We have to admit that in every work place, competition is prevalent among co-workers. This is not actually met with disdain rather a challenge to survive through improvement of one’s job and being at par with the best in the field. In a way, competition is good for everyone. It pushes one to reach his or her peak performance and to discover more of his or her talents and capabilities. It makes one strive harder in his work and be the best not only for personal reasons ,but also to contribute to society. If you feel that you are in the battlefield of survival in your company, you probably need to breathe in a minute and re assess yourself and ask yourself if you can survive this competition. Whatever your job is you have to give yourself an edge in your work.

In today’s fast-paced world the least qualified are left at the bottom of the food chain and the strongest are on the top. Analyst believed that every hospital, office, corporation, and institution with workers has its own food chain. The weakest ones are removed. If you believe in your work and you love your work, it is now a matter of survival for you. Don’t think that you need to survive in order to have a job. You want to survive because it pushes you to your edge and makes your brain work better and faster.

In order to survive in a tough job, make yourself an asset all the time. This means that you have to show your bosses and company owners that you are an asset of the company. You have to prove that you are someone who can take your place of work to greater heights through your specialty in a field or because of your brilliant ideas that can make your workplace a better place for everyone.

You have to be very good if not the best in what you do. This is not only to increase your salary but for others to see that you are taking your job seriously and that you are willing to go to greater heights to improve your craft. You are performing your job with all your heart and with the sincere belief that you can make a difference in everyone’s life.

1. Develop your career goals.

2. Decide if your goals are stable or fluid. Base your career work goals on those criteria. Then, consider what you like to do, what your talents are, and what qualifications you have. Decide whether you are willing to relocate or prefer to stay in one general area. With this information you should be able to generate a picture of your career goals. Even if your goals are a bit fuzzy, you need to start somewhere. Set a long-term career goal. From that goal, your sub-goals will flow.

3. Identify any problems or blocks to reaching your career goals and develop a plan of action to reconcile them. The most common problems and blocks to a career goal are related to education, experience, and economic health. Other potential problems are personal work habits and how well you handle certain environments, such as dealing with negative people or stress in the workplace. Once identified, you may find that some problems may not be problems at all.

4. List ALL alternatives for reaching your career goals. This list should be as extensive as possible. Some generic guidelines may help categorize your alternatives for reaching your career goals. For example, if you have formulated a “stable” career work plan, you would be likely to consider all governmental, military, and large-industry jobs as methods to reach your goal. If you have formulated a fluid career work plan, you would conversely consider all new-business, technological, and dot.com jobs as methods to reach your goal. Other alternatives may include technical training, vocational schooling, traditional college, and military training.

5. Evaluate your alternatives for reaching your career goals. You should list the pros and cons of each alternative separately. Be as objective as you can when making your lists. Carefully weigh any alternative that involves a long-term educational commitment against potential lost income. If you choose a career based on an educational commitment of several years (for example, you want to become a lawyer and are currently in undergraduate school, during which time you would have limited or no income), figure out the number of years it would take to recoup the costs. Keep in mind you will change careers between 7 and 9 times over your lifetime. Your education should pay off, but it is important to see the cost of it in black and white.

6. Choose an alternative for reaching your career goals. This is a difficult step for many people. Some people simply don’t like to make decisions. However, I guarantee if you don’t make a decision in your Career Work Plan, someone will do it for you and you will probably not like the results. It may also be advantageous to consider the opinion of friends and family when choosing a method for reaching your goals. Remember, your career path is ultimately your choice.

7. Follow up evaluation on progress toward your career goals. Regularly evaluate your progress toward meeting or exceeding your goals. This should be done at least twice a year. Don’t give up too early, but don’t hold on to a sinking ship either. If you feel you are making progress, press on toward the prize.

Research on negotiating salary shows that up to 80 percent of job offers are negotiable but that only a small number of job candidates actually enter into negotiations of the job offer and salary with prospective employers. The main reason given is that candidates feel ill-equipped to negotiate and as a result are intimidated by the negotiation process. You don’t have to be an expert negotiator to successfully negotiate a job offer. Knowing these basic negotiation strategies helps you to properly plan your salary negotiation and feel confident in the negotiation process.

