5 Ways to Boost Your Remote Collaborations - CareerMetis.com

5 Ways to Boost Your Remote Collaborations Up until very recently, digital workspaces were not as acceptable, owing to the impossibility of one-on-one communication.It sure feels heavy when face-to-face conversations are a crossed-out possibility. But, now that the issue is being overcome through affordable, easy-to-usevideo conferencing devices, things are taking a turn for the better.In a recent past, most of the companies were racing to find ways that would take them ahead of their competition by inventing practices to build a sense of unity and sociability among employees.evalManaging to come up with a gazillion of fun activities to keep the team-bond nurtured: retreats, adventurous courses â€" to name a few, was a top priority.Becoming a dominant attention-grabber for the workforce â€" the perks of employment played a major role in the process of selecting a workplace. To attract the crème de la crème, you had to be on top of the game. General company success was tightly linked to it, after all.However, as more and mor e people become part of remote work teams, companies are faced with yet another challenge.Only last year,43% of Americans spent their time on remote workâ€" a number sure to rise as younger generations enter the workforce. While on one hand, the change is bringing forward a good chance for companies to accumulate on their savings, it also presents a sheer challenge.The challenge persists as much for employees as for leaders, in terms of maintaining a company culture that all employees â€" regardless of location â€" proudly stick behind.To use digital transformation as an advantage, company leaders are now required to work on planning and cultivating a strong company culture with the tools at hand, despite differences in location or time zone.But, if you rarely or never see your workers, how can you go about expanding your company culture or employee experience?evalHere are 5 tips to make it in the world of remote work:1. Keep engaged in a Messaging PlatformThere are various possibil ities to streamline your productivity. It is important to integrate or even create organizing systems within your work processes.Usually, organizing work may seem as a waste of time, compared to urgent tasks, however, strategic organizing and planning will bring productivity results by the tenfold.Check out various suitable apps and platforms As remote workers or companies, it is crucial to have a Messaging and Sharing Platform in order to move forward with your team. Work accomplished this way will surely seem as accomplished by one remarkable mind. Also, the feeling of radical transparency â€" since anyone in the company can search across all internal communications â€" is a key factor to nourish trust and bonding.2.Use the Technology at HandDigital transformation has brought great tools to aid with mobility. Get down to using the new technology and immerse into apps, telepresence robots, and video conferencing devices among the rest of the unified communication channels for all-a round team collaboration.As most companies are spread-out in countries around the globe, while large numbers of employees don’t get the chance to meet in person, video conferencing enables face-to-face meetings, making up for our physical limitations.A solid working relationship based on trust is important to keep the members motivated at working. Communicate well and often. And most importantly, share.3.Proactive Managers and Team MembersBe a proactive manager and get to understand what your remote workers do for your company. Learn about their job, but at the same time, get on a more direct and personal level.Set clear expectations and develop an established workflow. Make sure to also plan how remote workers communicate and how often they need to check-in with managers. In this way you get to be motivated together and work toward company goal.Employ a ‘freedom to fail’ mentality. Be willing to also learn from trial and error. Give yourself room to breathe.evalSometimes, whe n you can, let go of tradition, especially if it becomes a barrier for you to move forward. Your company culture should embrace progress and new ideas as well as open up to digital transformation.If you can’t accept the fact that some practices no longer cut the deal, it will be difficult/painful. In the end, it comes down to making the right decision, not acquiring more time.Also, make sure you give frequent feedback as it is critical to improve and boost employee engagement. Shape your company culture beyond your headquarters.4.Get PersonalAs a remote worker, chances are you may feel like writing to your in-house team workers is a bother or you may even assume it is the wrong way to present yourself. Seeming unreasonably needy is not a quality you want to be associated with.evalThat is why it is important for the company to provide the appropriate time and space for employees to get to know each other on a more personal level, separate from work entities.Get to know employees as people â€" make some time for video-conferences that don’t revolve around work. You may even set up online channels for your employees to connect.Offer training and development for your remote workers to attend through virtual shops or webinars. Whichever fits best to company goals and provides an opportunity for team members to get acquainted on a personal level.Always emphasize the importance of everyone’s input and if possible, be quick with positive feedback and rewards. It is essential that your employees feel valued. Employees that feel listened to and valued, naturally want to contribute more.Beware of this unavoidable mistake! Do not make a habit out of dismissing employees’ opinions and feedback â€" this will make your employees feel unheard or worse, invisible.Try to truly comprehend your employee’s opinions and then be careful to actually use their insight, instead of just asking for the sake of asking.5.Accurately AvailableBe clear about availability. As a remot e worker, you are not an exception. As other team members, it is expected of you to have planned out availability, too. Set your schedule and stick behind it. Make it known to other employees when they can contact you for any work-related reasons.You can manage your flexibility and availability by establishing clear hours so that the rest of the in-house team can rely on you. Either chat or video conference can be used to make sure you are there when needed. This will surely establish trust and good work-flow consistency across all company departments. We need to know each other’s communication patterns, work style, and personalities in order to be ourselves and be able to openly suggest ideas as well as speak up when things are off-track.ConclusionCreating an effective company culture is a challenge, whether your employees work strictly on-site or remotely. And though it may be difficult, it is not unrealistic.If you maintain your employees involved in the process and empower the m to use their voice to make a difference while using the tools available to you â€" that is the way of the future.Co-location is not a major factor for successful collaborations. It’s also not up to finding the highest, fanciest of technology. The right tool, the right tech will do the job.The focus should be on open communication and trust building â€" no matter where the desks are. Engagement and empowerment are culture investments that sure pay off. Whichever way you want to tackle it, remote work is not going away. Two of the main factors contributing directly to remote work retention are the war for talent and real estate prices. Therefore, prepare to evolve your practices.

