6 signs your boss is taking advantage of you

6 signs your babo is taking advantage of you6 signs your boss is taking advantage of youEarly in your career, your first boss might have felt like a god to you overflowing with knowledge, directly impactful on your success and the number one person you aimed to impress. While that admiration may wane as you grow in your industry - and even become a manager yourself - there is still a certain clout your higher-up carries. The only issue with idolizing your higher-ups is that elend all are created equal and have the best interest of their employees at heart.In fact, personal development expert and author Christy Whitman saysthat oftentimes, employers struggle with insecurities and will attempt to control their employees in an effort to feel better. This form of manipulation, is, unfortunately, all too common - and a practice you should be aware of in the workplace, so it doesnt hard-stop your career progress.Here, experts give the tell-tale signs your boss is taking advantage of you - and more importantly, what to do about it1. Your boss plays the victim cardIn your friend circle, do you have a pal who is always suffering from something? Or seems to find a way to put you in the wrong, even when you know you walked the right line? While you might distance yourself from a person who makes you self-conscious about your character, it can be tougher to take space from a passive-aggressive manager who finds a way to mentally manipulate you by playing the victim card. Their behavior is passive aggressive, or unpredictable - nice one minute and then rude or distant the next, Whitman says.Instead of questioning yourself and your talents, Whitman encourages professionals to take notes on the unreasonable demands and dismissals. In a future meeting or when youre prepared to leave the company in search of a more effective manager, your examples could come in handy. Center yourself during the day. Write these incidents down and speak a friend to vent about your boss, she adds.2. You always get the grunt workReal talk even the CEO of a company has certain parts of his or her job theyd rather skip. Also true though if the vast majority of your job responsibilities is grunt work thats below your level, you might be in a tricky situation where your boss is attempting to hold you back. Whether they are intimidated by your talents or have a negative opinion of your performance, theyre taking advantage of your willingness to buckle down and complete a task, according to workplace expert Amy Cooper Hakim, Ph.D.How do you handle it? With open communication and a willingness to take on other opportunities as they arise Consider telling your boss that you would like to stay fresh with a particular skill or task, and would greatly appreciate the opportunity to tackle the next related project. Or, offer to split busy work with a colleague so that you both get the chance to work on the more interesting job-related tasks, she says.3. You always seem to get picked to stay lateEven great managers can be guilty of applying too much pressure to their hardest-working employees. As Hakim says, striving to please your boss means youre readily available, up for anything and an innate problem-solver. These qualities translate to more responsibilities since he or she knows they can trust you to deliver quality work. But before this can wreak havoc on your personal life - and leave you running on fumes - its important to set clear boundaries.While it is great to be thought of by your boss as one who can successfully tackle a last-minute task, you must also maintain a work-life balance. If you are able to stay after work, then do so, Hakim says. However, if you have other plans or just want to go home, offer to complete the project first thing the following day. Even offer to come in 30 minutes early, to get a head start before the office gets busy.4. Your boss wont take responsibility - unless its for positive outcomesWhen you miss your sales numbe r by a hair or the predicted spend is far higher what you actually shelled out for a new campaign, is your manager the first one to take the blame? If not, raise your eyebrow. While bosses arent expected to always take accountability for every misstep of their team, they also shouldnt throw their employees under the bus. Hakim explains this not only leaves staff feeling taken for granted, but it usually translates into a manager who takes credit for the positive outcomes even if it wasnt their work. This makes it more important to work up the courage to stand up for yourself.If you complete the tasks for a project, but your boss takes full credit for it in front of your team or his boss, consider a way to ensure that others know that this is your work, too. Offer to present the project update to the team. Or, casually share that youve enjoyed working on this assignment when greeting important company leaders, she suggests.5. Your boss gossipsRemember when your mother warned you if a friend gossips about another pal to you, you better believe they share a few choice words behind your back, too? Whitman says the same goes in business if your manager is consistently giving poor examples or reviews of your co-workers to you, they likely practice the same backstabbing strategy with others. Heres where you should practice those pinky-promise rituals from childhood and bite your tongue. This makes it very difficult to trust your boss. Be very mindful of what you confide in your boss. Discern what you will share with your boss so that it does not come back to bite you in the long run, because it will, she says.6. You feel defensive around themIts not only about the habits of your manager, but how they impact you, Whitman reminds. If youre normally a person who is level-headed, down-to-earth and confident, but around your boss, you find yourself putting up your dukes, its a sign youre feeling underappreciated. If you are needing to defend yourself because they are agg ressive and sometimes mean, critical, or even acting like a bully you need to take some moments for yourself during the day, she says.This may mean retreating to the bathroom to gather yourself with three deep breaths or grabbing a coffee outside so you can clear your fog of frustration. And while youre away from the office, Whitman challenges professionals to dive deep into why theyre sticking around in a gig that brings them stress.Find the positive aspects about your job and list them. Ask yourself why you are in the situation and what is the payoff for sticking it out? Sometimes it is better to just walk away from a boss where the job is not an avenue for something better, she advises.