Delay the salary discussion for as long as possible in the hiring process

The best time for  negotiating salary is after a firm job offer has been made. Your negotiating power is at its peak when the company has been convinced of your potential value to them and has decided that you are the best candidate for the job. If the salary question comes up early in the interview process it is best to remain as non committal as possible and suggest that your salary requirements are “open” or “negotiable” until you have learned more about the job. If pressed to give an amount state a wide range within which your salary requirements fall. Avoid giving  a specific salary figure on the application form and rather put “competitive” or “open to discussion”.

Find out the value of your skills in the marketplace

Information is your greatest tool in negotiating salary. Research your competitive market value. What are other organizations in your field and geographical area paying for your skills and experience? It is much easier to persuade the company to agree with your salary request if your negotiation proposal is firmly based in hard fact such as what people with similar skills and in similar jobs are currently earning. You can research salary data in a number of ways including visiting various free salary websites, asking people in similar positions, calling professional and trade associations, asking recruiters and employment agents and looking at similar job postings.

Know what you are worth to this specific company

Understanding your company-value helps you determine your real bargaining power. What is your value to this company? Consider factors such as the supply and demand ratio of your skills and experience in this industry and area, the number of candidates the company interviewed, the urgency of filling the job and the direct and indirect contribution to company profitability of this job.

Evaluate the entire compensation package

Benefits can contribute up to 30 percent of the whole compensation package. Include the benefits in your salary calculations to get a more accurate picture of the dollar value of the whole compensation package. Put a direct dollar value on benefits such as medical and other insurance, bonuses, profit sharing, direct expense coverage, company services and overtime. Decide which aspects are important to you and what you can negotiate to balance the base salary.

Calculate a realistic salary range to negotiate within

Work out how much you need to earn to cover your expenses. For each expense work out the amount of money you need and the amount of money you would like. The total of each amount provides you with an acceptable salary range within which you can negotiate.

If you are hunting for a job, then find one that would increase your income, provide you with a better position. In order to obtain these advantages, you need to focus on your ability and delivering power during the job interview because the employer offers amenities for these reasons. You need to follow simple rules while preparing the interview to get you the job. In addition, you should present yourself as a person who knows the issues and is able to solve them.

Preparing the answers for the questions you know the interviewer is likely to ask during the interview in presentable, knowledgeable and result oriented manner impresses the interviewer. The list below mentions commonly asked questions during a job interview. Preparing the answers to these questions would get you one of those jobs you are looking for.

Generally Asked Questions

-Usually the interviewer asks about your goals. A well-prepared answer indicates maturity and commitment to professionalism. Your goals needs to be in line with the firm and relates to resolving the issues that the firm confronts. Your answer should be realistic and ambitious.

-Another common question is tell me about yourself. The aim of the interviewer by asking this question is to get an idea of you as an employee and as a person. For this question, you need to focus on the issues and how to resolve them so that the employer sees you as the person he is looking for. Emphasize your accomplishments and experience relating to the position you’re applying for, along with the company’s goals. Obtain information relating to the company before the interview. This may help you relate the answers to employer’s requirement. While answering the question, ask the interviewer the same question to find out about the employer’s needs for the position.

-The interviewer may ask you about your strengths. You should relate your strengths in a way to resolve issues the firm confronts. Answer the question by presenting your experience and skills that relate to your strengths. You can give examples of success in a previous firm or illustrate your accomplishments.

-In addition to strengths, the interviewer may be keen on knowing your weaknesses. This question should be answered intelligently, showing your weakness in a positive manner. Knowing your weak area indicates maturity.

-The hiring manager may ask question regarding expected salary. For this you should answer that you are looking for the right opportunity in your career and the company should offer you a fair amount if they want to hire you. However, if they want to know the figure then you should tell them your current compensation and say you believe there should be some increase in pay based on your achievements.

