Top 7 Qualities of a Successful Team

Top 7 Qualities of a Successful Team A strong team are the foundation of high-performing business and a good team ethic  can be held largely accountable for the success and smooth running of the organisation. If employees do not gel and work well together, problems can arise, such as poor organisation, missed deadlines and conflict within the workplace. So what can teams do to ensure that they are collectively productive and drive the company forward? Here are a few qualities that a successful team possess. 1) They communicate well with each other They  communicate openly with each other, sharing their thoughts, opinions and ideas with members of their team;  as well as taking into consideration what others have to say. Communication is essential for keeping track of progress and working together efficiently on tasks. Poor communication can lead to crossed wires, that can mean work is left incomplete/incorrect  or conflicts can arise. 2) They focus on goals and results They agree on and set team goals based on  outcomes and results, rather than just on the amount of work being done. A clear plan can then be set about how they are going to achieve these objectives, as a group, as well as each individuals contribution. This provides them with clear direction and gives them something to aim for collectively. 3) Everyone contributes their fair share Each member of the team contributes their fair share of the workload and fully understand what their responsibilities are and where they fit in with the running of the business. They feel a sense of belonging to the team, are committed to their work and really care about the success of the company. 4)  They offer each other support Team members are always happy to assist others when they need a helping hand with work. Teams are often more productive when they are also offered support from the organisation and access to the required resources. 5) Team members are diverse Everyone is unique and will be able to offer their own experiences and knowledge that others may not possess. Diversity is needed so that all of the required  skills are covered by somebody in the team and each individual can be assigned a particular role on the basis of their strengths  and skills. A variety of personalities, age groups, cultures, etc. can also bring creativity and a broad range of ideas to the table. 6) Good leadership A strong team usually have a leader that they trust and respect. This individual essentially works as the glue holding the team together and should be responsible for setting the pace, offers encouragement and motivation and keeps all members of the team updated. 7) Theyre organised Organisation is essential for the smooth running of a business. Without it the workplace can become chaotic and goals are unlikely to be achieved. Though each individual should be responsible for organising their own workload, management should ensure that everything is running to plan and each member of the team is getting their work completed efficiently. Holding regular meetings can help to make sure that everyone is on the same page and deadlines are being met. 8) They have fun It shouldnt be all work and no play! This can lead to burnout and lack of productivity, so its important to inject a bit of enjoyment into working life. Teams who work particularly well together enjoy each others company and get together outside of the office from time to time to socialise and have some fun! Building a positive relationship with your colleagues can make for a much more relaxed environment and reduce conflict.

Costly Crib - How To Prioritize Moving Expenses

Costly Crib - How To Prioritize Moving Expenses When moving to a new location, homeowners and renters can reduce the hassle of moving by creating a to-do list that can help organise, and more significantly, prioritise tasks. Setting a budget that fro taking care of the most important aspects of the move can reduce any stress related to the monetary aspects of moving. From the most minor to major details, prospective movers should anticipate any problems that might come up during the move and budget accordingly. Some of the obvious priorities include deciding whether or not to enlist the help of professional  removalists to help transport your belongings to your new place or to move yourself. After you have moved your belongings, the work is not over, as moving into a new place requires making sure the place is secure, among other tasks. Fortunately, with your list of tasks and patience, you can make it through even the worst parts of moving. Keep reading to find out how to properly allocate money to the most important parts of moving so you can prioritise your spending. Logistics Of Moving One of the most important parts of moving is deciding whether you are going to move yourself or hire a professional mover. For people moving smaller amounts, renting a van or truck and moving to another place might be more cost-effective than hiring a professional mover. However, if having to move an entire household, consider hiring professional movers. Furthermore, because this is a considerable expense, make sure to allocate a good portion of your initial move-in budget to this particular expenditure, especially if you are moving across the country or internationally. Securing The New Place Once moved in, make sure the place is secure, which may means changing the locks, and making sure the property is well-lit. Reduce the risk of break-ins by cutting shrubs that might give would-be thieves a hiding place. Depending on the area of your home, consider installing an alarm system or security cameras to ward off prospective thieves. At a minimum, consider investing in motion sensor lights that come on after dark. Taking Of Care Home’s Problems If you purchased property, you were given as a part of the mortgage process an inspection that lists the condition of the home. After you have unpacked and are moved in, make taking care of these issues a priority. Get estimates on how much it will cost to fix these items, and then draft an agenda and a budget for taking care of these issues. If leasing a place, make sure that upon receiving the keys that you go through the place to make sure everything is in good condition. If there is anything that is not working, call maintenance to fix the issues because leasing is different in that if the problem existed before you moved in, it can be fixed without cost to renter. However, if a problem existed after you moved in, the rules might not be the same. A safe way to prevent added costs is to take care of these issues as soon as you move into the new place. Take Care Of The Exterior Another priority relates to making sure the exterior of the home is in good shape. If you’re not into yard work yourself, consider setting aside a little money to pay someone to landscape the front and back yards. Alternatively, budget for a lawnmower and you have seriously reduced your lawn care budget. Taking care of the exterior of your home is important because an unkempt, messy property can affect home values in the area. Reduce Hassles Through Budgeting By prioritising your expenses, you’ll be able to take care of the most important tasks involved in moving. While most of these tasks relate to what happens just after you move in, taking care of these issues straight away will set you up with a positive stay in your new abode.