Results Oriented Resume

Results Oriented Resume Dear Coach Wolfgang, You have mentioned that my resume should focus on my results and not on the tasks I was responsible for. How do I come up with my results? Jared K., Austin, Texas Thank you for the question! I’m glad to hear you are strengthening your resume by focusing on results. So What? The first step that I mention to clients is to ask the ”so what?” question. After each bullet point, ask yourself, ”so what?” Resume Example Your bullet point reads, Created strategic marketing campaign. Now ask yourself, “so what?”, meaning, what were the results of this campaign? Why would I, as a hiring manager, care about reading this information? Your answer may be, ”Well this campaign landed a click through rate of 67% which was the best of all the email campaigns we ran in 2009.” Great! Put that information on your resume! Now the employers will know that you can create a strategic marketing campaign and, more importantly, that you can create a SUCCESSFUL strategic marketing campaign. The action I want you to take is to ask the ”so what?” question after each bullet point on your resume. Will you have results after each bullet? Probably not. However, you should have results  for most of them. For the ones without results, ask yourself, “is this a value-added bullet point?” In some cases you will say ”yes” and in others you will say ”no”.   Remove the nos. SAR Approach Many of you may have heard of the SAR (or STAR) approach to answering interview questions. SAR: Situation, Action, Result It is a method used to answer behavioral interview questions, however, you can also use this approach when trying to think of results for your resume. Think through work situations you have encountered. What action did you take in accordance with that situation? What were the results of your action? Resume Example Say you were faced with a situation where your client has no brand name recognition in the marketplace. You take the action of creating a survey for consumers to rank the different ways to increase your clients brand recognition. Your next action was gathering the data and proposing the top three ways to increase your clients brand recognition. The client implemented one of the ideas which resulted in a higher percentage of brand recognition within their consumer base. Using the ”so what?” question or the SAR approach gives you multiple ways to remember the results of your work. Now you are well on your way to a results oriented resume! Contact us today to learn more to an Austin  resume writing services.

