and give yourself time to recharge. This might mean taking a few minutes to step away from your work and go for a walk, or simply taking a break to stretch and relax.

3. Communicate with your team: If you are working with a team, it's important to communicate your availability and any potential conflicts you may have during the holiday season. This will help your team plan and ensure that projects are completed on time.

4. Make time for fun: Just because you are working during the holidays doesn't mean you can't have any fun. Make sure to carve out time to do the things you enjoy, whether it's participating in holiday traditions or simply taking some time to relax and unwind.

5. Take care of yourself: It's easy to get caught up in the demands of work, but it's important to remember to take care of yourself. Make sure you are getting enough sleep, eating well, and taking time for self-care.

Working during the holidays can be challenging, but with a little planning and self-care, it is possible to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Remember to set boundaries, take breaks, communicate with your team, make time for fun, and take care of yourself. With these tips, you can enjoy the holidays while also getting your work done.

How to Separate Work and Personal Life

Maintaining a healthy work-life balance is essential for both your professional and personal well-being. However, with the rise of technology and the expectation of being constantly connected, it can be tough to separate work and personal life. Here are a few tips to help you create boundaries and achieve a better work-life balance:

1. Set boundaries: One of the most important steps you can take to separate work and personal life is to set clear boundaries. This could mean setting specific times for checking emails and working, or simply saying no to taking on additional tasks outside of your regular working hours. By setting clear boundaries, you can protect your personal time and prevent work from spilling into your personal life.

2. Use technology wisely: Technology has made it easier to stay connected to work at all times, but it can also make it harder to disconnect. Consider setting limits on your use of technology outside of work hours, or turning off notifications for work-related apps when you're not on the clock. This can help you focus on your personal life and prevent work from taking over.

3. Make time for self-care: Self-care is essential for maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Take time to do things you enjoy, whether it's exercising, reading, or spending time with friends and family. Making time for self-care can help you recharge and prevent burnout, and it can also help you feel more balanced and fulfilled.

4. Communicate your needs: It's important to communicate your needs and boundaries with your employer and colleagues. Let them know when you're available and when you're not, and be clear about what you're willing to do outside of your regular working hours. By communicating your needs, you can create a better balance between work and personal life.

5. Seek support: If you're having trouble separating work and personal life, it can be helpful to seek support. Talk to a friend, family member, or professional about your struggles and ask for their help and guidance. Having a supportive network can make it easier to maintain a healthy work-life balance and prevent burnout.

By implementing these strategies, you can create boundaries and achieve a better work-life balance. Remember, it's important to make time for both your professional and personal life, and by finding a balance, you can stay healthy, happy, and fulfilled.

Salary Negotiation 101: What You Need to Know

Salary negotiation, plain and simple, is something you need to learn if you want to have a successful career. Here are a few tips to help you get started!

1. Do your research: Before you begin the negotiation process, make sure you know the typical salary range for the position you're applying for in your region, as well as the average salary for someone with your level of experience and skills. This will give you a good starting point for your negotiation.

2. Be prepared to justify your worth: The employer will likely ask why you think you deserve a higher salary, so be prepared to provide specific examples of your skills and experience, as well as any accomplishments or achievements that make you a valuable candidate.

3. Don't be afraid to ask for what you want: It's okay to ask for a higher salary than what the employer initially offers, but make sure to do so in a polite and professional manner. Explain why you think you deserve the higher salary, and be open to negotiation and counteroffers.

4. Be flexible: Remember that salary negotiation is a two-way street, and the employer may have their own constraints and limitations. Be willing to be flexible and consider other forms of compensation, such as additional vacation days or benefits, if a higher salary isn't possible.

5. Don't accept the first offer: If the employer makes an offer that you're not happy with, don't be afraid to negotiate and try to reach a mutually beneficial agreement. Always counteroffer and try to come to an agreement that both parties are happy with.

What Advantages Do Webcams Offer for Work and Life?

Webcams are widely utilized in households and companies due to the quick development of video conferencing software. They enable face-to-face online communication and are less expensive than traditional video cameras. It is now simpler than ever to show someone anything visually while you are chatting to them via a high-quality webcam. There are various types of webcams: some are wireless, some can pan and zoom, while others offer night vision and movement detection features. They can be used in a variety of situations, including work, online chatting, studying, etc., making them quite adaptable for both home and office use.

Working effectively

Webcams are frequently utilized for business video conferences in the workplace. They can make teamwork and remote communication easier. Although you could feel alone among your coworkers when working from home, webcams allow you to hold daily meetings there. In a business video conference, you can project your best self thanks to their advanced, excellent image quality. You can also take advantage of it while on a work vacation if your schedule prevents you from attending a meeting in the office. You and your coworkers from the same company can collaborate on a project and hold a real-time brainstorming session via video conferencing, no matter where you are.

Keep up your personal relationships

Using a webcam to communicate with family or loved ones while viewing their faces and expressions is another fantastic benefit. It can make long-distance communication more enjoyable than usual and aid in the maintenance of relationships. While traveling, you can chat with your family or engage in online dating with a high-quality web camera.

Take a class or do your homework online

Webcams can make distant learning much simpler and more accessible. If a student has trouble understanding a concept in the lesson plan, they can easily communicate with their instructors via a webcam. On the other side, the instructor can use sketches and diagrams to graphically clarify some concepts. Additionally, lecturers can host an online training session or study group and even record the entire lecture when several students are using webcams.

Countless applications

There are many other applications for a webcam, not limited to surveillance, security, nanny cams, etc. As technology gets more and more sophisticated, the uses of a webcam will also increase. Get on the tech train before it leaves you behind!