Boss Basics Dressing for your Dream Job

Boss Basics Dressing for your Dream Job You’ve heard the advice before: Dress for the job you want, not the job you have. It’s sound advice. On the surface, it makes perfect sense. But in practice, it’s a bit trickier to pull off unless you really know what you’re doing. Case in point: the same exact blazer can send two very different signals if in one instance it’s perfectly tailored and in another it’s baggy and ill fitting. Same clothes, slight differences, big meaning. Nobody starts out on top. Even the COO of Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg, had to start somewhere. Marissa Mayer, though she’s recently taken quite a reputational hit, started out grinding just like anybody else. Nothing can replace hard work and dedication. But if you want to stack the deck in your favor, looking the part can help tremendously. Not sure where to start? Here are a few styling tips for 2018 for when you’re in and around the office. Pump Up Your Color Nix the neutral…tones, that is. Gray, black, or tan have their place in every wardrobe, but they don’t have to be your staples. A pop of blue, yellow, or pink goes a long way and pairs nicely with tailored slacks. Your shoes can offer up another source of color. Christian Louboutin’s have become famous for their red bottoms, but let’s be honest â€" we don’t all have that kind of coin to drop on a pair of heels. The good news is you don’t have to spend a fortune. Check out some ideas on Modcloth or similar sites. Accessorize Ditch the huge hoop earrings and stacks of multiple chunky necklaces that clank and clunk and generally annoy everyone in the office. Less is more. We’ll say it just one more time. Less. Is. More. A great pair of pearl earrings can be your best friend. Studs are a safe bet, but you can also wear something that dangles. You can pick up necklaces online at a pretty steep discount compared to your local brick and mortar jewelry shop. Just make sure you know what you’re buying. A little research will pay off prior to plunking down your credit card, and be sure your new bling comes with some sort of authenticity certificate that clearly states the grade and quality of the gemstones you purchased. This is super important if you hope to avoid being scammed. When it comes to bracelets, stay away from layering and stacking. It’s a cute look when appropriate â€" brunch, running errands, hanging out with the family, etc. â€" but it doesn’t work in the office as it can come off as a bit juvenile. While we’re on the subject, you don’t want to get too “blingy” with your bracelets, either. Skip the super flashy diamond tennis bracelets; jewelry should complement your style, not draw attention away from your work ethic and attitude. Pattern Power Polka dots and florals and stripes, oh my! Look to pinstripes and polka dots for a blouse easily pairs with a pencil skirt or tailored blazer. Don’t be afraid to go bold….but unless you work for a tech company or a business with a very laid back culture, it’s advisable to stay away from patterns that are generally considered to be a bit immature. Popular examples include pineapples, cats (ugh, don’t get us started), whales (we love preppy, but there’s a time and a place), etc. Save the bunnies, bears and bubblegum hearts for your PJs. These can send the wrong message. Sensibly Sexy Yes, it’s possible to pull off “professional sexy” in the workplace. It’s completely acceptable…with a few minor caveats. The key is to embrace the adage of iconic fashion designer and stylist Edith Head: “Your dresses should be tight enough to show you’re a woman and loose enough to show you’re a lady.” Leaving aside any patriarchal implications of using the term “lady”, the key word here is class. If you have curves and you want to show them off, do so in a tasteful way. It can be empowering. But be incredibly careful not to wear anything too revealing, as this can definitely send the wrong message.

