Job Seekers! Reframe Your Goals to Have More Opportunities

You have been yearning to land a good job. Though you have been putting forth efforts, you have not succeeded yet. Your failure to land a job may have resulted in frustration. It is an inarguable fact that the bloat of your frustration negatively impacts your confidence,  and so, you cannot perform well in interviews. Thanks to your failures in interviews, you understand that something is wrong with your approach. But you do not know how to correct your approach. This post may help you. The post may help those who already have jobs but are not able to advance in their career ladder.

1. Your failure to land a job is truly upsetting, but.......

You are upset, and it is natural. Things have not worked the way you wanted. Especially when you look at your friends who have already landed jobs, your frustration reaches intolerable levels. What should you do now? You should first understand that landing a job need not be your ultimate goal. It is not the end of the world. It is certainly a big step, but if you think only those who are employed will succeed in life, you could not be more wrong. If you peep into the annals of history, you will find that even those who have not landed a job have succeeded in their lives. This is not to imply that one should not look for a job. The advice is that if you are not able to land a job, you should not conclude that you cannot succeed in your life.

2. Make genuine efforts to improve yourself.

You can improve yourself in several other ways. To name a few, you can improve your persuasion and communication skills, enhance your personality by becoming a knowledgeable person, or fine-tune your conversational abilities. While making these efforts, you must ensure that these capabilities reach usable levels. By reading extensively alone, you can improve these capabilities. Develop the reading habit. You should read whatever you lay your hands on. This will help in expanding your knowledge. You can use the knowledge and insights you gain by adopting "cross-pollination" and "cross-fertilization" techniques. But you must ensure to use these techniques naturally and effectively.

You must change your attitude as well, if necessary. For example, if you are an introvert, you must take immediate steps to correct yourself. Similarly, if you have a negative mindset, you must try to become an optimist because negativity does not come alone. Along with it come failure, ineffectiveness, inefficiency, and mood swings. 

If you think you are not able to make concrete decisions, it is high time you showed this habit the door. Indecision gives rise to ambiguous situations, so there will be no clarity at all in your life. The degree of your frustration and pain indeed clouds your decision-making abilities. 

Once you rid yourself of these things, your enthusiasm levels will get turbocharged. So, bright things will certainly happen in your life. In other words, you should reframe your goals to succeed in your life. Instead of lamenting over not landing a job, you should make sincere attempts to improve yourself in all possible ways. Fabulous opportunities will come your way once you start treading on this path.

Is AI A Threat to Job Seekers?

Some people purposely turn a blind eye to the stunning technological advancements that have been taking place. However, practical reality demands that they should accept that AI, one of the most recent advancements, is ruling the roost in the present age. The question now is: Is AI a threat to jobs? 

That AI poses a threat to jobs is an imaginary danger. This statement demands hard and long reflection. If you are ready for such a reflection, you may get a few unexpected answers. You may be one of the myriad believers who think that, thanks to AI, the job market will dry up. But one of the unexpected answers that may nix your unfounded belief is that jobs will not go away due to AI. On the contrary, it will enhance the value and scope of the job market. You can see the details here.

1. You may have to agree that there are plenty of jobs in the AI field because AI has become almost all-pervasive. It is penetrating all fields. Please just ask yourself if you are preparing yourself suitably to use this scope wisely. If you train yourself appropriately, you can land a job that not only pays you a good remuneration but also provides you with the utmost job satisfaction.

2. You are not living in medieval times. Unfortunately, several folks (this may include you) think that they can survive with such medieval thoughts. They are oblivious to the fact that their ostrich-like behavior denies them the opportunities that are up for grabs. In fact, these opportunities will help them thrive in the current situation. The change in their thinking pattern will help them survive in any situation. 

You do not need enormous sophistication to change your thinking pattern. Please put forth a little effort and wake up from the slumber you are in. If you miss the chances that come your way, you may be late. Never forget that the skills you currently possess are decaying. This means that escaping the developments on the AI front is not an option available to you at all. You have to necessarily embrace these developments. So, get ready and rid yourself of your ostrich-like behavior.

3. You need not invent anything new in AI. Of course, if you are creative, you can venture into the invention process. Otherwise, equipping yourself with the knowledge and skills that already exist will itself help you enormously. Be organized while taking this step. You will reap rich dividends.

4. The job chessboard has registered a paradigm shift, thanks to AI. The cascading consequences of this technological development are stunning. You should be astute enough to position yourself appropriately so that you need not fear losing your job. You can climb the rungs of your career ladder pretty quickly as well. 