Learn the Employee Life Cycle of HIAR

Learn the Employee Life Cycle of HIARLearn the Employee Life Cycle of HIARAn employee life cycle consists of the four stages employees go through from the time of hire until they retire. Often, human resources professionals focus their attention on the steps in this process in order to make an impact on the companys bottom lineand reduce the companys cost per employee hired. Unfortunately, these professionals arent the ones who make a difference the managers are. On a day-to-day basis, people dont work for companies they work for a boss. If you learn to be a good boss, you can keep employees happy and reduce the costs associated with employee turnover. In the process, youll make your own job easier and increase your value to the company. Employees are one of a companys biggest expenses and, unlike major capital costs (like buildings, machinery, technology, etc.), human capital is highly volatile. As a manager, you are in a position to reduce that volatility using the employee life c ycle of HIAR (pronounced hire), which stands for Hire, Inspire, Admire, Retire. Hire This first step is probably the most important because you have to hire the best people for the job. This is leid a time to be frugal because the cost of replacing a bad hire far exceeds the cost of hiring the appropriate part in the first place. Hire talent, not just trainable skills. While skills can be taught to a talented employee, a skilled employee cannot be taught to be talented.Improve your interviewing skills. Often this can be as simple as knowing what questions to ask during the hiring process.Make your company a place people want to come to every day.Company culture can be a powerful recruiting tool, so make sure your culture supports people, not just things. Inspire Once youve recruited the best employees, the hard part begins. You have to inspire employees to perform to their capabilities and motivate them in the process. Make them welcomeand make them feel like theyre a part o f the team.Set challenging goals that can be achieved, such as SMART goals. Be a leader, not just a manager. Admire Once youve hired the best employees (and have challenged and motivated them), dont ignore them. The same attention you paid to work assignments, employee satisfaction, and being a part of a team needs to continue. As soon as you slack off, employee satisfaction and motivation decreases, employees become disenchanted and quit. Youve only succeeded in contributing to the employee turnover statistic you were trying to avoid. You want TGIM (thank goodness its Monday) employees, not TGIF (thank goodness its Friday) employees.Give them positive feedback as often as possible.Provide appropriate rewards and recognition for jobs done well.Create referral programs and reward your employees for referring other candidates. Retire When employees see your company as the employer of choice that they want to join and stay with, youve succeeded. Whether an employee retires at a ge 60 or 70, as long as you continue to inspire, motivate, and challenge them, they will contribute at the high level you need to beat the competition. Additionally, a life-long satisfied employee will refer other quality employees to your company. This enables you to attract and retain second and even third generation high-quality employees who ultimatelysave the company money that can be used for bonuses and raises.