Laptop Tips - Why are they so Popular Now?

Most likely, if you work from home, you will require a laptop. Although it's conceivably the most crucial piece of office equipment you'll ever use, most people don't shop wisely for laptops when they need to work remotely.

If you work in a field that requires advanced computer skills, such as coding, graphic design, or video editing, you may already have defined preferences based on your own usage. Many organizations will just supply workers with laptops.

You might potentially save a lot of money if you can determine the jobs that you'll carry out on the laptop and the features and specifications of the device that you need. Additionally, you can make sure that you have the appropriate equipment for the job and can work as efficiently and creatively as possible.

Life of a Laptop Battery

It's definitely worth looking into Apple MacBooks if you anticipate spending a lot of time away from power sources. They are currently working on a 20-hour battery life, which is excellent if you're fortunate enough to work on the beach for an entire day.

There are a lot of excellent laptops with 12-hour battery lives if you're not a fan of the MacBook. With a 17-hour battery life, Samsung's Galaxy Book S is competitive with Apple. The state of battery technology is constantly evolving. Batteries with extremely long lives could become available within the next ten years.

Weight and Size of a Laptop

Several high-quality computers continue to weigh more than 2 kg. Although the style trend is toward lighter computers, some people like a big, robust device. A small device that weighs only 1.2 or 1.3 kg is probably what you'll choose if you're traveling. By the end of a hard day, a few more kilograms of lifeless weight can really add up.

Screen size should also be taken into account. A large screen with a high resolution is required for anything involving graphics or animations. If you need to do PowerPoint presentations, large screens can be helpful. For visual work, the new MacBook Pro's 16" screen is perfect.

Keyboards and touchscreens for laptops

Anyone whose job requires writing will understand how crucial laptop keyboard design is. Not everyone is naturally skilled at writing and typing. You require a big, well-made keyboard if you need to type thousands of words every day or engage in real-time conversation. Repetitive stress damage is a serious issue; efficiency is not the only consideration. A convenient keyboard is necessary.

An illuminated keyboard is a huge benefit if you need to operate at night or in dim light, such as in an airline cabin. You'll understand why if you've ever tried looking around for infrequently used keys or symbols. Low light capabilities are a terrific feature, because portability and versatility are the main idea of laptops.

Memory and storage for laptops

There is some misunderstanding regarding laptop storage and RAM. RAM, or random access memory, is referred to as memory. The computer uses it as a temporary storage location when processing data. The majority of laptops have 8GB of RAM, however some have much more. With 32GB of memory, the Microsoft Surface Book 3 offers a sizable amount of storage.

The hard disk space on a laptop is where you can keep things like work data, programs, movies, music, and images (basically everything that you use your computer for). Manufacturers have turned away from large storage capacities in recent years. Customers don't like the change, and we might be witnessing a return to 500+ GB storage.

Mac or PC?

OS X and Mac

-Viruses are less likely to target Apple's OS X.

-Apple releases new technology quickly.

-Generally speaking, Mac can adapt Windows disks and software.

Windows

Windows PCs are less expensive, and the selection is much wider.

For PCs, the selection of software is substantially wider.

Touchscreens put PCs ahead of the competition.

PCs are unquestionably superior for gaming.

Healthy Snacks and Lunches for the Office

Making a habit of bringing your lunch to work is economical and healthful. With these inventive lunchbox ideas, you can start your workday on a healthy note!

Sandwiches are easy to make.

Making and transporting sandwiches to work is simple. Try these suggestions to keep sandwiches interesting.

Pick several breads: Choose pitas, micro bagels, tortillas, miniature dinner rolls, English muffins, flat breads, or naan. They are all good options. Look for at least 2 grams of fiber per serving on the label.

Try out different spreads: Use low-fat mayonnaise, salsa, hummus, mustard, or tzatziki. Think of the delicious combinations!

Combine several ingredients: Try fish with teriyaki sauce and baby spinach, peanut butter and sliced apples, egg salad with arugula, etc.

Leftovers are underrated.

Quick lunches can be packed with leftovers!

Soup: Having a hot vegetable-based soup for lunch is a terrific way to consume more vegetables! Include hummus and a toasted whole grain pita for dipping.

Salad: This straightforward, protein-rich Hearty Chicken and Vegetable Salad is created with leftover grilled chicken. Take a slice of whole grain baguette with your meal.

Chili: For a filling lunch, serve chili with a small whole-wheat dinner bun and a sprinkling of grated cheddar cheese.

Pasta: For a quick lunch, freeze individual servings of this spinach and mushroom vegetarian lasagna. So simple!

What to drink?

Keeping hydrated helps keep you feeling revitalized during the workplace. Maintain a reusable water bottle at the office so you can drink clean water all day. For flavor, mix in a little lemon, cucumber, or mint.

Packing snacks is important!

When you are hungry in between meals, small, healthful snacks can keep you energized. So that you won't have to rely on vending machines or coffee shop goodies, pack snacks in your lunch bag. Consider these snacks:

a few whole grain crackers and a hard-boiled egg

berries and plain or vanilla Greek yogurt

edamame steamed (soybeans)

piece of apple with almond butter

Black bean dip and vegetable sticks

nutrient-dense bars

Signs You Should Change Your Job

Are you experiencing misery, dissatisfaction, and/or burnout in your present position? Is it difficult to get oneself out of bed in the morning and even more difficult to get through the entire workday? Certainly not by yourself. Or perhaps you enjoy your work but aren't making the professional advancements you'd like to in a timely manner. Here are several indicators that it's actually time to change careers, whatever the circumstances.

