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There is no better music to one’s ears than the boss telling you about the raise you are getting. Let’s face it, we work to get rewards. Rewards are identified by the pleasure you get from doing your job well, by the pleasure you get of a purposeful existence, and by the monetary gain that you can achieve – thus advancing your own lifestyle more and more.

The main question in most employee’s minds is of course: “how can I get that raise?” It is a good question too. Basically, in a small office or company, where there is no real management staff or “Corporate America” type environment, it will reduce down to how good of a job are you doing in being the type of employee that the boss “wants to give a raise to” because in these type of environments, there isn’t usually a set standard or a routine protocol for the evaluation of employees and their performance.

If you are in the Corporate America type environment, as long as you do your job well, you’ll get routine raises, whether or not you truly earned it. There’s good and bad to that in terms of your overall performance. The good is you know you’ll be able to keep up with the cost of living. The bad is that you may not know if your raise is a true reflection of your ability and performance.

Typically, In the smaller and less regulated office, the raise comes when the boss is pleased with you and your performance. Thus our title.

The first thing to know is that brownnosers and suck ups are not necessarily the type that get the raise. Don’t think that because you always agree with the boss, always laugh at his jokes, always support his opinions, and bring him a jelly donut just because you know how much he loves them that you will now suddenly find yourself with a fatter paycheck because nine times out of ten, you won’t. Ingratiating mannerisms and attitudes are actually unbelievably annoying – especially to the boss. And, he is not pleased.

If you want to actually please your boss and see a raise in your paycheck here’s how you go about it.

• Be reliable and dependable – get to work on time, don’t take off too much time, get the assignments done on time and correctly.

• Be sensible – dress correctly, converse with co-workers correctly, manage your time wisely, be willing to speak up when your workload is too great or too little.

• Be work-oriented at work – don’t talk on your cell phone, don’t go shopping at lunch, then return to work to show your latest and greatest find to other workers, don’t use work time to pay your bills, or make a phone call to the cable company about your cable box.

• Be industrious - Work through a few breaks, and take shorter lunches whenever the work load of the day suggests that you need more time.

• Show initiative - Take initiative to come in early and get a head start on a project with a tight deadline so that it is seen that you will do whatever is required to make a deadline happen.

• Be helpful – lend a helping hand to other staff because they need it and you can. Team players are always valued. But . . . do it because it needs to be done. Not because you are sucking up.

• Be accountable – if something goes awry and you were involved – own it and suggest how you can resolve it.

There are very few places that will tolerate a person drinking on the job for long. Although alcohol is legal and there is no rules or regulations in our society for day time drinking – save for behind the wheel- there is an accepted fact that alcohol in the workplace does not mix.

Common practices of the past are heavily frowned upon in today’s work environment. You rarely see employees have a drink at lunch anymore, and often you will even find that many employees no longer stop with other workers after work for a drink or two during happy hour.

The attitude more and more is that a sober workplace is a sane workplace. Employees have found that keeping their pleasure away from their work has also saved them from hearing about potentially embarrassing moments at the bar. It can be difficult to maintain one’s respect from his co-workers if he keeps finding himself out drinking with them, getting too “wild” or out of hand.

There are also a number of sexual harassment issues that can be avoided when co-workers remain as co-workers and not drinking buddies. In years past there more and more women were reporting sexual harassment from male co-workers whom they had truly just become friendly with – sometimes because they’d gone out for a drink with a group from work. The woman who analyzes who she chooses to associate with and what type of association she will embark upon is very wise. Thus, staying away from potentially harmful situations that can crop up from male/female co-worker fraternization in the bars has become more and more the norm.

You will also find that employees who do imbibe during the work day are easily spotted by management staff. They do not tolerate it for long. If you are aware of somebody “having a couple at lunch” you will see that it doesn’t take long for the person to either get a warning, or worse yet, get his walking papers.

There are a number of reasons why employers no longer tolerate any kind of drinking during the workday. Some of these reasons are based upon overall employee performance such as quality and quantity of work. Some of these reasons are based upon the employer’s obligation to keep a safe and sane work environment for the rest of his staff. There is nothing more frustrating that trying to work on a project with a co-worker who may have gotten a little “tipsy” over the lunch hour.

In the trades, the reasons are also for safety. Imagine a framer working seven stories up, or a surveyor who keeps a six pack in his lunch box, having a drink during the course of the day to “keep him focused” or “keep his nerves steady”. Not such a good practice obviously, the framer puts himself at risk with his tools, and his equilibrium, the surveyor may be questioned the next day as to the accuracy of his plotted points. These two examples are not even invented. They are actual occurrences.

The best rule of thumb for anybody who enjoys their alcoholic beverages is to remember that when one is taking care of business – they do it sober. They and their coworkers will all benefit from their sound decision.

There is nothing more frustrating than trying to determine the best course of action when you realize that you have a co-worker on drugs. There are a number of thoughts that goes through a person’s mind:

• “It’s none of my business”

• “Management will figure it out soon enough.”

• “Maybe I should talk to them, try to help,”

• And so on.

The co-worker is a problem because of his drug use in a number of ways. Just as big of a problem is what you are supposed to do about it. Let’s examine.