Top 5 Podcasts for Tech and Social Recruiting

Top 5 Podcasts for Tech and Social Recruiting I listen to podcasts to keep me in the social media, social recruiting and technology loop (and to prevent guilt from not working and #FOMO). Yes, I have become one of those stats â€" I take my smart phone (soon to be Galaxy S5) everywhere! I wake up in the morning, look to make sure my husband has not been kidnapped by aliens (or god forbid, gotten out of bed early and made me a coffee â€" aliens are more likely!) and then I reach for my phone. I am officially a 5am’er. Wake at 5, and read / tweet / listen / learn in my pjs whilst waiting for my body to kick in. I can’t even drive without using my phone (hands-free learning!) I run with my phone (hands-free running) I cook with my phone (the kitchen look like I’ve cooked handsfree when I’m finished) I watch TV with my phone (poor cat does not get a look in now!) I was asked recently what I podcasts I rate while I multi-task.  Being in the tech, social media and social recruiting world, I need to keep my wits about me and stay up to date! Here are 5 great podcasts that I can’t do without they’re a great blend of social recruiting, social media, generic tech “stuff” and (dare I suggest?!) fun: 1) The Recruiting Animal: Animal  has a great show a great mix of funny, serious, outrageous but always relevant recruiter chat (and he’s not called Animal due to furry-fluffiness). He often has recruiters on his show they talk real world recruiting and often dis social media in favour of traditional recruiting. My kids love him! 2) HR Examiner: John Sumser  is the gent of the social recruiting and HR world (and his laugh makes me giggle). He often has recruiting technologists and leaders on his show 3) Guardian Tech Weekly: Guardian Tech Weekly  is a great blend of all things technology and social media (especially good for social media marketers, tech recruiters, and games recruiters). The BBC’s Click is pretty good too! 4) Jim Stroud: Then I opened up my email (at 5am) this morning and spotted the super Jim Stroud had started a podcast “The Social Recruiter Podcast: A Million Dollar Recruiting Strategy. #GetIn! (My 6 year old has started saying “get in!” â€" to my US friends, that’s “cool” in English.) So, Jim Stroud gets my number 4 slot (not ranked, obviously!) 5) Kermode and Mayo: And I can’t do without number 5 Kermode and Mayo’s film review. I rarely get to listen live (2-4 on a Friday means I’m working), so I download Friday night and use over the weekend. Right now I’m trying Android’s AntennaPod. It’s a free podcast “catcher” and seems to be doing the trick. What do you listen to that gives you a reason to not work (and relieves the guilt you make have for ignoring your new limb â€" your phone?)

