How To Effectively Diversify Your Workplace

A more diverse work environment encourages creativity and creates an atmosphere where your employees feel comfortable expressing themselves.

 You want your business to reflect the ways of the world. Everyone looks different. There’s no one set type of person, so your company shouldn’t have one set type of worker. Diversity helps to make your office a more comfortable and collaborative for employees of all backgrounds as well. If you’re looking for new ways to effectively diversify your workplace, read on.

Promote Inclusion on a Job Site

Above all else, your employees should understand that diversity is a major priority and value for your company. That’s why it’s essential to make it clear to all potential candidates that inclusion and diversity are important to you. When people from different backgrounds see that diversity is a priority to you, they will feel more comfortable applying for a position.

Employees want to see people who work at your company that look like them and share their beliefs and experiences. Having a diverse workplace creates a more welcoming environment and showcases the things that matter most to you as well. People ultimately want to work at a company where they feel valued.

Conduct Diversity Training

Another effective way to ensure diversity is a priority for your company is to conduct regular diversity training. Most companies do these only at the beginning of the hiring process; however, this is poor practice. There are always new ways to figure out how to be more diverse, and it’s best for you to stay up-to-date.

Being open to suggestions from employees on workplace trainings is also important. Hearing your employees’ suggestions helps to ensure that your current training is effective and meaningful. Consider creating opportunities to receive feedback after diversity training to gauge how impactful the experience was for your entire community of workers.

During these training sessions, consider including a section about legalities where you and your coworkers understand your and their rights. Have the sessions led by someone from a different background each time. Also, ask your employees what they would like to see at these sessions so that they don’t feel like a chore.

Celebrate Each Other

Having a diverse staff means all employees come from different backgrounds. Whether it’s religion, race, gender, or sexual orientation, it’s important for you to take the time out to celebrate each other’s differences.

The calendar does a good job of helping out with this. Track specific holidays for different religious groups and shine some light on them. Ask employees affiliated with that religion to share and educate everyone on staff about their culture. Not only will this give employees a space to talk and share their values, but it’ll also improve staff morale by making your workplace more open and comfortable.

You can do something similar with Women’s History Month, Hispanic/Asian Heritage Month, Black History Month, and Gay Pride Month.

Employees will appreciate your diligence celebrating these important dates.

Create Diverse Programs

Find some diverse programs that go well with your company. There are several you can explore, and each one can work to bring the rest of your team together. With the programs, add some incentives and include benefits and rewards for participants.

One of the programs can be mentorship, and from it, your employees can cultivate stronger bonds and relationships with staff members they weren’t necessarily close to before.

It’s necessary to diversity your workplace. The world is constantly evolving and changing, and your company needs to reflect that as well.

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5 Signs That Your Job Is Too Stressful for You

Job stress is a common dilemma for many. For those who are unsure if their job is too stressful to be sustainable, there are some signs you can watch for.

Every job is stressful when you must focus on multiple duties and complete your work promptly. However, the stress in some careers may be too much for someone to handle and cause various ailments that will impact their health. These negative feelings are signs of a job that is too stressful, and identifying these symptoms is an essential first step toward improving your situation.

Constant Exhaustion

Stress causes multiple reactions to occur within the body, such as fight or flight responses, inflammation, and increased blood flow. These constant bodily reactions may cause your body to tire out quickly to the point of exhaustion. If the body does not have time to recuperate from the stress of the job, it will leave you with very little energy throughout the day.

Frequent Irritability

Remaining in a state of stress will leave you on edge and cause you to react quickly and even overreact to small conflicts. If you notice your reactions are synonymous with being snippy, frustrated, or ill-tempered, your job may be too stressful for you. It’s easy for things to annoy you when you have so much to focus on, especially when each task gives you a feeling of anxiety. The tasks and conflicts of your job can frustrate you, which may cause you to lash out at the wrong people.

Difficulty Learning New Things

When you learn how to do something new, you need a certain amount of patience to help you understand it and put it into practice. Your job may be to blame if it’s difficult to focus on new information or you have trouble recalling facts. Stress affects memory and learning, making it difficult to focus and potentially causing mental exhaustion.

