"According to Spherion, an employer's culture and work environment is highly important to U.S. workers. Yet, many employees find themselves out of step when it comes to some key issues, such as dress code. If you feel like a fish out of water, you probably need to brush up on your company's policies so you can be noticed for your hard work and talent, not your fashion sense. Has this happened to you? Let us know...
Q: Dear Seymour, as I prepare to take time off for the holidays, I can't help but get anxious thinking about the piles of work that will await me when I return to the office. Do you have any advice to make leaving less stressful?
- Submitted by June Girst, Franklin, KY
A: Dear June,
Yes, its holiday season, a time when many workers exit the office to take a vacation or spend time with family. But along with flutters of excitement, many workers get stressed thinking about leaving projects behind or the pile of work sure to await their return. Here are five tips to take the worry out of leaving:
• Plan Ahead.
The best scenario is to schedule your holiday time off well in advance. This will provide you ample time to prepare both at work and at home.
• Prepare colleagues and coworkers.
Alert key contacts both within your organization and any outside clients you may work with on a regular basis. Make sure to give them ample notice of your vacation plans so they may tie up any loose ends or finish any important projects before you jump ship. Also, set up out-of-office alerts and change your voicemail to reflect your absence.
• Recruit a back-up.
If possible, designate someone in your department to be your backup while you are away for any emergencies or to maintain key aspects of your job. You should also ask this person to act as your contact person, giving them exact instructions as to how and when it is best to contact you (ideally, only for true emergencies). You might consider including your back-up's contact information on your voicemail and email messages.
• Complete unfinished projects.
There is nothing worse than leaving for holiday break with an unfinished project waiting in the wings. Chances are you'll think about it while you are away, and dread finishing it when you return. If you have projects or initiatives that are near completion and could be finished prior to your time off - then do it.
• Prepare for your return before you even leave.
Write down a list of projects or priorities for when you get back to the office. This will help you avoid feeling overwhelmed after your time off. Clean and organize your office - you don't want to arrive back to a cluttered office.
Taking time to prepare for your holiday break and your return to the office can go a long way in making your retreat an enjoyable one. And it should go without saying but we'll say it anyway - don't regularly check your email or call into the office unless you absolutely have to. Instead, relax and refuel.
The holiday season is a fast-paced, stressful time of the year, too active to concentrate on the job hunt, right? But, just because the holiday season is here doesn't mean that you have to abandon the job search until the New Year.
Here are a couple of tips for networking during the holiday season. For example, the number one place to network is holiday parties. Professional organizations as well as friends and family will be hosting parties to celebrate the season. These events will allow you to meet new people and potentially find a new employer.
Friends and family will more than likely be inviting people from their offices to share in their celebrations. What better way to find a new employer than close friends and family? You might also want to mention to those close to you that you are looking for a new job, that way they can make sure to introduce you to their colleagues during these social occasions.
Professional and industry organizations will also be celebrating the holidays. Do a little homework and find out which ones will be the best fit for you as an employee. It might also help to become a member while you are there, if you are not one already. Becoming a new member at the holiday party will certainly make an impression, and it will give you an opportunity to go back and network some more with those members who may have been unable to attend the party.
The job search doesn't have to be a burden or put on hold until the first of year. As a matter of fact, go ahead and have a little holiday fun while you are at it.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could network with industry colleagues on site at a company that could one day be your employer? That's the new trend in the technology industry thanks to one industrious, former Google employee.
As one article describes, this former Googler returned to one of the Company's cafeterias for free lunch with friends. Then the idea came to him: why not check out companies while enjoying a free or reasonably priced lunch at the same time. Now, that idea has turned into a group dubbed Lunch 2.0, and they network regularly as various companies' cafeterias.
This is a bit of a radical idea, but it has transformed networking nationwide with positive results. Now if you think the only way to network nowadays is to sneak into corporate cafeterias and score a free meal think again. Networking has changes in all sorts of ways, from rubbing elbows in cyber-space to the tried and true industry organization event. Consider creating your own networking events. Here are a couple of ideas:
- Develop a "speed networking" event to be held at a local restaurant or night spot. Similar to speed dating, this would allow professionals to try out their elevator speech and develop several new contacts for jobs.
- Organize a group of professionals who share interests outside of work. Maybe a beach or parks clean up committee. The idea is to get to know people while sharing a common interest.
- Design an event with a personal touch. Maybe a bi-monthly, themed dinner event that includes a recipe and business card exchange. And encourage "regulars" to bring someone new every time so that the network continues to grow.
Networking doesn't have to be the dry, uninviting event of yesterday. Put some thought into it and make it a fun event that keeps people interested in returning.
