How to ace your work probation

 

After applying for numerous jobs and going for a ton of interviews, you finally manage to land a job!

So what next?

We all become obsessed with trying to get a job that once we have one we become a little overenthusiastic about everything and everyone that we just become downright annoying!

What we must not forget is that most companies have a 3 month work probation period, a lot of people hate this clause but I actually don’t mind it. There has only been one case for me where I didn’t like the job I was working in and it made it so much easier to hand in my notice (1 week as well).  But I digress, I feel like this a double sword… however it is an important topic to discuss. There is nothing wrong with being eager, just don’t overkill it with too many questions

A good method is to establish how you ask for help in the workplace. When you start a new job you always feel like a fish out of water, not knowing the procedures, not knowing where the equipment is stored and definitely not knowing what the social cues are. The best thing to do is find a buddy that can give you that knowledge, the go to person for general questions. Sometimes the company will assign you one but it depends really, making a good connection with your buddy is essentials as they are you in to getting to know everyone.

Smile when you meet someone, along with a firm handshake and great eye contact can give you an instant good impression. I am a sucker for smiles, smiles can make anyone more comfortable! These little prompt set you off on the right foot, establishing a good impression is important. I don’t mean this as you are trying to start a personal relationship with some but more your colleague will apply positive adjectives when someone mentions you. For example the adjectives I receive are upbeat, friendly and approachable, now who wouldn’t want those adjectives applied to them?!

So you have done the initial two to three weeks of meeting everyone in the company, but you still have another 2 and a half months to go. The secret is that it is important to listen to people, whether it is ease dropping on conversations or when someone is talking directly to you. By doing this you are obtaining the tools as to what annoys your colleagues (i.e not fessing up when you have made a mistake) and what satisfy them (i.e. using the font they like in your reports).

Another important thing is punctuality, arrive at work on time, let people know when you are going to lunch. These may sound simple but they are effective, you look on the ball and accessible which means you are reliable and reliable people are the ones that last the longest in a company.

Always ask for feedback, whether it is from a project or day to day tasks that you do. Not only does it help you with finding the best method to complete tasks but you are also showing you enthusiasm to learn and be better.

If you keep working the three points about you are going to get through that 3 month work probation, adapt, improve and excel. These word should be in your vocabulary, they can also be applied to everyday life as we all know it forever changing.

To acing your work probation,

Image credit: JLO’s Clothing Line

Own that 9-5!

A lot of us dream of becoming our own boss, but until that becomes a reality we all end up doing a 9 to 5 of sorts, so why not own that job until you break away like a beautiful hummingbird in flight. We work for well over half our lifetime, so why should we put ourselves in a job that we don’t like? Needing a job to live is understandable, however you can keep trying till you find that job is worth having a 9-5 for!

Fast forward to being in the job you wanted, how should you make the most of it?

Establishing an amazing morning routine is great way to get the most out of your 9 to 5, but what makes a great routine? Well sleep is always the first essential ingredient. For me 7-8 hours a night definitely gives me the spring in my step, to work out how many hours of sleep that will benefit you, try for one week 7 hours of sleep, then the next week 8 and so on. You should judge the result by assessing how you feel each morning, are you really groggy to for the first 10 minutes or are you tired the while way until you get to work?

Next is your breakfast routine, our bodies need to be refuelled so that we can run at optimal levels for the day. If you are not a big eater in the morning, invest in a blender and make breakfast smoothies. You can slowly drink them throughout the morning, the more fruit and nuts the better! Now if you are anything like me you like a hearty breakfast to set your day right, I added 10 extra minutes to my morning routine so that I can have 2 eggs on toast; this lasts me till late morning and I eat breakfast at 6am! Starting your morning off right makes going to work less of a hassle.

So you sorted your morning routine but that is just the first part. To love your 9 to 5 you need to have a consistent system that can adapt to your way of life.  When I arrive at work I sit down and sort out what I need to achieve today, I used my outlook calendar and notebook to write down my goals. I also have reminder in my calendar that pop up when I need to do a daily task. Using planners, notebooks and electronic calendars help me stay on top of my goals and tasks that I have at work. Knowing that I have these systems helps me be relaxed in the workplace, I feel a clear direction is needed to be good at what you are doing. It is different for other industries and it not always that straight forward, but I do recommend a form of note taking that works for you.

Making friends with work colleagues is another method to help you enjoy your 9 to 5, they can be the people you go have a drink with after work or just simply the people you can have a small chit chat with throughout the day. An upbeat environment creates positives attitudes which I fully believe is a contributing factor to productivity. Colleague friendships are a benefit work wise, when you are struggling with a task or project they will be there to help you and make the process less stressful. I mean who doesn’t want that?!