29 Bad Habits That Make You Look Unprofessional

29 Bad Habits That Make You Look Unprofessional There’s no steadfast code of conduct for the workplace, nor is there any rule that you have to be BFFs with your coworkers. However, there’s a certain level of decorum you should uphold no matter where you work. You might not realize it, but some of your habits could be falling below that bar. Want to know which 29 workplace habits people tend to find the most off-putting? Here they are, explained in the most constructive way possible. Read up and make the change if you see yourself anywhere on this list. 1. Procrastinating Even if you believe you do your finest work at the final hour, don’t. This is especially true if you’re collaborating: Your colleagues shouldn’t have to race the clock just because you’ve chosen to do so. Instead, give yourself plenty of time so everyone can come together and smooth out any issues well within a deadline. 2. Tech-Based Tardiness It’s 2017: We’re all on our phones and computers just about 24/7. That means you should respond to emails in a timely manner. A 2013 study showed that 55 percent of people reply to work emails within 30 minutes, and 53 percent expect a response to a work email within an hour or less. A general rule of thumb is to try to respond within a day. Even if you’re working on finding an answer, tell the person you’re on it so they know they’re not being ignored. 3. Traditional Tardiness If you have a strict clock-in, clock-out schedule, it’s your responsibility to stick to it. Those few minutes you’re late require your coworkers to step up and do extra work for which they won’t be paid extra. You can surely see how that gets frustrating after a while. 4.     Misspelling Common Words We all make mistakes, but there are some grammatical errors your colleagues probably see as unforgivable. There/their/they’re? Your/you’re? Master the most common mistakes and you’ll be sure to please your coworkers, not peeve them. 5.    Faking Sick The only person who can pull this off and still be well-loved is Ferris Bueller. Otherwise, you’re putting strain on your colleagues because you wanted an unscheduled break. 6.    Spouting Doubt A negative attitude will get you attention in the workplace, but not the type you want to garner. If you’re known for being the person who feels incapable or skeptical about every new change and project, you won’t be asked. In other words, you won’t be given as many opportunities to work harder and move up if you make it clear you don’t believe in the project â€"  or in yourself. 7.    Messiness The break room is a sacred place. You can escape your desk for a meal, snack or cup of coffee with your workplace BFF. In other words, it has good vibes and should be kept in good order by everyone. Leaving a mess on the counter, in the sink or in the microwave won’t make you any friends. And if you’re in an open office, don’t let your desk get messy, either. No one wants your mess creeping into their area or distracting them from work. 8.    Being Too Honest It’s an oft-repeated piece of advice, but it remains true: Think before you speak. Criticizing another person’s opinion or accidentally cursing, for example, might rub your coworkers the wrong way. If you tend to put your foot in your mouth, pause before you say something that could even be the slightest bit controversial. 9.    Logging Into Social Media While everyone is working hard, you shouldn’t be scrolling Facebook or

Writing a Good Objective For Your Resume

Writing a Good Objective For Your ResumeWriting a good objective for your resume is one of the most important steps you can take to help ensure that you get hired and get the job you're qualified for. And it doesn't have to be complicated or time consuming.The main reason that you should try to include a good objective in your resume is because it will help you get past a hiring manager who has never seen you before. After all, the objective should be as specific as possible, if not more so, than the actual resume. This way, you'll be able to highlight exactly what you have to offer your prospective employer.So what do you do to come up with a good objective? It really depends on you. But this is what I recommend:Begin by writing down three things that are great about you and, perhaps, two that are good about your resume. If you have enough experience and you have the skills that will make you an asset to the company, then you can make a statement like 'Excellent communicator, extrem ely organized and creative'.Now that you've figured out what you are and what you don't want to be, the next step is to focus on the good things. You need to make sure that the recruiter knows about these three things. After all, they'll want to hire someone with these qualities. If you don't mention them, then you might get overlooked.Be sure to provide them with specific characteristics and traits that will make you stand out from all the other candidates. For example, you may be looking for a position with a large company. In this case, you want to focus on your experience. The fact that you have the qualities they are looking for will be too vague and you won't stand out as much as you could have.Just write a great objective and submit it to the right places. It'll show up on top of your resume and it'll get your foot in the door of the job you've always wanted. Use your imagination and be creative.

