Add You - Business

Four Common Sense Tips for the Telephone Interview
Here’s a phone interview tip worth considering: smile. A smile is a magic thing, and in addition to being seen in person it can be felt from a distance. When doing a phone interview, don’t think that because the person on the other end of the phone can’t see you that smiling and other positive body gestures are not important. The best interview tip that anyone was ever given was to smile and make positive gestures. In fact, many people talk with their hands. If you do, consider a telephone head set to free your hands up.Another tip that will be worth its weight in gold is to have a good quality telephone. It may seem silly to even mention it, but the better quality phone you use, the better your voice will sound. Years ago everyone rented his or her telephones from the local utility phone company. These days people own their own phones, and while many people use good quality phones, many use the ten and fifteen-dollar phones they’ve found in the local dollar store or discount mart. Those phones are fine for talking to your spouse perhaps, but for business use make a good business impression, and use a good phone. Add this tip to the mix as well: use a landline with a cord, and not a cell phone or cordless phone. Dead batteries, crackling sounds, bad cell sites, and weather interference can make you sound bad at the other end, and you may not even know it. When doing your phone interview you want to be clear

ifficult to deal with employees or bosses which exhibit an attitude that they are somehow above the rules yet also desire to control those around them. When those situations arise, crap usually hits the fan quickly. To survive and grow from these sticky situations, Kathleen Erickson, Director of Sales & Business Development at Massively Parallel Technologies in the Denver area, suggests that there needs to be a culture of open communication that “when two people respect each other enough to say what's on their mind and work through the issues or clarify the misunderstandings...things go pretty well.”

Once the air is cleared, the relationship can grow and the organization can continue to thrive. “If we can humble ourselves enough to let creativity flow and appreciate the true talent and untapped potential in one another, amazing things can happen right before our very eyes. Everyday heroes are all around us...even in the workplace.” Erickson says.

Stubbornness

Simon Harriyott, Founder of Sussex Geek Dinners in the UK, points out that someone with a hard head is problematic to him, “coming to a discussion with a fixed decision in mind, and refusing to listen to or consider alternatives. It's much worse when they've reached the wrong conclusion. It's a hard one to fix, but sometimes gently asking questions will get them to think about their solution more deeply, and they may see flaws in their original decision.”

Changing Careers? Here's How
There’s no time like the present to change careers. The labor market is improving and there are opportunities available in almost every field. This article outlines five steps every career changer must go through to land a new position. I use real life examples of people I have worked with to illustrate my points. These steps are as necessary for people with disabilities as they are for any job seeker. So put yourself in high gear and let’s start up the career change staircase.Step One: Assess your skills and interests to make sure your career move is aligned with who you are. Changing careers is not for the faint of heart. On average new careers take longer to find and you often start at a lower salary. Jim, a Human Resources Benefits Specialist in a manufacturing firm, was willing to accept these risks. He was tired of overseeing a series of layoffs at companies as they outsourced their jobs overseas. For the last two years the part of his job, he enjoyed most, was orienting new staff and training managers. “I knew I was a good trainer when I read my workshop evaluations. I had also taught at a local community college and the students appreciated me for how well I presented difficult material.”Jim discussed these experiences, adding this information to the knowledge he gathered about himself from doing skills analysis and a career interest test. The results confirmed Jim’s original intuition abou

It’s that time of year, when employee evaluations are due, where we evaluate the behaviors in employees that annoy us the most and try to figure out what to do about them. Below are ten behaviors that experts all over the world have identified as irritating, problematic, or counterproductive along with a proposed solution to the problem. The ten are in no particular order, but each one has its own set of circumstances which impact a company’s productivity or morale in some way.

Promotion and/or Pay Raise Seekers Who Haven't Earned Their Stripes

“If you want something different or better than the position you're currently in, then do the work, serve the role, earn the job and make it evident to everyone around you that you deserve it (without blowing your own horn every five minutes). The easiest promotions come when it's blatantly obvious that someone is already doing the job and capable of carrying it. The worst situations come when someone gets promoted to a job for which they aren't qualified. Everyone suffers in that scenario,” says Dick Hoffman, Owner of Hoffman Management Consultancy based in the Netherlands. “When someone pursues a title, promotion or raise so relentlessly that they make everyone around them miserable, then it's usually time to recommend that they exit the current situation and pursue another job.”