How to Self-Publish an Audiobook

How to Self-Publish an AudiobookHow to Self-Publish an AudiobookBy self-publishing an audiobook,both self-published and traditional authors can potentially expand the audience for their books content and perhaps find an additional revenue stream for their work. Historically,audiobooks(aka recorded books or books on tape)have provided a format for those who prefer to listen to their books rather than read them.Joel Schwartzberg, the author of the well-reviewed and traditionally-publishedThe 40-Year-Old Versiondecided to self-publish the audiobook.In this QA, he shares what he learned. Why Self-Publish an Audiobook? Valerie Peterson What made you decide to self-publish an audiobook version of your ?humoirs- , your book about being a divorced dad?Joel Schwartzberg As a former competitive public speaker, I always wanted to do an audio version of the book, especially so I could capture the humor and some of the subtext and insinuation with my tone and timing. But it always seemed very expensive and time-consuming. Frankly, I thought you had to be connected to a major publisher to get it done. Audiobook Inspiration and Execution VP So what made you rethink that and look into doing the audiobook version?JS The book is perennially very relevant as divorce rates are still high and divorced/remarried dad are still questioning their identities and looking for paths to happiness and personal fulfillment. I usually do a big marketing push around Fathers Day publishing essays, buying Facebook ads, doing blog outreach, contacting stepmothers () so I thought Fathers Day would be great timing to do an audiobook launch and promotion. What helped me take the audiobook idea seriously welches a service called Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX.com) a service from Audible and its parent, Amazon that connects authors, narrators, and studios. ACX helped me find Brick Shop Audiobooks, an audio studio in Brooklyn, which - for a cheaper price than I expected - professionally recorded, directed, and published my audiobook. Because Brick Shop already had a relationship with Audible, they were able to produce the audio to the exact specifications for Audible, Amazon, and iTunes. So its DIYWPH - Do-It-YourselfwithProfessional-Help. The nice part was that it was fairly inexpensive. How Much Does It Cost to Self-Publish An Audiobook? VP Joel, would you share how much it cost?JS It cost me around $450 for what is roughly a three-hour finished audiobook - so, $150 per finished hour for everything. Of course, since I narrated the book myself rather than pay to hire a professional narrator, it was cheaper for me than for someone who needs or wants to hire someone to narrate his or her book. Audiobook Narration Hints VP Speaking of expert audiobook narration hints, youve got a public speaking background. What hints would you give to those who are considering narrating their books themselves?JS For those who choose to go the self-narration route, here are some things I learned in the process Read the whole book out loud, not in your head - a few days in advance. It will refresh your familiarity, but also alert you to lines where youll want to add vocal emphasis. A cold reading is a bad idea because, ideally, you want to sound like the worlds leading expert of your material, even if its fiction.Work with a professional audio company. My director would often stop me if I mispronounced words, or said a line in a way that buried its point. They held a high standard for the quality of both the reading and the recording, which was crucial. Read slowly, and use pauses often. It takes more time to listen than it does to read. Give the lines especially complex ones or jokes time to sink in.Have energy. Dont let the end of sentences trail off. Youll need to capture and hold your listeners attention from the first word to the very last.Dont think that youre reading a book think that youre giving a speech to a large audience. This will pu t you in a more presentational mode. Listening to an audiobook should be like live theater or a live seminar more so than attending a simple book reading. VP What was the biggest hurdle you had to overcome to getting the audiobook produced? JS Probably the biggest thing I had to overcome to produce my audiobook was simple intimidation How much time will it take? How much will it cost? What happens when Im done? but with help from some modern technology, these were surmountable obstacles, and Im thrilled with the professional result. Joel Schwartzberg is an award-winning essayist and screenwriter, national champion public speaker and speech coach. He was a Head Writer for Nickelodeon in 1998 and is currently an Internet executive his have appeared in a wide range of publications.

Retain and Inspire Employees by Showing Appreciation

Retain and Inspire Employees by Showing AppreciationRetain and Inspire Employees by Showing AppreciationThe way to develop the best that is in a person is by appreciation and encouragement. Charles SchwabDid you know that 57 percent of employees are dissatisfied with the level of recognition they receive for doing a good job, and 77 percent would consider leaving their job for not being recognized enough? It seems that Charles Schwab was right that its imperative to show appreciation for employees. However, it can be difficult to know how best to express appreciation and gratitude for your employees. Here are five quick tips to ensure that your employees feel valued every day.Dont just hear. Listen.This distinction is important. Always make sure that youre not only hearing what your employees and gruppe members tell you but that youre truly listening and digesting their words. This seems simple, but in fact it can be quite challenging. menschenfreundlich beings only retain about 25 percent of what they hear, so do everything that you can to hone your listening skills. Sound expert Julian Treasure, gave a TED talk in 2011 on this topic and recommends practicing five exercises to improve your conscious listening, including spending three minutes a day in silence.Practice immediate positive reinforcement.Effective managers and leaders stand out based not only on the type of feedback that they give but also on when they give it. In management and leadership expert Aubrey Daniels article PIC Positive Immediate Consequence, Daniels noted that employees increase their positive behavior when they get positive reinforcement immediately. Try to catch someone doing something right Your employees will feel seen, noticed and appreciated right away and work to continue that behavior.Say thank you.This should be easy. In fact this should be a habit that you learned in preschool. However, sometimes its easy to take for granted the people you work with and to expect their har d work always. To quickly make those around you feel noticed and appreciated, try working those two simple words back into your vocabulary as much as possible. To add additional impact to your gratitude, call out specific details where their effort or work was appreciated.Celebrate success.Has your team hit its quota? Finished an important project? Met a difficult deadline? If so, its time to celebrate. Nothing says Youre appreciated better than a special celebration highlighting a specific success. Take your team out for lunch, a special outing to mini golf or maybe give them a Starbucks gift card so they can celebrate on their own.Be creative.Telling someone that they matter should be fun, so try to get creative with it. If its summertime and you have some employees going on vacation maybe give them some candy with a sand shovel that says I dig you. Or leave a random sticky note with a compliment on one of their projects waiting for their return.Pinterest can also be a great resou rce for fun and crafty ways to say Thank you. Let your creativity run wild.Dont let complacency rule your workday. Have some fun and think of ways to help the people you spend 40-plus hours a week with feel appreciated and special. In the end it will make work a happier and more pleasant place to be.