5. AI's "simulation-first" development is helping ideas quickly transform from the conception stage to the reality stage. Virtual environments are almost friction-free now. Rewinding failures, retraining systems, and test-checking edge cases are no longer arduous. The costs of these tasks and the time they need are surprisingly very low. 

So, whether you are a creative job-seeker who comes out with great ideas or an I-will-do-as-I-am-told person, embracing AI will open a plethora of opportunities for you.

Do You Want to Become A High Performer?

Whether you are an entrepreneur or an employee, you must perform to your optimum to succeed. This means that now and then, and periodically, you have to pause and do an introspection to check if you are a high performer or a mediocre performer. If the introspection reveals there is a scope for improvement in your performance, you have to swing into action. Otherwise, the aroma of success is likely to evade you. Further, you will be a guilt-ridden individual since you have not been performing to your optimum potential. So, what are the steps you should take to achieve the aim of becoming a high performer? Let us deep dive into this.

1. Be healthy.

Good health is the #1 prerequisite for delivering high performance consistently. You will be a naive duffer if you ignore your health. If you do not eat healthy foods and if you are not physically fit, you will always underperform. Further, your mind will get distracted by the health problems you suffer from.  So, always make it a point to eat healthy diets and exercise regularly so your energy levels are high enough to help you perform well.

2. Put in place systems and routines.

You cannot carry out your entrepreneurial or career-related tasks in a haphazard manner. If you are in the habit of not following any structures, the chances of accumulating clutter in your workplace will become high. This again will bring down your efficiency and your aim of performing optimally will be a remote dream. On the contrary, if you have systems, routines, and discipline in your approach, you can easily perform to your optimum level. But which are the systems and routines you should put in place? For this, your observation and study of those who have already tasted success in their endeavors should be as focused and shrewd as possible so that you can identify and use the right customizable systems, tools, and routines best suited for you. 

3. Always have a positive mindset.

Volumes have been written about the power of a positive mindset. You should develop this mindset not only in your workplace but in every sphere of your life. Some people seem to nurture perpetual grievances in their lives. Only negative things will be visible to them, thanks to their selective blindness. These folks cannot succeed in their endeavors. Negativity is a sure-loser attribute. You may have a grotesque argument that there are a few negative-minded people who have succeeded in their lives. The answer is that if they had developed a positive mindset, they might have accomplished bigger Himalayan feats. So, train your mind to have a positive outlook always. Once you succeed in developing such a positive attitude, you will see remarkable progress in your journey.

So, if you want to become a high performer, you should focus on these three steps. These steps will illuminate your path to success in your career or entrepreneurial journey.

Can You Remain Focused Even When Things Are Not Working as Expected?

Whether you are an employee or an entrepreneur, you should remain focused. Otherwise, success may keep eluding you. But when things are going differently than expected, you may find focusing difficult or inconceivable. According to success science, it is not impossible but it may be difficult for most folks. This post gives a few tips to remain focused throughout your career, entrepreneurial, or life journey so you can take long and positive strides. To put it differently, focus can bolster the chances of your success by several notches.

Of course, failure is not a bugaboo; it is an experience that can teach several lessons. But you cannot afford to remain unfocused on your tasks just because you need not fear failure. Never forget that being unfocused is the grotesque root of failure. It can lead to burnout as well. So, please reprogram your mind suitably, learn from your failures, and practice focusing. Remember that consistent practice will help you master the process. In addition, aiming to succeed without learning to focus is akin to trying to reach a destination by a leaking boat.

The following are a few tips to aid you in this learning process.

1. Only insane people will trade their focus for a useless barrage of distractions. Of course, by this definition, almost 75% of the folks are insane. Just to let you know the intention is not to offend anyone. But the fact remains that if you allow distractions to eat away your focus or time, you will never be able to achieve your goal  So, whenever you find yourself succumbing to the temptations induced by distractions, unplug your mind from them and bring it back to the task you have undertaken. You'll need to take this step carefully and consciously. Another point that is of paramount importance is that you must do this consistently. In due course of time, this will become an automated habit.

2. Develop an interest in what you do. Whether you are a career aspirant or an entrepreneur, you must develop a passion to achieve the goals you have set. Passion will drive you to acquire the required skills. Skill and focus intertwine and help you win big. Importantly, passion will become so great a trigger that you will never allow distractions to mar your journey. 

But how can you develop an interest in what you do? Even if you do not like the tasks involved, keep telling yourself that you like them. Imagine as though you are enjoying doing them. As you keep taking these steps, you will very soon start liking the tasks. Even neuroscience corroborates this. To put it differently, you are waving a wand which is neurological in nature, to develop an interest in your tasks. 

