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Summer Office Tips

The sun is hot and the beach is calling your name, while you are stuck in the office. Working during the summer can sometime feel tedious and slow, many blaming this lull on a summer slump. The best way to combat this slump and motivate yourself in the office this summer is to follow some easy tips.

Light Snacks or Water
Drink lots of water to stay hydrated during the heat! According to Mayo Clinic men need 13 cups of water per day while women need at least 9 cups. It’s very important to remember that even during the workday, though you may not feel the heat, your body still needs to stay hydrated. Keeping cool snacks around the office might be the energizing treat you need to stay cool. Having fruit such as berries, cut up peaches, apricots, nectarines, plums and melons are go-to’s when it comes to a light snack to eat around the office.

Scarf or Cardigan
Even though it might be warm outside, the office you work in might try and combat this weather by using the AC on full blast. While it might feel good when you first come in, having the office this cold throughout the day might give you the chills. Women are particularly susceptible, being that they are usually in fewer layers of clothing. Bringing a light sweater or summer scarf is a good way to stay warm in a cold office during the summer.

Barbecue or Picnic
One of the best ways to get your coworkers together and take advantage of the sunny weather is to have an office barbecue or picnic. Hosting a get together during the lunch hour or after work is a good way to get to know who you’re working with in a more relaxed setting. Connecting with other could drastically improve morale and it is a great way to get outside.

Light fabrics or layers
Dressing for the workplace during the summer can be difficult. The best way to dress for the heat outside (conflicting with the AC) is by wearing layers and cooler fabrics. Fabrics such as cotton and linen are a great place to start. Wearing multiple layers that are all office appropriate is another way to beat the heat, you can gradually take off layers as you are going outdoors.

Vacation or Staycation
Vacation time is definitely a catch-22 the higher you climb the corporate ladder, the more vacation you are usually allowed, but the less inclined you are to use it. With all of the responsibilities you have, the less you are inclined to take a long break. Be sure to let you team know far ahead of time before taking time off, but make sure to take time when you need it! If you can’t take a long vacation, a stay-cation might be a better option. Taking a day or two to stay at home and take care of yourself or walk around your town and do something you love, might be the break you need!

If a member of your team needs to take some vacation time, you can always call us for an excellent temporary hire! If you want more information or summer tips, go to our website or call us at 361-883-3535!

How To Fall In Love With Your Job

With Valentine’s day just around the corner, love is in the air. However, this is not the typical romance advertised for February 14th. This Valentine’s day we are focusing on loving your job. Just because you may not have your ultimate dream job, does not mean you cannot love your job. Enjoying your job not only helps your mental health, but it also helps you succeed in life. Whether you are just embarking on your career path, or have matured through the workforce, these tips will help you learn to love your job.

Tips for Loving you Job:

Focus On the Positives
We all know the feeling when we wake up early and all we want to do is to hit the snooze button. Getting up early for a nine to five job, seven days a week can become a drag. However, instead of waking up and focusing on the lack of sleep you got, or facing a traffic filled commute, focus on something positive about your job. Once you have that one positive attribute about your job, amp it up! This can be anywhere from enjoying spending time with your coworkers, interesting assignments, to opportunities for learning. Changing how you perceive your job can make all the difference. Even if there is no tangible change, having a positive attitude will not only help you enjoy your day more, but it will also encourage a positive workplace for everyone else in the office.

2. Surround Yourself With Those You Love
Sometimes the key to happiness within a career is being surrounded by those you love. Having a strong relationship with your coworkers and your superiors can turn any job into one you feel passionate about. The key to enjoying your job is being surrounded by people
who you enjoy and you look forward to spending time with. The fact of life is that you will be spending a lot of time with people you work with, so creating and maintaining positive relationships will allow you to enjoy going to work each day.

3. Ask For More Responsibility
Having a routine is great, but sometimes routines at work become tedious, which only increases boredom. Feeling unimportant within a company can take a tole on how you perceive your job. If you feel as though you are completing the same tasks at work on a daily basis, ask for more responsibility! Having more responsibility will add a new element of interest into your daily responsibilities and it will look impressive in the eyes of your supervisor. Tackling a new challenge at work increases your skill set, allows for opportunities for learning and growth, and can open you up to new and interesting people at your company.

This Valentine’s day focus on what you love about your job, and what you can do to change what you don’t love. Remember The Wilson Group is here to help you find that job you love. For more information and tips on landing a job you love visit our website.

Spring Cleaning Social Media

Believe it or not, when searching through potential job candidates, employers do check personal social media accounts. Regardless of if you have an award-winning resume or stellar references, unprofessional social media posts could be the deciding factor between being hired or not. We’ve compiled some tips for cleaning up your social media, hopefully helping you turn it from personal to professional.

Facebook:

With both personal posts and photos available for perusing, Facebook is a great place to start your spring social media cleaning. First impressions are important, meaning the first things employers will see when reviewing your profile is your profile picture and cover photo. Go through these images, deleting anything an employer would find unprofessional: photos showing alcohol, various stages of undress, inappropriate gestures, and offensive terms or slurs in comments should be deleted. Next, visit the privacy page located under settings. Facebook’s privacy settings let you customize who can see your posts. The default setting is that everyone, regardless of if they are your friends on Facebook or not, can see what you post. We recommend changing this setting to “Only Friends”, meaning only your friends on Facebook can see your posts. Chances are, employers will not be your friends on Facebook during the job search, nor will they add you. Next, review your Activity Log. All activity on Facebook is compiled here; take a while to go through these posts, deleting anything inappropriate.