Many schools put a great deal of effort into securing career training for their graduates, allowing them to seek training if they know what careers they want. The majority of universities and other institutions make career certification training available to their students, to help them achieve their goals. The center help students by determining their talents, and then seeing if they have set goals that match their abilities.

Most college, universities and even technical schools have a career placement program to help students find employment after finishing school. Students are matched with a career finder to locate the best fit for them. Start with this placement program because when looking for a job you will find that experience is key to finding a good job.

Choosing the right career path is one of the most important decisions you will make in your life. Some careers entail many unique skills while others involve extensive education. Look into career training to help get you on the right path and obtain the skills you will need.

Career training can be availed at a career center where after probing you about your desirable work environment and your ideal career, they will help you follow your chosen career. The counselor, after considering your current job abilities, will try to commend some additional training that would help you in your career path.

When researching your career options, it is always advisable to select one that will utilize your strongest traits and abilities. To acquire a greater range of skills, you should consider getting training. The more qualifications you have to offer, the more effective your resume will be. In this way, you will become more employable and are likely to achieve professional success sooner.

The road ahead has several bumps. You can seek the assistance of a career finder to get to know of job offers and interviews. Career fairs make your resume look better. But what counts at the end is training. Opportunities come your way only if you have the skills required for a particular job. Nobody will give you a job if you do not possess the required skills.

Career training is essential to finding the perfect career for you. There are training programs at colleges and technical schools. The best programs offer career certification coaching. These job placement programs match the students with a career finder who can help the students discover what their talents and skills are. If additional training is required, the counselor will help you get enrolled in the proper program. Ultimately, with training, your skills will improve and you will have a better chance getting the position you want at the company you want.

Author: PAUL BOWLEY

Employment opportunities have to be handled with special attention when you’re a high school or college student job seeker. For example, no matter what your age, a hiring decision about you is made only after a face-to-face meeting.

So employment opportunities require you to master a few basic communication skills.

First, you have to look employable. If this is your first job, you have to make absolutely everything work to your advantage. Since you don’t have a work history or at best a thin resume, much more credibility will be placed on how you come across when you meet with a decision-maker. There, it’s up to you to represent yourself assertively and with enthusiasm.

Here are 6 tips that can move you toward success with your employment opportunities:

1. Get your ducks in a row. Write down the specific talents and capabilities your bring to the table. For example any work experience including volunteer work, school and church projects, family projects, athletic prowess . . . anything that demonstrates that you have contributed to helping another organization or individual. Be sure to include any work for neighbors including raking leaves, baby-sitting, shoveling snow, etc.

2. Write a script that details how you’ll present yourself to a prospective employer. Remember, first impressions count BIG! If you stumble around and can’t look an interviewer in the eye, you just lost. You must be prepared to speak with authority.

3. Practice what to say with friends. Let them ask you tough questions so you can learn to respond intelligently without getting rattled.

4. When you’ve done all your prep work, then you can write a resume recapping what you’ve done in the first three steps. It has to be brief and to the point (maximum one page.) Remember–your resume won’t get you a job. Only a face-to-face meeting results in serious consideration.

5. Dress appropriate to the position and according to company standards. Be polite. Have an opening comment to make so you can be the first to speak. Prepare in advance some intelligent questions to ask.

6. Be open to employment options. For example, an internship, starting out part-time, offering to work free for a week, a probation period, etc. Incidentally, the holiday season is a great time to get your foot in the door with retail businesses. Very often part-time holiday employment turns into full-time after the holidays.

Let me share with you 7 effective and time saving job search tips. Did you know that you’re wasting a lot of time online job searching multiple employment websites? There’s always that curiosity to know if the job of your dreams is posted at ’so and so” website. But how many job websites do you need to go through, to find it? With so much information available, you have to wonder where to even begin. Let me share with you my best techniques for your job search and follow up.

Starting in your local area, get the Sunday newspaper and review the jobs and employment classifieds ads section. Now that you have a newspaper in hand you’ll be able to write notes on it, circle employment ads that appeal to you for follow up, note fax numbers and scratch off ads that you don’t like. By using the Sunday paper, I have a quick reference of who I can contact and send a resume or CV.

