Author: Evangeline R.

Get Hired! Great Questions To Ask During A Job Interview

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When going on a job interview, asking the right questions is almost as important as answering the interviewer’s questions! Asking insightful questions of your potential employer can assure them that you are the right candidate and, as your questions are usually near the end of the interview, can leave a positive lasting impression of you. In addition, asking the right questions during your interview will help you to gauge whether the job is the right fit for you. Remember, you are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you!
“What are the skills and experience that would make a candidate successful in the role?” This question is helpful because you can make sure you have spoken about how you have those skills and experience.

“Do you have any concerns about my qualifications for the role?” This can be a risky one, and you may want to first consider if you actually want to hear the answer to this! If you decide to go for it, you will impress the potential employer, who will likely see this both as a brave question and a telling one; it shows you are confident in your abilities to be able to respond to any of their concerns.

“What have you enjoyed most about working here?” This helps give you an idea of the company’s culture and discover if it is the right fit for you. If the interviewer mentions such things as innovative and interesting co-workers, growth opportunities, a supportive environment, or working on rewarding projects, you can rest assured knowing it is likely a place that people enjoy working. If, however, the employer seems to struggle to answer, that is a red flag.

“How have you seen the company change in your time here? “Where do you see the company going?” Questions like this help give you an idea of the state of the company, and whether they are growing, staying stagnant, or just trying to desperately hang on!

“What would you imagine a successful first year would look like for this role?” Potential employers like to hear this question, as it shows you are already thinking about what you can do for them and how you can succeed.

“What are the next steps in the process?” This shows that you are interested and is the most important information for you at this point if you are in fact interested in the job!

Tips on Making a Great Impression on Your First Day

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If it’s possible to feel excitement and hope with a touch of nagging anxiety and insecurity coursing through your veins all at the same time, chances are you may be on your way to your first day of work. Starting a new job is most often a positive experience as you have taken the initial step down an unknown and hopefully fruitful path in your career. At the same time, the unknown by its very nature has the potential to elicit a certain amount of nerves and tension. By entering this new workplace, you are leaving your former comfort zone and must engage with people, surroundings, and possibly work that are largely unfamiliar. This can be a daunting task for many. However, there is no true need to grin and bear your way through your first day of work.

The following are some tips which will hopefully help you to have an enjoyable first day at work and make a great first impression.

• Arrive at work early – Leave home at least fifteen or twenty minutes earlier than you believe is necessary. Of course, arriving on time to your first day of work is important and will be noticed, but avoiding a stressful commute will be even more beneficial. Th
ere is no need to add any additional anxiety to your day if it is within your control.

• Be Confident – Remember, you already got the job. The people who hired you believe in your ability. Make sure to believe in yourself as well.

• Say Hello – Simply introduce yourself to at least a few colleagues. If you go out of your way to introduce yourself, others will appreciate it and often be more than willing to assist you in getting acclimated to your new surroundings.

• Listen, Listen, Listen – Confidence and an outgoing demeanor will only take you so far. Paying attention to your job responsibilities, remembering co-workers’ names, and following company procedures will always reflect positively on you.

• Appreciate the Opportunity – Keep in mind how fortunate you are to have landed this job. This grateful mindset will be mirrored in your actions, and others will be able to discern that you are happy to be there.

If you follow these simple tips, your first day at work should be a memorable one and leave your colleagues with a great first impression of you. Now, on to day two.

Ways to Provide Constructive Feedback to Employees

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Providing constructive feedback to employees is never easy and can be tricky. Effective communication in this situation is important and may make the difference between a productive employee and a destructive employee. Delivering your feedback successfully will build morale within your company.
One important way to provide constructive feedback to an employee is to be certain to discuss the situation not the employee. Discuss the core of the issue without coming being judgmental.

Another key in giving constructive feedback is to remain focused and specific. Give examples and reference situations so the employee understands exactly what message you are trying to get across.

Being a guide by offering suggestions can also be helpful when providing employee feedback. Create a conversation by sharing a positive course of action. This will allow for an exchange of ideas making the employee feel part of the feedback opposed to being spoken to.
Comparing one employee to another is definitely a no-no. Not only will this make the person you are speaking with feel horrible, but it will build a rift in your team dynamic. You never want to pit one employee against another. This will create an atmosphere of negative competition.

Try to provide constructive feedback whenever you are speaking with an employee. My last bit of advice is to balance the negatives with positives so that the employee is not getting overwhelmed. Putting a positive spin on things will create a positive work environment.

