Keep Christmas Festive, Not Stress-tive

Keep Christmas Festive, Not Stress-tive Christmas may be ‘the most wonderful time of the year’, but for workers, the festive period can mean longer hours, busier shifts and more pressure. December can leave workers feeling drained, unmotivated and unable to perform to the best of their abilities. This is bad news for the businesses that rely so heavily on keeping customers happy at this time of year. So, with Christmas around the corner, Erik  Fjellborg, CEO and Founder of  Quinyx, the market leader in workforce management, shares five top tips to ensure companies look after their elves this season. He says: Christmas is without a doubt the busiest time of year. The extra pressure can be stressful not only for workers, but also for those trying to schedule the right people to be in the right place at the right time. With your workers turning into Santa’s elves in December, helping everything run like clockwork and ensuring everyone has a fantastic time, it is only right we give them a festive season to look forward to, and look after their time as best we can. 1. Don’t be a Grinch! Our recent study, ‘’Work That Keeps the UK Working’’, found that more than 1 in 5 UK workers feel that their schedules don’t allow them to spend enough time with family, and a further 17% say their schedules mean they have to miss important family occasions. Christmas is all about spending time with those closest to you, and many workers will be counting down the hours left on their shifts before they can join their families and friends for the celebrations. At Quinyx, we know that happier employees are more productive ones. By giving workers the flexibility to pick and change their shifts over the festive period â€" so they don’t have to miss those all-important carol concerts or get-togethers â€" businesses can create a more motivated workforce. 2. Create realistic targets and incentives Workers are often set increased targets over Christmas to handle and make the most of the busy period. But if these targets are unrealistic, morale can drop, and workers can feel set up to fail. If you are increasing your targets over Christmas, collaborate with workers to ensure that they are feasible, and plan to reward them with positive incentives if they succeed. These could include finishing work early, time in lieu, or a bonus. 3. Don’t allow for surprises An unexpected gift under the tree is a far more welcome surprise than last minute calls in sick or a family emergency. Meeting customer demand at Christmas can be difficult, but it is much harder if you are under-staffed. Consider creating a short-notice cover rota for the Christmas period, where staff can choose to be contacted if someone is needed to step in and lend a hand. For those that agree to be on the rota, ensure that you keep their contact details to hand so they can be contacted quickly and easily during a staffing emergency. 4. Split night-work evenly As Christmas gets closer, many businesses turn to operating 24 hours a day in a bid to keep up with demand.  Night shift work is increasing, and our research shows it grew by 31% between 2011 and 2017. However, it is important that the burden of extra overnight shifts is shared evenly among your workforce. I recommend double-checking your scheduling to make sure no one becomes nocturnal in the run-up to Christmas. 5. Keep an eye on awkward days Christmas Eve falls on a Monday this year, making it an awkward working day between the weekend and the Christmas bank holiday. This could mean workers are more tempted to move shifts in order to secure a clean sweep of time off. Acknowledge awkward days early and have honest conversations with staff about resourcing plans and expectations. About the author:  Quinyx was founded in 2005 by  CEO Erik Fjellborg  after a summer spent working at McDonald’s. After witnessing how difficult it can be for managers to sort shifts manually, Erik built one of the world’s first  fully web-based Workforce Management solutions to do the heavy lifting.  McDonald’s loved Erik’s solution and became Quinyx’s first customer.

