Find a your career at Australian Job Search

Working Under Stress And Distraction


Ever had a week, or month or how about a summer that was so overwhelming, so chaotic that you simply didn't know where to start to get back on track?


You may not have any control over the thing (or things) that set off the chaos but you still have to deal with the ramifications. Often on top of the physical presence of the chaos there is also internal emotional turmoil that suddenly boils up from who knows where.


For example, this is going back to school time. For those of you who have young kids it often means the end to summer…sanity is around the corner. But for those of you whose kids are "coming of age" it may mean they are off to college and that could mean they're moving out of the house and sometimes out of state.


Regardless of how often you thought you'd be glad when the day came that they were leaving…now that it's here it can be a real emotional ringer. I've got several clients that feel like they are on an emotional rollercoaster for just this reason.


Added to that emotional turmoil is the feeling they have left so much undone during this time, they don't know where to start.


Or maybe you've been away for close to a week attending your company's annual event. You've been exposed to a lot of information. You're excited and rearing to go. But you're feeling overwhelmed. "Where do I begin" and feeling behind in your day to day life. So what do you do…often we do nothing.


Neither of the above examples are what train wrecked me this last week. But that is exactly how I feel overwhelmed and on an emotional rollercoaster. What caused the sky to fall for me? Technical difficulties.


My email account (Outlook) went down and I've been unable to access any of my files nor can I get or send emails. This is huge for me as I do a lot of my business using email. Believe me for the first couple of days, the sky was falling.


Loosing my folders would be awful and being virtually off line for a week has sent things into a real tizzy.


I felt so far behind that it seemed I'd never catch up and I was really at odds as to where to begin.


Where do you begin when this happens?


This is what I did and I hope the process helps you. I made a list of all the things I could think of that were lurking out there playing on my mind. All the things that were left undone while the distraction was taking my time…this newsletter was one of them. It was "due" on the 15th and here it is the 18th and still not out.


Once I got the list of projects in front of me that were undone (and making me crazy) it was easier (and much less frightening) to choose the first one to do.


In this case it was the newsletter. I decided that was my first project.


Did that fix everything?


No, I'm still behind and feeling angst (and Outlook is still not working right). So the next thing I did was stand back a bit and take a look at how I was dealing with the situation.


Here is what I heard, "You need to tell those Microsoft guys that you're out of time, and they need to do whatever it takes to get this fixed." Clever huh, do I really think these guys are not doing everything they can to fix this problem? Here's another gem, "Everything is still sitting there, when will it get done. You're going on vacation next week, how can you do that with this mess?"


What I heard was all the negative chatter reinforcing how far behind I was and all the things that I "should" be doing. It became apparent that this was a job for the "Tom and Jerry" solution. For those of you who don't know the Tom and Jerry solution see my ezine # 6. It was time to "thank it for sharing, flick it off my shoulder and listen to something constructive, something positive."


Don't be so hard on yourself


And this ladies and gentlemen is really the entire reason for this article. So many of us think we are supposed to "get perfect" and stay that way. When the real trick is to recognize when you are off schedule, off kilter or in anyway out of sorts or out of focus … and simply come back to focus.


As soon as I decided I was going to put the "distraction" on the back burner (even for just a little while) and focus on something I knew I had control over, things began to clear for me.


Oh the negative chatter didn't stay away very long - at first. But what did happen immediately, I was able to refocus much more quickly. So the amount of time I was "spinning" doing nothing of real value got shorter and shorter.


And that's the trick. It isn't how much is undone, or how long you've been off track, that really makes for failure. What trips us up is not coming back to focus.


Everyone gets off focus. What makes for success is to keep coming back.


And here's one last thought on that. Come back congratulating yourself. Yep, congratulating yourself.


You have a couple of choices in this situation (at least). You can be really annoyed with yourself for "being off focus again." Or you can congratulate yourself for recognizing you were "off" and bringing yourself back.


Which do you think will be the most productive? (Let's see, is the glass half full or half empty?)


