Bury Those Bad Office Habits

In the previous entry, we enumerated bad office habits that need to be broken, to give way for an improved work attitude and in turn, a much better performance as a professional. Whether it is gossiping, procrastinating or simply eating unhealthy food on your desk, every bad habit can be overcome. Just follow the following steps and commit to them to make those bad habits, old habits of the past:

Acknowledge that you have bad habits.

You may already be too familiar with negative traits you display in the office. Although you may feel safe because of the routine, especially in the Singapore jobs market, you are still close to consequences and problems that may come up. One of the problems about bad habits is that we let them take control of us. You subconsciously think and act without even thinking of the consequences.

This calls for an effort to really evaluate yourself and how you act in the office. You may choose to monitor yourself for a whole work week. Take note of negative things you did, such as gossiping or coming in late. You never know, maybe you have been drinking coffee too many times within the day. The goal is to identify the bad habits and get over them.

Identify the consequences.

Among all the bad habits that you were able to identify, determine which of them affects you most negatively. Procrastinating wastes your precious time in the office, and may cause you to tender extended hours in the office, instead of being able to go home early. Gossiping may put you in a position where clashing colleagues put you in the middle.

It would be best to deal with the habits with the biggest effects first. Imagine the short-and long-term effects, and start dealing with them immediately. How? Take the next step.

Read the rest of the article here.

Bad Habits to Break

Very few people do not have bad office habits that they need to break. For some, it’s tardiness. For others, it’s gossiping. And one of the major reasons why they remain habits is that they are tolerated. If you are holding a manager job in the office, you should do your part in implementing rules and setting standards so that bad habits are forced to be broken.

Another thing you have to do, and this is more important, is that you yourself should avoid bad habits. If you have bad habits, break them. Correction will liberate you and will give way to good habits that will help you become a better professional. You may be so used to doing these things that you don’t notice these bad habits anymore:

• Gossip. You go out for lunch with a specific officemate because she has the best gossip every single day. You may not be the one spilling the beans, but listening and making comments about your other workmates is just plain unethical and offending. The only thing you have to remember when it comes to gossip is this: If it does not concern you or the person you are talking to, then you have no business talking about it.
• Tardiness. Maybe your boss allows you to come in at whatever time you feel comfortable. But arriving at the office three hours after everybody else does not look good anymore. Although you may not be reprimanded, its effect on your reputation is larger than you think it is.
• Undertime. Maybe it’s ok to leave ten minutes earlier than you’re supposed to, but maybe it’s not. The thing with this kind of bad habit is that you will be prone to compromises as time passes. Those ten minutes may extend to twenty minutes and longer, until you would not care about ethics anymore and would always leave early. Compromising may even extend to other tasks in the office, such as producing excellent outputs and neglecting the welfare of your teammates. 

Read the rest of the article here.

Making the Right MBA Choice

Taking up MBA as a graduate course is commonplace today, especially as more and more professionals in the finance sector are seeing great career opportunities after completion of the course. However, as with any other graduate study, universities and other educational institutions that offer the course may not necessarily be after the advancement of your career.

Studying MBA is an investment, especially if you want to get one of the best positions in the finance jobs sector. In the same way, universities see the course as a way to make money, first and foremost. You therefore have to be able to sift through your choices and arrive at the best decision on the school that you want to enrol in. Other factors should also be taken into account, such as your personal preferences and the career path that you want to take.

The course

Take your time to really research on an MBA course programme. Go beyond simply taking a look at the whole course outline and then judging the quality of learning based on the short descriptions of the subjects. This means that you have to conduct deeper research which goes outside of the Internet and literally into the campus.

Talk to alumni. Ask them about the course and how helpful it has been for them. Have them talk about details of the classes, such as schedules and classroom dynamics. It is ideal to also talk with students who are currently enrolled in the program, as they have the freshest firsthand experience on studying MBA.

 Read the rest of the article here

Planning to Shift Careers? Avoid These Mistakes

Every professional may have felt at one point or another the need or want to leave their job and shift careers entirely. If you are one of the few brave people who are actually contemplating on doing it, then congratulations in advance.

However, you must be careful before filing your resignation and packing your office box. After all, pursuing a career shift is one of the biggest deals that you may have in your life. So before placing one foot at the exit door, make sure that you are not falling under the trap of the following career shift mistakes:

Job or career?

Make no mistake about it, a job is a lot different from a career. Before you burn your bridges in the office, assess yourself and your current situation. Maybe you are attracted to a different career path just because you don’t like your current company, boss or workplace. But think of transferring to a different company doing the same job that you currently have. Assuming that all other factors are right, will you still take that job? If the answer is yes, then maybe what you need is just a change in environment. Sometimes, even just a week-long break will help you refocus and realize that you in fact love what you do, it’s just that the stress the past days/weeks/months have been taxing on you.