5 Habits You Can Start This Second to Live a Happier Life

5 Habits You Can Start This Second to Live a Happier Life5 Habits You Can Start This Second to Live a Happier LifeHere on Inc.com and across the internet, advice on how to be happier is all the rage. And theres no secret as to why- you can build a world-beating career or business, but if youre miserable, it wont count for much in the end. Plus, theres plenty of evidence that being happy isnt really a consequence of success, but rather a cause of it.All of which explains the explosion in advice and tips on how to be happier (there are even tons of apps offering to help you boost your mood). But all this happiness advice- helpful and well meant as it is- can be a bit overwhelming. Meditation? More social connection? A gratitude practice? How can you keep all these sensible ideas straight and find out which ones are most applicable to you?Thats where a super helpful new list can help. Culled from the wisdom of popular blog Marc and Angel Hack Life, the list offers a whopping 30 wise ide as for changes you can make to your life to be happier. Succinct and actionable, all the tips are worth checking out, but here are a few of the freshest and most relevant.1. Choose HappinessIt sounds simple, but when it comes to happiness, its easy to forget that, generally, you dont get what you dont strive for. Therefore, Marc and Angel advise readers to make their own well-being a priority.If you dont value yourself, look out for yourself, and stick up for yourself, youre sabotaging yourself. Remember, it is possible to take care of your own needs while simultaneously caring for those around you, they remind the super busy and chronically over-committed.2. Learn to Love Your MistakesNo one likes being wrong or screwing up, but that doesnt mean mistakes are worthless or simply a reason to beat yourself up. Mistakes are OK theyre the stepping stones of progress. If youre bedrngnis failing from time to time, youre not trying hard enough and youre not learning. Take risks, stumble, f all, and then get up and try again, urges the post.3. Be Polite...to YourselfThis one might sound a little weird at first (should you start saying please and thank you to yourself?), but your inner voice matters- a lot. If you had a friend who spoke to you in the same way that you sometimes speak to yourself, how long would you allow that person to be your friend? The way you treat yourself sets the standard for others, Marc and Angel explain.4. Stop Waiting to Be ReadyThere may be better and worse times to do something, but theres no perfect time, ever. Stop waiting around for ultimate readiness, because its not coming. Or as the list puts it You have everything you need right now to take the next small, realistic step forward. So embrace the opportunities that come your way, and accept the challenges.5. Become a CheerleaderPompoms are not required, but being genuinely and openly happy for others successes is likely to make not only them, but also you, happier. Start noticing what you like about others and tell them. Having an appreciation for how amazing the people around you are leads to good places- productive, fulfilling, peaceful places. So be happy for those who are making progress. Cheer for their victories, instructs the list.More From Inc.5 Signs a Leader Is Burned Out8 Deadly Ways to Kill Employee Motivation7 Leadership Lessons From John Woodens Final TitlePhoto of woman courtesy of Shutterstock.