I Cant Afford to Go Out to Lunch With My Coworkers

I Can't Afford to Go Out to Lunch With My Coworkers Q: How can I politely turn down lunch invitations that I can’t afford from coworkers? My colleagues invite me to lunch several times each week. I attempt to make excuses by mentioning I have a heavy workload or that I’ve already packed a lunch, but the fact is that I just don’t have the money to go out for lunch. I’m very budget-savvy and I pay attention to every penny, so it’s not as though I’m a careless spender â€" I just quite literally do not have the money, especially for spontaneous events. We work in a fairly upscale part of town, so even when I do have some extra cash, I can’t really afford anything within walking distance. I really love my job and my colleagues and I don’t want to appear antisocial. I also understand that my coworkers make significantly more money than I do, so they may not realize that money is more of an object for me (I am fine working at the “bottom of the totem pole” since it provides experience that directly correlates to the skills I’m learning in my master’s program). My colleagues really seem to like me and I don’t want them to think the feeling is not reciprocal. I also don’t want them to become less comfortable working with me. A: “My budget usually only allows for packed lunches from home, but if you ever get takeout and bring it back, I’d love to eat with you.” Most people remember being on a tight salary at the start of their careers and will get it once you explain it. If you can, though, look for other ways to make overtures â€" for example, if you usually eat your lunch in the park next to your office, you could invite someone to join you there. Or if you occasionally splurge on a takeout coffee or a cookie from the bakery downstairs or whatever, invite someone to go with you. That stuff isn’t strictly necessary, but if it’s an option, it’ll help reinforce that you want to be friendly. Q: I’m being required to sing on camera for work Each year, the government-funded organization that I work for has a roadshow which the government are invited to â€" it’s basically an excuse to showcase why our services are required and to encourage the government to financally support us. In the weeks leading up to this, we were persistently asked to record a speech in front of a camera about how fantastic it is to work for my employer. This would then be shown in a presentation. If we refused (which I did), we were pressured into holding up a piece of paper with something written on it and this would be shown in the presentation along with the videos. I was very unhappy that I felt pressured and forced to take part in this â€" I felt mortified. That was several months ago. Recently someone in their wisdom has came up with the great idea that we could sing this cringey song in our individual teams! We are a very small team and I don’t know how to get out of this. Singing in public is my worst nightmare! They want to make a video of us singing this awful song and it will be done during office hours. I don’t want my face or voice to be used for any promotional or marketing reason. How can I get out of this? A: “I don’t sing, and I’m not comfortable appearing on camera. I’d be glad to do other things to support the project behind the scenes, though. What else would be helpful?” If they tell you this is required, say this: “I’m really not going to sing. Is there something else you’d like me to do, off-camera?” These questions are adapted from ones that originally appeared on Ask a Manager. Some have been edited for length.

Am I Money #8 - Mark, Mid-Career Wondering How He Compares - Work It Daily

Am I Money #8 - Mark, Mid-Career Wondering How He Compares - Work It Daily Hello, I am so grateful for the opportunity to have others review my career documents, etc. Thank you for this great idea, J.T. Mark Dubay Hi Mark! Well, I have to say that I think you are definitely money, I'd give your tools a 4.0 and say with a little tweaking that you'll be at 5 in no time! Let's take a look at each tool you submitted: LinkedIn: While I like that you haven't gotten overly wordy in your on-line profile, I would say that it's actually on the light side. You need to add some quantifiable accomplishments to help a reader get a sense of what your various positions entailed. Also, I'd suggest you get a headshot picture done that you can use across all social media tools to help brand you. When it comes to social media, people want to put a name with a face. Finally, given all your experience, I think you should try to ramp up your connections. The bigger your network, the greater the chance you'll be able to connect with someone who works at a potential employer with whom you could network to get the inside scoop on job openings. Resume: Okay, there are elements of your resume that I ADORE, and other parts I would change. For starters, the banner summary of your quantified experience is great! I would take out the summary paragraph. Most hiring managers won't read it, especially if it reads a bit subjective. Instead, I'd list your top transferable skills (i.e. project management) and the # of years of experience you have for each one. This skill summary should replace the professional attributes section - which is also too subjective. Saying you are 'detailed-oriented' or 'results-oriented' is your opinion of yourself, not a quantifiable fact. So, it's better to let the facts speak for themselves by listing accomplishments in number terms. For example, I like the 'selected career achievements' section, BUT the bullets should each contain a statistic or figure that proves your success. Only the first bullet point is a truly quantifiable accomplishment. Finally, I like the way you offer a 'Challenge, Action Result' section under your past employers. I also like that you list all the training you completed, although listing it in a cloud format like that can be hard to read. I'd suggest you put them in columns instead to make it easier on the eyes. Cover Letter: The opening paragraph should be removed and replaced with something that talks about the employer. Tell them specifically what you love about their business model or their clientele and back it up with a story of how you've come to appreciate what they do/offer. This will help you segway more clearly to the next paragraph where you discuss your accomplishments. Otherwise, I think it's a good letter! I hope this helps! Best wishes in your job search. You certainly have the skills! Fellow experts...got any additional advice for Mark? Please post your thoughts below. Have you joined our career growth club?Join Us Today!