5 Job Interview Questions and Answers for New Graduates - CareerMetis.com

5 Job Interview Questions and Answers for New Graduates Source: Deposit PhotosAfter graduation, when you get your diploma and become an adult who needs to support himself, it’s known that you have to prepare for the job hunt. Only the thought of going to your first job interview turns into the scariest nightmare.No one said that entering adulthood would be easy. Having a full-time job, living by yourself and paying the bills can be a great challenge for a newbie.However, you have to embrace adulthood and nurture your skills to obtain the job you’ve always dreamt of. This will help growing and becoming more responsible.evalJobInterviewAdvicegives the help needed to ace all your interviews and obtain numerous job offers. Here, you will find information about the most frequent questions you can hear during a job interview and suitable answers.1. Tell Me Something about YourselfWhen your interviewer asks this, they expect an answer which shares information about your personality and background. Make sure that the giving answer is relevant to the position you have applied for.Do not rumble about irrelevant past experience because your potential employer might lose their interest.Revealing information about your personal problems or love life can make the interviewer feel uncomfortable.As a fresh graduate, you can come up with stories and examples regarding your educational background, achievements, and interests. Mention your studies and showcase the interviewer how it will contribute to the available job.2. What Are Your Strengths?This question is meant to help the interviewer find out how the skills in your resume fit the job. You can easily prepare the answer for this question beforehand. However, do not state your strengths as if bragging about your qualities.Make sure to only refer to strengths that are relevant to the job you want to convince the interviewer that you are serious in the application process.evalIn order to develop each strength, you could talk about three personal strong points that reveal your w ork ethic. Instead of just stating general strengths like organized and hardworking, focus on specific things that qualify you as the best candidate for the job.3. Why Do You Think You Are a Good Fit for the Company?This tricky question can make you think and reflect about the answer for a while. Make sure you research the company, enter their official website and find out more about the skills required for the position you have applied.Even if employers will not expect graduates to offer a complete answer here, you can refer to their website.Then, based on what you find on their website, try to see what skills go hand in hand with what they are looking for. Hence, you will prove to the interviewer that your achievements and educational background qualify you for the desired position.evalShow them that you will be able to fuse and accommodate in their company.4. What Made You Choose This Job?When fresh graduates search for entry-level positions at jobs which have no connection with their major, this question may pop up. Hence, you have to answer it as if this was your career plan.Even if you have studied something different from the job you have applied for, tell the interviewer that your perspective has changed.Despite the fact that you love the chosen major, you also had a plan to develop your career in a different area of interest.In case your major and the jobyou have applied for have at least one little thing in common, make sure you highlight that during the interview. Furthermore, offer an honest answer, explain why you would like to work there.5. Where Do You See Yourself in Five Years?A question like this one could help prove that you settled a clear goal, being ambitious and determined. In case the job is not in the wanted career path, you should find a connection between it and your “professional destination”. Tell the interviewer how this job can help you improve your skills and grow to have a dream career.If in the future you picture yourself as a manager or supervisor for their company, the right explanation is that the available position can help you evolve.Hence, the employer will invest more in your professional and personal development as long as providing constantly that you are a hard worker.evalBeing a fresh graduate makes one realize that there is a still huge leap having to make. You will switch from an worries-free adult who is supported by his parents to an independent adult who has a job.No matter how hard you wish for this to happen sooner, you might feel overwhelmed about all the responsibilities and decisions that are must be done.