1. You are not properly compensated

One TikToker developed an anonymous pay tracker on a Google spreadsheet, which has collected over 61,000 posts between December 5, 2021, and the end of January 2022. Salary transparency is a prominent topic. You should be aware of the appropriate compensation for the labor you do, and don't worry—there are employers who pay. It's time to quit your job if you know you aren't getting paid fairly for the work you do and the company has no intentions to increase your pay. Don't waste time wishing they would change their minds. They will not.

2. There are no chances for advancement

Any business you work with ought to have a distinct growth strategy. Growth is more than a new title or promotion (although those are very important)—your company should demonstrate additional ways they support you as an employee, whether that's through initiatives for skills development, mentoring, or tuition reimbursement, so you can see clearly if your company is investing in you and your future. In the end, it helps them keep talent, not just you. Time to leave if they fail to see that.

3. You lack work-life balance and are overburdened.

Your boundaries aren't respected, you've tried every trick in the book, and the workday never ends. The company has had you doing their tasks plus yours for the past year because two employees quit, and instead of trying to fill the roles, you. Even when you take a break, you come back somehow. It's time to consider other options if you've tried everything to strike a healthy work-life balance but still feel overburdened by your task and see no signs of a shift in the near future.

4. Your employer does not offer flexible work schedules.

A great deal of us have discovered throughout the pandemic that many of our tasks may be completed from any location with internet connectivity. People have been able to locate better housing because to this independence, which has also made it possible for them to travel more and spend it more meaningfully with their family. What was once the exception is now the rule, so if your firm doesn't provide flexible work schedules but you want them, it's time to look for one that does.

5. You do not align with your company’s values

Company mission and values are vital to any working environment; but, you’ll sometimes find their mission and stated values do not match the reality. Or you might find you just can’t accept something you thought you’d be ok with. Sometimes you will have an opportunity to influence or change your company’s core beliefs, but listen to your instincts—if there’s no rectifying this issue, there’s not much you can do but leave.

Simple Advice for a Healthier Workplace Lifestyle

When you finally get the job you've been looking for, it's critical to understand how to maintain your health while working. Did you know that maintaining a healthy lifestyle at work might help you advance professionally? However, once you're clocked in, it might be difficult to divert your attention from your work, so it's crucial to have straightforward healthy routines that you can easily include into your day. These are a few things that can improve your health and keep you motivated at work, from organizing your daily schedule to your sleeping habits.

Establish a bedtime routine:

Maintaining a sleep routine is essential to preparing for a successful day. You can make a few simple adjustments to your evening routine to help you fall asleep more quickly and remain asleep longer. First, make an effort to wake up and go to bed at roughly the same time each day. By doing this, your body will establish a routine and find it simpler to fall asleep at night. If you have trouble falling asleep, consider combining simple yoga positions that you may do in bed or five minutes of evening meditation. Your body and mind may regenerate while you sleep, and we have all experienced the awful feeling of being sleep deprived.

Include breaks in your day:

When you arrive at work each morning, check your calendar. By doing this first thing in the morning, you'll feel more organized and ready to face the day. Make sure to arrange breaks into your day early in the morning if your workplace uses online calendars so you can easily collaborate with coworkers. Setting up breaks in advance will help you remember to take breaks throughout the day, whether it's to eat lunch, take a stroll, or simply relax. Additionally, people won't be enticed to plan a meeting with you during this hectic time when they see it on your calendar.

Wear some blue light glasses:

A long day of computer use might be bad for your eyes and general health. Take into account the potential impact that your computer use may be having on your health if you've ever experienced headaches, eye strain, or dry eyes after working for a few hours. People are relying more and more on their digital devices for business and personal usage, but they are also feeling the negative impacts blue light can have. This has made blue light a prominent topic in recent years. Because the eyes cannot naturally filter blue light, prolonged use of your phone or computer might result in these painful symptoms and interfere with your ability to sleep.

Make acquaintances at work:

Making an effort to socialize at work might improve both your mental health and your sense of job satisfaction. Fortunately, being among the same people every day makes it simple to meet someone with whom you click or just get along. Additionally, if you are taking your scheduled breaks, you can use this time to catch up with your friends or plan a walk to have coffee with them. Making friends as an adult can be challenging, especially when starting a new job, but friendships can keep you happy and motivated at work, so making an effort to meet new people is essential!

A healthy lifestyle need not be challenging or time-consuming. Your work-related health can be greatly improved by doing something as simple as organizing your time and scheduling coffee dates as mental health breaks. You'll quickly notice the impact a healthy lifestyle may have on your overall happiness and productivity.

Wellness Activities and Ideas for Your Remote Workers

There is no commute, and there is frequently more freedom with remote work. However, working remotely also brings along a number of new problems, such as loneliness and burnout.

Managers can modify their workplace wellness initiatives to ensure that remote teams receive the assistance they require to remain content, healthy, and engaged. Offering employees remote access to virtual wellness activities is one way for businesses to accomplish this.

Some of the top virtual wellness activities for your team are listed below:

1. Virtual stretching and yoga

Encourage your remote staff to begin each day with a relaxing yoga or stretching session delivered via Zoom. Staff members can enhance their energy levels and relieve tension and anxiety while doing yoga under the instruction of a certified instructor.

2. Workshops on mental health

Remote workers can learn strategies to better manage their personal and professional life at monthly mental health workshops. Have a regular seminar series led by a mental health professional so that employees may talk openly about their mental health.

