Managing Yourself Archives - Page 7 of 14

Top 10 Career Quotes from Literature and the Finest Authors

by sincera | Mar 1, 2016 | Career, Content Writing, Managing Yourself, Mentoring, Motivation, World of Work, Writing

Here at Oorja Biz Ops, we are all voracious readers. We believe that books make the world and the #WorldOfWork a much better place, and rightly so! Wisdom, imagination, hope – books have a lot to offer. They influence, they inspire, they help us understand our lives, our careers. Literature, since the beginning of time, has been able to capture some of the most intense emotions human beings feel and express. Many a times we may not even be able to recognize or describe what we feel, and find the authors putting those exact emotions into words so eloquently. We feel as if the words were written just for us, as if the author has been privy to our innermost thoughts. We relate to the characters, we look for solutions through those characters. In a very short span of reading the book, we traverse an entire tapestry of emotions and feel overwhelmed of how much sharing is possible between an inanimate object, which is the book and us as individuals. Some days are just difficult. It is hard to feel inspired or motivated to get up and get to work. To find meaning in our careers or to find a career that means something. It is during this phase that we assess ourselves the most, we are full of doubts and uncertainty, full of “what ifs”. The good news is, we are not alone. We have heroes from literature and we have writers who created these heroes, who went through the same trajectory, had the same doubts and in the end succeeded. So who better to turn to than these fine authors for some inspiration? Here are some of the best Career Quotes from Literature that the finest authors have gifted us!

Career Quotes #1 : Do not forget Life.

“I’ve learned that making a ‘living’ is not the same thing as ‘making a life’.” ― Maya Angelou, I’ve Learned

Career Quotes #2 : You are the CEO of You, Inc.

“It is not in stars to hold our destiny, but in ourselves” ― Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

Career Quotes #3 : Find Your Passion and Make it your Vocation

“Who is willing to be satisfied with a job that expresses all his limitations? He will accept such work only as a ‘means of livelihood’ while he waits to discover his ‘true vocation’. The world is full of unsuccessful businessmen who still secretly believe they were meant to be artists or writers or actors in the movies.” ― Thomas Merton, No Man Is an Island

Career Quotes #4 : Say No to Pressure, Take your Time

“When they asked me what I wanted to be I said I didn’t know.”― Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

Career Quotes #5 : Keep the Faith

“Don’t lament so much about how your career is going to turn out. You don’t have a career. You have a life. Do the work. Keep the faith. Be true blue. You are a writer because you write. Keep writing and quit your bitching. Your book has a birthday. You don’t know what it is yet.”— Cheryl Strayed, Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar

Career Quotes #6 : Never Give Up

“When today fails to offer the justification for hope, tomorrow becomes the only grail worth pursuing.” – Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman

Career Quotes #7 : Trust in Yourself

“You are your best thing.” – Toni Morrison, Beloved

Career Quotes #8 : Purpose is Everything

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” — JRR Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Career Quotes #9 : Happiness is a Choice

“Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” – JK Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Career Quotes #10 : Do not Let Your Fire go Out

“Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark in the hopeless swamps of the not-quite, the not-yet, and the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the life you deserved and have never been able to reach. The world you desire can be won. It exists.. it is real.. it is possible.. it’s yours.” – Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

Being uncertain about your career, or not knowing where you are headed is one of those challenges that can actually be turned into a power house of opportunities. How you think determines the path you take. As John Milton wrote in Paradise Lost – “The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.” Dive in into the fascinating world of literature when you are feeling numb or need to clear your head. You will arise manifold wiser and humbler and ready to take on the #WorldOfWork!

We hope this post on beautiful career quotes from literature has inspired you to keep calm and keep going! Which is your favourite quote from amongst these? Did we leave out your favourite quote? We would love to hear from you!

Why LinkedIn? Because it’s LinkedIn and You Must!

by sincera | Feb 19, 2016 | Career, Managing Yourself, World of Work

Why LinkedIn? Let us begin with some statistics.

There are 332 million people on LinkedIn.
Two new members join every second.
There are 187 million monthly unique visitors.
LinkedIn is currently used in over 200 countries and territories. It’s available in 20 languages.
There are one billion total endorsements on LinkedIn at the moment.
59% of LinkedIn members have never worked at a company with more than 200 employees.
There are over 39 million students and recent graduates on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn has 17 million users in the UK users, 10 million users in the Middle East, 61 million users in Asia, 28 million users in India, 6 million users in Australia and 6 million users in China.
41% of millionaires use LinkedIn.
13% of LinkedIn users do not have a Facebook account. Likewise, 83% of users do not have a Pinterest account. 59% are not active on Twitter.

