High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 5 Things to Stop Doing at Work

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

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• 5 Things to Immediately Stop Doing at Work: "You may be so used to trying to knock three things off of your to-do list at once that focusing on a single task seems like a luxury. But ... research from Stanford University has shown that your productivity seriously suffers when you attempt to accomplish too much at the same time."


• 10 Career Lessons You Should Learn by Your 30s: "It’s not always easy to spot the "good eggs" from those who are insincere or who have a bad reputation that could tarnish yours. And if you’ve made professional enemies, their impressions could come back to haunt you later in your career."


• Stop Trying to Please Everyone: "While saying yes to every assignment may initially please senior execs, it usually leaves people over-stressed and inundated with work — a lot of which ends up half-finished or forgotten. In the long run, no one is happy."


• 6 Ways Women Sabotage Their Professional Success: "What message do you want to send? Pay attention to your language, choose your words carefully and for goodness’ sake, do not use minimizing language that takes away the power of your message."


• If You're Not Happy Make a Change: "Simply taking action doesn’t guarantee results ... But if you don’t take action there is only one guarantee, and that is your situation will never improve and you will remain unhappy."

6 Ways to Become Indispensable at Work

Layoffs and change are unavoidable. Companies are constantly looking to improve processes and save money and so your career strategy should always involve a plan to make yourself indispensable. 

Of course, this doesn't mean you'll never lose your job but it does provide some safe-guards and make it more likely that you'll land on your feet if a layoff does come.

Here are 6 ways to become indispensable at work:

1. Become an expert. Understand how to do your job better than anyone else in your workplace. And then actually DO the job better than anyone. Become known as the person to seek out for knowledge and training about your job.

2. Learn new skills. Continue to grow and learn more in your job. Develop new skills and understand how best to apply them to your work.

3. Have a good attitude. When you have a positive attitude at work others want to be around you and collaborate with you. Use your positivity to encourage others.

4. Take a leadership role. You don't have to be a manager or supervisor to be a leader. Demonstrate a good work ethic, have a positive attitude, and share your skills with others. Take on a task that others don't want to do. Do it without being asked.

5. Be involved. Many workplaces have committees or other ways to be involved in improving the culture of your workplace. Join a committee and take a leadership role.

6. Mentor others. Use the knowledge you've gained by becoming an expert and learning new skills to train and mentor others in your company. When new staff are hired volunteer to train them and soon you'll be the go-to person for training.

And finally a bonus idea: if necessary, bring in treats. Everyone likes to eat!

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: Mark Cuban's 12 Rules for Startups

Each week we present our Daily Leap Career Video of the Week. The video we share presents news or advice related to career development, searching for a job, the economy and employment, and other career-related topics.

The Entrepreneur video below shares Mark Cuban's 12 rules for startup companies, beginning with "don't start a company unless it's an obsession or something you love." Watch the video for the next 11 rules.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 6 Habits of Ambitious People

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

© Bellemedia | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

• Stop Trying to Find a 'Real' Job: "Times have changed and will change even more. So why not use this time to re-invent yourself, do the work that matters and create a career that actually makes you stand out and be the remarkable you that you can be?"


• 6 Habits of Ambitious People: "Find role models. Befriend and learn from mentors. Make friends with people smarter than you and more successful in fields you are interested in."


• 6 Ways to Be More Productive at Work: "If your office allows you to take breaks during the day, take advantage of it, even if you only take five minutes instead of 15. Get up, walk around, go outside and get some fresh air."


• How to Answer the Interview Question 'Tell Me About Yourself': "These days we’re all consultants. A job interview is a great place to sell your consulting services, even if you’re going after a salaried job!"


• Overcoming Mental Barriers to Success: "To be a standout success you must be radical enough to make up your own rules, be willing to rise above the status quo, and have the willingness to take great risk to secure your unique place in the business world."

4 Ways to Improve Your Job Satisfaction

When you've been in a job or a career for a few years (or sometimes even a few months) you can come to a place where the position has grown stale and you start feeling a little dread and anxiety on Sunday evenings.

Perhaps you're no longer challenged in your work or you don't get along with your supervisor or a co-worker.

Here are four ways to improve your job satisfaction and help make those Sunday evenings before starting the work week a little more enjoyable.