3. Reading groups

Remote workers can interact, create relationships, and learn through book clubs. A good pastime for folks to engage in outside of work is reading. Set up a monthly book club that reads books in a variety of categories, such as biographies, personal development, and classic literature.

4. Classes in cooking

Give your staff the resources they need to control their eating behaviors. Employees can learn how to make scrumptious and healthy homemade meals or snacks for work by enrolling in cooking classes taught by professional chefs. Even chefs may provide advice on how to cook at home more efficiently and affordably.

5. An electronic office cookbook

A group office cookbook may make eating well enjoyable and social. Your team can develop a thorough recipe book remotely using programs like Trello or Notion. By providing comments on the recipes they've tried and how their dishes turned out, coworkers might motivate one another.

6. Online fitness courses

Digital group exercises are one technique to get a distant team motivated to exercise. Employees can reserve slots for their exercise classes and join one another for a stimulating sweat session.

7. Instruction in stress management

Remote teams can experience particular kinds of stressors. Employees who participate in stress-management training acquire strategies for managing stress in both their personal and professional lives.

8. Social occasions

Virtual happy hours and after-work social events help remote teams stay connected and build better bonds. Think about organizing a regular Zoom event where you can play games, have fun, and let off some steam.

Transitioning to Hybrid Work Successfully

Is your company equipped to handle hybrid work? You are not alone if not. After all, there has never been such a profound, long-lasting change in where and how we operate. IT leaders had to move quickly to protect business continuity when teams were first required to work from home when the pandemic first started two years ago. The technology solutions implemented were typically temporary ones, meant to get remote workers by until everyone could return to the typical office setting.

The era of hybrid work is completely arrived, and IT teams and business leaders need a well-thought-out strategy to enable workers to work effectively and efficiently wherever the job is being done.

Plan your own path!

There is no playbook or road map because such profound shifts have never been experienced by us. We're all still figuring things out, so you can't call out to your peers who have made the move effectively. Additionally, because each company is unique and faces a variety of benefits and disadvantages, you must develop a strategy that is entirely your own.

It makes useful to start with some important considerations because navigating the move to supporting hybrid teams is a challenging task:

1. Your company will be how hybrid? Will employees work from home on Fridays and in the office the other three days? Or are workers allowed to choose which two days of the week they want to come into the office? Or is everyone free to work wherever they like and simply need to report in for the monthly all-hands meeting? Are there specific times of the day when everyone, wherever they are, must be online and available?

2. How will your office be organized? Do you plan to have co-working areas or hubs where remote workers can congregate in addition to your typical office? How will workers function in these areas when they are present? Will employees be required to reserve hot desks or will they be assigned workstations? What types of cooperation places must be built? Do you require extra huddle areas or conference rooms?

3. How will you provide for your remote employees? How will you assist them in striking a balance between their perceived need to be "always on" and their well-being when this view is a prevalent complaint? Can you provide them the same presence in the office as other employees?

There are numerous moving elements, and the situation is always shifting. Although it can seem too much to handle, it needn't be.

7 Strategies for Sustaining Motivation at Work

It sounds like you had a simple start to 2022. working out, doing well at work, and being extremely enthusiastic about your resolutions. How is September coming along? You are not alone if you feel like you lack motivation. In fact, data indicate that after the first month, more than 50% of people forget their resolutions. That's not an excuse, but life does happen. At work is one place where you really don't want to lose that drive. I'll give you seven tips to help you stay inspired at work.

1. Begin your day the right way

Set your alarm 30 minutes to an hour early if you typically rush. Perhaps you might start rising earlier so that you don't have to rush. The first few days might not be the ideal, but as soon as your body adjusts, everything will be fine. If getting up early is not a problem, take steps to prepare yourself for positive reinforcement. Here are some suggestions for enhancing your morning routine:

• Workout first thing in the morning.

• Make your own coffee and savor it for 10 minutes.

• Write in a gratitude journal about the things you have.

2. Savor your environment

Having fun in your surroundings makes it much simpler to stay motivated. You don't have to hate your desk just because you might dread going to work (I hope not, but it's possible). If you have a desk or cubicle of your own, personalize it. Add some little plants, nice office accessories, or photographs to the wall.

3. Set smart goals

How would you know what you wanted out of life without goals? In the office, the same holds true. How can you advance in your career if you don't have any goals? Nobody wants to spend their entire lives in the same position with the same duties, so start making some goals. Divide the objectives into smaller, more manageable activities. If you have a large, intimidating job in front of you, start by organizing the tasks you can complete to aid in its completion. Additionally, achieving little goals keeps you inspired to complete larger ones.

4. Surround yourself with optimistic individuals

Everyone has encountered those individuals who seem to have a complaint for everything. Although it's simple to take their words with a grain of salt, you start to feel down yourself after hearing so much negativity. Separate yourself from coworkers who can't seem to stop talking about the negative things in a nice manner. Alter the subject, dash to the bathroom, or inform them that you must return to work. Surround yourself at work with people that inspire you and are upbeat.

5. Honor little victories

Celebrate your successes whenever you complete a task, receive praise from a coworker or your manager, or complete a goal at work. If you are always looking forward to a long-term reward, it is easy to lose sight of the smaller victories that will eventually lead to it. When the end objective is far off, it is much harder to stay motivated. Instead, give yourself credit for your small successes and keep going.

6. Learn in your spare time

Did you complete your day's work early? Have you completed all of your weekly obligations? Utilize this much-needed downtime to learn rather than idle around doing nothing. Does your employer provide resources for learning and development? What wellness options are there for staff members? Consider how you can learn more about your current position or the position you seek. If nothing is accessible, ask someone you like if they would be willing to offer their experience or advice on how to advance in the workplace.