What these number sum up for us is the overwhelming outreach of LinkedIn across the professional global network. Today, having an updated LinkedIn profile is just as important as having a resume. Whether you are an entry level professional or a CEO, you are expected to have a LinkedIn profile. But why LinkedIn ? Why all the noise over it? We offer you four reasons which we hope will compel you to create your LinkedIn profile right now, if you already haven’t!

Why LinkedIn – You make yourself visible:

Imagine being one of the best musicians, or authors or doctors, but not knowing how to reach out and market yourself? On LinkedIn, you will be connected to 332 billion other people, some of who may be looking for someone with the skills you possess! Alternatively, you will be easy to find on the World Wide Web, if someone has your name. Google will list your LinkedIn profile as the first or the second search result.

Why LinkedIn – It provides you with invaluable resources:

With the hundred odd features that LinkedIn comes packed with, it is quite a resourceful tool to have at one’s disposal. It provides you with a host of features like – “Get Introduced” (a current contact introduces you to someone you want to establish a connection with), Recommendations (all of us need them and it authenticates our identity and establishes a reputation in the required field of profession), millions of interest groups to choose from, to stay updated with what’s happening in those spheres, and the brilliant LinkedIn Pulse. These are only few of the resources you can avail of!

Why LinkedIn – You stay connected:

You can update your profile every so often and let the world know what’s happening with you (not like we do on Facebook). You can get endorsed for the skills you list out for yourself. LinkedIn also enables you to follow various topics you may be interested in, in the form of groups. A quick ten minute glance on your LinkedIn profile every day, will ensure you are connected with the latest news about everything you are interested in – from stocks to best Ted talks.

Why LinkedIn – It is your own personal brand!

You can market yourself as uniquely as you wish to through having a LinkedIn profile. It vests you with opportunities to make yourself visible to members in the communities you wish to be recognized in. It enables you to add videos, images and recommendations to showcase yourself. It is next only to you being present in person! So how good a brand ambassador are you for yourself?

Now that we’ve given you enough reasons to have a LinkedIn profile, you better sit down and start working on one right away! And read our blog post to help you create the perfect LinkedIn profile! And if you have one, we hope that you are harnessing all the power of LinkedIn for your career.

If you need more reasons to convince you about LinkedIn and how to make it work for you, we recommend you take a look at all the posts on LinkedIn by the LinkedIn Maestro, David Graham – Coach | LinkedIn | Content | Engagement | Influence | Leads| Business Opportunities. You can start with his latest post on how to spend quality time on LinkedIn. You will thank us for it 🙂

Job Seekers: Inspiration Alert! 15 Job Hunting Quotes from The Best

by sincera | Feb 9, 2016 | Career, Communication, Interview, Job Offers, Life, Managing Yourself, Motivation, Resume, World of Work

Being in a limbo in one’s career can be truly frustrating, specially when you’ve been hunting for the perfect job but still haven’t been able to bag it. Even the best of us can’t help feeling dejected at times, during the overwhelming process of searching for a job. Some of us have mentors and friends guiding us through the process, egging us on and motivating us to keep going, while some of us are more solitary during this trying phase. Either way, sometimes simple words or images of motivation we ‘stumble upon’ make a big difference. It feels as though the universe is signaling us to keep going, and that the perfect job is just round the corner. It could be some odd graffiti we read on the streets, or the day’s horoscope being conducive to job hunt for the day, or a beautiful Calvin and Hobbes comic strip speaking to you in today’s newspaper, or some beautiful job hunting quotes that give you your very own eureka moment. As Paulo Coelho says in the Alchemist – We warriors of light must be prepared to have patience in difficult times and to know the Universe is conspiring in our favor, even though we may not understand how. We hope this post has the intended effect of helping you believe that good things are coming your way, that if you are trying hard enough for the perfect job, you will get it!

Here are 15 job hunting quotes from the best – that will motivate you to keep calm and carry on with your job hunt! Buckle up for some inspiration!