Twentysomething Video resumes are a short-term fad

Twentysomething Video resumes are a short-term fad By Ryan Healy Video resumes are the hot new topic in recruiting these days. It seems that everyone has an opinion. And job listing sites like CareerBuilder have even launched video resume services. At first glance a video resume seems like a natural step in the recruiting process. But here are five reasons why video resumes will be a short-term fad: 1. Looking good on camera is a learned skill Professional newscasters, anchors, and reporters, go to school for years to learn how best to present themselves on camera. Others of us have never practiced. We dont know how to sit, we dont know what to wear, we dont know where to look, and nobody has taught us how to appear relaxed. As I recently found out in a brief media training session, there are actually people who teach you all of these things before an on air interview. And, I can promise, they are not cheap! If video resumes become the norm, colleges will be forced to create semester long classes on how to present yourself on camera, and those of us out of school will need to hire personal media trainers just to get a job. For most people these are totally unnecessary expenses. 2. Written communication is more important The majority of my co-worker interaction takes place via email or instant messenger. This is true for most large technologically advanced companies, and the trend is only going to continue. Phone calls are a rarity and face to face meetings are even rarer. Having face-to-face people skills is important when selling or giving live presentations, but in general, written communication is much more critical. More and more companies are finding a wide range of benefits to promoting remote work arrangements. These new ways of working lead to decreased one-on-one communication and increased written communication. Occasionally I will receive an email with misspellings or terrible punctuation, and this typically makes me think the person is not up for the job or just plain lazy. So ditch the camera and create a blog to show recruiters what youre all about. 3. Most jobs never require you to be on camera How many jobs actually require you to be on camera? I cant think of more than a handful. Unless you are a media professional, public relations expert or high-level figure in a large organization you will not be on camera. Even if you are in one of these positions, you better believe you will be professionally trained for hours before going on camera. Further, lets face it, we are all different. Some of us are a little shy, some might panic alone in front of a camera, and some are energetic, charming and charismatic. These traits dont necessarily have any bearing on how well we will perform our jobs as a desk jockey. If the average person will never be on camera during their career, why does it matter how they appear in a video? 4. Video resumes will lead to discrimination lawsuits Most recruiters spend less than a minute looking at a resume. When receiving a typical paper resume, that one minute will be spent actually reading the words on the page and judging an applicant based on skills, prior experiences and education. If a recruiter spends less than a minute watching a video of a potential candidate, it will be impossible not to notice if the person is white, black, Hispanic, Indian or anything in between. Whether they want to or not, this brief first impression will play a role in deciding whether or not to pursue a candidate. Just dont even deal with them, says Dennis Brown, an attorney from San Jose, Calif. This is one of those instances where a little bit of unnecessary knowledge is dangerous, Rightfully so or not, somewhere along the way, video resumes will turn into a discrimination suit that recruiters and companies want nothing to do with. 5. You can see all my pictures on Facebook If the real issue is that recruiters want to see pictures of their candidates, all they need to do is jump on Facebook or Myspace. Type in the candidates name and check out all the pictures you would like. I highly doubt that recruiters have the time or desire to stalk recruits on Facebook, but if its really important, you dont need a video resume to get a sneak peak. Its the 21st century; the fact that we even consider a video resume to be the future of recruiting is almost laughable. It didnt work in the 90s, and now the success of YouTube has brought it into the public eye, but Im sure we can get more creative if we try! Ryan Healys blog is Employee Evolution.

What the New Overtime Policy Means for Your Wallet

What the New Overtime Policy Means for Your Wallet President Obama recently announced new rules to expand overtime pay for many middle-class workers. In his May 16 announcement, the President said: “Were strengthening our overtime pay rules to make sure millions of Americans hard work is rewarded. If you work more than 40 hours a week, you should get paid for it or get extra time off to spend with your family and loved ones. Its one of most important steps were taking to help grow middle-class wages. And put $12 billion more dollars in the pockets of hardworking Americans over the next 10 years.” While you personally won’t be getting a check for the full $12 billion on the table, you might be eligible for a hefty wage increase.  If you’ve been working overtime in your job as a matter of course for the past several years it could be good news. Here are some basics about the new policy, plus ways that you can make sure you’re using it to your best advantage in the workplace. What Are the New Overtime Rules? Up until last month, the rules about overtime pay stated that it was only mandatory for workers earning less than $23,600 per year. That amount is just a smidge over minimum wage, and it clearly hasn’t kept pace with inflation and the rising cost of living. The new cutoff is $47,476.    Plus, that number is set to be increased every three years.  That will help to  ensure that workers are compensated fairly for their extra work and that their wages keep pace with their needs. According to the Department of Labor, the new rules will go into effect on December 1, 2016. Those new rules include the following options for employers: Pay employees time-and-a-half for overtime beyond 40 hours per week Raise workers’ salaries above the new threshold to limit overtime liability Limit workers’ hours to 40 per week Use a combination of the above as required In some cases, managers and executives are exempt from overtime pay, though there is a specific list of criteria that must be followed.  It’s no longer sufficient simply to call an employee a “manager” to avoid compensating them for extra hours worked. Who Stands to Benefit?     About 4.2 million workers stand to benefit from the new overtime rules. In particular, low-level managers without any real executive decision-making power could earn more for their extra labor, since employers can no longer expect them to work long hours for a low salary. The Washington Post also reports that women, minorities and young workers will reap the biggest benefits from the new overtime rule, as they are more likely to be in the lower-paying jobs targeted by the executive action. The bottom line: If you earn less than $913 per week, you’ll be affected by the new overtime policy in some way. What to Expect If you’re one of the millions of workers affected by this new rule, a few things could happen. It’s possible that your employer will maintain your current hours and pay you time-and-a-half for all of your overtime work beyond 40 hours per week â€" though this may now require you to clock in or otherwise log your hours on the job. To better keep track of employee hours, your employer could change your salaried position to one with hourly pay instead. If your current salary is close to the new, higher cutoff, your employer might decide to give you a raise to push you over the threshold and avoid paying you overtime. This decision will likely depend on just how many hours over 40 you’re currently putting in each week, and will force your employer to re-evaluate your salary every three years as the threshold rises. Your employer might also choose to limit your hours to avoid paying you overtime. If this decreases your pay, the bright side is that you have more time to call your own, either to spend with your family or to find additional work to make up the difference. Know Your Rights Though your employer has several ways to deal with the new rules, you also have protections under them. Understanding the new rules will help you take proactive steps to negotiate a solution that will be beneficial to you. For example, if your employer wants to shift you from a salary to an hourly wage, be sure to crunch the numbers to make sure you’re not taking a major pay cut. If you are, see if you can be guaranteed a certain number of overtime hours to make up for it. If you’re close to the salary cutoff, consider asking for a raise that puts you above the limit if your current overtime expectations aren’t that onerous. If you explain the benefits to your employer, you might walk away with a good raise this year. Keep careful track of your hours. You can easily jot down your time on a note-taking or calendar app in your phone, or just use an old-fashioned pen and paper to write down your hours each day. Check to make sure you’re being compensated for every hour worked beyond the 40 hours as the rule goes into effect  â€" you don’t want to be inadvertently cheated by your employer’s faulty recordkeeping. There’s a lot to absorb with the new overtime rules, but many middle class workers should find themselves with better pay or more free time, both of which are incredibly valuable and long overdue.