7. Recognize when to stop

When you live and breathe work, how can you maintain motivation? It's impossible to avoid burnout, and that's never helpful for motivation. Know when to switch off work mode after your workday is ended. A glass of wine and your favorite TV await you at home. You can also meet up with friends or family or work on your side business. Knowing when to leave work will offer you some time to rest so that you are ready for the next workday.

Why It's Important to Share Your Income with Coworkers

Employers in the private sector are not allowed to forbid their staff from talking about their pay and benefits. Use that defense to your advantage.

According to experts, open salary conversation among peers and coworkers is a potent weapon against pay inequality. Pay transparency not only serves selfish and altruistic purposes by giving you and your coworkers better bargaining power during salary discussions, but it can also protect businesses by reducing the risk of disparate treatment claims and increasing job satisfaction for workers.

Only recently have cultural norms and legal restrictions started to dismantle some of the factors that prevent employees from discussing salaries openly, sometimes even tipping the scales in their favor during wage negotiations.

A few states, such as California, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, have made it illegal for employers to inquire about job seekers' salaries, giving them more negotiating power. President Barack Obama issued an executive order in 2014 that forbade federal contractors from retaliating against workers who want to talk about their pay. Additionally, unionization has grown to be a potent force in the struggle for higher worker wages in several areas, such as the news media.

Although having these discussions is far easier stated than done, there are ways to have the confidence to do so.

The most crucial thing is to be honest and upfront, presenting these discussions as advantageous for everyone concerned. We advise starting with those who are more senior than you, such as a former manager, someone who helped you get your job, or someone you really trust and who wants you to succeed. This might help you see the pay at your organization in a larger context.

From there, make an effort to approach friends, coworkers, or graduates in casual, off-campus settings, all the while maintaining the emphasis on the salary and not the individual.

Try to avoid making it about your coworker or a peer. It's not about looking around for rumors. Websites like Salary, PayScale, and LinkedIn are fantastic places to look for a starting point.

A win-win strategy is considered by many experts to be the most effective way to make salaries public. People are typically more open to sharing when approached with the mindset that "I'm doing this for both of us, I'm not doing this to shame you."

5 Tips for Remote Work - It's Simpler Than it Looks!

For those of you who are accustomed to reporting to a formal job each day, working remotely can require some reconfiguration. It's normal to feel a little awkward when switching from working in an office to working remotely.

1. Purchase a suitable work desk

   This will assist you in reducing lower back pain, improving hip posture, and promoting greater health. You should not, however, just sit stiffly all day. Try to move around your home occasionally; no, not just trips to the refrigerator.

2. Check in each day

   Having a daily check-in with your employer or manager in the morning is the ideal approach to kick off a normal workday and experience the remote work vibe. Any form of communication is acceptable, including video calls, text messages, phone calls, emails, and so on.

   As you can share the work schedule and daily responsibilities with the manager, this helps you and your team plan out the entire day. Setting the agenda, giving your team members tools, and sending your manager a work report from the previous day are the three easy objectives.

3. Schedule some me-time

   Unfortunately, it's common to find yourself glued to your screen for greater periods of time when the distinction between "work" and "home" begins to blur. When you have the opportunity, try spending time on yourself by partaking in some sort of mental or physical exercise.

   In order to be more focused and effective at work, establish schedule blocks for eating wholesome meals and incorporate a physical routine.

4. Talk too much

   Internal communication is crucial for success in any professional setting, but when it comes to remote work, it becomes each employee's only significant resource. Additionally, you are no longer directly above or behind your manager or coworkers.

   It's your responsibility to provide people with even the most minute information about your daily or weekly tasks and timetable. Frequently communicate with your management on current events, planned projects, and your success during the previous week, including the objectives you attained and the tasks you oversaw.

5. Provide a dedicated workstation

   Due to their ties to their families, remote workers frequently cannot operate in isolation, therefore designating a specific room as a workspace is crucial. Finding a productive workspace enables you to spend the day working without too many interruptions. Couchers, sofas, and bean bags can be used to create a relaxing workspace that will help you concentrate while lowering your stress levels.

Writing an Effective Resume

During the job search, your CV will give prospective employers their initial impression of you. Your opportunity to get a foot in the door and secure a chance to present oneself in person is provided by this crucial document.

This manual will give you practical advice on how to write a resume that will stand out and represent you well during the hiring process.

Customize Your Resume

The most crucial guideline to remember when creating your resume is to tailor it specifically for the job you're looking for.

Your resume's content needs to be pertinent. Remove everything that is unnecessary because keeping it would simply weaken the impact.

In particular, if the search has advanced to the point where they have gone to the expense of publicizing the position, recruiters are seeking for a strong fit for the role they are hiring for.

Read the job description carefully, underlining any action verbs and particular job duties that are stated as needed or desired. If you possess these abilities and credentials, they ought to be listed in the same terminology on your resume.

Make Sure your Cover Letter and Resume Flow

It's critical that your resume and cover letter support one another in demonstrating why you are a solid candidate for the position.

Consider the cover letter as a chance for you to "connect the dots" for the hiring manager. Use the cover letter's narrative format to highlight the wider picture, express your interest in the job, or describe any unique circumstances you may have, such as a desire for a career move or a period of unemployment.

Tell a Story

Consider your career story as another technique to make sure your cover letter and resume complement one another to present a compelling argument for your application. Simply put, a career story is a narrative of your past, present, and future professional aspirations.