Twitter:

Like Facebook, Twitter accounts have a profile picture and cover photo. Make sure these pictures are appropriate. If they’re not, change them. Though it may be a tedious process, personal tweets could contain compromising content. Take the time to check for and delete any unsuitable tweets, including those with bad language or crude images.

LinkedIn:

Because of its professional nature, LinkedIn is much easier to monitor than Facebook and Twitter. However, to reach your maximum professional potential on Linkedin, it’s important to make sure your information and job experiences are up to date. Exercise some self restraint on what you post, however. There’s no need to post every job and skill you’ve ever had, rather list the most important and recent ones. Consider using a headshot for your profile picture. If you don’t have one, it may be a good idea to have one taken professionally. If you decide that you would rather take one yourself, make sure it is done well. Dress to impress, stand in a well lit area against a solid colored background, and ask a friend to photograph you from the shoulders up.

Job Hunting During the Holidays

As we approach the end of November, it’s beginning to feel more and more like the holiday season, which is great news for all you job-seekers out there! In order to meet the increased demand of customers coming in to buy gifts for the holiday seasons, tons of companies are looking to hire part-time holiday help. And even if you’re not looking to work in the world of retail, it may be advantageous to begin your employment search now. Don’t really know where to start looking for a job this season? Here are our favorite holiday job hunt tips from Bloomberg.

Utilize Social Media
Even executives and hiring managers have to take days off for the holidays. As they sit around after consuming turkey, you can bet they’ll be on their computers and smartphones, clicking around social media. Put yourself out there, and you may be pleasantly surprised.

Party Professionally
Holiday parties are great networking opportunities. However, be warned: go easy on the drinks, dress conservatively, and make appropriate conversation. You never know when you might run into someone who could be looking to fill your dream job. Also, carry around your business card if you have one.

Pick Up Your Phone
There’s a better chance of getting an answer to a phone call during the holiday months as business slows down. Get your voice out there, and you might make an impact.

Be Patient
Make sure to follow up on any and all leads that you may pursue, but also remember to be patient. If you don’t hear anything before the holidays, don’t despair. A lot of the hiring process extends past the holiday season, so you may hear something after the new year.

Ready to take advantage of a holiday job hunt? Start by taking a look at our job opportunities.

Online Interview Tips for Success

Online Interviewing - Smile! — Successful Interviewing online is a snap!

Online Job Interview Preparation Tips
Excerpt from the “experts” in interviewing: www.everydayinterviewtips.com

As the internet plays such a critical role in our lives, it also comes into play for our job hunt. Not just for researching target companies or recruiting for open positions, more hiring is done via virtual interviewing than ever before. It saves on travel time and money and it produces accurate results. So, what should you know about online interviewing to be successful? We went to the source, Everyday Interview Tips, to get the scoop. Here is your success plan for interviewing online:

•Prepare Your Workplace
Most likely you are going to be sitting in your home while you are being interviewed. It is very important to prepare the surrounding area where the interview will take place. Remove any posters, artwork or clutter that may reflect poorly on you. Get a paper and pencil ready so that employers do not have to watch you leave your screen at any time. Also make sure that any pets or people you live with are out of sight, and that noise is kept to a minimum.

•Make Sure Your Webcam is Hooked Up Properly
Fumbling with your camera makes you seem unprepared. It is a good idea to practice web chatting with a friend or family member to make sure your webcam is working properly.

•Dress for the Interview
Even though the interview is taking place in your home, it is still a good idea to dress for the interview as though you were coming in to the office. Employers are going to be judging how you are dressed (even if they do not realize it), and you want to make sure you leave the best impression. You should be completely dressed up – including nice pants and shoes – because you never know when the camera may fall or you need to stand up. Plus, you don’t want to be distracted with thoughts that you are actually half dressed.

Online Interview Tips

•Speak Clearly
Webcams do not have the greatest sound systems. Make sure you speak loudly and clearly without any mumbling. Mumbling will not be picked up by the webcam and the employer is going to miss many of the important things you will say.

•Keep All Other Programs Turned Off
The last thing you want is for someone to send you an instant message during your interview. Just as you wouldn’t want your cell phone to ring, you don’t want chat services interrupting your meeting, or other software programs causing your computer to slow down, freeze or crash.

•Facial Expressions and Appearance
Without the interviewer in the room, you might forget that you are being watched, and your facial expressions play a role in your interview success. Make sure you smile and sit up straight just as though you were interviewing in person.

•Feel Free and Ask for Clarification
Your interviewer is going to be in a busy office, and there may be times that you cannot make out what they are saying. Don’t try to answer a question you could not hear or could not understand. Ask for clarification. The interviewer recognizes that webcams can be hard to hear, and it is better for you to admit that you could not hear their question than to answer a question incorrectly.

Success in an Online Interview

Basic interview tips still apply to online interviews. Make sure you research the company, provide positive answers, etc. Online interviews also require some extra preparation with the setting and the equipment. Make sure that you are well prepared for you online interview and you will perform as well as an in-person interview.

Read more: http://www.everydayinterviewtips.com/interview-tips/skills/online#ixzz1km1zic3n