You Feel Anticipation Before You Need To Clock In

There are numerous times throughout the year when we don’t want to deal with the constant struggles that come with work. But when you feel fear and heavy anticipation prior to clocking in, the stress of your work is most likely a deterrent. Pressure and conflict at work create can give your brain a feeling of danger, leading it to create more adrenaline. If you notice a feeling of fear as you prepare to work, your job is causing too much stress.

Lack of Sleep

If you have trouble sleeping at night, your body will likely take longer to calm down and relax. The high-stress levels experienced throughout the day can cause a lasting effect. It takes more time for your body to relax than it does to charge with adrenaline as a survival function. It may take twice as long to deescalate if you experience mounting amounts of stress throughout the day.

Stress is powerful, especially when we receive it while on the job. Noticing these signs of stress will help you take action to find ways to live a calmer life in a less stressful position.

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Things To Know About Becoming a Firefighter

A lot goes into the firefighter career. For one, you need to learn the different kinds of firefighter safety gear during training and how to stay fit. While these are two essential areas of the career, there are many other things to know about becoming a firefighter.

You Provide Service to a Community

The important thing to remember about firefighting is you’re serving the community. Just because you have the title of a firefighter doesn’t mean you’re an instant hero. In fact, it actually serves as more than a hero status; it’s a job that helps communities in need, such as assisting people getting out of a building safely.

Stay humble. A good firefighter doesn’t let the status get to them; a firefighter is friendly, brave, and an essential asset to a community.

Being a Team Player Is Essential

Being a team player is essential. Firefighting isn’t a one-person job; everyone must work as a team, especially on an emergency call. Your crew will always have your back when you all work as a team.

Hold Yourself Accountable for Mistakes

Taking responsibility for any mistakes you make on the job is important. This includes everything from showing up late for a shift to missing a training session; talk with others about owning your accidents and learning from them.

You’ll grow into your role better by taking responsibility for your actions. Knowing what you do wrong can help you grow personally and professionally.

You Must Be Early to Every Shift

Showing up to an office on time or early is different than showing up early for a shift as a firefighter. When working in a fire station, you must arrive at least 30 minutes before your call time. The extra 30 minutes isn’t a time to relax; it’s actually the time to get yourself ready.

During the 30 minutes, keep yourself busy with things like enhancing a skill, inspecting your gear, or working out. Every activity you do before your shift helps you remain motivated at work.

Find Yourself a Mentor

Entry into any career will involve struggling to adapt to long hours, especially if you need to keep yourself occupied waiting for a call. As much downtime a firefighter has, they must look for ways to keep themselves engaged and improve their skills.

Once you’ve begun your firefighter career, getting to know your crew and networking is a good idea. Within that new network, connect with someone who’s been on the team for a long time and ask them to mentor you. A mentor gives useful advice on succeeding in every task and learning great skills.

While you continue firefighter training, remember that these areas are some of the essential things to know when becoming a firefighter. You’ll not only grow in your career positively, but you’ll learn to stay humble and how to become a critical asset to the community you’re serving.

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Best Jobs for People With Great Communication Skills

Having a strong set of communication skills isn’t something that comes easily. Here are some great jobs that require you to have this skill set.

For some people, it’s not easy to figure out what profession they want to pursue for the rest of their life. There are so many aspects to consider. But if you have trouble deciding, one thing you can do is look at your skills and figure out which ones are your most defining traits. You can then use those to narrow down your career choices.

If one of your most prominent skills is communication, then we have a list of some great jobs for you to look into. They might not all be a perfect fit for you, but they all involve constant interaction with other people.

Social Media Manager

There is a ton of info about social media-based jobs that you should know about, but a key point in all of them is that you have to be a strong communicator. So starting a career as a social media manager might be for you. You essentially get to control the image of your company on all the major social platforms. That means you’ll need to know how to portray yourself according to the brand. That’s not always easy, but those with a solid communication skill set typically have an easier time with it.