However, if you think that even a change in workplace and even increased salary will not affect how you feel about your career, then it may really be high time for you to shift careers. A big indication is if the career you want to pursue has been your dream for the longest time.

 Read the rest of the article here.

Achieve True Success

Every executive has his own story. One may have made his or her way to the top of the ladder by performing well, and another because of some circumstances which brought them to the right place and the right time. But should you trust fate and let luck have its way? A proactive professional is set apart from the competition, so be one today. Here are some things you can do or adopt in your professional life, and before you know it, you’re already at the top:

Be passionate
What is one thing that you are willing to spend time on? Whatever that is, that is your passion. Except if it is sleep, you can actually think of a way of how you can leverage your passion to achieve success. And success or being at the top is not simply about becoming manager or director. This may sound cliché, but true success is achieved when you are able to do what you want, and you are being rewarded for it.


So if the answer to the given question above is something that is not your current job or career path, then shift careers! Financial jobs may give high salaries, but only to those who are passionate and committed to the industry. From there, you can devise a game plan that you can use in order for you to reach the dream that you want. Follow  the next steps and be on your way to true success.


Read the rest of the article here.

The Pros and Cons of Declining a Promotion

The employment platform and the office culture have shifted, causing professionals to become more opinionated and open to different possibilities. Back then, declining a job promotion was unheard of. Even if it would require the whole family to relocate, employees are always ecstatic about moving up the career ladder within the company. But today, the idea of turning down an offer to be manager or director is not uncommon, though it is still surprising to hear when somebody you know declined a promotion.

There are valid reasons as to why somebody will say no to a promotion. On the other hand, there are also a lot of excuses that come into one’s mind, most of them driven by fear of more responsibilities and more challenges. Let us take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of declining a promotion.

The advantages

• You will not have additional work. A higher position will naturally result to more responsibilities. If you feel that you will not be contributive when you get promoted, then you can decline the promotion. If you take on something that you cannot tackle, you might end up hurting your career instead of advancing faster.
• You will be aligned to your goals. If being promoted will not get you to where you want to go, then maybe you should pass. For instance, in IT jobs there are different paths to take, such as managerial and technical directions. If you want to concentrate on contributing to the company through your technical expertise, then accepting a manager job may dislodge you from your track. The demands of holding a manager job may hinder you from coming up with fresh ideas and effective solutions. Becoming manager may be ideal if you are coming from asales job, but can be a roadblock in IT-related positions.

Read the rest of the article here.

Are You Committing Career Suicide?

You may not be aware, but you may be already on your way to committing career suicide. Just like a physical suicide, it happens when you yourself make ways to end your career, and end it bad. Let us take a look at the tell tale signs that you may be killing your professional life, and how you can deal with each and every one of them.

Procrastination. Do you postpone doing things in your accountant job? Do you end up wasting precious time and then not giving enough attention to your tasks? Procrastination causes outputs to be submitted unpolished. Moreover, it may be a catalyst for other bad habits to form. Worst, it can remove inspiration and drive to achieve things at work. You may be too consumed about the other things that you do; work may end up as the most undesirable thing in the world.

Although in a lot of executive jobs, going to the office is the worst part of their day, it still is the first step to achieving success every single day. If you are serious in improving your professional life, you should get a grip and start managing your time. Achieve more in a day and you will see significant improvements in your professional life.

Forgetfulness. This may sound like an innocent mistake, but forgetting to do things more often than usual is a sign that you are starting to neglect your job. Aside from the fact that it will affect your productivity and your performance, it will also lead to the downfall of your career. It sends the wrong signals to your teammates and to your boss, and it may not be seen as mere forgetfulness. It may be perceived as laziness and negligence to your job.
You should therefore never make the excuse that you are simply a forgetful person. You need to deal with it by creating a list of all the things you need to achieve every single day. An organizer would be of great help to you, so use it to the maximum. Hopefully, you will end up getting back on track and not missing any important detail.

Read the rest of the article here.

How to Decline a Job Promotion

So you were offered a promotion. Out of all the people in your company, you were one of the chosen few to take a step up the career ladder. But as much as you know it’s a good thing, you can’t help but feel something is not right.

Perhaps it is because the new position will not contribute to the realization of your goals, or maybe you do not want the monetary rewards in exchange of more responsibilities and less family time. Given that your reasons are valid, the next question is this – how will you decline a promotion? It is easier to decline offers in executive jobs, but saying no to a promotion certainly needs more explanation. Strategize well and execute your promotion decline through these tips:

The reason/s
Clearly identify your reasons for not accepting the promotion. Maybe you are just shocked about the promotion, and you feel that you cannot handle the new responsibilities. Maybe you feel embarrassed to be chosen among all the other people in your team. In other words, you may just be being restrained by your own self. If so, then what you need is encouragement, a change of heart and a decision to be happy about being promoted.