Three Critical Success Steps for Professional Women - Kathy Caprino

Three Critical Success Steps for Professional Women In the past several years, I’ve had the great pleasure of coaching and partnering with some amazing women in the U.S. â€" senior managers and leaders in Fortune 500 companies and non-profits who absolutely love their work, relish their roles, and feel they’re able to apply their many gifts and talents to achieve heart-aligned professional goals.   These women are fortunate indeed, but they’ve also co-created their great success through hard work, commitment, and dedication. Yet even among women leaders whove accomplished much, I’ve observed one behavior that holds women back from greater leadership success.    Its this when women are concerned about their perceived weaknesses or knowledge gaps, they tend to isolate, and work hard to hide their “imperfections.”   They don’t realize that we simply can’t reach our potential if we don’t 1) admit the need for growth and 2) find empowering help to get it. In order for professional women to stretch to reach their best, they need to take action to close their power gaps, and find support on a continual basis from inspiring, successful, heart-aligned women leaders.   But how? Take these three action steps: 1)           Find a Visual Role Model/Mentor Who Inspires You â€" OUTSIDE of your company Find an inspiring female mentor who is a living, breathing example of where you want to go and who you wish to be.   Make sure this female leader is speaking, behaving, managing and leading as you wish to. And have your most relied-upon mentor come from OUTSIDE of your firm.  A wonderful client of mine mentioned to me that her male boss liked the idea of her finding a mentor, and recommended she use a fellow one level above her at the company as her mentor.   My response to that was, Sure, that’s fine, but it’s not enough. You need to  find a powerful mentor OUTSIDE your company as well, and make sure it’s a woman!   Yes, men can and will be wonderful supporters of your work, and you can find fabulous mentors within your company.   Do it.    But for the one mentor who is going to help you be all you wish to be, ask a female leader outside your immediate realm â€" someone with whom you can be perfectly authentic and candid  a woman who will have your best interests at heart.   Find an individual who isn’t tempted to feel competitive with you, doesn’t have an agenda working with you, and isn’t compromised when you tell her exactly how you feel.   Why choose a woman as your mentor?   Because we believe what we see â€" and when you interact closely with other powerful and enlightening female leaders who are expert at achieving their passion, power, and purpose at work, then you’ll be one step closer to that as well. 2)           Join Your Industry’s Best National and Regional Organizations for Women As female leaders and managers, it’s essential that you connect with women in your region and nationally who are engaged in developing your profession and moving it forward for women. This is not to bash men, but corporate America was founded on a “white male competitive career model” that simply doesn’t fit a majority of women.    This will change â€" it has to.   But it will take a very long time.   In the meantime, there are still powerful assumptions and expectations about what makes a successful professional that don’t, in general, align with thousands of women’s priorities, values and goals today.  (See my book Breakdown Breakthrough for more about this ill-fitting model and the 12 “hidden” crises working women face today). So don’t wait. Locate the leading organizations in your field that support women, and join them.   Invest in membership (yes, my friends, you must invest in yourself) and become active in your chapter and nationally â€" it will change how you see yourself, your work, and your possibilities. 3)           Close Your “Power Gaps” Finally, no matter who you are, you have insecurities (unless you’re a narcissist).   There will always be areas that you wish were stronger, that you’re afraid others will shine the light on, exposing your flaws and “weaknesses.”   It’s universal â€" we’re ALL afraid of being “found out” to some degree.   So rather than spend any more precious time and energy hiding or over-compensating for the areas in which you need to grow,   get into the cage with your fears and do something about them.   Figure out exactly what training, education, credentials, experiences or new knowledge you need to acquire to feel more competent in your job, and go out and get them. And if you can, ask your employer to support you in this training and education.   Once you’ve addressed your perceived weaknesses, you’ll be amazed at how much more powerful and confident you feel and act. Trust me when I say that getting help to courageously address your competency gaps will change you, and you’ll be delighted with the outcome. What are your “power gaps?”   Where do you feel “less than?”   And who can serve as your powerful female mentor to help you overcome these gaps?

How to Use a Personalized Resume Template to Capture a Prospective Employers Attention

How to Use a Personalized Resume Template to Capture a Prospective Employer's AttentionIn this day and age, more people are taking the initiative to create their own personal it resume template. I am not necessarily saying that everyone needs to design a resume from scratch and if you have not already done so yourself, why not?When it comes to creating your own templates, there are a few things that you should know. I will explain these in greater detail in a moment.One of the biggest things that you should know about creating your own templates is that you should know who you are designing it for. If you have no idea what they are looking for, then you are setting yourself up for failure and a waste of time.Now I know that you have probably heard a million times before that the internet is your best friend, and yes it can be if you know how to use it. But when it comes to designing your own templates, you must know what type of person you are designing for. For example, if you are d esigning it for a new employee, you may want to design the template as if they were at a coffee shop, typing away on a laptop.And if you are designing it for a corporate executive, you may want to design the template to look like an executive office, with a receptionist behind the desk, computer and one of those glass monster desk clocks on the wall. This is going to set the tone for the type of environment that you want your prospective employer to think you are going to bring.There are also a few personal things that you should keep in mind as well. For example, if you are designing it for a person who has a very busy lifestyle, it is not the best idea to try and impress him or her with a fancy style that is going to be very distracting and make them think of you as a pest rather than a professional.A resume template is something that is supposed to show off what you are capable of, not your lifestyle or your possessions. Remember this before you get started.