Ideas for Bring Your Child to Work Day

Whether or not they make it known, your children are interested in you.  They care about your life and what you do during the day.  That’s why Bring your Child to Work Day is such a great opportunity for both children and their parents.  Children have the chance to learn just what Mom or Dad does all day after seeing them off to school in the morning.  Parents are able to spend some time showing their sons and daughters the value of hard work and the satisfaction in a job well done.  Of course, the lone caveat in this otherwise promising day is that work still needs to be accomplished, and parents can’t spend all their time interacting with their children.  The following are thoughts of activities children might enjoy during Bring your Child to Work Day while Dad or Mom is hard at work.  Remember, these are your children.  You know them best.  Tailor these suggestions to fit your child’s interests and personality.

  • Create a Business Card – If there is an available computer or just an available piece of paper, encourage your son or daughter to make their own business card. They could pretend they are the president of the company, principal of the school, or whatever they choose to imagine.  They’ll feel like they’re a part of the work environment, and should have a great time making their business card, too.
  • Assist with Simple Tasks – If you need copies made, paperwork filed, documents shredded, or have any uninvolved jobs to complete, take your child along with you. Let them participate as you show them what to do, and even let them take over the job themselves.  You get to work together with your child, and your child gets to feel a sense of accomplishment as they are actually performing real work just like Mom or Dad.  This is something you should both appreciate.
  • Plan a Group Project – If coworkers nearby are also bringing their children to work, why not have them work together to complete a minor, somewhat fun job-related project for you. Once they’ve finished, perhaps parents and children could have a meeting in a conference room to discuss what was done.
  • Go out for Lunch – Let your son or daughter take a break from the grind, and enjoy some time together away from work. You can talk about the day so far, and discuss anything they might be interested in seeing or learning in the afternoon.

 

Earth Day Inspired – Ways to Recycle at Work

Earth Day is celebrated each year on April 22nd. It marks what most consider the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. A time of hippies and protest, lead gas, and air pollution. Up until that time, our government didn’t seem to give much thought to the effects that oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, just to name a few, were having on us, wildlife and the environment. Thankfully, after the idea came to Earth Day founder, Gaylord Nelson, this has changed. Although much improved, it is something we have to work on every day, not just on April 22nd. With this in mind, below are some Earth Day inspired – ways to recycle at work.

Shut off lights and computers when not in use. Shut off power strips.

Go paperless when possible. Think before you print. Print only what you need. Print in black and white as much as possible.

Recycle unwanted catalogs, newsletters, magazine and junk mail. Don’t forget plastic wrapping, plastic bottles, etc.

Purchase recycled office supplies when possible.

Make it easy for everyone to recycle. Place recycle containers that are clearly marked, in easy to see places.

Bring your own containers and utensils from home, whenever possible. Avoid using paper and plastic plates and utensils, if you can.

Brainstorm with your fellow employees to come up with more ideas.

With everyone’s cooperation, we can make this world a brighter and safer place. Not just for us, but for future generations to come. Happy Recycling!

Top 5 Mistakes New Employees Make

Let’s face it, being the new kid sucks. It sucks even more when you are the new employee. As you walk into your new job awkwardly and try to look as if you’ve been here for years, you try your hardest to seem unphased. That was your first mistake, of course you are phased by the new environment. There are 5 HUGE mistakes that all new employees make and I’m going to help you identify them and never let it happen again.

1.Not taking training seriously

This is probably one of the biggest mistakes you can make as a new employee. You sit through countless hours of training and look over tons of paperwork. While sitting in your chair and jotting down notes you get the sense of, “Do I even need to know this once I start working?”. All too many of times do new employees come out of training knowing just as much as they did going into training. You MUST take your training seriously if you want to keep your job and understand your responsibilities.

2.Not navigating a RELIABLE travel route for work

Whether it be by car, bus, train or bike you need a reliable travel route for work. The endless excuses of traffic, transit delays and car troubles are just that EXCUSES. It is your responsibility and yours alone to get to work in a timely fashion. Your excuses only show your new superiors that you are unreliable.

3.Buying cafeteria food

Buying cafeteria food is one of the overlooked mistakes. You don’t know how much anything costs. You don’t know how long it takes to prepare, which can cause your break to possibly overlap. I think the best option is to wait one week before ordering cafeteria food. By the second week you have become acquainted with the travel route, office layout and time blocks. It is also more cost efficient to bring your own lunch.

4.Getting too comfortable too fast

This is a terrible mistake to make as a new employee. You should never ever get too comfortable. I say this because you are on a test drive, you haven’t bought the car yet. You may have been hired but you are still walking on thin ice. You are on a 90 day probation period with every new job you start. That means that if you mess up badly in those first 90 days you will be fired. Your boss is still deciding if it was a good decision to even hire you.

