Job Searching Website Australia: ADVANCE YOUR CAREER

Moving Up the Ladder

There are many ways to advance your career. It may be that you choose to work your way up the ladder in your workplace, or maybe move to join another company. Here are some strategies to achieve your goal.


BUILD AN IMAGE

• Dress like a professional. Suits and ties for men may suit some professions, but a well-ironed shirt, clean shoes and a good haircut can achieve a corporate look. The same goes for women: revealing singlet tops or mini-skirts do not mark a person as serious. They also interfere with the image of someone who can handle serious responsibilities.

• Keep up with the latest technology and software.

• Show up at all company meetings, presentations and events.

• Be punctual at all times.

• Be professional. Ensure that your spelling, grammar and presentations are all correct.

• Answer the phone with your name in a pleasant voice.

• Before handing in work ensure that you have edited it. Use SWOT analysis* (google how to do it if you don’t know) critically analysing your work.

• Do not use big words that you do not understand. Spend time learning about the words that your trade uses, management words and read lots about new developments in your field.

• Ask your boss for advice, ensuring that you thank him.

• Show respect to others, and choose your words very carefully if there are mean people around you. Dignity rather than fighting will get you further. Keep away from office politics.

• Continuous Friday night drinks with the boys/girls and raunchy Christmas parties may not be good for your career development. You have a goal. Drink with its consequent loose talk may get in the way of your ambitions. Separate yourself from the rabble.

• Don’t use words such as “whatever” or “like.” It may be common to use the word “youz” as a plural of you, but not only is it incorrect it does drop your value down by many degrees.  “Youz” is not used by educated persons.

NETWORKING

• Always have your business cards with your name in your pocket ready to hand out with a short description of what you do. Keep your description short and sweet. The test is when someone in the lift asks you where you work and what you do, be ready to do it in less than ten seconds.

• Go to professional associations where you will get to know others in your field. Again, hand out your card.

• Ask your company if they have any educational opportunities for you. If you don’t ask this will not happen. Many companies send their best and brightest employees to study new developments in their field, MBA’s at university and sometimes even overseas to other parts of that company. It is a paying proposition for a company to upgrade the skills of existing employees rather than hire new ones with those qualifications.

RECRUITMENT AGENCIES

• Can you imagine being headhunted? Yes, but only if you put yourself in that position. Drop in on your RDO to see a recruitment agent whilst ensuring that they sign a confidentiality agreement that they will not contact your company. Then you are on their books for when opportunities come up.

AND LASTLY, IF YOU ARE A NEW AUSTRALIAN

• Moving upward does require clear communication skills. You may know your job back-to-front, but one can always improve.

• If your spoken English is not as good as you want it to be consider taking elocution lessons which straighten out pronunciation issues. This will also improve your image. Remember that some of the most successful career people in Australia came from non-English speaking countries, and that a little work on personal communication skills does work wonders.

• Be proud of your original name. Some people do choose to change it, but Australia is officially multicultural and the land of a fair go. What really matters are your skills, your image, your ability to communicate and if possible, your connections and your references.

GOOD LUCK!

• A SWOT analysis assesses Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

 Search for your dream job now! Visit Jobstar.net.au

How To Juggle Work And Family

If you really believe that you can juggle work and family successfully you should realise that technically this is an impossibility! 

Here are some tips to make it easier: 

  

AT HOME 

• Go to sleep early, definitely before 10 pm. A fresh early morning start works wonders. That includes putting your mobile on silent until your wakeup alarm time, and not touching it as you read the news, scan your emails or watch a movie.  If you do you could find yourself losing valuable hours of sleep. 

• Write a (long) list of things that have to be done in the family. They have to include cleaning in detail, being up at night with children, making lunches, cooking, shopping, taking children to activities, responsibility for bills, waking up children in the morning, putting them to sleep at night, showering them, feeding them, clothing and shoe shopping,  visits to doctors/dentists/baby health care, taking them to parties, collecting the mail, putting out the rubbish, laundry, visiting grandparents, holiday planning and the other thousand and one things that go into making a home. 

• Sit down with your husband/partner and split the list up fairly. 

• If the budget allows it bring in a cleaner as often as possible to take the load of both of you. If the budget does not review it carefully to see if there is waste anywhere. 

• Prepare your work clothing before you go to sleep, and allow an extra fifteen minutes in the morning for yourself to dress and prepare yourself patiently. 

• Have all schoolbags and work briefcases packed and ready to go near the front door. 

• Train your older children to guide the younger ones, which includes dressing them in the morning, including them in teeth brushing sessions and making their own beds. Older children are very good at listening to younger ones read, and can often help them with their homework. 

• There is no good reason to have things thrown around or left on the floor or on the kitchen bench. Children should be trained to put everything back where it belongs and to be responsible for their own clothes and dishes. Mothers are not slaves to pick up after their offspring. 

• Try to find a job close to home to minimize transportation time to give you more hours in the day. 

IF YOU ARE A SOLE PARENT: 

• Use the weekends to do as much as possible. 

• Allocate part of your budget to bringing in a cleaner, even if it is only two hours a week. Trying to do it all by yourself can end up with you sick and possibly in hospital which can be a severe financial loss. Give the cleaner the hardest jobs, such as cleaning the cook top, the oven and scrubbing toilets.  Picking up scattered toys and clothes should be the children’s job, as is making their beds and hanging up their towels. The cleaner should concentrate on removing dirt, not on tidiness. 

• If grandparents are available they may be prepared to help, even occasionally.  

            Remember that you are the first priority. 

  

AT WORK 

• If you are asked to stay after working hours explain to your boss about the importance of work-life balance and that your input and dedication to your work is more productive when you have this balance. 

• Always request permission before using the work computer for private needs, using it only during your lunch break or after hours with consent. 

•  Use technology to save time.  Call your children’s school and request a Skype interview with teachers instead of having to physically attend parent-teacher meetings.Use technology for paying bills, reminders and a host of other applications to save time. 

• Discuss salary packages with administration which can be an effective way of minimizing tax.  The extra dollars can enable you and your family to have a well-earned holiday, employ a cleaner in the home or save towards a worthwhile purpose. 

• Differentiate between home and work.  Work-mates may not appreciate your thrill about that first baby tooth or your son’s winning the hundred meters race.  You are at work to fulfill your role not to overwhelm people about your private life.  At work you are one person, and at home another.  In fact the two different roles can fulfill both your need for intellectual stimulation, different activities and the wonderful experience of building a home.

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