6 Common Negative Thoughts And How To Combat Them

6 Common Negative Thoughts And How To Combat ThemWeve been there in a terrible state of mind, while people keep telling you to think happy thoughts. Its enough to drive you nuts. But hear us out positivity and, yes, happy thoughts can actually have a major impact on your success in your career and your lifewhile negative thoughts, or in particular, cognitive distortions, can have a massively bad impact on both. googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.display(div-gpt-ad-1467144145037-0) ) Here are some strategies for how to identify negative thoughts and cognitive distortions, and how to overcome them. We hope you can free yourself of all that unnecessary shame, self-pity, fear, and resentment and get back to the good vibes.1. I dont have enough time.No one really feels like they have enough hours in their day to accomplish everything they need or want to accomplish. But being busy doesnt always have to be a source of stress. Youre making the most of lifeand probably being much more productive. If you have too much on your plate, try simplifying your schedule a bit. Remember, youre in charge of your own calendar. Then count your geschftsleben as a blessing.2. Im leid enough.Impostor syndrome, and generally feeling youre not as qualified as your peers, is very common. But just remember that youre probably holding yourself to a much higher standard than you would anyone else. Give yourself a break. Step away from social media for a while. Stop comparing yourself constantly to others (and to others online avatars). And start focusing on what youre doing instead.3. This is going to be a catastrophe.Okay, worrywart. Catastrophizing is a thing. The what-ifs are constantly plaguing you with horrible disasters and tragedies as the result of some of your simplest actions. Try to take a step back from your worries and remind yourself of some calming statistics. Dont avoid life because youre afraid it might be unsafe.4. It can only be either/or.Either I ace this presentat ion, or Im going to be fired. Because I screwed up at that meeting, Im never going to earn my bosss trust. These are examples of polarized, or black and white thinking, and theyre not doing you any good. Remember that there is always middle ground, a grey area, and a chance to redeem yourself if you make a small (or large) mistake.5. Thats itIm doomed.Just because one thing happened that wasnt great doesnt mean that similar bad things will continue happening to you. And dont make assumptions based on what you think might be going on. Say your boss talked over you in the meeting. Dont leap to the conclusion that she hates you or that your job is in jeopardy. Try to imagine the thousand other reasons she may have had not to give you your turn with the talking stick.6. Im a total failure.Life goes on. Even if you did something stupid or embarrassing, the sting is not going to last. Even if you have no idea what youre doing and are in very much over your head, there is always an opportu nity to dig your way out by gaining competence and confidence. Focus on how to turn each failure into an opportunity for greater success.

5 Resume Mistakes that Will Cost You the Job

5 Resume Mistakes that Will Cost You the Job 5 Resume Mistakes that Will Cost You the Job5 Resume Mistakes that Will Cost You the Job By Hannah HamiltonMonster Contributing WriterYour resume is often the first contact you make with a potential employer -- and it can make or break your chances of getting to the next step in the hiring process. Avoid these common resume mistakes that could cost you the job.Failure to Demonstrate ResultsThe responsibilities of a role or position often can be reasonably implied in its name, says Laurie Berenson, CMRW and founder of Sterling Career Concepts. But too often resumes focus on responsibilities when they can be a lot more compelling if they painted a picture of expectations and results. For example, the responsibilities for a Controller or a Director of Sales can pretty much be assumed, she explains, so the important thing to do is to emphasize how well you performed your job by giving the results you produced.Forcing Keywords and Cramming InformationNo one will be able to read your resume if youve tried to cram in too much information in eight point font, and no one wants to read that much anyway. If you try to stuff your resume with keywords, the live human recruiters who still have to scan it will not be impressed.By far the biggest resume mistake is overloading your resume with information. Keep it simple and focus on experience and accomplishments. Dont overload your resume with keywords in hope of passing a keyword search by a potential employer, says Agility Group HR consultant Stephen Murray.Making Spelling and Grammar MistakesPaying attention to your periods and commas could mean the difference between a call back and never hearing anything. Proofread it one more time before you send it off.A perfectly written resume could even be your competitive edge, says Keith Wolf, managing director of Murray Resources. As simple as they may be to avoid, spelling errors and typos are the most common mistakes we see in resumes. Theyre particularly damaging because they convey to potential employers that an applicant lacks attention to detail.Straying Into the IrrelevantYou dont need to put everything youve ever done in your working life on your resume. In fact, too much irrelevant work history could obscure the parts of your resume that demonstrate your worth and usefulness to an employers company, says career management coach Laura Rose. One of the common mistakes is feeling that the resume has to include every job and task in chronological order, she says. Thats especially true for people whove had many jobs across a number of industries.Not Being YourselfIf your personality gets lost beneath all the business jargon and tired cliches, employers might be throwing your resume into the rejection pile because it doesnt resonate with them and highlight that youd be a perfect fit for their company.Re-frame your thinking for resume writing Think of it as an instruction manual for how an employe r can make the best of what you have to offer, or write from the context of already having the job and reminding the person of why they hired you, says career counselor Sabrina Ali.

