Displaying All Posts by Joshua Riddle

The 3 Best Ways to Become the “Go to Guy”

Joshua Riddle 8th April Career 1 Comment

    If you are one of the many people who feel their career is in a rut and that it might be time for a promotion or raise, then it is time for you to become the “Go to Guy”. But why would you want to do that?

    • The Go to Guy is the person that your boss and colleagues know they can turn to whenever they need advice — or just need to get something accomplished.
    • The Go to Guy is indispensable (therefore, powerful) in the greater scheme of office politics.
    • The Go to Guy can leverage his superior’s opinions towards projects, inter-departmental promotions, and raises.

    The best part is with good, old-fashioned hard work and initiative you can be the Go to Guy. You can make the leverage work for you. Here are the top three ways to shine above the rest.

    1. Volunteer for Everything

    There are several ways that volunteering can help elevate you above the rest. Volunteers are already in short supply. Many avoid volunteering because it means doing more work for no pay. This is why every organization needs solid and dependable volunteers for many tasks. Whatever you do, do not get caught up in that frame of thought. The benefits of volunteering come back to you in spades. It may not be the same as a paycheck, but in the end volunteering will pay greater…and in dividends.

    The first way to volunteer is the simplest — and always seen. Whenever there is an opportunity to take on more work, take it on and do an awesome job. Go “above and beyond” in your volunteer efforts. Your boss will take notice of this and place additional confidence in you. He will see your commitment and zeal in the volunteer efforts and transfer that image to his ideas of your normal work. The bonus here is that any positive feelings and thoughts he has at this point are multiplied due to the fact that you are generously volunteering your time to help the company. While this does mean more work for you, the sacrifice will definitely give boost your career and overall inter-office image.
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    5 Tips For Working from Home

    Joshua Riddle 9th June Productivity 7 Comments

      Technology in today’s corporate world has opened up new doors to telecommuters everywhere. The ability to interact instantly and submit quality work via the internet has fueled a trend where more and more employees are taking their work from the corporate office to a home office environment. It is important to know the possible downfalls of working from home when making the decision to leave the corporate workplace and join the ranks of home office employees.  Here are five tips to successfully work from a home office.
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      5 Steps to Creating a Balanced Life

      Joshua Riddle 24th March Goals 3 Comments

        In today’s “hustle and bustle”world, it is getting more difficult to separate our professional lives from our personal time. People in this era (more than in any other time before) find themselves taking work home and spending late hours on their laptops. Most of these hard workers justify their misplaced time with their large salaries. However, they fail to see the costs of such a distorted work-life balance.

        Family and friendships are negatively affected when you take the time that you once used to play with your family or hang out with your friends and repurpose it for work. The increased stress levels and lack of rest can have a terrible impact on your health and personal well-being. Here are some ways you can start working towards creating a more balanced life — and you can start them right away.

        1. Create personal balance by deciding what is important to you.

        Before it is possible to bring balance to your work and personal life, you need to make up your mind as far as your priorities are concerned. Is it your family or your work? If you are not able to immediately and honestly make this decision, you can try the following simple exercise. Try staying away from both aspects of your life continuously for at least a couple of days. Maybe you should go away for a few days all by yourself to make this easier. The thing that you miss more during that time is the area of your life that is most important to you. You should focus more of your attention on that area; the area of your life that is most important to you.

        Your overall goals and purpose should reflect your priorities. You should be working towards something that will bring you satisfaction and joy. You should do what is important and meaningful. So take the time to figure out exactly what your priorities are.
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        The Good Manager’s Guide: Conducting an Employee Evaluation

        Joshua Riddle 1st March Management Leave a Comment

          Employee evaluations (or staff appraisals) should be an enlightening experience for both parties involved. These reviews should be in no way intimidating for either you or your employee. However, for a lot of people the process has become exactly that. The reasons for these discouraging occurrences can range from when the evaluation takes place to how the reviewer handles the evaluation process. Here’s a guide to help you create a positive employee evaluation procedure in your workplace.

          Deciding When to Conduct Employee Reviews

          The first thing required for a successful employee evaluation program is a solid review schedule. You need to know when the evaluations will take place and how you plan on notifying your employees of their upcoming performance reviews. It is important to decide how many times per year you want to do employee reviews. While some companies only hold one single evaluation per year, other companies will conduct more informal (or “mini”) reviews once or twice before that yearly review is conducted. This practice can be beneficial to all involved — it cuts down on the time that the formal review takes. Periodic “mini-reviews” also allow the employees time to improve on weaker areas of work before the dreaded formal evaluation takes place.
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          5 Ways to Win Back an Unhappy Employee

          Joshua Riddle 27th February Management 5 Comments

            There will come a time in every manager’s career where he is forced to deal with employee dissatisfaction.  While this is never something a manager wants to deal with, some simple practices can make the incident easier to deal with. As a result, the manager will be less tense and the company might not lose what is otherwise a productive employee. Do not stress; just take advantage of a few employee retention ideas to get your employee back to a place where the two of you are happy working together.