Event Planner

Whether it’s a wedding, community gathering or a large-scale party, being an event planner means you’re constantly talking with multiple people at a time. You must coordinate schedules to ensure that everything goes off without a hitch. If you don’t know how to effectively communicate these things, the event will likely end in a disaster. Since most of your business will come from recommendations and reviews, you need to have this skill mastered to succeed.

If communication is one of your stronger skills and you enjoy the challenge of planning an event from start to finish, this career could be the perfect fit for your future.

Short Sale Agent

Real estate agents have a job purely based on having a solid set of communication skills, but a short sale agent needs to do everything they do on a tighter schedule. While there are many skills that a short sale agent will need to succeed, having the ability to close a deal quickly through effective communication is, by far, the most vital.

Remember that this profession demands a balance of several different skills and market knowledge. However, a strong sense of communication will set you up with a strong foundation to become successful in this career.

Lawyer

If you’re dedicated and alright with going through a lot of schooling, one of the best jobs for those of you who are great communicators is being a lawyer. This job relies on you to be precise with your wording and quick and decisive with your answers. Someone who fumbles over their words and isn’t clear won’t make it as a lawyer. If you have the skills, though, you can make a lot of money in this career field.

HR Specialist

Finally, we have the HR specialist. If talking to others and trying to come to a solution for their workplace-related problems is something you can see yourself doing, then this job is for you. Communicating effectively with fellow employees will make you a standout choice for this type of role, so be sure to give it your all if this is what you decide to go for.

If you’re uncertain which direction to take your career, review these different professions to better understand how your communication skills could help you become successful.

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Are You Prepared to Change Careers?

If you’re fully settled in your career, looking back at the journey it took to get to where you are can be incredibly rewarding. For some, the journey was a quick one: you found the perfect career path almost immediately, and never looked back.

For others, the path was a little more tumultuous, and it took quite a few highs and lows to find the perfect place for you. For others still, what looked like the perfect career lost its luster a little way down the road, and you were faced with a choice to make about the perfect path to be on.  

It’s Never Too Late to Make a Change

If you find yourself in the latter category, it’s important to remember that you’re not alone in feeling this way—in fact, 71% of the American workforce is looking to switch up their job according to a recent study.

It’s becoming more and more normalized to try on a few different careers to see which is the best fit for you. In a time where the average person changes job up to 12 times throughout the course of their career, it’s more than acceptable to hop from job to job and get as much diversified experience as you can. 

When to to Consider Career Options

However, what isn’t acceptable is feeling like you’re trapped in a job or career that isn’t the best fit for you. No matter if you feel underappreciated, overworked, or just plain stuck, changing careers could get you out of that rut you’ve felt stuck in. While there may be no scientifically- proven “right” time to make a career change, there are surefire signs felt by employees across the board that signal it’s time to look into a different career path. 

The easiest sign to recognize is stress or burnout. “Burnout” is defined as being “exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration.” Considering that this was recently recognized by the World Health Organization as a serious workplace hazard, it’s important to take stock of how you’re feeling at work.

It’s no secret that a little bit of stress is actually a good thing; it shows you care about your job and assignments. If you’re feeling consistently stressed out, are perpetually unhappy at work, or if you dread going into the office every morning, it may be time to look at a different career path.

Though important, burnout and stress aren’t the only signs it’s time to look at a different career. Being challenged and feeling motivated at your job is incredibly important, and it could be a problem if you aren’t feeling either of those. Similarly, if you feel like you’ve stopped growing and learning, recognize that you may have plateaued in your current position, or have a strong desire to be doing something else, it could be time to consider doing something different.

It could even be something as simple as not aligning with the company’s goals and values. Either way, you should be in a position that makes you feel valued, respected, and important. If you aren’t, it might be time to look into your other options.

Tips for a Seamless Transition

Though the thought of changing careers may be scary, you don’t have to go it alone. This flowchart provided by Turbo Intuit will help guide you through the tough decision of whether or not it’s time for you to change careers, along with tips on making the transition to a new career as easy as possible.