Remember the hash mark exercise from the last ezine and try that here. When you realize you're "off focus" add one of those hash marks to your collection. But do with congratulations for being aware that you were off focus.


What happens as soon as you are aware you're off focus?


Right, you back on track.


Be good to you when things out of your control suddenly take over. And as soon as you can, take a break from the chaos and do something that moves your life forward. The chaos will still be there waiting for you…(or maybe not) when you return to it.


Recap of steps


In its essence pretty simple really:


1. Stand back from the situation and make a list of everything that is undone

2. Pick something that's important to you from the list. (Everything important? Choose something you can complete fairly easily and quickly.)

3. Using the Tom and Jerry exercise from ezine #6 and break the negative chatter pattern.

4. Congratulate yourself for recognizing when you're off focus. Great job, you're aware!

I'd love to hear how this works for you, please email me and let me know.


May all your hassles be little and your (re)focus strong! :)


© 2006 Jillian Middleton All rights reserved.


_________________________________________________________
About the Author: Jillian Middleton is a Mentor Coach and Trainer, and author of the courses '5 Steps to Working Less and Making More in Network Marketing' and Setting Up Your Store Hours. As creator of the 'Savvy Sponsoring Strategies' Program, Jillian trains network marketers and direct sales consultants the same strategies she used to build two 6-figure network marketing businesses in 5 years. For more information on Jillian or her programs visit http://www.SavvySponsoring.com

Source: www.isnare.com

Look for your career at Australian Job Search

How You Can Use The Internet In Your Job Search
By Laura Adams

If you haven’t already starting using the internet to assist you in the job search, then you are missing out on a huge employment trend. There are numerous reasons to take advantage of this powerful tool, the most important one being that employers are using the internet more than ever to find candidates. If recent internet usage studies are accurate, nearly 48% of businesses do at least some of their recruiting online. Not utilizing the internet in your job search means that you are flying under the radar for many potential job opportunities.

The internet is useful for a number of job search-related activities including:

-- Searching for Jobs Online

-- Posting your Resume Online

-- Networking

-- Company Research

Searching for Jobs Online

Million of job openings are posted online each year, many times more openings that you could possibly access on your own outside of the internet. There are a number of general employment sites that allow postings in all professions, industries, and experience levels. These sites are very large in both size and scope, but are popular with employers and job seekers alike.

If you are able to narrow your job search to a specific profession or industry, niche sites will be incredibly valuable. Niche sites are those websites that specialize in a particular industry or profession, as opposed to allowing for the postings of any position imaginable. The advantages of using a niche site are (1) that you will not need to sort through nearly as many job openings to find those that fit your qualifications, and (2) that traffic is much less at niche sites. As a result, the competition for these positions is not nearly as fierce.

In addition to standard online job boards, many government agencies (from the local to federal level) now list all available positions online. Companies with corporate websites also frequently post any job openings on the company’s job announcement board. You can use any major internet search engine such as Google or Yahoo to find a specific government or company website.

A final note on online job searches: a large majority of newspapers with widespread circulation publish classified ads, including job openings, on the internet now. These ads can be accessed for free in most cases, and will give you direct access to any local position openings.

Posting your Resume Online

Resume banks are large online databases that allow you to post your resume to be accessed by recruiters and potential employers. The advantage to keeping a copy (or copies) of your resume online in a visible location is that allows employers actively seeking candidates to consider your credentials without you having to submit your resume directly to the company. Individuals worried about confidentiality can opt to leave personal identifying information off of the resume and simply provide an anonymous email address at which interested employers can reach them.

Many job boards also have resume banks, so take the time to browse around your favorite job sites to determine your options for posting your resume. Resumes can frequently be uploaded directly to the site or cut and pasted for quick posting. In the event that the site does not support this technology (or if you only have a hard copy of your resume), you will need to manually enter your resume into the site by filling out a form or typing into a pre-designated text box.