5.Making friends

This is the BIGGEST mistake to make as a new employee. You are at work to work and earn a living not make friends. Now that doesn’t mean you are going to be a hermit at work, just professional. Sometimes being professional gets confused as being an introvert at times. I just feel that you should always protect your work environment with your life. Having small talk isn’t a crime but don’t forget the main reason you are here.

What is a Correspondence Note Card?

Simply put, a correspondence note card is a high quality buff colored index card that comes with a matching envelope. However these “index cards” can be customized with one line of type at the top in blue, black or gold/silver foil imprinting in a variety of font choices.  Customization options can be professional (company name), personal (your name) or generic (Thank You, Thinking of You or Just a Note).

What would you use these for?  These cards are great when sending an email is too impersonal and a full size greeting card is too much. They can be sent as special recognition to an employee for “a job well done” or as a “thank you for your time” after an interview.  They can be included as a professional gift enclosure or as a reminder for an upcoming event or meeting. They can be mailed via the post office or sent to the recipient via inter-office mail. On a personal note, they can be tucked into a child’s backpack for the teacher when a note might be needed or slipped under a neighbor’s door to advise “we are having a neighborhood garage sale, care to join us?”.

The uses for these small yet elegant single sided cards are as endless as your imagination. They don’t seem like much but once you have one box, you will surely find a myriad of reasons to take pen to paper on them!

The Positive Impact of Sending Birthday Cards to Employees

 

Employees are people just like you and me, if you own or run a business then it’s your job to know that.  They have good days and bad days and as an employer you affect that every day they come into work.  That’s why when an employee’s birthday comes around it’s important to know that you can make a huge impact with something as small as a birthday card.  This lets them know they’re not regarded as just a cog in a wheel but someone appreciated and valued at their workplace.  Something like our Cupcake Dots Birthday Card would brighten up anyone’s day with the colorful cupcake but maybe even more important, the actual message on it.  Happy Birthday from all of us, simple, but it lets that employee know, you as a company not just as an entity but an organization of all the different people who make it up value and remember them.  Employees would as a result of receiving this card feel more welcome and comfortable in their workplace causing them to work at optimal levels because they know, you as the employer do care.  Birthday cards have a huge positive impact on your employees that make the cost virtually nonexistent and the rewards endless.  Employers get to wishing those happy birthdays and sending out those cards to see just how much more optimistic your employees will be!

Appropriate April Fool’s Day Pranks in the Office

April Fool’s day has a bad reputation because some people take their pranks a bit too far. Here are harmless pranks that’ll put a smile on anyone’s face:

  1. Unattended mice. Putting tape over the bottom of the mouse’s laser tracker will stop it from working. This’ll drive some people nuts, but it’s a classic prank that’s completely harmless. Wait until your victim gets up for something and do the prank. If after a couple of minutes they can’t figure out they’ve been pranked, let them know about the tape.
  2. Turn on the radio. This prank requires you to work in an area where there are many filing cabinets. Turn on the radio (or other device with music/sound) and situate the volume so that you can hear a low enough sound but still loud enough to hear something. When someone asks “Can you hear that?” just keep saying no.
  3. Post it notes. This is another classic. Wait until your victim leaves (for lunch or a break) and cover their cubicle with post-it notes. You can leave them blank or write something funny on them. One funny idea is to label everything on someone’s desk with post-it notes. This is a fun prank because it’s easy to clean up.

As always, it’s important to remember to not let pranks go on for too long, especially if it hinders on someone’s ability to get work done. The best rule of thumb here is: if it disrupts work for more than a couple of minutes, don’t perform the prank.

Get Well Cards in the Business World

A thoughtful get well card is sure to brighten up anyone’s day when they are feeling ill. In a business setting though, it’s important to keep some tips in mind to ensure your being respectful and sensitive to someone’s private life outside of work.

There are many get well cards out there to choose from. Avoid cards that are too sad or overly sensitive. Some illnesses take longer than others to recover from. Read through the greeting and put yourself in the shoes of the receiver and ask yourself – “is this appropriate to send?” Although you may know of the severity of someone’s illness, it’s best to keep it short, sweet, and professional. There are also some get well cards that mention “God.” I would avoid sending cards like that unless you know the person does believe in God. Even then, you never know when someone’s beliefs may change. If you have to second guess yourself on your get well card purchase, choose a more basic type of card. Of course, use your own discretion when choosing a card, depending on how well you know the person who’s sick.

One idea is to have your whole team purchase a get well soon card and everyone can sign and write in it. This is a great idea because everyone can chip in and get a really nice card, and even be able to send flowers or something additional with the card.