Another method is to create challenges such as increasing the speed of execution of the tasks, perfecting the outcomes, and so on. Even small wins in these challenges will help create interest in the tasks involved in your career or entrepreneurial journey.

3. Do a reality check periodically. This includes jotting down the number of times you get distracted and how you win over such situations. Be brutally honest while taking this step. But why this exercise? This will help you in your efforts to bring down the number of occasions when you succumb to temptations. Importantly, rewiring the thought patterns in your mind and having a positive mindset will become easier. 

In summary, make all-out efforts to detox your mind from distractions and remain focused even when you find that things are not working out as expected. Never forget that focus and focus alone coupled with purposeful action will get you the extraordinary rewards and results you desire to have.

What Should You Do If the Workplace Ambiance Is Misleading.

You have attended a job interview and are waiting for the result. When the HR manager tells you you have been appointed, your tone is undiluted cordiality while expressing your thanks. You want to enjoy every moment lest should you feel later that you have wasted such an ebullient and celebration-worthy occasion. But you detect just one flaw. The ambiance in that workplace is singularly excellent, beautiful, posh, and sophisticated, too good to believe. The reason is that the turnover of the company pales in comparison with the competing entities in the field. You scent a mystery. So, you are in a quandary about whether to accept the job believing that all is well with the company, or decline the offer politely. Stepping over some grim precipice is the last thing you may want in life and particularly, in your career. In this context, you don't need to be dejected or indecisive. The following points may help.

1. Don't be overwhelmed by your success in the interview. Only then, you can think with a cool head, weigh things with the proper perspective, and make your decision. At the same time, you need not be cynical as well. Pre-conceived notions and vague or nebulous suspicions may lead to biased and injudicious choices.

2. Do an in-depth study of the history of the company, both recent and the past. This will help you assess the financial health of the company. You can go through the company's financial results as well.

3. Try to get maximum insider information. You may have acquaintances, friends, or relatives who may be working for the company or may be dealing with the company as clients or service providers. If you use smooth tact to get maximum information about the company's health and prospects, nobody will cavil. Even if they are evasive or if their descriptions are nothing but verbal ambiguities, it need not dampen your buoyant spirit. Of course, it may cause a pang but it is momentary because the next step may shove you toward some positive information to help you make your decision. 

4. You get into this fourth and final step with a curious and oxymoron-like blend of apprehension, hope, and elation. This step involves two checks. Firstly, you should check if the company is registering steady growth consistently. Secondly, you should delve deep and find out if the company is managing its debt levels judiciously. These two checks can pierce through the data and provide you with a near-perfect assessment. If the company is achieving steady and consistent growth and is managing its debts wisely, you can go ahead and accept the job offer. Otherwise, you can continue with your job search.

In a nutshell, you need not get lured by the ambiance that prevails in the workplace of a company. You can adopt the above approach and make your decision.

Employee and Employer: A Bitter-Sweet Love Story

You are a job aspirant. Having come across a suitable opening, you apply for the job. Your C.V. is so impressive that you immediately get a call for an interview. You attend the interview and are appointed as well. You undergo an orientation training that cements your bonding with the company. After that, you start working for the company. In other words, you get cozy with the company.

You complete all the tasks entrusted to you perfectly. You give suggestions as well to improve the output of the company. So, your employer develops a liking for you. This is a sweet love story.

Familiarity breeds contempt.

Very soon, people on your team and other employees find fault with you. This may be due to jealousy. Or you may be going overboard and in your enthusiasm to improve your reputation further, committing a few mistakes. In your eagerness and obsession to prove your mettle and to beat others in the race, you may commit the solecism of prioritizing wrongly or omitting a few vital aspects while carrying out your tasks. This may prove to be expensive for the company. Now, your employer may start disliking you or may even begin hating you. The love story, which was originally sweet, has now turned into a bitter one. 

Another scenario.

Noticing your efficiency, your employer may start dumping more work on your platter. You have all along been enjoying the appreciation showered upon you. Now when you have to do more work, you find that your work-life balance is in jeopardy. You start hating your employer. Thus begins the bitter chapter of the love story.

Should an employer-employee relationship always be a bitter-sweet love story?

To this question, the answer is: It need not be. The question now is: As an employee, what should you do to maintain a consistently cordial relationship with your employer? A few tips may help.

1. Never nurture an obsession to impress your employer. As an employee, you have to work to your optimum potential and there should not be any compromise on this. But while carrying out your tasks, you should have the company's good in your mind. Earning the employer's appreciation is secondary and you will get it automatically if you carry out your tasks sincerely and with the utmost focus.