Next thing to consider is your method of transport to work, do you take public transport? or do you drive/ride to work daily? It doesn’t matter which one it is you should always make your transport an enjoyable experience. For example I have a two playlists for work, one for the journey there and one for the journey back. My morning one is all upbeat tracks design to get me in the energetic mood, plus it also helps keep my optimism and for the journey home I have mellow beats to help me unwind, so when I get home I am fully relaxed and ready to enjoy my evening.

Music its a wonderful way to help enjoy your day, it is very common in workplaces to have music on in the background. If you are not a fan of listening to music in the morning, trying reading if you take public transport or for the drivers/rider talk out about what you want to achieve today. It is a very productive way to start your morning, plus you can feel more settled as you have set tasks for yourself to achieve.

This is only the tip of the ice berg of ways you can improve your 9 – 5! Head over to my twitter or facebook page I would love to hear about you do to make your 9-5 special.

To owning your 9 – 5.

Image Credit: Wildfox Couture & Kate Spade

Stop Wasting Job Hunters Time!

It’s time, after the same crap over and over again. It’s time to share with you the truth about the recruitment process in England, when I read this article by Alex Hazlehurst I instantly sympathised with her story. What I want to share with you is the recruitment process that I believe is crippling the prospect of my fellow kiwis and other international buddies looking for work in the UK.

Employers who are looking for candidates are the contributing factor as to why you might miss out on working for them. So let me give you a little background history about myself, I have a degree in business and have been working as an administrator for over 5 years. I have a 5 year Ancestry visa, on paper I am an appealing candidate, friendly, motivated and a person who has references to prove my worth.

When I landed in London I delved into the job hunting process, signed up to some reputable agency and within a week I had already been to 2 interviews. I felt like this was already a positive step, I would have a job in no time, but boy I was wrong. 4 months down the track and I still have yet to secure a permanent job, yes there was a great contract job for a month but that was only for holiday cover and there were no vacancies that suited me. I have meet with lovely recruiters who have sent me to countless job interviews, to my surprise the recruiters were sending me to jobs that were interesting and within my pay expectations.

The feedback I would get back from potential employers was “she is really lovely” or “she has fantastic communication skills”, but then what really got me was…. nothing, a week would go by and I would ring my recruiter and ask “have you heard anything?” and the answer I would get is “they are still interviewing other candidates” or “they have had to delay interviewing others because of (insert excuse)”.

At first I was understanding, I had been on the recruiting end and there are certain scenarios that do happen, however it was becoming a regular occurrence. Out of 5 interviews I would go to only 1 would get back to me within a week if I was through to the next stage or not. What I do know from experience is that most of the time when companies are recruiting they want someone relatively quickly. But then again I got it wrong, what I have discovered in England is that no one is in a hurry and I mean no one.

For me the average time it takes for a company to make a decision (whether they want to proceed to the next interview) is about 3-4 weeks, now that is pretty slow. When you think about it you have already gone for the initial interview, in which the company should have seen at least 4 people in that week; It makes you think well they must have liked at least 50% of them? They probably did but that is not the issue, the issue is the length of time it takes between the first interview and the second interview.

I can guarantee that one of the reasons I didn’t make the cut for some second interviews is that they couldn’t remember how I interviewed the first time. I believe the length of time does matter when you are interviewing, companies need to set aside time slots so that they can meet potential candidates, then a minimum of a week later get the next the people they want in for a second round to eliminate any doubts. How difficult would that be? Sadly it just seem too difficult for companies to do this, why can’t they allocate someone to do the task and get the great candidates through the door? Are they searching for candidates too early? What companies need to realise is that candidates are looking to work for as soon as you want them, why waste time pushing interviews further back? I feel like companies have missed out on amazing people because of how slowly they handle things. 

So employers take a moment to realise the possibilities you have and how you can acquire an amazing employee, if you need an employee quite quickly put it out there and conduct the interviews. If you are thinking about it, sit on it, maybe talk with you recruiter and ask about the caliber of people they have. Most of all make the time for these interviews, the people you might need could just be one application away and to my fellow job hunters, keep smiling and keep applying the right employer will snap you up! as for me I am following my own advice, I feel that I am finally getting closer to securing the job that I really want.

To future employment,

Image from Anna Dziubinska

My Killer First Job

It is hard to believe at times that I have been working already for 12 years! Yup, you read that right. What an amazing ride it has been, the jobs and the life experience that I have already made has been so enjoyable. I know not everything has been amazing all the time, there has been hard times like disputes with work colleagues or not being valued by your boss; but I digress. Let goes back in time, back to when I was a 15 year old fresh faced high school-er looking to make my first buck.