Your career story is typically not explicit on a CV. Instead, it concerns the overall impression that your resume gives the reader with. Make sure the components you select to include are pertinent to the position you are going for and flow logically towards it if you want to use your resume to convey a captivating career story.

Promote Yourself

Keep in mind that your resume serves as a marketing tool while you compose it. It is the single most significant document that will determine whether or not you are invited for an interview. In addition, this paper will likely be viewed by a stranger who doesn't know anything about you other what you choose to reveal. In light of this, it is not appropriate to hide crucial facts out of modesty at this time.

Give the recruiter as much information about your achievements as you can so they can see your full potential. Ideally, you should strike a mix between outlining your former responsibilities and highlighting some noteworthy achievements, always in relation to the position you're applying for.

The labor market is slowing but not stagnant

The Federal Reserve will meet on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss interest rate hikes designed to cool the economy just enough to bring high inflation under control, but not so much that the economy enters a recession.

The job market, which has been extremely strong throughout the recovery from the pandemic and has served as a bulwark against a sharp, broad-based economic reversal, is a key figure in that equation. The economy added nearly 400,000 new jobs per month from April to June. Though that figure is high, it is not as high as it was earlier in the recovery. Meanwhile, unemployment claims have increased by 50% since reaching an all-time low in March.

"There's no doubt the labor market is slowing," Jason Furman, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said.

According to Furman, the Fed is attempting to cool labor demand in order to keep wage inflation in check, so a slowdown in job creation is acceptable.

"The tricky part is determining whether it's slowing from an unusually rapid 400,000 jobs per month to something like 150,000, which would be fine, or whether it's actually going to reverse and shed jobs, which would be bad," Furman said.

Worker demand is no longer as high as it was six to nine months ago. According to Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter, employers are posting fewer jobs and offering fewer signing bonuses.

Meanwhile, according to John Leer, chief economist at polling firm Morning Consult, workers' fear of job loss is increasing, and fewer workers say they want to change jobs.

"Given the economic uncertainty, people are saying they'd rather keep their jobs than try to jump ship," he said.

Bottom line: Things were great; they're getting a little worse, but they're still not bad. At least not yet. The issue, according to Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at consulting firm RSM, is that everything could change very quickly.

"When the economy goes into a slump, it doesn't turn like a big, slow battleship," he said. "It has a tendency to fall off a cliff."

And by the time the economy is losing jobs, a recession is almost certainly underway.

5 Ways to Hire the Right Employee

Hiring the incorrect candidate is a costly and time-consuming error. Here are five tips to help you find and hire the best candidates for your company.

Finding the right employee can be difficult, whether it's your first, tenth, or hundredth. Writing the perfect job description, reviewing resumes, conducting phone and in-person interviews, and fielding inquiries from prospective candidates can all take time. However, the time and money saved by not hiring the wrong person makes the lengthy process worthwhile.

By employing the proper strategies, you can ensure that you make the best decision every time. Here are five pointers to help you find and hire the right employees for your business.

1. Create a job description that is geared toward candidates.

A great job description is essential for attracting top talent. It's similar to marketing in that you need to fully understand the type of person you want to attract before writing a job description that appeals directly to that individual. Otherwise, you risk attracting unqualified candidates who will not be a good fit.

You should also avoid the traditional bullet list of job duties and requirements. According to The Wall Street Journal, job descriptions that emphasize responsibilities and requirements can turn off candidates and prevent them from applying. Job descriptions that emphasize what the company can do for candidates receive a higher response rate than those that emphasize the company's expectations for the candidate.

2. Make your recruitment marketing process more creative.

Don't just post your job description on job board sites like Indeed or Glassdoor after you've written it. Job seekers frequently use social media platforms to find new opportunities. Posting your job opening on Facebook, LinkedIn, and even Instagram is an excellent way to reach out to the right candidates, particularly millennials and Gen-Z candidates.

3. Change up your interview procedure.

In larger companies, the interview process is often a well-rehearsed dance. You and the candidate sit across from each other at a conference table or desk, recapping their resume and asking general questions about their experience and skills.

To find the best new hire for your team, consider holding your interview outside of the conference room to observe how the candidates interact with your employees. Do they appear enthusiastic about joining the company? Do they inquire about your employees' jobs and show an interest in what they do? Do they treat everyone with dignity, regardless of title?

Patty Stonesifer, CEO of Martha's Table and former top Microsoft executive, says in a New York Times article that walking candidates through the office gives her a good sense of whether or not she'll want to work with them.

"I’ll stop and introduce them to a half-dozen people, and see if it’s just a handshake or whether there’s some curiosity and interest”

3. Look for candidates who have the right personality for the job and for your company.

Specific skill sets and education are commonly used as benchmarks for finding the right candidates when reviewing resumes. It's important to remember, however, that while hard skills can be learned, the right personality and people skills cannot.

You want to find candidates who will fit in with your current employees and the culture of your company. A willingness to jump right in and a desire to join your company are especially important in new hires, so approach the interview process, including any initial phone screenings, with the goal of assessing that candidate's soft skills and overall personality.

4. Don't settle for the first candidate who comes along.

The most important thing to remember when searching for the right candidate is not to settle. If your first round of applicants is unsuccessful, go back to the candidate drawing board rather than hiring someone who isn't a good fit for the position.

If you're still having trouble finding the right people, consider looking within your own employee talent pool. Current employees looking for a new challenge may be the best candidates for an open position.

How Do Recruitment Agencies Work?