2. Do not always be expecting appreciation. Some of the employers are stingy and they do not appreciate even those who perform well. According to them, employees get their remuneration and it compensates much more than their output. So, don't get addicted to appreciative remarks. This means that when you don't get an appreciation for your good work, you must not allow your buoyancy to diminish. Remember that the appreciative words of such stingy employers are just formal proclamations and are devoid of hearty effusiveness. 

At the same time, these employers will always take advantage of every opportunity to find faults. Expecting appreciation from these employers is akin to expecting inanimate things to show gratitude.

3. Don't try to monopolize appreciation. You want to climb the career ladder quickly. This does not mean that you and you alone should get appreciation. There may be a few other employees like you who may be nurturing similar aspirations. They may also be performing as good as you, if not better. They also deserve appreciation, so you should not be envious of them. The only advice experts give is that you should carry out your tasks with the utmost sincerity and focus without worrying about the appreciation of your employer. It is better if you continue to be companionable with those employees because their eagerness to perform well will help in keeping your motivation level high.

4. Keep your enthusiasm alive. Regardless of whether you get appreciation from your employer or not, you should not allow your enthusiasm to come down. Enthusiasm is like a nasty precipice. If you do not motivate yourself regularly, you may slip and it may result in troubles in your workplace. Of course, your relationship with your employer will get strained also. So, employ all your resources and keep your enthusiasm intact.

If you use the above tips, you will find that the relationship between you and your employer need not be a bitter-sweet love story. It will always be a sweet love story.

Are You an Employee? Understand This Career Math

Quick career growth may be the aspiration of almost every employee and you may not be an exception. Of course, this is not a solipsistic attitude and there is nothing unethical about it. But to achieve this aim, you must first understand what is popularly known as "Career Math." You may like to discover what this means and how to go about it.

What is career math?

We all know that mathematics involves the four main operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. So, when you try to understand career math, you should know the items you should add, those you should subtract, the ones you should multiply, and those you should divide. Let us look at these in the same order.

Things you should add:

You may strictly abide by the instructions and carry out the tasks assigned to you. But this is not enough to have quick career growth. You must always ensure to do something more than the tasks assigned. For example, after completing your tasks, you can assist other team members in their tasks. Further, you can use your creative juices and come out with innovative suggestions to improve the output of your team or the whole organization. Doing so will certainly give you the reputation of being a valuable employee. This will increase your chances of getting quick elevations to higher positions.

Things you should shun.

This forms the subtraction part of the career math. Topping this list is stopping to be rebellious. This does not mean that you should not point out the mistakes or errors in the systems or processes. You must be polite and at the same time, analytical in your approach. Of course, a large dose of diplomacy will do a world of good in enhancing the value of your handling. 

Secondly, you must never, never resort to unethical ways to promote your cause or improve your reputation. Never forget the fact that the reputation you may earn by back-biting, gossiping, or talking ill of others may not be permanent. Those who hold high positions may have several eyes and ears and they will soon find out your true intentions.

Thirdly, you should not drift even an inch from your loyalty to your company. Instances of people's lives getting ruined due to disloyalty to their companies abound in corporate history. So, you must be very careful because there may be alluring situations that may tempt you.

Multiplication in the career math.

The multiplication process happens when you can slash the number of hours you take to complete tasks so that the value of your output increases in geometric proportions. How can you do this? An example will explain this clearly. There may be several routine tasks. Unfortunately, they may be so important that you cannot dispense with them. You may have to do them daily and consistently. If you develop well-structured templates, you can complete the tasks in a jiffy. This is one of the major steps with the help of which you can drastically reduce the number of hours you spend on these routine tasks. This will amazingly bring about a "multiplier effect" on your output. 

The role of division in your career math.

Division in the career math is nothing but the popular concept of "Division of Labor." Every management may want to leverage the optimum potential of their employees. They may accomplish this aim by assessing the capabilities and skills of the employees. There may be one or more employees in your company who may be good at sifting data and presenting them in a concise and comprehensible form. A few other employees may excel in project management and yet a few others may have good knowledge of accounting, administration, or marketing. 

Being a member of your team, you should ensure that there is complete coordination between your output and those of other team members. Similarly, the output of your team should gel with those of other teams. For example, the team that does development-related tasks should coordinate with the operations team. Of course, there are tools such as DevOps to handle such coordination efforts.

So, how does division fit into career math? Dividing and assigning tasks according to the capabilities and skills of the teams or employees is how division fits into the career math. Regardless of your position in the hierarchy of the company, you should ensure that your output is in tandem and in synergy with the team's or company's goals. 

To conclude, understanding the above career math is important to succeed in your aim of accelerating the pace of your growth in your career.