While changing careers is a big leap to take, just keep in mind how worth it will be for you (and your career!) when you’re happily settled in your new field.

Guest Author Emily Borst is a content creator who helps Turbo Intuit create helpful and compelling stories worth sharing. Her background in digital marketing and creative writing has led her to cover unique topics ranging from business to lifestyle. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, crafting, and eating her way through Austin, Texas. To learn more, connect with Emily on LinkedIn.

Graphic Courtesy Intuit Turbo

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Starting a New Job: Checklist for Success

Giving a good first impression on the first day at your job it’s a great way to show what they can expect from you. But deciding what to wear and what to bring can be nerve wrecking. If you don’t know where to start, and want to prepare quickly, here are some tips for starting a new job. 

Familiarize yourself with the commute 

Decide how you will be getting to work and if you are driving make sure to take into account the time it will take for you to get there. If you are taking public transportation or even walking, make sure to familiarize yourself with the route and leave a few minutes early in case of delays.

Get enough sleep

To wake up feeling fresh in the morning, it’s important to rest well the night before. Avoid alcohol or any mind-altering substances and set up an alarm for a time that you will be able to get enough sleep as well as have enough time to get ready.

Plan your outfit

Try to take a few minutes the day before to pick an outfit and have it ready for the next morning. It’s also a good idea to prepare what snacks and lunch you will be bringing, and have them packed and ready to go. 

Make a checklist

If you can, talk to your supervisor and check if you need to bring any documents or anything else for your first day. Also make sure to pack a water bottle and a sweater, as well as a charger and toiletries. To make it easy for you, you can download and print out this checklist of how to prepare for your first day. 

Prepare for your first week 

You will most likely spend a big chunk of your first week setting up your accounts, meeting people and familiarizing yourself with the company. But staying organized and setting goals for your week can be a great way to start your job and give a great first impression. You can create a schedule for your week, have lunch with co-workers or talk to your supervisor and see what is expected from you. 

Tip: Review these do’s and don’ts for starting a new job to be sure you make the best impression.

If you want to learn more about how you can prepare for starting at your new job, check out Mint’s infographic below.

Infographic courtesy Intuit Mint.

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How To Start and Advance Your Career in Accounting

You may have heard of a recent decrease in accounting graduates and accounting school enrollment. Fortunately, if you’re interested in joining the industry, there are plenty of opportunities and decreasing competition for key roles if you prepare yourself well. Here are four key steps for starting and advancing your career in accounting.

Hit the Books

Education and credentials are a big part of getting started in your accounting career. After all, accounting isn’t exactly something you can play by ear. The methods and principles accountants need to use on a daily basis are fairly objective and set in stone, so those hiring accountants want to know that you have a firm foundation of accounting theory.

Most accounting roles require a bachelor’s degree to get started, although the path to higher roles can be fairly diverse. With a solid foundation in accounting, you can climb to management, controller, and even CFO roles through experience and advanced accounting degrees, but many are also entering those positions with degrees in business management, finance, or even something more targeted to the specific industry of their company. 

Get a Foot in the Door

One of the best things about a career in accounting is that it has the perfect balance of career growth opportunities and flexibility. You can move up the chain from being a bookkeeper or account clerk to junior accountant, senior accountant, management, and even to controller or CFO if you have the ambition. But you don’t have to follow this exact path, and can come into these roles from another industry or department if you have the right credentials.

This linear path remains the simplest and surest way to climb the career ladder as an accountant. If you have little to no experience or are in the process of obtaining an accounting degree or certification, consider getting a foot in the door by taking an entry-level position as a bookkeeper or an AP/AR clerk. These roles typically don’t require an accounting degree or much experience and can be a great starting point. 

An entry-level job in the accounting department gives you a chance to learn about the company, familiarize yourself with the chart of accounts, and build relationships with the people who can help you climb to higher levels. It also allows you to accumulate those much-needed years of experience for future positions.