1. Attitude adjustment. It's no secret that our attitudes and beliefs play an important role in our job satisfaction. We tell ourselves how unhappy we are with certain aspects of the job or with someone we have to work with. We complain to others. Instead, take some time each morning to consider three things you appreciate about the job. They don't have to be profound and can be as simple as the job provides you with an income, or you enjoy the short commute. Focusing on a few positives about your work can help you start the day better.

2. Try something new. Identify a project that needs to get done and volunteer for it, especially if the project plays to your strengths or involves learning some new skills. Taking on a new challenge and learning something new will go along way towards increasing your job satisfaction.

3. Meet someone new. Make a point to avoid eating alone. Invite a colleague or co-worker to join you for lunch or a coffee break and don't just talk about work. Making a new friend on the job can make work more interesting and give you a good reason to look forward to the day.

4. Get organized. If you are disorganized or fall behind in your work it can make it difficult to enjoy your job and can increase your stress levels and anxiety. Clean and organize your desk, your computer, and your work environment and you'll feel more prepared to take on the responsibilities your job requires.

Making these four minor changes to your work routine can greatly improve your job satisfaction and make you eager to get to work on those important projects and tasks every Monday morning.

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: 10 Questions You Should Ask in a Job Interview

Each week we present our Daily Leap Career Video of the Week. The video we share presents news or advice related to career development, searching for a job, the economy and employment, and other career-related topics.

The Forbes video below recommends 10 questions to ask in a job interview, starting with "what skills and experiences would make an ideal candidate?"

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 15 Habits of Mentally Tough People

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

© Bellemedia | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

• 6 Tips for Becoming a Good Boss: "Think about the traits you want your employees to mimic, and practice them. This will build trust and respect in your ability to manage through consensus and understanding."


• 15 Habits of Mentally Tough People: "The mentally tough also know how to exert self-control by saying no to themselves. They delay gratification and avoid impulsive action that causes harm."


• 10 Words to Remove from Your LinkedIn Profile: "I would stay away from these buzzwords, though, because you sound like everyone else. These words almost lose their meaning the more that people use them."


• For Entrepreneurs Preparation Beats Passion: "New research on hundreds of founders reveals that passion has nothing to do with results a few years out. What matters is preparedness."


• 5 Reasons to Add Purpose to Your Business: "Customers will generally choose the purpose-driven product over the brand without the cause.... For startups, you can knit the cause into the fabric of your business and allow it to influence every decision you make."

3 Ways to Know You Have a Meaningful Job

For some people a job or a career is all about that well-known quote from the movie Jerry Maguire, with Tom Cruise yelling into the phone "Show me the money!"

For others, the money is not the main thing or the most important factor. For these people a job must have some meaning or purpose.

Here are three ways to know that you're doing meaningful work.

1. The product or service you provide benefits the world. We all know people working in
companies that employ shady business practices or provide toxic products or exploit their workers. In can be difficult, or impossible, to feel pride in your work if the product or service you provide does harm or violates your moral code.

2. You appreciate and admire your colleagues. When you are working with people you enjoy and admire on products or services that benefit other people you're likely to find your work incredibly fulfilling. If you dread communicating with your co-workers that's might be a sign that your work is not fulfilling or meaningful.

3. You enjoy your work. When you're eager to get up in the morning and get to work on that day's tasks you know you're in a good place. A good clue to how you feel about your job is the language you use. Do you speak positively about your work to family and friends or do you often find that you complain about your job or colleagues? There are always times when work is stressful but when you generally enjoy your workplace you'll find the work more meaningful.

If these describe you and your work congratulations on a meaningful career!

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: 8 Traits of Successful Leaders

Each week we present our Daily Leap Career Video of the Week. The video we share presents news or advice related to career development, searching for a job, the economy and employment, and other career-related topics.

In the video below Richard St. John shares the results of ten years of research and 500 face-to-face-interviews identifying eight common traits in successful leaders around the world.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: Networking and Getting the Most Out of a Conference

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

© Bellemedia | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

• How to Get the Most Out of a Conference: "Perhaps one-on-one meetings are better for you or small group settings. If so ... mak(e) a reservation at a local restaurant for about eight people before the conference. Then invite people from your wish list."


• Become a Networking Beast: "Avoid rambling off the reasons why your product or service is the best. Instead, ask everyone whom you speak with if there is anything you can do to help their business."