1. “People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents.” –Andrew Carnegie

2. “Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.”–Norman Vincent Peale

3. “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”–Wayne Gretzky

4. “Don’t be afraid to fail. Don’t waste energy trying to cover up failure. Learn from your failures and go on to the next challenge. It’s OK to fail. If you’re not failing, you’re not growing.” –H. Stanley Judd

5. “If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well”. —Martin Luther King

6. “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” — Calvin Coolidge

7. “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C. S. Lewis

8. “Your value doesn’t decrease based on someone’s inability to see your worth.” — Unknown

9. “Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs

10. “Successful business people don’t get ahead by wishing they had someone else’s job title, corner office, company car, or market share. They get ahead the mundane way, by doing more and doing it better. Envy is a monster with a gluttonous appetite. And it’s never satisfied. Pursue your goals, not someone else’s goals.” – James Dale

11. “If opportunity doesn’t knock, then build a door”. – Milton Berle

12. “When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” –Alexander Graham Bell

13. “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” –Maya Angelou

14. “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great ones make you feel that you too can become great.” – Mark Twain

15. “One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation.” –Arthur Ashe

While we understand that it is always easier said than done, it is important to not let the pressure or anxiety get to you. The more anxious and nervous you become, the more hasty your decisions are. That’s one thing you don’t want to be while job hunting – ‘hasty’. The key to a successful job hunt is to never give up and to keep trying, because like Katharine Whitehorn says, “find out what you like doing best, and get someone to pay you for it.” And until you’ve done that, don’t stop – just keep calm and keep job searching!

Did you enjoy reading our collection of job hunting quotes ? Which one reached out to you the most ? We would love to hear back from you. And don’t forget to like and share – as we keep saying, everybody needs a little inspiration now and then to keep going!

5 Subtle Signs of Sexual Harassment at Work to Never Ignore

by sincera | Feb 3, 2016 | Career, Infographics, Managing Yourself, Office Etiquette, World of Work

Harassment of any kind is a strict no-no in any workplace. And when it comes to sexual harassment, things get even murkier as it is hard for the victim to raise the issue or talk about it. We tend to associate sexual harassment quickly with inappropriate touching or sexual innuendo which are pretty hard to miss but sometimes the signs of sexual harassment at work are so subtle that it may leave one confused and thinking that perhaps “it is all in my imagination”. Women (and men too) are put in many other situations in which they feel uncomfortable but are not confident enough to say so. In the recent years, there has begun a silent (or a not so silent one!) revolution, which has gone on to quickly gain momentum, on sensitizing people about sexual harassment at the workplace, their right to be vocal against it and seek appropriate redressal.

Sexual harassment is unwelcome sexual behavior – physical, verbal or written – that can make a person feel intimidated or humiliated. If it happens at work, at work-related events, between colleagues in or outside work, this behavior is covered under sexual harassment at the workplace. It is sexual harassment at the workplace if by such behavior, you feel that you need to keep quiet/submit in order to get or keep a job or that your raises/promotions could get impacted or you feel that your work performance is getting affected because of the hostile or offensive working environment created.

Here are 5 signs of sexual harassment at work, which may be subtle but do fall under the ambit of sexual harassment, never to be ignored and should definitely be taken to task promptly or nipped in the bud, so to say :

1. Sexist Behaviour –

If you hear comments about why a particular portfolio is not suitable for you simply because you are a woman, or the fact that you got promoted because you are a woman, or the age old jokes about women drivers, realize that you are a victim of sexist behavior. While a lot of people may laugh it off (women included) not many understand that this kind of behavior is extremely demeaning and insensitive. Sexist behavior, including jokes and comments falls under the category of sexual harassment. While it is crucial to be aware of this fact, you must also be extremely discerning before establishing whether or not the particular behavior displayed towards you qualifies as sexual harassment.

2. The apparently “harmless” flirting –

An occasional compliment now and then is of course a common and pleasant thing at work. But not if it gets to the point that it makes you feel awkward or offended. To differentiate between harmless flirting vs. sexual harassment further – harmless flirting makes someone feel “good,” whereas harassment makes someone feel “bad.” Flirting makes someone feel “happy,” while harassment makes someone feel “sad/angry.” Make yourself clear that you are uncomfortable and his/her behavior towards you can be decoded as potential sexual harassment.

3. Bullying by using seniority (or the Quid pro quo stance) –

Another subtle form of sexual harassment. “Come on, are you sure you want to say no to dinner with your team lead?” If that’s the way your team lead asks you out for dinner, despite you saying you have other plans, be sure that the person in question is very consciously making use of his superior position at work to get your attention, and is making it explicit so that you feel powerless. Do not be a push over, and stand firm by what you want for yourself.