Build Your “Soft Skills”

More and more of the daily tasks of accountants are being automated by software. That leaves accountants with more time and energy than ever before to play a strategic role in the company and actually apply the numbers rather than simply crunching them. With accountants becoming more integral to the process, you’ll need to have a strong set of soft skills to succeed.

Gone are the days when accountants can hide behind their calculators in the annex. Translating accounting knowledge to your non-accounting teammates takes strong communication skills. As more of the basic number crunching is managed by software, this communications piece is becoming an increasingly important part of the role of accountant. 

To advance your career in accounting, take the time to build your interpersonal skills, as well as presentation skills, and demonstrate your commitment to communication and collaboration with other departments on the job.

Get Comfortable With Tech

This should go without saying, but tech skills are crucial to building a solid accounting career. The nature of technology is acceleration. In other words, there’s a snowball effect, so the more tech we have, the faster we develop new tech. Where accountants had done things in more or less the same way for decades, new tools and technology are now reshaping the landscape every few years. To thrive in this environment, you need to be comfortable with technology and willing to learn new software on a regular basis.

While lagging behind on tech savvy can be a liability, growing your tech comfort level is a huge asset to your accounting career. The more quickly you can learn new software tools, the more in-demand you’ll be for accounting roles that utilize those tools.

Along with accounting technology, the workplace as a whole is more and more dependent on tech. With many companies still working on a remote or hybrid basis, the communication and collaboration skills mentioned earlier are heavily reliant on tech. The more fluent you are in using these tools to interact and communicate effectively with your team, the bigger advantage you’ll have for getting a new accounting job or rising up the ranks in your existing company. 

Conclusion

If you’re ready to seek your first accounting role or looking to step up to a more challenging and more rewarding role as you further your accounting career, these four steps will help you get there. With the need for a well-rounded, balanced skillset, the future of accounting looks promising and a lot more interesting.

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The Challenges of Going Into Business With Your Spouse

Your partner has a great entrepreneurial idea. Before you combine your resources, consider the challenges of going into business with your spouse.

Perhaps you met in business, law or medical school. Maybe one of you is taking over a family business or has come up with an innovative new product. You and your partner are committed to each other, but should you commit to opening a business together? Before you pool your resources and take the plunge, consider the challenges of going into business with your spouse.

Defining Roles

At home, the two of you may have a well-oiled machine going. You know whose night it is to make dinner, who will drive the kids to school and whose turn it is to take a night out with friends.

But when you work together, you must define roles clearly, in the same way that you would when you hire employees and build your team. If you structure your company to make each of you an equal partner, this role definition can be difficult. You both must resist the urge to do everything. Starting a business is an all-consuming project that throws you together 24/7. Plan so that you don’t duplicate effort or infringe on your partner’s areas of expertise.

You’re in a Love Triangle

There was, perhaps, no more poignant moment in a very public doomed marriage than the interview where Princess Diana said, “There were three of us in this marriage.” When you go into business with your significant other or spouse, you are creating a triangular relationship: you, your partner and your business. This is true whether you establish an accounting practice or open a medical office. Dual military couples face particular challenges maintaining their relationship if one outranks the other or partners face deployment thousands of miles apart.

If both of you are in sync and committed to making the business partnership work, it could be the best thing that ever happened to you. But if one of you feels the other is putting in too much or too little, the sense of imbalance can impact both your personal and business relationship.

Work-Life Balance

There are plenty of common workplace mistakes you should avoiding making. Working with your spouse could easily guide you into committing one of the worst career mistakes: a loss of a work-life balance.

When you go home with your business partner, the temptation is to keep talking about the business. But as with any other career, people who are half of a “couplepreneur” enterprise need downtime, family time and “me time.” Discuss boundaries between your business and your home so that you can return to work refreshed, ready to solve problems and take advantage of new opportunities.

Couples who go into business together can potentially end up better financially than a couple with separate careers. The profits from the business go back to the family unit. Women who are business partners with their husbands tend to make more money than they would if they were working solo or for someone else. But you also jointly take on the risk of failure, with no separate job or career as the fallback for hard times.