Hiring is challenging labor, and it's getting harder for many firms.

Early in 2020, 54% of companies reported a lack of unqualified candidates, and by 2030, it is predicted that there will be more than 85 million empty positions globally.

Fortunately, hiring managers of all sizes can benefit from the ability of recruiting agencies like CoreHires to intervene and considerably simplify the hiring procedure.

What is a recruitment agency?

Traditionally, the employer has been in charge of hiring. However, when left in the hands of employers, hiring is expensive and time-consuming. Employers in the United States invest on average $4,000 and take 24 days to complete a new hire. By managing the chores of locating top talent, screening individuals, and presenting the top candidates to clients, recruitment firms serve as the link between employers and employees.

Although there are many different kinds of employment agency and recruitment agencies, they are not interchangeable. Finding talent for permanent positions, especially upper-management and executive roles, is a priority for recruitment firms.

How a recruitment agency works

Although services may slightly differ from one agency to the next, the majority of recruiting businesses follow a similar procedure.

1. Agreement

You must first reach an agreement once your business has chosen to deal with a specific recruitment agency.

Naturally, you'll have to accept the terms of payment, which are typically a retained fee or contingency fee structure. You'll need to agree on your expectations for the work as well, though.

For instance, several employment agencies provide a guarantee term This practically guarantees that you will get a fantastic hire. The agency will start over and look for your next employment if your most recent recruit doesn't pan out within the time frame specified.

2. Profiling

The next step is a meeting with your recruitment agency to go over your hiring requirements. Your organization can require candidates for numerous positions. You might be hiring for one important executive role.

The agency wants to gather as much data as they can in order to locate and attract the most qualified job prospects. Normally, you'll give your agency a detailed job description, a list of prerequisites, a list of critical talents and qualities, and any other important requirements.

3. Sourcing

After that, the firm will search its own networks and database for qualified applicants, and it will organize influencers to contact candidates inside those circles. After compiling a list of probable applicants, the agency will screen them and schedule interviews. Only 2% of candidates, on average, are interviewed.

4. Interviewing

The interview process is two-fold. Interviews with candidates will first be scheduled by the agency with their recruiters. This will allow the agency to get a better feel for the candidates and whether they might be good matches for your company (as well as good reflections of the agency). The agency will inform candidates of your company's requirements, culture, and long-term goals during this process.

Your organization will be briefed on each candidate after using these interviews to further reduce the pool of candidates, and the agency will help you set up final interviews. Three interviews are required, according to 51% of recruiters, before an applicant is given an offer.

5. Extension of the Offer and Negotiation

The recruiting firm can work with you to manage offer and salary talks with the candidate once you've found one you'd like to hire. The recruiting firm will save you time and guarantee the candidate has a primary point-of-contact throughout the process by taking over offer negotiations from you.

External Recruiters Vs Internal Recruiters

A business has a few alternatives for how to go about filling a key position when that position is open. Using a recruiter is one of those choices. A recruiter's role is to find elite talent and persuade them to join a new team, just like in sports. To locate top talent, some small- to medium-sized organizations use internal recruiters, while others choose to work with external recruiters. Both have specific advantages and disadvantages, and being aware of them all can help you choose the hiring technique that is best for your company.

How Recruitment Works

The techniques for recruiting new personnel are relatively similar whether you utilize an internal recruiter or a hiring agency from outside. A business creates a thorough description of the perfect individual and looks for prospects inside the sector. Some of these applicants might not be actively looking for work, which can make it challenging to locate them. Finding the ideal candidate for a post quickly and without affecting production is the aim of both internal and external recruitment.

What Is An Internal Recruiter?

You can engage an internal recruiter to work for your business. They are a typical employee whose major objective is to comprehend the company's principles and objectives and, as openings occur, fill them with qualified personnel. Finding new personnel for important positions is the responsibility of an internal recruiter.

Advantages Of Internal Recruiters

Utilizing an internal recruiter has significant advantages because they are more familiar with the needs and guiding principles of your business. They are well-aware of the company's advantages and disadvantages, as well as its culture.

Finding top personnel may be more affordable by using an internal recruiter. Budget-constrained small, medium-sized, and big enterprises in the Los Angeles region frequently lack the resources to hire a professional headhunter to assist them in filling open positions. An internal recruiter can help find qualified employees to complete your team without significantly draining the company's budget if traditional marketing attempts have failed.

Drawbacks Of Internal Recruiters

Utilizing an inside recruiter has some disadvantages, such as their restricted reach. They might not have as many resources as a staffing company to identify the best candidates. Additionally, since they follow a standard 9 to 5 schedule, they aren't looking for work in the late evenings or on the weekends, when job seekers are typically most active. It may take two to three days for communication to resume if an internal recruiter contacts a potential employee on a Friday afternoon; by that time, the job seeker may have moved on.

It is crucial that the recruiter has in-depth knowledge of what these responsibilities entail if you are filling key positions or top management positions. Internal recruiters might be able to find candidates who are qualified for entry-level jobs, but they might not be as familiar with the demands and duties of higher-level roles.

What Is An External Recruiter?

A third-party source known as an external recruiter specializes in locating talent and filling open positions across a variety of industries. The construction, technology, hotel, industrial, and sales sectors all use external recruiters. These staffing companies find candidates for certain positions by tapping into a wide network of talent and cutting-edge tools.

Advantages Of Internal Recruiters

Understanding your company's goals and working relentlessly to discover the ideal applicant for the position are the only tasks an external recruiter has. They communicate frequently with people who are looking for work. The likelihood that a company will be put in touch with the ideal candidate improves when working with an external recruiter.