Networking. When the time arrives where you will need to start your job search, contact your circle of influence. Who do you know that might be able to put you in touch with a possible job contact? Nowadays it seems that most people manage their contact list with a mobile hand device like a black berry. I still prefer using outlook to manage my contact list. Contacting your associates may make your job search easier.

Hit the streets. What better way to make yourself known by prospective employers and human resource personnel than by going to pay them a visit. If possible fill out an application or turn in your resume in person. A little small talk and some rapport building could lead to interview in the future.

Job fairs. On occasion you may want to attend a job fair. This may be where you discover an overlooked opportunity. This could be also be another perspective to see how and where you fit in the job-marketplace.

Employment only newspaper publications. Perhaps you have seen them around town someplace. A thin 5 to 10 page job search newspaper that displays employer, recruiter and educational training institution advertisements. Usually these publications feature ads of large companies doing possible mass recruiting or just looking to fill one opening. It will take only a few minutes of your time to read one of these newspapers, but it could give you an idea of who’s hiring now in your community. There are also plenty of educational training programs advertised if you looking to add-on skills or career change.

I like to call this next tip the direct sales approach”. The reason is that this technique calls for a more aggressive approach than simply answering ads. First we need to consider what your career or skill set is. For example, if you are an electrician, open up your local yellow pages under electricians” and start calling those businesses and ask for their fax number. You may be amazed at how many people will give you their fax number just for asking. Anyway make a list of those numbers you collected. Then send a nice, personalized cover letter and a well done resume. Send 2 pages max.

Job search engines. As far as I am concerned, speaking from experience, there is no reason to go search multiple websites for a job. This takes to much time, literally hours and days. There are just too many websites to visit and job search. What you need is just one simple and easy to use website to search all jobs online. This is a job search engine. All you need to do from the home page is enter the type of job you seek and a location (city, state). You will get relevant job search results returned to you from everywhere on the internet including jobsites, companies and newspapers.

For more about employment Complaints, Cheat, Rip-off, Scam visit Allen And Associates

As an attorney who practices employment law in both Massachusetts and the Federal system, it strikes me as odd, how few rights employees realize they actually have in the work place. Even more suppressing is the rights that terminated employees have which they are not aware. I make it a point to discuss with every potential client some basic rights and steps they should take, whether they retain my services or not, whether I take their case or not. Employees who were either terminated or simply quit should understand that they have a right to know everything their employers have said and written about them during their employment and even their application process.In Massachusetts, every employee has the right under Massachusetts General Laws, chapter 149, section 52C to receive a complete copy of the employee’s personal file. This file may contain information from their job application, every annual review, and any complaints against that employee.

Why is this so important? If you were terminated, or left as a result of conduct the employer took, you will want to seek unemployment benefits. Many times you are denied those benefits based on something the employer said to the government. You are also granted an automatic hearing if you are denied. In that hearing, you can question the veracity of those comments the employer made, if their were no documents in your personal file to cooperate the story. This is a form of discovery that you do not need a lawyer to request.

The state of Massachusetts takes this rule so seriously that if the employer does not send you your personnel file with in 5 days of receipt of your request, may result in a criminal prosecutions a fine of $500 - $2,500 dollars. More over, if an employer fails to comply with the request, they are going to face the attorney general, where the employee will not be footing the bill.

What do you remember about being in your twenties? Chances are you were fresh out of school, struggling to make ends meet and looking desperately towards a time when you wouldn’t have to work seventy hour weeks just to prove yourself.

Now that you are in your thirties, five or more years removed from that barely controlled chaos, you may be shocked to find yourself considering a career change!

Many people in their thirties will balk at a career change, as it might remind them too much of the frantic job shuffling and multitude of job changes that they went through. But the truth is, there is a chance that in midst of changing careers, you might have ended up in a job you don’t really like and really don’t intend to stay with.

Many people are surprised when they find themselves considering a midlife career change, but truthfully, this is not so odd. Think about the person you were in your twenties.