Passion goes a long way both in business and personal relationships. However, it’s essential to understand and prepare for these common challenges of partnering with your spouse before working together. If you and your partner know each other’s strengths, support each other and can maintain open communication, you’ll be able to handle the challenges of going into business with your spouse.

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5 Ways To Develop Your Leadership Skills

Never stop learning! Continue to amplify your leadership skills and learn new abilities that may help you find a promotion or a new position.

Leadership skills are a key part of every organization. Whether you’re an individual looking for more responsibility at work or an executive hoping to take your company to the next level, there’s no denying that developing your leadership skills can help with both professional and personal growth. We’ll show you some simple ways to do that.

Step Outside Your Comfort Zone

There are ways to develop your leadership skills. You may find yourself having to try new things that scare or intimidate you. You’ll start to see what you’re good at and which areas need work. For example, if you’re afraid of public speaking, but a great leader needs to communicate with others in front of an audience, then that’s something that you need to address.

Practice Good Communication Skills

When it comes to communication, each person is responsible for making sure there are no misunderstandings. As a leader, you must learn how to listen carefully and ask questions to clarify what you hear. Your goal should be for the other person to feel understood and respected—and if you do this well, they’re more likely to do so in return.

Listen for what people say and don’t say, look closely at their body language, and actively listen by asking clarifying questions or summarizing their message in your own words. This will help ensure that everyone is on the same page.

Seek Out New Responsibilities

If you want to grow as a leader, you need to be proactive about finding opportunities for growth. If your current role doesn’t offer much opportunity for growth, consider volunteering for opportunities on the job or taking on leadership roles outside of work—for example, joining a non-profit board or organizing a fundraiser.

There are many ways that individuals can find opportunities for growth; some examples include taking advantage of training programs offered by their employer. Look for formal mentoring programs or informal coaching from peers and certifications that you can complete.

Network With Other Leaders in Your Industry

Networking is a great way to learn new skills, find mentors, and build relationships. It’s also a great way to find new contacts or even new job opportunities.

There are many ways you can network as an entrepreneur or small business owner: attend networking events, join professional organizations, and connect with other people in your industry.

Professional Development

Professional development is a lifelong process. You should learn new skills or improve existing ones annually. As an example, if you want to develop your leadership skills, consider taking classes at a local college or university that specializes in leadership training. These courses can help you develop your management skills while also helping build relationships with other professionals who share similar interests.

What’s Your Motivation?

Great leaders exhibit certain characteristics, including a desire to lead motivated by a sense of duty and responsibility. As you grow in your leadership skills, you make yourself more valuable.

There are many methods to develop your leadership abilities, but it’s important to remember that at the heart of any good leader is the desire to help others. This may require stepping outside your comfort zone, networking with other leaders in your industry, or examining your core values and beliefs. Whatever method works best for you—there are no wrong answers—the point is it all starts by taking action!

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How Transferable Skills Can Help Your Career

Whether you are seeking a new job or looking for a career change, the skills you have learned in one position can be used in another. It could be a similar job, or it could be something completely different. If the skills are generic enough (not company specific), they can be transported between roles, between companies, and even between industries.

What Are Transferable Skills?

The skills that can be transferred across industries and types of positions are called transferable skills. They are practical capabilities such as problem-solving and critical thinking that are necessary in many different lines of work.

How to Get Transferable Skills

The skills you learn in other ways, outside of the workplace, by volunteering, for example, can also be used to help qualify you for jobs that you might not have considered. These skills can be acquired over time or through higher education and experience, but what sets them apart is that they are adaptable and can be used in many various settings.

Transferable skills can be developed through military service, classwork, extracurricular activities like sports or clubs, internships, former jobs, travel, and study abroad experience, etc. Many skills can be established through non-conventional work or educational environments, so no experience is too distant. 

Tip: You may be surprised at the computer skills you already have that can help you get hired.