5 Things You Can Do Today That Will Transform Your Tomorrow

5 Things You Can Do Today That Will Transform Your Tomorrow Looking for quick  and easy ways to make your life a little more jolly  and productive?  Congratulations, youve just hit the jackpot. Read on  for our  top 5 tricks for  transforming your everyday. 1. Put down  your phone before bed You may feel like the world will stop turning or your life will crumble into tiny pieces,  but the reality is quite the opposite. Having time apart from your phone,  especially in the evenings (when you may need it less for work) is good for both your mental and physical health. Turning off distractions will help you clear your head and truly relax in the evenings. Its been  proven that avoiding  screens before bed time helps you sleep better. Not only will you feel refreshed and ready to go  the next day, it will give you more time in the evenings to concentrate on the more important things. 2. Let go of anger towards others Something that can really affect your mood and productivity is constant anger and bitterness.  Harbouring  these feelings  alters your effectiveness with making decisions and can definitely harm  relationships, whether they be personal or work-based. Although letting go of anger is easier said than done, you can look at finding some release mechanisms  to improve your day-to-day life. Take a step back and think about whats making you feel angry. How can you resolve this so it doesnt eat you up on the inside? Anger is an odd emotion because no matter how angry you feel, the person youre angry at probably isnt affected by your anger (or even realises youre angry!), so  its likely that  youre simply wasting your energy. 3. Compliment yourself Affirmations are an old but trusty way to boost your mood, your motivation and in turn your productivity. It can be as simple as recognising an achievement or looking in the mirror and thinking damn, my hair looks great today complimenting yourself will make you a happier person in general. 4. Practice your manners Self improvement is something that you should always be developing, and one way to continually improve is to practice your manners. Not only does it boost relationships with friends, family, colleagues and customers, it also means those meeting you for the first time will get a great first impression. Set yourself goals for each day and make sure you fulfil them, it pays to be nice! Being a polite and friendly person also helps in the long run, I mean why would anyone want to hire someone rude and unfriendly? 5.  Reach out You should aim to reach out to someone new or someone youve not spoken to in a while each day. Not only does it keep you connected,  you just never know what opportunities  lie beyond your own  immediate  network. Reaching out to new people could dramatically improve your situation, open up  new opportunities, foster a new relationship  or simply teach you something new, all  worth it! Main image credit: Shutterstock

