Monday, December 14, 2009

How Do You Negotiate Your Salary?

The time has come and you have finally received a job offer. Before you accept the offer there is one bit of research that still needs to be done. This will be on your compensation. There is a tendency to just accept the offer as it is presented by the hiring corporation. This may not always be in your best interests. If you have performed your due diligence you will be in a better position to evaluate if the offer being made to you is appropriate for your skill level and experience.

If you stared your career search using a placement firm like RDG Careers in Toronto Canada, you have the advantage of having a career resource to draw from. Career planners like RDG Careers can realistically advise you on what type of salary would be correct for your job sector and skill level. It is easy to think this information can be obtained from searching census information and employment databases. However this information does not include what other decisions might have been involved when the salary package was negotiated. Does the job also include health benefits? Was paid vacation part of the package? Or was there a stipend available for continued education? These are all questions that cannot be answered by just reviewing statistics on recent hires.

RDG Careers can also let you know if there might be reasons why you might want to accept an offer from a company that is offering a
lower pay then you expected. A pay cut might not seem like the best decision, but depending on the stability of the company it might be a very good deal. Advancement potential and level of professional exposure can offset the disadvantage of a lower entry level pay.

What Makes A Bad Boss?

A bad boss is one who creates or fosters a negative, even hostile work environment. He encourages tattling and spying on your co-workers and often chooses certain favorites to promote. The bad boss very often will resent any employees that may have better communication skills than he does and go out of his way to belittle and humiliate that employee. He will never brook any disagreement with what he says or any feedback that doesn't fit with what he has already decided.

Poor management skills are often a sign of a bad boss. They consistently pair staff members who do not work well together or gives a poor employee more responsibility than they can handle. A bad boss will often make excuses for poor performance from their favorites and bully the rest of the staff. This type of boss will not care enough to find out what their employees strengths and weaknesses are so will keep giving tasks to the people least equipped to carry them to completion successfully.

A bad boss not only can't set realistic goals, he will often change gears mid-stream and expect the staff to change focus as abruptly. When they can't and things get behind, he will always blame the staff and never take any responsibility for the problems. At the same time, when things are going well, the bad boss will not hesitate to take full credit for the success.

The folks over at RDG Careers have made some videos to help those who are currently dealing with a bad boss. They are standing by with free career evaluations should you decide it's time to pursue a career with a more conducive environment.

What Is A Good Boss?

A good boss is one who excels at creating a productive environment. In order to do that, he or she will need to have excellent communication skills and be able to convey clear direction to the staff. Part of good communication skills is the ability to listen to their employees, as well. By allowing feedback without fear of reprisal for disagreement, a good boss will often be able to fix issues before they become huge problems.

A good boss will excel at managing his or her team. A great part of that is utilizing each team member's strengths while balancing weaknesses. Knowing how each staff member's skills complement another’s is essential to managing a top notch team. Part of managing a team effectively is being able to remove someone who is detrimental to the whole. There are times when you must be willing to fire someone if needed or move the person to a position where they can be more successful.

To be a good boss with a successful team, you must be able to define for your employees what success means. This includes setting specific, measurable goals so that both you and the staff know where they're at throughout a project. Obviously, these goals must be realistic and not just arbitrarily set up or you would set the team up to fail. In order for staff to meet expectations, they must first know exactly what those expectations are.

Of course, RDG Careers understands that not all bosses have what it takes to be a good boss. That's why they created a video with tips on Dealing With a Bad Boss to help you out.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

What is Corporate Deadwood?

As today’s industries struggle to maintain a market share close analysis is given to the current internal structure. The term corporate deadwood refers to upper management and executives that no longer actively contribute towards the positive advancement of the corporation. Like dead branches on a tree these corporate positions are pruned and re-evaluated as per their necessity in the performance of the business plan. No longer can corporations sustain figurehead positions that don’t directly contribute to the bottom line. Outmoded thinkers can find their career on a precarious point if they cannot bridge the gap to match today’s changing career demands.

By remaining an active participant in the career sector, professionals have the opportunity to develop fresh and innovative ideas. Changes are easy to implement when there is strong research as well as ability to implement through the corporate leadership and management teams. As problem solving improves career value increases. Deadwood by comparison is a state that occurs when there is no change from previous methodology or career in execution. Decision making becomes routine and ineffective.