Falling Asleep on the Job

Sometimes employees simply don’t get the proper rest, but it’s unacceptable to nod off during the work day or meetings. Companies aren’t paying their employees to take a siesta on their dime. This is not only a hindrance to the company itself, but it genuinely upsets other employees. A Research Associate in the San Francisco area recounts a recent sleeping on the job incident where the outcome will always have two behavior altering options: “If sleeping on the job became a frequent problem with the employee, I would cite safety issues (which are applicable, as we work in an engineering/laboratory environment) and give the employee the option of a) getting immediate help (and I would have to see documented proof that he/she was actually getting some help) or b) face termination.”

Pardon the pun, but it’s hard to sleep on this one—quick and decisive action is required to save face and improve productivity. A general consensus seems to suggest that the best solution for your company is an immediate termination if you catch someone frequently sleeping on the job or during meetings. It’s not the company’s responsibility to cater to employees which don’t get the proper rest.

Teaming Up in an Attempt at Getting a Co-Worker Fired

This makes our list for the simple reason that executives and managers should be entrusted to ensure that the right people are “on the bus.” No amount of employee revolt against one employee will benefit anyone therefore it is best to keep the lines of communication open between all parties. If a riff is sensed among the constituency, hash it out to the best of the team’s abilities as a team. If a mutiny is inevitable, attempt to satisfy everyone’s concerns by attempting to restructure the team in such a way that promotes functionality above personality differences. If push comes to shove, someone may need to be terminated as a last resort to permit the business to move forward.

Not Understanding the Business

Ram Charan, a popular business author and former CEO of Honeywell, mentions in his book What the CEO Wants You to Know, “when you come right down to it, business is very simple. There are universal laws of business that apply whether you sell fruit from a stand or are running a Fortune 500 company.”

If you’re an employee, take the time to truly understand how your employer makes money. If you’re a business executive, invest some of your time to explain how your company makes money so that everyone has the basic fundamentals down. This is the least you can do to improve your likelihood of long term success.

Being a Know-it-All

No one enjoys being subjected to criticism or one-upsmanship from co-workers especially if that person isn’t the boss. There are no employees at any company, including the CEO, that know every answer to every conceivable problem. That’s why there are people in various roles within the company. If there is a “know-it-all” among the group, the best solution is to confront that person and hash out the differences as a group. Be careful not to make it appear as if you’re ganging up on the guilty party though. If the person provides a valuable set of skills to the organization, your goal isn’t to eliminate the employee—it is to discourage the behavior while continuing to capitalize on their unique strengths. Conversely, if the person is no longer providing tangible benefits to the organization, perhaps it’s time to encourage the problem child to seek employment elsewhere.

Eating at Your Desk

Nothing short of instituting a “please eat in designated areas only” policy will correct this problem. Businesses should consider implementing this policy if for no other reason than to protect company assets such as the computer, keyboard, monitor, desk, chair, and phone at each person’s work area. Grease can penetrate those objects and wear them down over time not to mention the unsightly grime and residue build up. If you have carpet in your office, it’s doubtful you desire to replace it frequently because of repeated mishaps. While most people are careful not to spill things, accidents are bound to happen so why not take the steps to limit them to areas better equipped to sustain them?

Dave Gullo, Owner of Snowboards-for-sale.com based in California, puts a humorous spin on this, stating “the sounds of mastication are annoying. Worst case is an employee who is eating KFC and working at the same time touching your monitor leaving rainbow marks.” Indeed!

Always Playing the Victim

If bad things are supposedly always happening to someone around you or even to you, it’s time to confront the guilty party. Complaining all the time without presenting viable solutions aggravates everyone in little time. Life isn’t always a picnic for anyone, but a consistent negative outlook is demoralizing to say the least. “Victim behavior is disruptive because victims create drama, they are constitutionally incapable of taking responsibility for the choices they make which means they are intractable and incurable. Prevention is highly recommended through careful screening,” says Jane Plank, Sr. Executive Vice President of Human Resources at Equity Consultants in Richfield, Ohio.

Plank suggests quick corrective action, “when an employee’s choices become more problematic than the benefit added to the company, it is time to coach them up or out.” Preeti Kalra, an HR Manager at Dilithium Networks in India, encourages one-on-one sessions, “Have several one-on-one sessions with employee and talk about things that bother him/her, explain why things are the way they are and if the complaint is genuine fix it. If you religiously follow this practice you might be able to change employee's approach.”