How to Write a Resume in Bold Or Italic

How to Write a Resume in Bold Or ItalicBold or italicized writing on a resume is no longer the best way to impress the employer. Bold writing on a resume is actually a sign of an amateurish job hunter. In fact, that's what a recent survey by a professional service says about bold writing on a resume: It is used so often by new job seekers that it becomes an impediment to getting hired.And that's the reason why the top resume writing services in the world were released from the confines of their offices and jumped into the working world. Since so many professionals don't know how to properly spell or write, it's become necessary for professional resume services to get involved and help these job hunters to fill out the resumes they send out to companies and individuals. That way, they can get a leg up on the competition.Of course, many of those lazy job hunters are hurting just as much as the companies are. The recession hit employment harder than ever before, which means not only tha t businesses are having trouble finding new employees, but the tough economic times have made it difficult for them to keep those employees. When they offer great benefits and a little freedom in the workplace, it's a nice thing to hear. But when they cut salaries, make companies pay more for health insurance, and even force employers to get rid of benefits completely, the people who stay at work are working for pennies on the dollar.It used to be that employers simply relied on a resume to let them know how skilled a candidate was, how good a worker he/she was, and how hard-working they were. Well, in today's world, this is simply not enough. Employers can't be sure if you've already been to five or six interviews before, so they just go for your first interview, hoping to get the results they're looking for.It used to be that when an employer hired someone, they would ask a few questions to see if there was a bright idea in his/her head. They'd even ask for references to be consul ted. After all, they knew there was a chance the person might be a hard worker, but that didn't necessarily mean that there was a bright idea. Some applicants might surprise them with one, though, and they could then begin their search for a new employee.Unfortunately, with today's resume software and the fierce competition among employers, a lot of the information companies need to use to help with their hiring process comes from hiring professionals, not the applicants themselves. This means that when an applicant has a bold or italicized resume, it stands out and makes the job hunt even harder. The typical applicant simply has one choice; he/she can either go for a straightforward style or leave the bolding up to a professional writing service.As a result, many applicants feel like they are being turned down, even when they just haven't done anything to merit it. A professional resume writing service understands that it's not the job of an applicant to be clever, or to take a bol d approach to the application process. They simply find the way the resume is written and what the purpose of the writing is, and they'll do all they can to assist in the job hunt.Since so many people don't know how to write a resume, it's not a big surprise that they don't know what to do when a new company asks them to apply for a job. There are plenty of other applications that are much easier to use and a lot easier to complete, and there's no reason to shy away from them.

Career Transition - CareerAlley

Career Transition - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. ** This article originally appeared on the blog **Onlinecareertips.com** By Jessica BiggerOnline Career Tips, Guest Contributor There are many things you can do to stay marketable and keep focused when in a career transition, even if you are still working. Below are few tips to help position yourself for the next job or promotion. 1. Go Back to School Whether you are getting a masters, or bachelors in a different career field, or taking a few courses to position yourself for a promotion, going to school can be a great option. Plus, building relationships with your professors may lead you to a connection that can help you land a job. 2. Informational Interviews If you are exploring a new career field or a particular company within your field, this is a great way to learn about an industry or company you are interested in, and establish a relationship with the person you are interviewing. This is not the time to ask for a job. Occasionally an opportunity comes up during an informational interview, but it is rare. The goal is to build a relationship with someone who may be able to help you get a job down the road, and gain some knowledge at the same time. The best way to connect with someone is via email. First visit LinkedIn to see if there is anything you have in common and mention that in the email. Go to the companys website, visit the media page, and utilize the info email address made available on the company website. Copy the same pattern. Emails generally are the same company wide; [emailprotected] Brevity is important here. Be honest about your situation, and why you are asking for an interview. Ive had incredible success with this approach. 3. Volunteer or Seek an Internship This approach is the best way to keep yourself marketable while you are in between jobs. Contact companies you are interested in working for and see if they do internships. Volunteer work and internships count as work experience. These sometimes lead to jobs within the company. If you plan on volunteering for an association, pick one in your career field. Be sincere and involved, and get to know others in the organization. You never know when one of those relationships could lead to a job. You can also volunteer for a nonprofit. If they dont have a need for your skill set, you can offer to volunteer where help is needed. You may even add new skills to your toolbox. 4. Stay Connected With Your Network Let your friends and family know about your career transition plans and ask them if they know anybody you can talk to who works in your field of interest. This is known as the informational interview route. If comfortable, you could always ask them if they know of any job opportunities and if they would be willing to let you know of future opportunities. For you introverts out there, a great way to connect with your network is to meet a friend or colleague for coffee or lunch and just catch up. Most conversations will lead to what is going on in your life. Thats the time to tell them your situation. Sometimes this can lead to job opportunities. So just to recap, there are many ways to keep yourself motivated, get in front of people, and stay marketable. Try some of these options out and let me know how its going. We are always eager to hear from our readers. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions regarding CareerAlley content. Good luck in your search,Joey Google+ Visit Joeys profile on Pinterest. what where job title, keywords or company city, state or zip jobs by

Conference in Copenhagen May 22 - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Conference in Copenhagen May 22 - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog We just announced or 6th annual conference about happiness at work in Copenhagen this year its on May 22 and we have the most amazing speakers lined up. Read all about it (in Danish). Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related