Job security for upper management needs to undergo evaluation to make sure that the career professional remains in a state that does not become stale. By occasionally reviewing current strengths and weaknesses the career professional can make accurate decisions on the progress of their professional careers. Contrary to belief this does not always have to involve a complete career change. Career advancement professionals like RDG Careers in Toronto Canada have dedicated professionals that can help you prevent becoming a corporate deadwood statistic.

The How and When of Giving Bonuses

Bonuses are an excellent way to keep your employees motivated. While it is true that an employee is paid for their career contributions additional recognition can go a long ways in bolstering increased morale and overall job satisfaction. Recognition of the extra efforts, no matter how small causes all employees, professional or hourly to realize that extra efforts are appreciated and noticed. Bonuses can be used as incentive to participate in career development exercises.

Knowing how or when to give a bonus is a very intricate process. There is no right answer when it come to evaluating one employees performance from others. There are times when it is possible to have an employee that would benefit from career coaching. Lack of confidence due to limited knowledge or skill exposure can limit a talented professional from advancement. It is often thought that career coaches are only valuable when you are ready to change careers. This assumption is not correct. By using companies like RDG Careers to help evaluate what can be done differently with your current workforce, you can design a plan that will prepare underachievers for additional career development.

By using a firm like RDG Careers that is outside of the company umbrella, these employees have a chance to discuss candidly concerns they might not be willing to share with their employer. By focusing on shortcomings in an environment insulated from the corporate oversight, employees can refine the areas that need work and return as a confident member of the team. These employees can have a honest review of their current abilities and form a career development plan to increase what it is hey have to offer. Given this chance an employee can adjust and return to their employer with a new positive attitude and a desire to advance.

Managing An Employees Sense of Entitlement

Employees are just as individual as the types of careers that they hold. It can be very difficult not to feel a direct connection to the job tasks we perform everyday. After all when the majority of our waking moments are spent on the job it becomes a very large part of our overall life experience. With recent downsizing and decreasing personnel employees are devoting even more time to their careers. Competition is growing for many employees that feel the pressures of the economic squeeze. Not willing to rock the boat more and more often employees are taking their work home with them to complete assignments.

When career professionals start to feel this sense of pressure there is an increased in the feelings of the sense of entitlement. Grey areas start to emerge where the boundary lines should be drawn presently which in the past were once well defined. Professionals feel pressured to perform well to maintain job security and to increase the chances of promotion. Families on the other hand form resentments for the time that they have lost with the professional executive. Thus begins the unhealthy spiral, the executive professional eventually must defend the increase of career dedication and looks critically for any indications that their efforts have been noticed. If in the course of this evaluation, if there is nothing positive found, dissatisfaction sets in and the professional has an attitude change. Seldom is this change positive.

If you are to the point where something has to change in you career consider talking to the professionals at RDG Careers. If the time has come to make a career change the professional staff at RDG Careers will be there to help you regain that positive attitude you once had.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Work Ethics

Good work ethics are very important to an employer when looking over prospective employees. They will not only want to see demonstrable signs of a good work ethic on your resume but will ask questions during the interview to get a feel for your true work ethics. Your resume will list your educational and experiential background but it's by reading between the lines and talking to you that the employer will decide if you have good work ethics or not.

Work ethics involve basic character traits that reveal a lot about who a person really is. They include such things as honesty, integrity and accountability. Work ethics not only cover how well a task is completed but also the spirit in which it is completed. Employees who work with a great attitude, use good communication skills and show respect to those around them are worth their weight in gold to an employer.

Employees with good work ethics have had the value of hard work instilled in them. They always give their best to any task and work well with a team. They are always thinking about the good of the company and how they can best represent it. No wonder employers are looking for those with good work ethics!

If you have good work ethics but are a bit confused on how to really convey that to prospective employers, you should sit down with a career advisor over at RDG Careers. They can help you learn how to really let your qualities shine when creating resumes or being interviewed by a prospective employer. Finding the Dream Job can be a lot easier when you have help in the process.