• Mika Brzezinski on Leadership and Knowing Your Worth: "Don't ever say that you will walk if you won't, but if you get to the point where you can no longer do your job knowing that you are not getting what you are worth, it might be time to take that drastic step. Plan ahead for future employment if you find yourself in a place where you have to make demands."


• 6 Interviewing Mistakes: "As with the elevator pitch, it’s best to have a smart, genuine question prepared before the interview. All too often, people to go into the interview with the expectation that a brilliant question will materialize somewhere between the hellos and the wind-down, but it just doesn’t work that way."


• 3 Steps to Mapping Your Career Path: "Your values, strengths, interests and compensation are building blocks that make up the cornerstone of fulfillment in your career."

4 Reasons to Avoid Taking that Promotion Now

You have an opportunity for a promotion and so, of course, you should take it, right? Well, not so fast. There might be several reasons why it's not best to take that promotion at this time.

Let's consider 4 reasons why it's best to avoid taking a promotion now.

1. Stress. That job might sound great on paper and you might like the new title and salary but are you prepared for the additional stress and demands that it will make? If not, you might consider staying out.

2. New colleagues/boss. Let's face it, some teams and areas in a company have a better reputation
than others. Some teams are social and everyone gets along and hangs out together after work. If that's you and you move to a new position with colleagues who barely speak to one another are you going to feel comfortable? Or maybe the new team or supervisor is known for negativity. That might not be a situation you want to put yourself in.

3. Travel. In many companies a move up the ladder requires more significant work travel. Now if you're someone who likes to get away than this might be ideal. But what if you have young children at home or simply prefer to stay around town? The added travel just might bring unwanted stress and anxiety that is not offset by the exciting new career possibilities.

4. New title and increased salary. If the only appeal of the promotion is the opportunity for more income or a more significant title than this might not be the promotion for you.

Before accepting a promotion consider the factors described above to help make a decision that is the best for your career now and into the future.

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: One Time Management Rule for Increased Productivity

Each week we present our Daily Leap Career Video of the Week. The video we share presents news or advice related to career development, searching for a job, the economy and employment, and other career-related topics.

In the video below business coach Craig Ballantyne from Early to Rise shares a simple time management rule that can help you become more productive.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: Productivity and Early Mornings

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

© Bellemedia | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

• Why Productive People Get Up Early: "Whether by waking up before dawn or truly vacating your vacation, building a schedule that protects your love for what you do is critical to optimizing the quality of your life—and your work."


• Ambition is Not a Dirty Word: "The more successful people I meet—both men and women—the more I realize ambition itself is mostly roses and sweetness, drawing others in to who you are and what you see."


• 5 Ways to Improve Your Performance: "When you don’t have tedious tasks pulling at you from all directions you can focus 100 percent of your attention on the objectives that directly impact the growth of your business."


• How to Overcome the Midday Slump: "Any kind of physical movement will temporarily boost your alertness and energy levels....You might take a brisk walk around the block, walk up and down the stairs, do some jumping jacks or push-ups, or even just stretch at your desk."


• 6 Changes to Make to Your Job Search: "The best strategy for uncovering job opportunities is to diversify how you search for jobs. Use recruiters, either working inside a company's human resources department or a third party that's contracted to source talent."

5 Steps to Improve Your Mindset

Our thoughts and the attitude we bring to our jobs and careers significantly impacts our career success and enjoyment.

Consider the following 5 steps to improving your mindset and attitude on the job:

1. Sleep. Our attitude and mood is greatly influenced by the amount of sleep we get. In order to have a positive attitude about your career (and life in general) start with getting eight hours of sleep each night.

2. Eat well and exercise. Additionally, it's important to eat foods that energize and avoid a lot of caffeine, sugar, and alcohol. Eating well should be complemented with a routine of physical activity. Consider walking or biking to work, if possible.

3. Meditation. Take some time to meditate every morning before starting your day. It can be as simple as 3-5 minutes of standing or sitting quietly, or you might meditate on one or two things that you are grateful for.

4. Breathe. Be sure to breathe deeply throughout the day. This will help calm you and center you again on the priorities in your life.

5. Smile and laugh often. Greeting everyone you meet with a smile will not only improve your mood but also the attitudes of those you work with.

These are just a few of the many steps you can take to improve your mindset on the job and at home. Implement one or two this week and experience the difference.