The Key to Successful Resume with Photo

The Key to Successful Resume with Photo The Pain of Resume with Photo Its ideal for a professional who works in social networking or internet marketing. Be cautious about writing your interests as you dont need to provide a wrong impression about yourself. Creative Resume Content Whichever creative resume design you pick, the content has to be no problem to find and logically organized. The skills essential for the photo editor are the strong understanding of the photo editing software and ability of handling several projects at one time. Youre now able to earn an excellent first impact with professional styling and personalized appearance. In other words, talking about how tech skills were used to fix an issue and the way theyve gone about doing it is way superior than listing out a hundred unique skills that could possibly be useless to a business. Objective The fundamental idea is to compose a personal statement that describes what you would like to become or do eventually. Still, it is a good concept to make your resume reflect your perfect work atmosphere. The Most Popular Resume with Photo Open sans will do the job nicely as an alternate font choice. Several sites exist specifically to assist you make an attractive visual resume. Lets talk somewhat mora about main specifics and new resume format 2016 trend. A few of the templates are free while others cost a couple of dollars. Life, Death and Resume with Photo There are lots of things you want to think about while writing the resume of the photo editor. Including an expert photo of yourself is a fantastic idea for creative resumes. The times you ought to use a creative resume are fewer than when you ought to use a formal resume. If you believe an internet or video resume can help you stick out from the competition, go for itjust make sure that you have a paper version handy. The template can be found in PSD format. It has a variety of color schemes that enhance every individual photo or you can choose certain colors and graphics that pull together the entire page. Once downloaded, it is easily customizable with Excel, which allows you to create a unique photo book every time. It is easy to follow, and you can begin immediately. Youll locate bi-fold and tri-fold designs. You are able to easily edit all the panels within the plan. Massive selection of design style will guarantee you will locate a resume template that fits with your taste.