            1. Take time to personally talk with the employee.

            The first thing to do is to take some time to talk to the employee one on one. This should be done in your office towards the end of the day.  It will provide you with an opportunity to discuss the problems at hand without leaving the rest of the day to chance. That way the disgruntled employee can go home and think about the conversation without being caught up in a lot of water cooler gossip. You will also have the opportunity to get your questions answered.

            If another employee’s name is brought up, you may need to set up a time when the three of you can get together and talk. Of course, you should let all parties involved know of the date and time ahead of schedule. That way everyone has an opportunity to organize his or her thoughts beforehand. At the end of the meeting, you should see if anything can be done immediately in order to alleviate any tension that exists.
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            Get That Job! 5 Great Tips to Ace the Interview

            Joshua Riddle 20th February Career 7 Comments

              With all of the challenges the current economy is throwing at us, more and more people find themselves looking for new jobs. Many people perform great in the initial screening process only to find themselves being passed over after the in-person interview. Here are five job interview tips that you can use to increase the chances that you’ll ace your next job interview.

              1. Be On Time

              This seems very simple. However, you would be amazed at how many candidates who look great on paper wind up not getting the job because they were late for the interview. This is a common “kiss of death” among corporate interviewers everywhere. There had better be some serious extenuating circumstances. Otherwise, your interview was probably over before you got there.

              In today’s world of cell phones and PDAs, being late without notification is pretty much inexcusable. If anything, you should try to arrive at the interview 10 to 15 minutes early. This will not only ensure that you make it on time (leaving earlier to arrive earlier will help you offset any delays you might encounter on the way), but give you enough time to center yourself. You can go over any questions you may have for the interviewer. This will help you feel ready, confident and not rushed.

              2. Dress the Part

              As a bank manager, you have to maintain the right “look” for your branch. Many candidates who have great experience and interview are ultimately passed over because they do not look the part. Nose rings and blue hair may be “edgy”, but a bank is not an “edgy” environment. At the same time, showing up for an interview at the local record shop in a three-piece suit may not be right, either. So do your research — get an idea of what the dress standards are for the business with which you are applying. Then dress slightly above them. This will show the employer that you understand their business and that you take it seriously. This does not mean you always have to wear a suit; it means you have to know what is “professional” for the position you are applying for.
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              Dayrunner Hacks: 6 Ways to Optimize Your Day Runner

              Joshua Riddle 8th February Productivity 4 Comments

                In your journey to become a more productive and organized individual you have probably purchased a Day Runner personal organizer. These Day Runners can be pretty convenient for keeping track of appointments, contacts, and to-do lists. However, in order to get the most from owning a personal organizer you need to know a few simple things.

                1. Make it Your Own

                First of all, a personal organizer is not a personal organizer until you personalize it. The first step in making your Day Runner work for you is customizing it to fit your needs. There are several ways to do this. You can choose your favorite colors, fill it with personal photographs, or buy custom pens and other awesome writing utensils for use with it. Remember, there are many styles of Day Runners to choose from. So pick one you won’t mind looking at or carrying around with you.

                Another thing to consider when purchasing a Day Runner personal organizer is what you plan on using it for. Do you need a small calendar and contact list or do you need a larger portfolio organizer with a calculator and multiple slots to store your credit cards and such? Once you know your planners purpose you will be able ensure you have a product that fulfills your needs. You will also be able to use it more efficiently.
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                The Intrapreneurship Alternative: Innovating from Within

                Joshua Riddle 1st February Career 3 Comments

                  Intrapreneurship can have many meanings — you can’t even successfully run spell check on the word. However, intrapreneurship can lead to amazing results in product and procedural development within a company or corporation. Intrapreneurship is meant to encourage employees in developing their own ideas, innovations, and techniques into solid plans of action that benefit the companies they work for. Corporations, partnerships, associations, and non-profit organizations are all able to benefit from intrapreneurship.

                  Though it may be easier to launch a product or service when backed by a corporation, intrapreneurship is still a lot of work. In addition, there are no guarantees that you will be successful. Being tied to the corporate entity you work for can also create a fear of failing due to job security. Here are a few tips to guide you down the path of successful intrapreneurship.
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