Technically-savvy job seekers may also choose to post their resume on their own hosted website, on a free personal site provided by your Internet Service Provider.

Networking

Networking is one of the most successful ways to find a new job, since personal relationships often lead to opportunities that you might have otherwise never knew existed. The internet offers innumerable opportunities to network with other professionals in your field. Online forums, newsgroups, and professional journals/blogs allow you to connect with professionals who may be able to point you (and your job search) in the right direction. You may even be able to find a mentor to help guide you in your career development.

Company Research

The internet is a powerful tool for conducting research on a specific company in which you are interested. Using a major search engine to scour the web for information on a company will turn up a company’s corporate webpage (if they have one) as well as a variety of other web sources disclosing information that may be highly pertinent to your job search. Use the internet, for example, to research the company’s products and services, industry, competitors, financial information, history, and reputation.

___________________________________________________________________________

Laura Adams is a qualified careers advisor with 11 years experience. Teaching Employment Information - Resources, News, Tips and Views to help Teachers find their dream jobs. http://www.Teaching-Job.info

Copyright Teaching-Job.info This article may be reproduced as long as the resource box and live links remain intact.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Laura_Adams

10 Tips For Writing A Professional Resume


1. Start with an attractive layout. Use bold and italics to
highlight key points.

I do not recommend downloadable templates because they are very
generic and dull. Get creative but not crazy. You can use a
little touch of color if you are modest.

2. Justify the text instead of using left align.

Most people are accustomed to reading justified text. This will
make your résumé easy to follow.

3. Choose a common font. Times New Roman, Arial, and Verdana
are some of the best fonts for a résumé.

Now is not the time to experiment. Most computers do not have
600 different fonts installed so the file will not read
correctly if you use your decorative fonts.

Do not use cutesy graphics such as candy canes or teddy bears
if you want to be taken seriously.

- Yes, I have really received a résumé with teddy bears and
candy canes on it.

It is NOT appropriate for business correspondence, and I
guarantee your résumé will be canned if you do this.

4. Do not use the word "I" in your résumé. Start each sentence
with a powerful verb.

- Organized annual student symposium by securing speakers and
working closely with marketing department executives.

- Implemented production bonus incentives and "best practices"
matrix for all divisions raising overall productivity by as
much as 40%.

5. Write a proper cover letter for each position you apply to.
Do not ever send out a résumé without a cover letter.

This is basic business etiquette. Personalize each cover letter
directly to the position you are applying to. A generic cover
letter will not work to your benefit. If possible, address the
letter directly to a person. If you do not know the hiring
managers name, use "Hiring Manager".

6. Print your résumé and read it word for word.

You can use the grammar and spell check function, but don't
rely on it.

7. When you have a degree, list only the year that you obtained
your degree.

When you list your dates of attendance, many résumé scanning
systems will not recognize that you obtained a degree, only
that you attended college for a period.

8. Deactivate all e-mail links and web addresses in your résumé
and cover letter.

To do this in MS Word, highlight the link with your mouse, go
to the "Insert" drop down menu, scroll down to and click
"Hyperlink", and on the lower left-had side of this screen
there should be a little button that says "Remove link", when
you find it, give it a little click and voila! Alternatively,
you can highlight the link with your mouse, right click on it,
and scroll down to "remove link" to deactivate the link.

9. Be consistent!

For example, don't list one date as 1/2004 and then list
another date as 9/22/2004.

List software consistently. MS Word and Microsoft Excel are
both correct, but not consistent when used together.

10. Adhere to punctuation and capitalization rules.

Use a reference manual if you do not understand standard
punctuation and capitalization rules.

Post your resume and Let employers know you.
________________________________________________
About the Author: Jennifer Anthony is the owner of
http://www.ResumeASAP.com, offering professional and affordable
resume writing services. She also moderates the forums over at
http://free-resume-advice.com/resume-advice/index.php Come
visit us if you need resume advice or have specific questions
about your resume. E-mail: jenn@resumeasap.com

Source: http://www.isnare.com