Arrogance and Control

It’s extremely difficult to deal with employees or bosses which exhibit an attitude that they are somehow above the rules yet also desire to control those around them. When those situations arise, crap usually hits the fan quickly. To survive and grow from these sticky situations, Kathleen Erickson, Director of Sales & Business Development at Massively Parallel Technologies in the Denver area, suggests that there needs to be a culture of open communication that “when two people respect each other enough to say what's on their mind and work through the issues or clarify the misunderstandings...things go pretty well.”

Stubbornness

Goals - Why Are They So Important?
Goal setting should really be defined as a person creating the future in advance by writing these goals on a paper and doing what ever it takes to make it happen.Ok, what is the first step? You need to define a goal. You need to know exactly what you want, when you want it, and why you want it. That is your goal. If you don't know exactly what your goal is, you will not commit to it.So you need to know what you want to achieve and WRITE it down on a piece of paper. Having your short term goal or long term goal in your head only may not help that much. Every book says that.When you do write your goals down, you need to ask yourself one important question. Is this goal realistic? Can you really make it work and come true? Do you really believe that you can reach it? Faith is also an important ingredient that can make or break your goal. If you don't think or believe that you can make your goal a reality, then you probably won't.You need to have faith in yourself. You need to have faith in your goals. You need to have faith that you can reach any goal that you set.You then need to determine what price, what's the worthiness of that goal. What level of importance are you going to put on it? Is it a want? Is it a need? Is it, "It would be nice to have it"?You need to make that goal a burning desire. You need to make it a must. It is a "Have to have it no matter what" goal. If you do that th

wo behavior altering options: “If sleeping on the job became a frequent problem with the employee, I would cite safety issues (which are applicable, as we work in an engineering/laboratory environment) and give the employee the option of a) getting immediate help (and I would have to see documented proof that he/she was actually getting some help) or b) face termination.”

Teaming Up in an Attempt at Getting a Co-Worker Fired

Not Understanding the Business

Being a Know-it-All

Eating at Your Desk

Always Playing the Victim

Arrogance and Control

Stubbornness

Fundraising With Candy Bars
Have you ever wondered why candy bar fundraisers always seem so popular? It is because Americans love to eat chocolate. Billions of pounds of candy bars are consumed each year in America so why not employee Americas obsession with candy in your next fundraiser.Candy bar fundraisers can be either direct selling fundraisers or indirect selling fundraisers. You can even customize your fundraiser and employ both direct and indirect selling techniques.Direct selling candy bar fundraisers requires lots of people to help sell your candy bars. You can customize your candy wrappers to advertise your fundraiser and help promote your cause or organization. You can also reach large numbers of people because each of your volunteers can go out and make contact with all of there friends and neighbors.Indirect selling as a method of fundraising does not requires as many volunteers as direct selling. You will make up flyers or brochures highlighting your cause or group and then distribute the flyers. Then people will contact you based on the contact information on your flyer. This way you can have only a handful of people running the fundraiser.Candy bar fundraisers can bring in upwards of a 200% profit. This will all depend on the type and quality of candy bar you sell. As well as the cost of the candy bar. You must keep in mind to strike a balance between cost and quality. People will not want to buy y

r you sell fruit from a stand or are running a Fortune 500 company.”

Being a Know-it-All

Eating at Your Desk

Always Playing the Victim

Arrogance and Control

Stubbornness

A Look at Wireless Security Cameras
If you need to partially conceal your cameras from view, wireless security cameras are the way to go. Locations such as banks use a combination of wireless and wired, visible and hidden cameras to intimidate potential robbers, but continue photographing them even if they disable the wired cameras.Las Vegas casinos do the same. Look around you the next time you enter a casino or a bank. There are cameras evident and these are for “publicity” purposes. That is, they are there to intimidate a potential robber or petty thief from doing anything, knowing that their actions are being recorded. The owners of these establishments want you to see these cameras and they want you to think twice about doing anything naughty in their places of business.Then there are the hidden cameras. Almost always wireless so they can be placed anywhere, they photograph through small holes in the walls or ceilings, or from behind specially designed ordinary devices you’d expect to find in the location. Wireless security cameras are the ones that provide information to the police about who may have committed some crime after they disabled the visible systems.Wireless cameras can be battery operated. That is, they are used to monitor the activities of people for a limited amount of time. Their advantage is that they can be placed in a variety of easily concealed positions, much more so than a camera that requires a wire to be connecte

desire to replace it frequently because of repeated mishaps. While most people are careful not to spill things, accidents are bound to happen so why not take the steps to limit them to areas better equipped to sustain them?