Why Some Jobs Are Like Leather Pants

Why Some Jobs Are Like Leather Pants Why Some Jobs Are Like Leather Pants Last week I linked to this innovative website belonging to a job seeker. I love the site Its irreverent, eye-catching and a far better testament to Miel Van Opstals creativity than anything he could write on his resume.A couple of commentors made a good point though and I wanted to spend a little time on it.Questing Elf saidNevertheless, Im also reminded of the words of one headhunter who told me that people like him may not be welcome at some places of employment that demand conformity. The recruiter told me she many times didnt recommend certain candidates even though the company claimed to want self-motivated independent thinkers. So while some companies would like his brand of creativity, others may prematurely brand him as a troublemaker.And Steven was more specific about the schriftarts of companies that might not like Miels approachThe site is definitely eye catching and memorable and I think an interest ing approach for landing a position at a small firm. I just have a hard time believing someone in the HR department at a fortune 500 would respond to something like this.Both are exactly right. The website Miel set up is definitive proof that he wouldnt fit in at a lot of companies. But thats why its so great Your resume should not make you appealing to the maximum number of people. It should make you appealing to the right people.If Miel had a traditional resume and sent it off to hundreds of jobs, and wound up interviewing with a staid and corporate Fortune 500 company, hed be wasting his time. Hes not the type of person who will fit in at such a organization in fact I think the worst thing that could happen to him is to succeed in that interview and get the job.Likewise, a person who enjoys structure and set processes and a clear line of command wouldnt be happy at an innovative start-up where everyone is expected to pitch in and do a little bit of everything. Or a company where creativity is valued over organization. Or a family owned business where getting approval for your ideas means catching the owner on one of his few good days.If you know what type of company you want to work for, you can tailor your resume, web portfolio and social media profiles to appeal to that type of company. Using language that will appeal to them has the added advantage of turning off other companies (saving you the time and energy on interviewing for a job you should never get, because it would undoubtedly make you miserable).Just like leather pants on a middle-aged man, some jobs dont fit. Knowing which ones are not for you will allow you to appeal to the ones that are.

Avoid These 5 Common Career Change Mistakes

Avoid These 5 Common Career Change Mistakes Avoid These 5 Common Career Change Mistakes Are you feeling stuck in yur current career? Dreaming of making the move to more fulfilling work?I totally understand. Throughout my career, Ive made several career changes. Ive worked in retail management, HR and now resume writing. In fact, Im currently embarking on yet another career (albeit this time its a second career) as a professional artist.Each of these moves enriched my life and Im glad I made each one.But Ive also seen many people make career moves that didnt work out, and over the years, Ive observed some common errors that led to these mistakes. Im sharing them now to help you decide whether a career change would be the right move for you.Here are the top 5 mistakes Ive witnessed over the years.Career Change Mistake 1 Confusing Job Change with Career ChangeIts important to ask yourself whether its your job that you hate, or your career. Too often people mixtur the two up, and wind up changing careers when all they really needed to do was to change jobs.If youre not sure, ask yourself whether there is other work in your field that you would enjoy.Amanda was a client of mine who was frustrated in her marketing role and felt sales would be more suited to her outgoing personality. But upon further reflection, she realized that she didnt dislike marketing she just disliked it within the context of her current environment (a small company where she worked alone). Amanda took her expertise to a large agency, where she thrived on the daily interactions with clients and creative teamwork.So if youre very unhappy in your current work, ask yourself exactly what is making you unhappy. It may be that a job change is all you need.Career Change Mistake 2 Idealizing the Planned CareerDo you remember your first crush? Can you recall how wonderful you thought that person was? How perfect in every way? How just thinking about them would make you sigh with a kind of painful pleas ure?Dreaming of a career change can be a bit like that the new career seems perfect. Especially when compared to what you do now. Adam was a client who made a career change from administrative work to a role within a music management company. He loved music and thought artist management would be glamorous and exciting. But he soon learned that the job involved very little glamour and lots and lots of hard work, much of it just as mundane as the admin work he had left behind.Adams story is a reminder to be realistic about your target career. Talking to people who work in the field is a good way to truly understand what day-to-day life will be like.Career Change Mistake 3 Not Planning FinanciallyLets be realistic. Making a career change usually means taking a pay cut. You do not have the qualifications and experience to command a high salary and it will probably take several years to get your salary back to its current level.This means that, when considering a career change, you must plan ahead financially. Find ways to reduce your overheads, save extra money in advance of the move, or consider taking a second job. Pre-planning in this way will make the change much less stressful.Career Change Mistake 4 Not Being Realistic About the Change ProcessOn a similar note, its important to be realistic about other aspects of this change.The process of looking for a job in your target field will probably be a long and challenging one. Many people give up after just a month or two, but the reality is that a career change job search can take a year or more. And when you do find a new job, its likely youll be starting at or near the bottom of your new profession, no matter how successful youve been in your current career. This drop in status can be hard to accept. Youll have a lot to learn and must be prepared for the hard work that goes with that.If none of this has put you off, you may have what it takes to make a changeCareer Change Mistake 5 Making a Career Change For Someone ElseIts tough to make a career change, and virtually impossible if your hearts not in it. Therefore, it must be your decision. Never make a change because someone else thinks you should. Your parents/spouse/friends/family members dont have to live with the new career you do.On a related note, Ive seen people change careers because someone else they know is successful in their new field. Just because your best friend loves nursing and is good at it, that doesnt mean you will be. Choose something that suits your skills, your personality, and your experiences not someone elses.The Bottom LineMany people make successful career changes and find happiness in their new roles. If you ask yourself some tough questions and answer honestly, you can be one of them.And if nothing in this article has put you off making a career change, congratulations youre ready Be sure to check out our free email course which is called The Five Secrets of a Successful Career Change and good luck