After gaining a decade’s worth of knowledge and experience, you’ll find that you are in a significantly better place to think about what you want out of life and to really think about what you can do in order to get it. Chances are, especially if you are in a job you don’t really feel passionate about, you’ll find that a new career plan will emerge with some thought.

Of course, as with many things, there is a right and a wrong way to go about a midlife career change. Remember to look at the intangible benefits your job brings you and to figure out how you can deal without those. Will the health insurance be a problem for you? Will you miss having an office environment? How does your family feel about your chasing you changing careers?

You’ll find that all of these things need to be addressed, and the more thought you put into it, the better you will be prepared. Keep in mind that keeping the goodwill of the company that you are presently employed with is also integral to launching yourself into a career change.

When you are considering making a career change in your 30’s, you’ll find that you have several advantages. You are in a more stable place in your life general, and you have amassed a fair amount of experience when it comes to the working world. You’ll have plenty to offer in terms of experience, and you’ll find that if you have had a certain amount of job stability that this is quite attractive to new employers.

These tips are geared to the organization as a whole. Any leader should be aware of them and provide support as needed, but many of the tips need to be executed by senior officials and/or the HR department.

Tip #1: Create a clear, zero-tolerance Harassment/Discrimination Policy.

* Defining and covering quid-pro-quo harassment
* Defining and covering hostile environment harassment
* Stressing the significance of effect, regardless of intent
* Covering all bases of harassment and discrimination (e.g., race, religion, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, etc.)
* Specifying consequences (e.g., up to and including termination of employment) and establishing a complaint procedure
* ‘Zero-tolerance’ does not mean uniform severe punishment regardless of the severity of the behavior. Rather it means…

Tip #2: Evenhandedly enforce your policy, without exception.

If you determine that your policy has been violated, enforce that policy — regardless of the offender’s position in the organization! [Easier said than done? Perhaps. But consider the legal and employee relations consequences of doing otherwise.]

Tip #3: Implement user-friendly harassment/discrimination internal complaint and investigation procedures.

* Provide multiple options for registering complaints — written, hot-line, in-person (e.g., supervisor, senior manager, HR) — including at least one female and with as much diversity as possible
* Designate (and train) male/female teams for complaint investigation

Tip #4: Communicate the policy and procedures.

* In writing — employee handbook, bulletin boards, email, memos, organization’s website
* Verbally — new hire orientation, department meetings, one-on-one
* Reinforce periodically with in-person statements by senior management and immediate supervisors

Tip #6: Train all employees:

* The essence and scope of relevant laws and your policy
* How to refrain from all forms of harassment and discrimination
* How to respond (including complaint procedure) to harassment/discrimination

Tip #5: Train all managers:

* Everything covered in the employee training
* The costs; their responsibilities; what to avoid; what to watch out for
* How to handle complaints, including how to document

Tip #7: Thoroughly investigate all harassment complaints.

Not all allegations of harassment are of equal merit or severity. The one absolute, however, is: never ignore a harassment complaint, whether made formally or as an informal gripe.

* Listen to all parties concerned
* Maintain confidentiality (to the extent possible)
* Communicate the results of the investigation to the complainant and accused
* Take appropriate action, e.g., feedback, training, coaching, counseling, disciplinary action, termination

Tip #8: Protect complainants, witnesses and accused from retaliation.

* Not only formal retaliation by the employer, but also informal retaliation by employees, e.g., gossiping or shunning.
* You may want to consider an “in good faith” caveat, i.e., fabricated complaints will not be tolerated and will be subject to disciplinary action. If so, carefully distinguish this from honest complaints made in good faith, which are found not to be in violation of law or policy.

Tip #9: Document all of the above.

You probably won’t be able to prevent harassment/discrimination lawsuits or EEOC charges from being filed against your organization. But you can ensure a favorable finding. Our advice:

Do the right thing … and document it!

Tip #10: Stay vigilant

* Constantly monitor your work environment
* Periodically review policy and procedures to ensure compliance and effectiveness