Ask Amanda How Do I Ask for a Raise

Ask Amanda How Do I Ask for a Raise Ask Amanda How Do I Ask My Boss for a Raise?Each week, TopResumes career advice expert, Amanda Augustine, answers benutzer questions on Quora. Well be republishing those answers here. A certified professional career coach (CPCC) and resume writer (CPRW), Amanda has been helping professionals improve their careers for over 10 years. Have a question for Amanda? Submit it here.Q How do I ask my boss for a raise?Its been super busy lately at the workshop and I really want to ask for a raise. How do I approach my boss, Mr. Claus? Buddy the ElfHi Buddy Before you approach your boss to ask for a raise, do a little research. You shouldnt simply walk up to your manager and declare that you deserve a raise without providing justification for the extra money. And you never want to justify your request for a competitive paycheck or a big raise with your desires to fund an extravagant vacation, upgrade your home, or start saving for your kids college education . Instead of talking about your wants and needs, focus on your contributions to the company and the current job market.Research the job market.Research the market rate for your current job on sites such as Glassdoor, Salary.com, PayScale, and Paysa, taking into account your companys location, size, and industry.Give yourself a performance review.Evaluate your performance since your last raise or promotion. Have you honigwein or exceeded your goals for the year? How has your role evolved? Have you taken on greater responsibility, bigger projects, or more prestigious clients?Brainstorm your selling points.In other words, how have you helped to move the needle? For instance, your work may have saved the company time or money, made operations run more smoothly, generated revenue, increased brand recognition, and so forth. What projects are you particularly proud of? If you havent updated your brag book in a while, nows the time. Have this information with you when youre ready to broach the subject with your boss.RelatedHow to Shamelessly Self-Promote at WorkWhen asking for a raise, keep the following things in mindRehearse your salary request ahead of time.Ask a trusted friend to roleplay with you. It may feel uncomfortable, but this mock conversation will make the real one go more smoothly. Anticipate your managers reaction and prepare your response.Make your request face-to-face.Dont send your request via email or over the Slack channel. Save this conversation for a time when you can sit down with your manager and make your case face-to-face. Its much easier to read the situation and your boss reaction when you can binnensee him or her.Take your boss personality into account.If your manager prefers people who dont beat around the bush, schedule a meeting with a clear objective Id like to schedule some time with you to revisit my salary. If your boss prefers a less direct approach, you may want to bring up the subject during your next one-on-one meeting.Educate y our manager about your role.Update your manager on your current responsibilities and recent wins for the company. Often, managers arent fully aware of their employees workload and accomplishments. If youve been a successful, productive member of the team and have been taking on new responsibilities, this is the time to share that information.Reiterate your commitment to the organization and its success.No one wants to give a raise to someone whom they suspect will give notice in the near future. Recognize your past accomplishments, but also focus on the value you can contribute in the future.By doing your due diligence and rehearsing the conversation youll have with your boss, youre 10 times more likely to come across as professional and confident and get the raise youre after.Click on the following link for more career advice on getting ahead.Have a question for Amanda? Ask it here, and join us on Wednesday, December 13 for our next OfficeHours where Amanda will answer your questi ons live on Facebook. Learn more.Recommended Reading5 Phrases You Should Never Use When Negotiating Salary6 Ways to Impress Your BossAsk Amanda How Do I Discuss Salary When Changing Careers?Related Articles