4. Inappropriate ‘online’ behavior –

These days, all of us lead most of our lives on the internet. With the private becoming public, professional relations can become truly confusing. However there are some clear signs you should watch out for – emails unrelated to work coming your way at unearthly hours, request to communicate through completely unprofessional media like snapchat, and the likes. Constant IMs, Facebook stalking, are few of the many signs which you shouldn’t ignore.

5. Unwanted and inappropriate information coming your way –

Lewd or inappropriate photographs, even if it is followed by a message saying, “so sorry didn’t mean to send it to you”, unnecessary information about the person’s domestic affairs – the fact that he had a fight with his spouse or his emotional state because of a messy breakup. Put a stop to it right where it begins by making your displeasure over such behaviour explicit.

Kiri Blakeley in her article “Where ‘omg, u look gr8’ can land you in court”, rightly comments – “the new sexual harassment is much more subtle and harder to confront”. Those subtle areas can include everything from flirtation at a company party to a complimentary text message or an unwelcome invitation to discuss the latest project over dinner or drinks. “There’s been a new generation of confusion in this area,” says Jay Zweig, an employment lawyer with Bryan Cave in Phoenix. “Twenty years ago, it was, ‘Sleep with me if you want the promotion.’ Now most sexual harassment claims have to do with a hostile work environment, someone saying, ‘This person is bothering me. I can’t do my work. I’m distracted and uncomfortable.'”

While the post may seem to have a focus on sexual harassment of women, we would like to clarify these signs are not exclusively applicable only to women, but also to men. You could be a male employee and experience any or all of the above forms of sexual harassment, and have every right to stand up against it.

If you are unsure whether the issue you are facing at the workplace has to do with sexual harassment, don’t make the mistake of keeping silent about it and hoping that things will “go away”, talk it out with a trusted colleague or the counsellor at your workplace. Do a favour to yourself and to your colleagues. While it is important to be discerning before you make a complaint of sexual harassment, it is more important to never ignore these signs of sexual harassment at work, howsoever subtle they may be!

Do you have a story to share ? A different view ? Something we missed ? We would love to hear from you. Found this post useful ? Go ahead, share it!

Bonus : For more information on sexual harassment at work, check out this informative (and worrisome) infographic by Cosmopolitan:

5 Things to Never Say to Your Boss (If You Love Your Job)

by sincera | Jan 27, 2016 | Career, Communication, Communication Skills, Managing Yourself, Office Etiquette, World of Work

Do you have the right to dissent? Yes. Do you have the right to resist bullying at workplace? Yes. Honesty is the best policy? Yes. Does that mean you can say anything you want to your boss? Definitely not. Whether you are a fresher or someone who has been around for a while, there are certain things you should never, ever say to your boss. Not to reinforce the hierarchy, but as common courtesy and as a mark of professionalism. Here’s what we think are five of the things to never say to your boss:

“That’s not part of my job”

It shows that you are not a team player, which is definitely going to reflect in your performance analysis. Being flexible is appreciated a lot, besides, think of all the additional skills you are going to acquire in the process. However, it is important to distinguish between when it is required of you to be flexible and when you are being pushed over. Even in the latter case, be diplomatic in how you refuse the work, rather than saying “that’s not what I was hired to do/that’s not what I am supposed to do.”

“I’ll leave”

Never threaten your boss to leave. It is almost like digging your own grave, because after all, you may not be as indispensable as you assumed yourself to be. It simply portrays you as an arrogant person, and worse, a quitter. Once you have made the mistake of saying this to your boss, don’t be surprised to find out the next day that a replacement for you is in place and you are on your way out.

“We did it better at our old work place”

A classic ‘tongue in cheek’ situation. Of course your boss doesn’t want to be told that his predecessor did the same thing better, or that your ex-boss was smarter at it. You may be offering your advice in all innocence, but it will, in all probability, be taken as an insult. A better way is to reframe it as a suggestion – “I think this may also work if we do it (this way)”.

“It’s not my fault, you should ask ‘X’ ”

The blame game never does any good and is one of the worst blunders we all seem to commit at one point or another in the ‘world of work’. If you have been called and asked why things went or didn’t go a certain way, even if you have no idea and weren’t in charge, do not shift the blame. If you do not have an immediate answer, ask for some time and get back with a response backed with facts and without any blame shifting.

“Do you want me to set you up/ do you want my expert relationship advice?”

The worst thing to say to your boss ever. Even though your boss may be extra nice and super friendly with you, getting into this zone is a strict No-No! Remember that it is highly unprofessional to offer your employer any form of personal advice, unless (s)he explicitly asks you for it. Even then, you need to be tacit and avoid that topic as much as you can. But of your own accord, never be charitable and offer your employer relationship advice! And being drunk is certainly not an excuse, it doubles your offense twice as much.