“I have got you a job” was the words that came out of my fathers mouth. Just 2 weeks after I had turned 15 my father had organised an interview with a popular cafe not far from home. “What?!” I felt like it was so unfair that I had to go to work, so soon after my birthday as well.

I meet with the general manager from the coffee shop a few days later and we discussed the hours that I would work and how much I would be paid, which to my surprise was well above the minimum wage. Many of my friends who already had jobs were being paid minimum wage, which meant they had to work 3 days after school for 3 hours at a time to meet what I would in one whole day. My opinion started to change, “maybe only working one day a week might not be so bad”. I was more worried about my time that what I could earn, many can relate that when you are a teenager spending time with your friends is more important.

A week after the discussions it was my first day on the job, with my new printed t-shirt with the company’s logo on it I walked into my first job. The day was over so quickly it had hardly felt like it had begun, I learn’t how to work a till, distribute coffee beans and pack up the shop for the day. My work colleagues were really welcoming and very focused, their work ethic was inspirational; also they both made a wicked cup of coffee. Over the next few weeks my somber view on having to work turned into an enjoyment, every Saturday I would work with amazing people learning the art of making the perfect cup of coffee. I had never meet people so passionate about what they do, after a awhile it began to rub off on me.

What I took away from working for this company was that you can enjoy working, people are passionate about what they do and work hard to achieve their goals within the company. I feel really lucky to have had a chance to fall straight into a job I enjoyed, its sad hearing that others were not so lucky in their first jobs but it is a hit and miss to try and find “that amazing” job experience. If you are searching for an experience similar to what I had, then head on over to The Ladders Job Search section, they provide comprehensive information on what career opportunities are available in the US; so maybe you just might find your own killer job!

Have you had an amazing first job or even just a general job experience? I would love to hear about it, so leave a comment below!

To work life experiences,

 This post was in collaboration with The Ladders team, who are dedicated to helping you find that killer job!

Image via Seemi Samuel

Free Your Inbox!

Ever since I started blogging I have found that I am a hoarder of free courses. Recently I was looking through my email subscription and it became quite obvious that I had a problem, this addicted I realised also was creating other problems as well.

In a society that has instant access to information it can get a little bit overwhelming, sometimes many of us can stress out about what to do as we have read too many opinions and can’t decide on our own.

When I was scrolling through my subscription I noticed a pattern, I had signed up to quite a lot of business related subscriptions that would help me with my blog (surprised?). What also was interesting was that each subscription was so similar that it was a bit ridiculous. Who needs to have 4 email subscriptions on how to make you blog photos look professional?!

So after that I made a decision that enough is enough, it was my own personal email culling time. But where did I start you say? Well it was more that I needed to read all of the email subscriptions and this means reading every fricken email and seeing if it applies to your current situation of work or life. DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD THAT WAS?! I am pretty sure I almost threw my laptop out the apartment window, it was frustrating and time consuming where I could have been doing something else more fun or productive. But you know what, I was sick and tired of going into my email and seeing all these bloody subscriptions filling my inbox. After awhile it became depressing for me to even open email and that my friend is not healthy at all.

Allowing all the electronic clutter to ruin your mental state is not right, it like when you walk your room only to discover everything is dirty and/or broken and all you needed to do was to tidy up. So it was out with the unwanted and in with the organisation.

Free courses are addictive, why not sign up to a free course where you can learn how to make a paper plane? *only example I could think of that is irrelevant*. What we should be doing is using our noggins, having prompt questions like “am I really going to read this?” “will this actually be helping for my ___?”.

I have found that these prompts have helped stop impulsive signing up to pointless courses. By delaying the initial reaction to click sign up, asking helps you decide for yourself whether you need it or not. Worst comes to worst save the webpage and go back to it an hour later, ask the same prompt questions and see if you still feel the urge to click. If its still there then click my friend because obviously this is going to help you in some way, whether its for inspirational or practical purposes.

After reading all my email subscriptions, I unsubscribed to half of them. Yip you read that right HALF, blimey I complied a lot of useless crap. As there was over 15 subscriptions I wanted to cancel, I used Unroll.Me it is a really helpful with mass unsubscribe. Now I am happy to look back in my inbox and see the world again, or more like what I have brought…

Did I miss anything out? Do you know of some other helpful tips that might help other waywards? Make sure you comment below or head over to my twitter and use the #TWP.

Much love and magic,

 

Image by Startup Stock Photos