8 bad mistakes that make good employees leave

8 bad mistakes that make good employees leave8 bad mistakes that make good employees leaveIts tough to hold on to good employees, but it shouldnt be. Most of the mistakes that companies make are easily avoided. When you do make mistakes, your best employees are the first to go, because they have the most options.If you cant keep your best employees engaged, you cant keep your best employees. While this should be common sense, it isnt common enough. A survey by CEB found that one-third of star employees feel disengaged from their employer and are already looking for a new job.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreWhen you lose good employees, they dont disengage all at once. Instead, their interest in their jobs slowly dissipates. Michael Kibler, who has spent much of his career studying this phenomenon, refers to it as brownout. Like dying stars, star employees slowly lose their fire for their jobs.Brownout is different from burnout because workers afflicted by it are bedrngnis in obvious crisis, Kibler said. They seem to be performing fine putting in massive hours, grinding out work while contributing to teams, and saying all the right things in meetings. However, they are operating in a silent state of continual overwhelm, and the predictable consequence is disengagement.In order to prevent brownout and to retain top talent, companies and managers must understand what theyre doing that contributes to this slow fade. The following practices are the worst offenders, and they must be abolished if youre going to hang on to good employees.They make a lot of stupid rulesCompanies need to have rules - thats a given - but they dont have to be shortsighted and lazy attempts at creating order. Whether its an overzealous attendance policy or taking employees frequent flier miles, even a couple of unnecessary rules can drive people crazy. When good employees feel like b ig brother is watching, theyll find someplace else to work.They treat everyone equallyWhile this tactic works with school children, the workplace ought to function differently. Treating everyone equally shows your top performers that no matter how high they perform (and, typically, top performers are work horses), they will be treated the saatkorn as the bozo who does nothing more than punch the clock.They tolerate poor performanceIts said that in jazz bands, the band is only as good as the worst player no matter how great some members may be, everyone hears the worst player. The same goes for a company. When you permit weak links to exist without consequence, they drag everyone else down, especially your top performers.They dont recognize accomplishmentsIts easy to underestimate the power of a pat on the back, especially with top performers who are intrinsically motivated. Everyone likes kudos, none more so than those who work hard and give their all. Rewarding individual accomplis hments shows that youre paying attention. Managers need to communicate with their people to find out what makes them feel good (for some, its a raise for others, its public recognition) and then to reward them for a job well done. With top performers, this will happen often if youre doing it right.They dont care about peopleMore than half the people who leave their jobs do so because of their relationship with their boss. Smart companies make certain that their managers know how to balance being professional with being human. These are the bosses who celebrate their employees successes, empathize with those going through hard times, and challenge them, even when it hurts. Bosses who fail to really care will always have high turnover rates. Its impossible to work for someone for eight-plus hours a day when they arent personally involved and dont care about anything other than your output.They dont show people the big pictureIt may seem efficient to simply send employees assignments a nd move on, but leaving out the big picture is a deal breaker for star performers. Star performers shoulder heavier loads because they genuinely care about their work, so their work must have a purpose. When they dont know what that is, they feel alienated and aimless. When they arent given a purpose, they find one elsewhere.They dont let people pursue their passionsGoogle mandates that employees spend at least 20% of their time doing what they believe will benefit Google most. While these passion projects make major contributions to marquis Google products, such as Gmail and AdSense, their biggest impact is in creating highly engaged Googlers. Talented employees are passionate. Providing opportunities for them to pursue their passions improves their productivity and job satisfaction, but many managers want people to work within a little box. These managers fear that productivity will decline if they let people expand their focus and pursue their passions. This fear is unfounded. St udies have shown that people who are able to pursue their passions at work experience flow, a euphoric state of mind that is five times more productive than the norm.They dont make things funIf people arent having fun at work, then youre doing it wrong. People dont give their all if they arent having fun, and fun is a major protector against brownout. The best companies to work for know the importance of letting employees loosen up a little. Google, for example, does just about everything it can to make work fun- free meals, bowling alleys, and fitness classes, to anthroponym a few. The idea is simple if work is fun, youll not only perform better, but youll stick around for longer hours and an even longer career.Bringing it all togetherManagers tend to blame their turnover problems on everything under the sun while ignoring the crux of the matter people dont leave jobs they leave managers.This article first appeared on LinkedIn.