And if you have said/done any of the above already, and have had no repercussions at work – hey, you are a very lucky person, indeed. We hope that you truly value your boss, you are one of the privileged ones! Thank your stars and go thank him/her today for being a great boss! And if you don’t count yourself among the lucky ones and have to walk a tightrope at work everyday, we suggest you definitely go read our post on this – and thank us instead!

What else do you think are the things to never say to your boss ? Made any mistakes like these and learnt from them? We would love to learn too! Leave a comment below!

P.S: If you have a career challenge that you need some confidential guidance on, mail me at suchitra@oorjabizops.com and I will call you back.

If you would be interested in partnering with an energetic, talented and committed all-women team for fulfilling all your staffing and content needs, mail us at contact@oorjabizops.com.

5 Tips on Public Speaking for Beginners to Be Fearless Speakers

by sincera | Jan 21, 2016 | Career, Communication, Communication Skills, Managing Yourself, Office Etiquette, World of Work

Whoever said public speaking is only for politicians and leaders? In the World of Work, acquiring the art of public speaking is just as important a skill. Be it a farewell speech, an award acceptance speech or speaking at a board meeting or an international conference. In all these areas, your public speaking skills will be put to test. If that scares you to death, well you are not alone. Fear of public speaking is a widespread phenomenon – the average person ranks it even above fear of death. There is even a word for it – Glossophobia or speech anxiety is the fear of public speaking or of speaking in general. But let’s be more positive, public speaking is a skill that can be easily acquired through following some tried and tested techniques and avoiding some common pitfalls. If an audience is there to listen to you, you owe it to them to be well prepared in what you have to say and it is your responsibility to keep them interested and have their attention. We have put together these five tips on public speaking that will help any beginner to be a fearless speaker:

1. Tips on Public Speaking – Make Eye Contact

Making eye contact is the first and foremost step to be able to speak confidently in public. Avoiding eye contact will have your audience drift away and leave them uninterested. It also reflects nervousness on your behalf. Making eye contact with your audience is a sure way to make them feel involved and adds to your confidence when you are able to see that your audience is truly interested in what you have to say.

2. Tips on Public Speaking – Avoid Fillers

Make a conscious effort to avoid using syllables and words like “umm”, “like”, “basically”, “actually” which you use to help complete your sentences. They take away from the gravity of what you want to articulate and speak of your unpreparedness in addressing the public. Instead use silence and pauses. Rather than lose the listeners, a well-placed pause can give your audience a chance to process what you’ve already said and get them hooked on what you’ll say next. Tips on Public Speaking

3. Tips on Public Speaking – Carry a Memo of what you want to say

Make a small card with some of the main pointers of your speech so that you do not miss out on the important things you have to say. Use the card only for prompting yourself and at all cost avoiding “reading” out. Keep the memo handy only for the purpose of reference, all the while maintaining eye contact and interacting with your audience.

4. **Tips on Public Speaking – Emphasize on both What you say, as well as How you say it**

A lot of people take pride in saying it matters little what you have to say, as long as you focus on how you are saying it. On the contrary, we would say that both are equally important – the content of your speech as well as your delivery of the same. The best way to sound like you know what you are talking about is to know what you are talking about :). And if you are unsure about the content and just HAVE to speak, then check out these tips from lifehacker on How to Sound Like You Know What You’re Talking About (Even When You Don’t).

5. Tips on Public Speaking – Mind your Body Language

Very often, in order to compensate the confidence missing in our speech, we put that forcefulness into exaggerated body language. It could be actions like excessive movement of limbs to try and get across our point. Actions like fiddling with one’s hair, clothes, or accessories in an absent-minded fashion are signs of nervousness. None of us do this on purpose, it is at a subconscious level. However, recognizing it and trying to rectify the same will help you evolve into an articulate and confident speaker.

Be precise and structured when you stand up to speak. Understand that you have only a few minutes to put across your point, and you have to do so effectively. It is absolutely acceptable if you make mistakes while speaking, but do not let tiny glitches prevent you from completing what you have to say. Before your big day, practice in front of a mirror or a friend, record your speech and play it back to yourself and work on it till you are happy with the results. We all start somewhere, and we all learn with experience. So the next time you are asked to make a speech, don’t duck under the table – stand up and rock the speech!

« Older Entries

Next Entries »