Recruiters specialize in filling positions that are in high demand or challenging to fill. They can carefully filter their searches thanks to their in-depth understanding of the requirements for these high-level positions. Since external recruiters deal with a well-established prospect pool, the applicants they present to you have already undergone pre-screening and most of the qualifications you require.

External recruiters are not restricted to regular business hours. To reach job searchers when they are most active, they frequently work on weekends and in nights. Numerous staffing firms provide variable pricing plans that can be adjusted based on the industry, the roles required, and the number of hires. Due to this, businesses in the Greater Los Angeles area that deal with construction, technology, industry, and accountancy can incorporate recruitment into their budget.

Drawbacks Of External Recruiters

Some can argue that recruiters don't have a close relationship with a company. Some people might not take the effort to learn about the business' internal operations and pay close attention to its objectives because they are an outside source. It could take longer for a recruiter from outside the organization to comprehend the corporate culture.

Hiring an external recruiter typically costs more than using an internal recruiter. Some recruiters make money by taking 10–20 percent of the annual compensation for a hired position. This gives less experienced recruiters the opportunity to be more concerned with filling a position than with filling the position with the ideal candidate. Some startups believe they lack the resources to hire a top-performing recruiter, yet they wind up spending the same amount—and sometimes even more—in attrition costs because of hasty recruiting.

Because they have the means and incentives to discover the finest candidates, external recruiters have a major edge over internal recruiters. However, access to great talent comes at a cost.

Takeaways

The secret to success is placing the right people in the appropriate jobs. Effective hiring tactics might mean the difference between finding productive, enduring staff and having a high turnover rate. External recruiters have access to elite talent, and this vast network can be worth the expense even when internal recruiters may have the inside track on who to hire. Not to add, as opposed to internal recruiters who you pay a salary to, outside recruiters operate on a contingency basis that they fill a post. There is no greater incentive for an outside recruiter to meet your needs than the need to perform in order to get paid.

Want to know more about attracting and hiring great employees to expand your company? Get in tough with us today.

How to Find the Right People at the Right Time for Your Growing Company

A healthy business is one that is growing. As your company expands, you'll need additional people to keep up with the increased demand. However, your company may be expanding at such a rapid pace that you are unable to attract and hire individuals quickly enough.

According to Glassdoor research, the average time of a hiring process in the United States is 23 days. Unfortunately, when your company is rapidly expanding, you can't always afford to wait to hire new employees. You can't, however, afford the significant expenditures and potential tragedies that come with poor hiring decisions.

So, how can you keep up with rapid expansion without falling into the trap of quick hiring? Here are some ideas for speeding up the hiring process without losing quality.

Make your interview process more efficient.

Examine your interview procedure if it's taking too long to find the suitable candidate. Many businesses face this problem as a result of having too many interview stages for eligible candidates to complete. Do you require many phone interviews with practically every member of your staff, followed by two or three in-person interviews? To analyze your prospects' talents, limit yourself to two to three interviews (phone and in-person) and utilize some of the other procedures outlined in this article, including as background checks, reference calls, and skills tests.

Make job descriptions that are specific.

The expectations for the position should be clearly stated in your job description. Outline the role's duties, as well as the skills and qualities that the ideal candidate will need to succeed. It will be much easier to look through resumes and dismiss those that aren't a good fit if you have this information written down and in hand. You'll only spend time conversing with the most qualified candidates.

Attract a diverse group of candidates.

If you're dissatisfied by the length of time it takes to discover the ideal candidate, it's possible that the issue is that you're not drawing a large enough application pool. Asking current employees to recommend people they know for new roles is a terrific approach to recruit. Offer a monetary incentive if the applicant is recruited and works successfully for the organization for a set amount of time during their probationary period (usually 90 days). Using a staffing firm or a recruiter might also be beneficial.

Using free internet resources like Monster.com or Glassdoor, purchasing ad space on relevant trade websites and industry job boards, and publishing on your company's social media networks are all cost-effective strategies to publicize the job.

Inquire about references right away.

Checking references is another excellent approach to determine whether or not candidates are telling the truth about their work experience. This can assist you in swiftly gaining trust in the person or people you are recruiting. To save time, don't ask for references until you've narrowed down your candidate pool to two or three finalists. Checking the references of top applicants early in the hiring process (maybe between phone and in-person interviews) might save you a surprising amount of time.

Make yourself stand out from the competitors.

Consider sweetening your offer if you're having trouble recruiting good applicants because you're losing them to the competition. While few small businesses have an unlimited budget for salary and benefits, offering competitive packages and appealing employee incentives that help you recruit and retain the right individuals can save you money in the long run.

Working with a professional employer organization (PEO) can assist you in providing a competitive and comprehensive benefits package to your employees. This allows your small firm to compete with larger companies by providing a service that is comparable to theirs. This might help you attract and keep crucial individuals of your team.

To summarize, there are numerous advantages to expediting the hiring process, but only if it is done strategically and without haste. You'll be able to identify the perfect people to help your expanding company, avoid the productivity costs of a long and winding hiring process, and hire the best prospects before they're hired by someone else.

This communication is provided solely for informational purposes; it does not constitute legal, tax, or accounting advice, nor does it constitute an offer to sell, purchase, or acquire insurance.

This post may contain links to websites not owned or maintained by Corehires. These links are provided solely as a point of reference. Corehires has no control over and is not responsible for the content of such websites. The presence of such hyperlinks on Corehires.com does not mean that Corehires.com endorses the content of such websites or has any affiliation with their owners.