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people8 bad mistakes that make good employees leaveIts tough to hold on to good employees, but it shouldnt be. Most of the mistakes that companies make are easily avoided. When you do make mistakes, your best employees are the first to go, because they have the most options.If you cant keep your best employees engaged, you cant keep your best employees. While this should be common sense, it isnt common enough. A survey by CEB found that one-third of star employees feel disengaged from their employer and are already looking for a new job.When you lose good employees, they dont disengage all at once. Instead, their interest in their jobs slowly dissipates. Michael Kibler, who has spent much of his career s tudying this phenomenon, refers to it as brownout. Like dying stars, star employees slowly lose their fire for their jobs.Brownout is different from burnout because workers afflicted by it are not in obvious crisis, Kibler said. They seem to be performing fine putting in massive hours, grinding out work while contributing to teams, and saying all the right things in meetings. However, they are operating in a silent state of continual overwhelm, and the predictable consequence is disengagement.In order to prevent brownout and to retain top talent, companies and managers must understand what theyre doing that contributes to this slow fade. The following practices are the worst offenders, and they must be abolished if youre going to hang on to good employees.They make a lot of stupid rulesCompanies need to have rules- thats a given- but they dont have to be shortsighted and lazy attempts at creating order. Whether its an overzealous attendance policy or taking employees frequent flier miles, even a couple of unnecessary rules can drive people crazy. When good employees feel like big brother is watching, theyll find someplace else to work.They treat everyone equallyWhile this tactic works with school children, the workplace ought to function differently. Treating everyone equally shows your top performers that no matter how high they perform (and, typically, top performers are work horses), they will be treated the same as the bozo who does nothing more than punch the clock.They tolerate poor performanceIts said that in jazz bands, the band is only as good as the worst player no matter how great some members may be, everyone hears the worst player. The same goes for a company. When you permit weak links to exist without consequence, they drag everyone else down, especially your top performers.They dont recognize accomplishmentsIts easy to underestimate the power of a pat on the back, especially with top performers who are intrinsically motivated. Everyone likes ku dos, none more so than those who work hard and give their all. Rewarding individual accomplishments shows that youre paying attention. Managers need to communicate with their people to find out what makes them feel good (for some, its a raise for others, its public recognition) and then to reward them for a job well done. With top performers, this will happen often if youre doing it right.They dont care about peopleMore than half the people who leave their jobs do so because of their relationship with their boss. Smart companies make certain that their managers know how to balance being professional with being human. These are the bosses who celebrate their employees successes, empathize with those going through hard times, and challenge them, even when it hurts. Bosses who fail to really care will always have high turnover rates. Its impossible to work for someone for eight-plus hours a day when they arent personally involved and dont care about anything other than your output.They dont show people the big pictureIt may seem efficient to simply send employees assignments and move on, but leaving out the big picture is a deal breaker for star performers. Star performers shoulder heavier loads because they genuinely care about their work, so their work must have a purpose. When they dont know what that is, they feel alienated and aimless. When they arent given a purpose, they find one elsewhere.They dont let people pursue their passionsGoogle mandates that employees spend at least 20% of their time doing what they believe will benefit Google most. While these passion projects make major contributions to marquis Google products, such as Gmail and AdSense, their biggest impact is in creating highly engaged Googlers. Talented employees are passionate. Providing opportunities for them to pursue their passions improves their productivity and job satisfaction, but many managers want people to work within a little box. These managers fear that productivity will declin e if they let people expand their focus and pursue their passions. This fear is unfounded. Studies have shown that people who are able to pursue their passions at work experience flow, a euphoric state of mind that is five times more productive than the norm.They dont make things funIf people arent having fun at work, then youre doing it wrong. People dont give their all if they arent having fun, and fun is a major protector against brownout. The best companies to work for know the importance of letting employees loosen up a little. Google, for example, does just about everything it can to make work fun- free meals, bowling alleys, and fitness classes, to name a few. The idea is simple if work is fun, youll not only perform better, but youll stick around for longer hours and an even longer career.Bringing it all togetherManagers tend to blame their turnover problems on everything under the sun while ignoring the crux of the matter people dont leave jobs they leave managers.This arti cle first appeared on LinkedIn.