If, on the other hand, your reasons are more than just emotional hindrances, then you need to identify them and explain them well. For instance, if it is about work-life balance, make sure that you choose your words as you explain. Do not say that you do not want more work or that you do not like working overtime. Instead, explain how you want to have a healthy professional life, but your priority is your family. Tell your boss that the new position may significantly affect your personal life and your rest, and that may be detrimental to your performance as an executive. This applies to all industries, from accountant jobs to sales.

Read the rest of the article here.

What Executives Can Learn from Steve Jobs

It is only right to pay tribute to Steve Jobs, a visionary who turned a company from nothing to becoming the main thing. As the whole world mourns his death, let us learn a thing or two from him and hope that we achieve half as much as what he did.

• Edit and revise. Steve Jobs was known to be super meticulous, and all of Apple’s products and platforms show it. Every product that he launches is something of high quality in all aspects – performance, design, innovation. No wonder people are willing to pay more for an iPhone, iPod or MacBook. Adopt that attitude and save your company unnecessary rounds of failure. Set a standard of excellence and you will see results in no time.

• Do what you love. Steve Jobs was not the only one who believed in doing what you love. Every Singapore job seeker does. But are you living it? He did and he did well. As long as you have love-fuel for your job, you will achieve what you want and more. Jobs even said that he loved Apple so much. Can you say the same for the company that you are working in right now? Share a sense of ownership with your team for the whole company and you will see dramatic change in attitudes and performance.

 Read the rest of the article here.

Design Principles You Can Adopt for Work

Well-designed photos, spaces and other works of art appeal to the viewer’s senses. Although the following principles are based on the idea of visual aesthetics, they can make sense when applied to business as well. Below are some design principles that you can apply to how you work.

•    Repetition. There is beauty in patterns, or the appearance of similar elements in a single space. You can apply this to how you conduct business or to how you work as well. Some strategies and tactics have been proven effective for mostsales jobs; repeat them to ensure success every time. Sometimes overthinking is detrimental. Just stick with some plain old boring strokes and you will hit the target.

•    Unity. If the elements in a photo seem to blend well together, albeit they are in different colors and sizes, then you have taken a nice shot. Aim for unity in your team by conducting team building activities. This will help you maintain a harmonious relationship within your staff. Just remember that unity does not mean similarity. Make it a point to encourage healthy debates and then arrive at the best solutions and outputs.

Read the rest of the article here. 

Give and Take: The Benefits of Being a Mentor

You do not have to have the hero tendencies to be sold out in mentoring employees. In fact, you can get a lot out of it, especially when it comes to Singapore jobs, where there is richness in the corporate culture. It is a mutual relationship between two people wherein the mentor takes the time, effort and energy in imparting knowledge, skills and other positive attributes to a person who aims to be in the same level as him.

One face of mentorship that we’ll give emphasis is how it helps the mentor. At the onset of the process, the mentee may not be able to give as much inputs to the mentor. However, the time that a mentor spends sharing what he knows and has would prompt him to reevaluate himself as a professional and a person as a whole. A lot of people pay to have themselves assessed, and mentorship gives it easily and for free. It is a crucial part in career and personal development, and having somebody to look up to you would help you gain ground in terms of where you already are in your career.

Read the rest of the article here.

Starting Early on Career Resolutions

But how to start? Starting is always the challenge. How can you motivate yourself to go the extra mile while the rest of the world is chilling out? Here are a couple of things you can do:

• Take a break. And follow it through by maintaining a good work-life balance. Maximize your time in the office and aim to finish all your tasks on time so that you would not need to render overtime work. Let family and leisure time motivate you to be as efficient as possible. Daily breaks from the corporate world fuels one’s excitement to work.
• Mentor somebody. Sharing what you have with somebody helps you refocus on the more important things when it comes to your career – drive, excellence, up-skilling. Aside from the positive psychological and emotional effects, it also increases your sphere of influence, gaining you significant advantage when it comes to networking.

Ready, go! And now on to the main plan. Battle mediocrity and ensure career development through these steps:

• Update your resume. You’ll never know when you’re going to need it. Jazz it up a little, adding the most recent accomplishments you have and removing the dated ones. Click here for more resume writing tips.
• Create a LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn is possibly the best and most prolific social media network for professionals, from executives in marketing jobs to IT jobs. It is the ideal venue to get new contacts and to build your own personal brand. Don’t be surprised if after a few days, you get a call from a headhunter or an interviewer, telling you that they saw your LinkedIn profile. With that, it is also important that you make it as professional and as effective as possible. Read our LinkedIn series for more information about it.

Read the rest of the article here.