Heres What I Know About Best Fonts to Use for Resume

Heres What I Know About Best Fonts to Use for Resume The Advantages of Best Fonts to Use for Resume You should indicate your abilities and abilities, along with hands-on experience that can help you cope with work responsibilities. Check to be sure youre providing all of the info required and clearly define your skill sets concerning application requirements. You need to always pick the best font for your CV, it ought to be well structured as it gives an overview of your abilities, skills, and accomplishments. Choosing your perfect resume font is dependent on particular aspects. Up in Arms About Best Fonts to Use for Resume? There are professional resume templates geared toward creative professions which save candidates lots of time. Obviously, there are dozens and dozens of unique fonts to select from, but not all them are befitting to use on a resume, so picking one is quite important to be in a position to land work. If your resume includes a great deal of technical info , Calibri might not be the best choice. Regardless, its an amazingly professional option that would be a wonderful option for a resume. Very best text to utilize for resume An awesome resume font is just one of the greatest strategies to stand out. Once it comes with Mac, you might have to purchase it like an excess font to use with your Windows program. In truth, it is the default font for Microsoft Word. Bear in mind the message you would like to convey with your resume. Selecting the incorrect fonts for your resume could be a tremendous mistake. The important thing here is moderation. Formatting your resume can be quite hard. Best Fonts to Use for Resume - What Is It? Theres always a chance that the hiring manager will print out a duplicate of your resume after reading it on the monitor. Cover letters give prospective employers a fast summary of why the writer is suited to a specific role. An excellent cover letter will help you acquire the desired job and salary. It has the power to determine whether the applicant gets called to interview or not. Best Fonts to Use for Resume - Overview Dont make your text too dark on the webpage, and dont utilize many unique styles since it will appear messy. Research has revealed that font isnt only about the looks. It is important that when writing your resume, you should ensure it is right regarding its resume font and size. As a rule of thumb, the font you ought to use for an executive resume ought to be clear, scalable and legible. For example, you should not expect to not be taken lightly, if you use Georgia size 28. The third kind is the combinational kind of resume which as the name implies, borrows features from both of the other kinds. You have many alternatives when it comes to selecting a font size and fashion. With so many choices readily available, determining the very best font for a resume can at times be a complicated decision. Be consistent with stylization, and just select one or t wo to make sure your resume appears professional and simple to read. Recruiters take six seconds to determine whether to toss your resume, so the ideal font produces a huge difference. Georgia is among the fruchtwein frequently used fonts. Characteristics of Best Fonts to Use for Resume Naturally there are considerations of quality and readabilitythats a givenbut which typeface is the most acceptable for your resume is dependent on the quantity of text which you have, your layout, what you need to convey and what industry you wish to work in. Sans serif styles are very common online and with digital publishing on account of the simplicity of readability that accompanies the very simple style. Therefore, if youre still hesitant about which font family to use there isnt any need to be concerned about doing it. In addition to that confusion, the font size must be chosen and resume writers wish to discover the ideal font that will impress the recruiter but is not difficult to read . There are lots of pretty fonts, but should you combine them lubberly the entire work wont be well worth any attention. In addition, its important to understand what sort of format your resume is predicted to be delivered in. For that reason, it is sometimes a terrific pick for technical industries and technology-focused resumes, generally speaking. Using resume templates have turned into the most time-effective method of guaranteeing that your resume iseasy-on-the eye. Best of luck with your work application Be sure that you share Best of the Web with your buddies Well, Arial is the ideal choice for your resume. Helvetica is a font thats quite well-respected in the plan world. If you would like to use a sans-serif font, Arial is one of the greatest options for your resume. Keep it simple by employing clear fonts like Arial. Its therefore recommended to opt for a great font when writing your resume. A proper font can help enhance the look of your resume. Selecting a f ont thats easy and simple to read is critical. There are quite a lot of fonts for you to select from, and that may make selecting a font for your resume equally as challenging as writing it.

Busting Tech Career Myths, Part 3 Its Not a Tech Job Unless You Work for a Major Silicon Valley Company

Busting Tech Career Myths, Part 3 Its Not a Tech Job Unless You Work for a Major Silicon Valley Company In the previous installments of this series, I pointed to a looming crises for the techsector and, by extension, our nation.In brief,some analysts sayat least half a million open IT positions are going unfilled. Meanwhile, theUS Bureau of Labor Statisticspredicts IT occupations will grow 10 percent by 2026, when many existing tech professionals will begin retiring. In combination, behauptung factors could create a national tech talent deficit with negative consequences for workers, employers, and our entire economy.To fill these skills shortages, well need the rising generation of teens and tweens to explore careers in technology. However, seven damaging myths discourage tweens, teenagers, and their parents from exploring pathways to technology careers.Previously, we busted the myth that working in technology requires a four-year college degree. Tod ay, well discredit our third myth Myth No. 3 If Its Not at Facebook or Google,Its Not a Technology JobIn truth, theres no Valley required. Today, tech arguably is the most crucial factor driving the global economy. How could a force that powerful be contained in one place?You dont need to live in Silicon Valley to have a successful, exciting career in technology. Despite surface differences, every industry depends on IT. From small, family-run businesses like eckball convenience stores, dry cleaners, and lawn services to big banks and insurance companies, technologist positions exist in almost every organization around the world.Per the CompTIA IT Industry Outlook 2017report, there are about 375,000 smallinformation technology companies in the United States. Those companies employ about 45 percent of the workforce in the IT industry. Thousands of jobs are available at innovative companies large and small, and there are plenty of places to work in IT no matter where you live. As tele commuting becomes more popular, the opportunities will only multiply.My own early passions were technology and movies. In college, I wanted to be a screenwriter. Eventually, I realized that was a long shot. Instead, I focused on my strengths problem-solving and leadership and found my calling in the nonprofit world. Im still connected to the tech industry through my work, and movies continue to be one of my favorite hobbies. If you keep an open mind, there are numerous ways to connect your passions to meaningful and fulfilling work.In my next article, well deflate the myth that a tech career means being stuck at a desk.Charles Eaton is executive vice president of social innovation forCompTIAand CEO ofCreating IT Futures.