Always Playing the Victim

Arrogance and Control

Stubbornness

Financing Your Staffing Agency
As a staffing agency owner, your biggest concern is making sure your employees get paid on time - always. In this article, we’ll discuss a tool that will help you get the funds to meet payroll every time. We’ll also talk about a financing tool that will let you take on new contracts, even those that you think are too big and can’t possibly afford to win. This financing tool is easy to qualify for (it’s NOT a business loan), can be set up in days and can give you all the necessary funding your staffing agency needs.This tool is called invoice factoring, and also referred to as receivable factoring. This financing is not offered by a bank, but rather by a factoring company.If you are like most agency owners, your problem is not lack of work or customers. I am sure you have plenty of both. Your biggest problem is that your customers take between 30 and 60 days to pay their invoices. But, your employees need to be paid weekly (or bi-weekly). And unless you have a fat bank account, the math does not work. Sooner or later, you’ll run out of money.But what if you could eliminate slow paying clients? No, I don’t mean that you should stop doing business with them. I mean, what if you could turn them into quick paying clients? What would happen to your business if every client was guaranteed (yes, guaranteed!) to pay you in 2 business days? How many of those clients could you take?Let me have a guess. You cou

Stubbornness

Said Hmaidan, Senior Information Officer at International Finance Corporation, The World Bank Group in the D.C. area, agrees, “As communication is the foundation of all conflict resolution and team building, people which such behavior tend to create a negative atmosphere and bad vibe among the team.” He suggests this potential solution: “there are several ways to remedy this but the most effective is by acknowledging the point the person made and create a new possible scenario placing the person into that scenario to attract his/her attention. When the person becomes attentive, then it is easier for him/her to see others point-of-view.”

Laziness

Ah, who could leave out the annoying employee that simply doesn’t want to work or refuses to apply themselves? David Benjamin, Direct Placement Recruiter at Variant Partners near Detroit, gets bothered by “the efforts and creativeness of lazy employees always making excuses of why the company or they can not be successful. They come up with the most creative ways to spend their time to demonstrate their point instead of using that time wisely to become a success.” In problematic situations such as this, it’s best to help the employee seek out employment elsewhere, perhaps another department within your organization, because it’s doubtful they will ever be happy in their current role.

What the Issues Have in Common

In all of these cases, most experts agree that open communication can alleviate a lot of problems. Some even suggest a more proactive and self centered approach such as the one Joao Trindade, International Manager at Wisse Financial in Trinidad, utilizes, “What I’ve always tried to do, was to understand that person’s motivation and try to change the way I worked with them, in order to take the best part this person had to give to the company (if the mountain doesn’t go to Moses…). I would say that after some time, people understand that are being treated differently and they will try to understand why. Sometimes, when they figure out why, they change by themselves, which I believe is the best method.”

Ray van den Bel, an Independent Consultant in the Netherlands, points out that sometimes people will just have to agree to disagree. “It depends on your own communication style which is most annoying because some styles do not interact with other styles. Expressive people and analytical people are thus often opposites.”

While there are no definitive sure fire fixes for annoying employee behavior, opening the lines of communication seems to be the most popular elixir many experts suggest. If you openly communicate with your employees, and there are still major problems, it may be time to go in a different direction in order for both parties to be happy and content.

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Neon signs are great advertising for any business. They work well for retail settings such as game rooms, restaurants, diners, manufacturing units, pubs and lounges, fraternity lounges, and many other establishments.

An examination of the skills needed to make a successful career in Selling and a number of tips on how to succeed.

Customer Service is a blessing and a curse; a blessing to the customer and a curse to you, the employee. At least so it seems. Although as the Customer Service representative for your employer, you are faced with a never-ending barrage of complaints, problems, and questions on a daily basis, the pressure of the job could easily become a source of anger, frustration, and other forms of counter-productive behaviors. You seem to live in a pressure-cooker of stress.

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