Examples of Transferable Skills

Transferable skills can be used in a variety of ways. Take Margaret, for example. She spent years working as an administrator for a large insurance company. During the same period, she volunteered on a regular basis for a local animal rescue group. When a job coordinating volunteers became available at a nearby animal shelter, she was able to use the skills she had acquired volunteering to help her get the job. 

In a similar case, another career changer spent a few hours a week volunteering for hospice. She did have a degree in social work but hadn’t used it because she was a stay-at-home mom raising a family. When she was ready to go back to work, a job opened up at hospice, and she was the first person interviewed. She was hired on the spot.

 List of Transferable Skills

Here’s a list of transferable skills you can use to boost your job search.

• Adaptability
• Analysis
• Analytics
• Attention to detail
• Communication
• Computer skills
• Creativity
• Critical thinking
• Customer service
• Data analysis
• Decision making
• Evaluating
• Flexibility
• Helpfulness
• Goal setting
• Interpersonal skills
• Language skills
• Listening
• Leadership
• Management
• Meeting deadlines
• Motivation
• Multitasking
• Organization
• Planning
• Persuasion
• Problem solving
• Productivity
• Project management
• Research and planning
• Relationship building
• Selling
• Strategy
• Teamwork
• Technical skills
• Time Management
• Vision
• Writing

Assess Your Transferable Skills

 To assess your transferable skills, spend some time looking at what you have done. Make a list of the jobs you have had, the volunteering you have done, and the clubs and organizations you belong to. Have you helped out at school or church? How about summer jobs and activities?

If you worked at a retail store, you have customer service experience. Did you manage your household budget as a stay-at-home parent? You have finance and budgeting skills. Did you study abroad in France? You may speak more than one language and you are able to communicate cross-culturally.

Then consider what you have done in each of those roles. Many of these skills may be able to be used effectively in the workplace.

Showcase Your Skills

Everything you have accomplished, work related or not, has provided you with skills you can use in a new job or career. These can be incorporated into your resume and your cover letters as well. Just because you weren’t paid for what you did doesn’t mean it doesn’t qualify as work.

Tip: Here’s how to highlight your transferable skills in your cover letter and how to add a skills section to your resume.

It is important to be able to demonstrate and explain how you will be able to apply your skills to a new work environment, so be prepared to share examples with prospective employers. One of the best ways to do that is to share a story when you respond to interview questions.

Growing Your Skillset

As your career progresses, you will be able to grow your list of transferable skills. All your daily activities have the potential to give you a new skill or ability you will be able to use in the future. It’s important not to minimize what you have learned along the way. 

Timothy, for example, told me that he didn’t have any skills. He’d worked in construction for years. However, he had spent a lot of spare time skiing and was able to use the knowledge he had acquired to get certified as a ski instructor. That certification led to a seasonal position at a ski resort and eventually led to a permanent career change. 

We all have transferable skills, whether we think so or not. It’s simply a question of figuring out what they are, then using them to define what it is we want to do with the skills we have.

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How to Get a Promotion While Working Remotely

More than ever, businesses are operating remotely. For employees gunning for a promotion in the new landscape, the rules and conventions are murky at best. 

A manager might feel less accessible over Zoom, or the distance may make it harder to demonstrate success. It may also feel difficult to gauge the state of the company when you’re out of the office.

But these are surmountable hurdles, according to Lindsey Rogers, leadership coach and founder of Alchemi. Remote work may be indefinite in some companies, so it’s important to embrace the digital reality and go for it.

“It’s absolutely possible to be promoted remotely,” said Rogers. “Don’t wait.” 

5 Tips for Getting Promoted When You’re Working Remotely

Here are some of Rogers’s tips for landing a promotion while working from home.

1. Avoid Making Assumptions

Many people don’t go for promotions because they’ve made unfounded assumptions, according to Rogers. The pandemic may seem like a terrible time to ask for a promotion, for example. But while it is true that many companies are struggling, others are actually thriving. 

“I watch clients self-limit themselves all the time. They assume they know the situation the company is in,” said Rogers. “Especially with women, it’s that internal glass ceiling.” 