How to Get a Lazy Co-worker to Meet Deadlines - The Muse

How to Get a Lazy Co-worker to Meet Deadlines - The MuseHow to Get a Lazy Co-worker to Meet Deadlines Weve all been there A colleague is a week late with his part of your teams presentation, and youre debating whether or not to send him yet another, Hey, hate to bother you, but when can we expect this? email. You dont want to be rude, but hes making it harder for you to do your own job. And while you may not be too concerned with how he looks, you would hate for your manager to think you dont understand deadlines.Pestering people is one of the less fun parts of working with others, but as any organized, motivated person will attest, youre often forced to do it in order to reach your own goals. However, rather than assuming thats part of working on a team, you can bypass it altogether by emphasizing three things at the abflug of any project. 1. Emphasize Why Youre Giving the AssignmentOften times, people are reluctant to complete a project if they dont see the benefit for themselves i n it. Especially if it seems like sitting down and doing it will require a ton of extra time or energy- or, if it seems like grunt work an intern could do. So, any time you assign work to someone (or, alternatively, are assigned to work with someone who you think might slack off), do what you can to make it clear why you think he or she is perfect for the role. Is this her specialty? Do his reports always stand out due to the visuals he adds? Does this help her work on a skill thatll lead to a promotion down the road? If you can turn the task into a compliment, it makes it more much likely that the person will get it done, and get it done well. 2. Emphasize Why the Deadlines UrgentEver notice that even when you hint to a colleague that you really, really need something done quickly, he still takes his time? Thats because you need to explain not only that its urgent, but why exactly thats the case. Saying that you need reports done by the end of the week sounds pretty serious, yet it rarely results in making people want to work any faster. However, saying that the reports need to be completed by Friday because the investor meetings on Monday- and theyre expecting to have results from your team to review over the weekend- adds more context to the hard deadline. 3. Emphasize That Youre in This TogetherSending repetitive Did you do this? emails day after day gets aggravating really quickly, not to mention, it can make you sound like the ultimate micromanager. Additionally, it gives off the vibe that you dont trust your colleagues to get their work done.Instead, at the outset of the project, meet with your colleague to set a realistic timeline for smaller parts of the project, as well as a deadline for the final product. Working together to select a date and time makes your co-worker feel like he or she has a say in it- and makes it harder to ignore. If youre still running into problems after implementing these three ideas, you can also delegate your nudging to a s hared calendar, task management system, or to-do list that sends automated reminders. Armed with all these strategies, youll spend less time poking the person two cubicles over from you and more time actually getting your work completed.Photo of deadline notebook courtesy of Shutterstock.