Focus On Your Job To Keep From Getting Fired

If you think you are going to get fired... just focus on doing your job. Don't over analyze the situation.

https://www.themuse.com/advice/3-situations-youre-probably-overanalyzing-and-how-to-stop

You Think You’re Going to Be Fired or Promoted

When you think you’re about to move up the food chain or be taken out of it, it’s easy to want to analyze every single cue that comes your way. Your boss mentioned the word “fired” and looked in your direction? Uh oh. A colleague whispered that someone in your department was getting promoted? Yay—maybe?

The easiest way to handle this situation is to keep doing whatever it is you’re doing. Even if something big is on the horizon, reading into every interaction typically only leads to disappointment (“I got her coffee and she didn’t offer me a promotion!”). Hang tight and keep doing your job right. If you’re supposed to go somewhere else, someone will tell you.

Use Job Description Words as Keywords in your Resume

via Reddit...

http://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/2l2vwd/lpt_when_applying_for_jobs_especially_to_large/

HR is the first line of defense for hiring at most large organizations, but HR people aren't all that great at judging qualifications for specific jobs (e.g. A person with a Master's in HR doesn't know what makes for a good nuclear safety inspector). This leads them to filter out resumes using keywords and jargon as an indicator of abilities. Paid resume development tools have figured this out. They essentially populate your resume with the keywords that they've found effective at getting interviews, but you can do this yourself if you know your industry well and research the job. As a last ditch effort, you can even fill your resume with white-font keywords that aren't visible to people but will be picked up by filtering software.

Tip For Getting People To Like You

Tip for getting people to like you... Let them talk about themselves

Studies show people get more pleasure from talking about themselves than they do from food or money:

Talking about ourselves—whether in a personal conversation or through social media sites like Facebook and Twitter—triggers the same sensation of pleasure in the brain as food or money…

via bakadesuyo.com

Read the rest here...

http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/10/how-to-get-people-to-like-you/

Find Anyone Using Their Name with Norbert

Via Lifehacker ...

http://www.voilanorbert.com/

Norbert offers a simple interface, and you don't need to install a plugin to use it. The second you search for someone and turn up an address, Norbert checks the mail host to confirm that the address exists.

Make Sure You Get The Offer in Writing

The Importance of a Written Offer

The most basic reason is that you won’t know what you’re getting until you actually see the contract in writing. When HR calls, you’ll likely get a sense of what your base salary is, but little else. While the salary is obviously important, the other parts of a job offer (think health insurance, vacation days, maternity leave) add up, and you’ll want to know what is there—or isn’t there—before you say yes.

Related: 5 Things You Muse Discuss With HR Before Accepting a New Job

That said, you’ll also put yourself in a poor position to negotiate if you find out later that your job offer doesn’t include, say, basic short-term disability insurance. (In case you’re wondering, insurance is not generally something companies are willing to negotiate on, but if you’re not offered it, you can use it as a point to ask for a higher base salary.) Saying yes and then going back and pretending like you’re reconsidering unless they meet you in the middle is the equivalent of showing your hand in a poker game.

https://www.themuse.com/advice/get-it-in-writing-why-you-absolutely-must-have-a-written-job-offer

Why Employers Aren't Calling You Back

Inconsistencies in your background Since employers may use a variety of career websites, such as LinkedIn, Monster and CareerBuilder, consistency about you online is critical. If your LinkedIn profile has employment information that differs from what’s on your resumé, it could create misgivings in the mind of hiring managers and recruiters, preventing you from getting called back.

via http://www.businessinsider.com/why-employers-arent-calling-back-2014-5

Making moves and work-life balance.

Posted by Sydney

I think I suck at the work-life balance thing. I'm trying to get it, but when it comes right down to it, everything that I do outside of work is somehow driven by my desire for this amazing career. I'm a self-diagnosed workaholic, and you know what, I'm okay with that. For now.

Actually, let me clarify. I'm rocking the work-life balance thing, for the most part. I'm making some great friends, exploring this city, making a point to have a life outside of work. It is the (potential) love part of the work-life balance that I can't seem to wrap my head around.

The thing that gets me (sometimes) is when I think about dating. I've been "out of the game" so to speak for awhile now, probably longer than I care to admit. And looking back on the past two years (oops, there it is), I have noticed a trend. I tend to make excuses to not be interested in having a romantic element in my life.
I was in school, finishing my degree, finally listening to my mom when she said "Sydney, you gotta slow it down with the dating stuff, you just get distracted", planning my move to Chicago, trying to save money, getting up early, whatever I could think of to not commit to having a hint of romance in my life. In April, when I decided to move to Chicago to really do this, I put up a wall. There was no point in me getting involved with anyone at the time – I was moving across the country soon, why would I start a relationship that I would inevitably have to end?

I told myself I wasn't getting involved until I had my feet planted firmly on the ground in (insert city here) and could support myself. The last thing I want is to be this struggling intern (at the risk of unemployment in 3 months) that is all kinds of needy. I want to do this on my own. Make a name for myself. Be independent, and not just a state of mind (because I'm already there on that one), but really independent. Then I'll be ready.

You know, I say that, and then I can't help but think it might be cool to have someone involved in this whole process. And then I think about how I've been out of the game for so long that I wouldn't even know it if someone was trying to date me, because at this point in the process, I'm still new to the city so I think everyone is just really friendly. Am I missing out on something because I don't know the signs? Have the rules changed dramatically since my last relationship?

The glorious thing about moving to a new city is that I can be very selective about who I surround myself with. I'm done with the people who are bitter, angry and just plain rude. There's no reason to keep negative energy in my space. I left Florida to rid myself of the nay-sayers and those who thought I was "lucky". For the LAST TIME, this is not luck. Everything you see happening here is part of a delicate plan that, with opportunity and preparedness, is falling into place perfectly.

Which, at the end of the day, is why I'm fine to come home and just sit in my chair for hours, staring out at the lake. I've always said "if it's supposed to happen, it will". I still believe that. But sometimes I get this little bird on my shoulder that tells me to open my eyes and make things happen.

I guess the conclusion is, when it comes to my work-life balance, I'm making so many moves for me and my career, that when it comes to the "life" part, the love part of life, I need someone to make the moves.
(h/t to Ben Smithee for getting me thinking about the balance)