Rogers said that if employees are afraid to put themselves out there they should ask themselves why and avoid any conjecture. 

Until you’ve had conversations with higher-ups or consulted company job postings, you won’t know whether or not a promotion is feasible. 

2. It’s a Process, Not Just One Conversation

Employees often envision asking for a promotion as one nerve-wracking, momentous conversation. That’s a myth, Rogers said.

Even if you’re remote, you should insist on a regular weekly check-in with your manager on a video chat platform. This is a great way to discuss your successes of the week, stay on top of company information, and lay out your inquiries. 

“You don’t have to do everything in one conversation. Get into a rhythm,” said Rogers. “Being proactive with your communication shows excellent leadership.” 

Bring up your career goals one week, for example, and ask your boss if they believe a promotion is the next step. Ask what skills are needed to achieve the promotion, and demonstrate that you have utilized these skills at the next meeting. Ultimately, if your manager is on your team, they will help you get a promotion approved.

3. Proactively Build and Maintain Relationships Online

In a remote culture, it’s difficult to connect with people if they’re not directly working with you. Rogers recommended that employees proactively reach out to various colleagues and maintain those relationships, even if it’s over email.

Share work that you’re proud of and credit those involved, for example. Send colleagues praise when they hit a benchmark. Send a friendly, gracious response to emails sent to you, if appropriate. Try to work directly with as many people as possible in and out of your team, if possible.

When it comes time to ask for a promotion, you’ll have built an army of allies.

“It’s just as important as ever to have examples of your work and testimonials from others,” said Rogers. 

4. Recognize the Remote Advantages

Some aspects of remote operations could work in your favor when it comes to seeking a promotion. Use them to your advantage, Rogers said. 

Remote work gives you the opportunity to show your success in ways that have nothing to do with your office presence, for example. This is a particular boon for people who have children or busy home lives. 

“You’ll be judged on your results more than whether or not someone sees you at your desk until 7 o’clock at night,” said Rogers.

Also, many people aren’t great at communicating over Zoom, Slack or email. This makes it easy to stand out if you put in the effort to communicate well and dress professionally, Rogers said.

5. Move Up Through a Different Company

If you’re not getting the answers you want at your current position, consider switching companies and moving up via a different ladder. It may seem like a risky, impossible idea during the pandemic, but never assume. 

“If you’re seeing a lot of roadblocks, it’s time to wonder if it’s easier to get a higher level position elsewhere,” said Rogers. “That’s really scary, but people are hiring good people. If we assume that it’s not possible, it will be. If we ask how might it be possible, it’s more likely we can find the potential ways we’re going to move forward.”

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7 Tips For Relocating Without A Job Lined Up

Whether you are fresh out of college or looking to pursue a career abroad, moving without a job lined up can be quite stressful and intimidating. But that doesn’t mean you have to put your plan of moving to a new city on the back burner. Here are some strategic steps you can take to make the job-hunting process in this new chapter of your life much easier. 

Getting Your Finances Together

The last thing you want to worry about when moving to a new city is an empty bank account. When dedicating most of your time to looking for a job, making sure that you have enough savings to support this job-search process will significantly reduce your stress level. The first step to properly managing your finances is to calculate your monthly expenses with a budget app like Mint. Although this might entail living below your means for a few months until you finally land that dream job. 

If living on a tight budget seems a bit challenging, consider starting a side-hustle to bring in a steady source of income. With less financial pressure, you can fully focus on job hunting and not rush the process. 

Job Hunt Like A Pro

Before packing up and moving to that new city, take the time to master your networking skills and learn how to job hunt like a pro. Job-searching requires you to step out of your comfort zone and take proactive steps to increase your chances of getting hired.

Whether it’s through sending personalized emails to previous professional contacts, attending virtual networking events, or posting your resume on LinkedIn to get yourself noticed. Opportunities are everywhere. Put yourself out there, and you’ll receive that job offer before you know it!

Image courtesy Intuit Mint

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