The safe route – It is none of your business. Sadly – it’s not a safe route, moreover, it is affecting you and your work performance, so it seems that their personal choice coming into the workplace is in fact becoming more and more your business. Routine habits such as continued tardiness, missed days, poorly done work, etc. are all making it harder and harder on you to perform your duties. More and more the management is noticing “bumps in the road” coming from your zone – they don’t know yet who the problem is, they may do a blanket cleaning up – because nobody really wants to dive in too personally. You could find yourself out of work simply because you operated from the viewpoint that the coworker had a habit that was none of your business.

The “other” safe route – Management will figure it out soon enough. If you are fortunate enough to work for a company that does routine drug testing, then maybe so. There is a check and balance system in place that will protect you and the rest of the employees, weed out the person with the problem, and maybe even instead of letting that person go, there is an insurance plan and an opportunity for the person to seek treatment and get himself or herself back on the right road to being a productive employee.

The other scenario is that Management won’t figure it out, there is no program, and eventually the person gets fired, and as discussed above, maybe you too.

The more direct route – Talking to them. Sometimes you can do this, and sometimes you can even help. There is much honor and respect in reaching out to someone in need or with a problem and offering to help them. Be fully aware of the actions and habits of a drug user, however, do not allow yourself in an attempt to help them to be used or played. Give them the help of locating programs they can go into, and making it clear that you will not pick up the slack for them when they are not performing well. Do not loan them money or listen to their sad stories. Just give them the right information to get professional help. If they take the help, you’ve done a good thing, if they don’t, you can at least satisfy yourself with the knowledge that you tried.

Ultimately, you are stuck with the problem, and that is where the controversy comes in. No matter what you decide, the person is or will impact you. The society we live in today frowns upon “ratting”, which is a sad thing. When a person is on drugs and using them in the work place, and we all stand around saying and doing nothing, we are not helping them, or ourselves, and we are suffering. Whereas a simple approach of letting it be known, may just save a life and definitely help to save your job.

One of the best ways to secure a long term position is by signing on with a Temporary Employment Agency. They often have terrific resources for your job hunt, plus you can be getting a paycheck while you are seeking a new position.

One of the real benefits to a temp agency is that they bring you in through their own interview process. They will normally have some kind of testing procedure for their agency or for the position that you responded to. From this series of tests, they will determine what other assets and qualities that you have – ones which you may not have mentioned yourself. This broadens the horizon so to speak. They will be able to place you on a bigger variety of jobs due to their own testing. This can be beneficial to you in a number of ways, but the most beneficial is that you have opportunity to explore other aspects of the work place in a more in-depth manner.

The Temp Agency also operates – either advertently or inadvertently as a career counselor. They help you to identify your skills, and to focus on those skills that you excel at when you are interviewing. They can provide advice and pointers on how to interview with success.

They can also provide essential information to you on how you present yourself on assignments. What are the employers seeing that they like about you, for example. All of this is valuable information if you are serious about finding the best position possible, and if you are truly interested in your own career growth.

When they send you out on a job interview or a temporary assignment, they will be operating as your own personal sales representative. They sell you, which consists of your personality and your skills – not just your resume — to the prospective employer to get you placed.

You will also find that often the temp agency will work to place you with an employer who is looking for somebody for a permanent position. While you are on the temporary assignment with that employer, your representative from the temp agency will meet with the employer and discuss your qualities and skills for the job.

Often they will get with you after such an interview and discuss what they would like you to work on so that you may better qualify for the full time position. The reason this is done is because the temp agency gets a nice commission from companies that hire you into a permanent position. Also the temp agency wants you to do the best that you can and will give you as many pointers as they can because with a temp assignment, they have the goal of keeping you with that company for as long as possible – again, that is how they are making money.

Thus, it is a very symbiotic relationship between you and the temp agency. They are there to help you find either temporary or permanent work, and you are there to help them make more money. If you find a temp agency where you can really make a strong connection with your representative, you will also find that you will have plenty of assignments. Because that representative sees you as a true asset, and you see him or her as a true asset.

If you are considering a new job or advancing your career you will need to determine whether or not it is appropriate for you to convey this information to your current employer.  There are times when it is the correct action, and there are times when it is not the correct action.

It is probably not in your best interest to share with your boss your desire for a new position if you have a possibility of advancing within the ranks of your current employer.  It could hurt your opportunities for advancement, which is more than likely the reason you are considering a new position in the first place – the desire for advancement.

If you are leaving your position because there is no opportunity to advance within the company, then you are not in any danger, so conveying your plans is a better option for you.  This is because you don’t feel the need to get “cloak and daggerish” while job hunting.  Also because you can normally get the blessing of the current “powers that be” and secure a very nice letter of recommendation – ideally written from the perspective that they are disappointed to see you go – which is ideal!

Let’s assume that you are in a position where telling your current employer that you are ready to move on is not an option.  That means you need to explore your new career opportunities as discreetly as possible.

Here are a few tips:

1. Don’t tell anybody at work that you are seeking a new position.  It stays completely to yourself.
2. Don’t pull up your resume and try to posh it up at work.
3. Don’t browse online job boards or classified ads on company time or with company equipment – aside from the fact that somebody may catch on to you – there are ethics involved.  Keep to the ethics – do your best on your current job until the day you leave.
4. Use a non-work related email address and one with an appropriate user-name for your job hunt – stay away for crazy-dude33 or starfairyhigh, etc. Remember, you’ll be putting your email address on your resume! Get an email that has a professional look and feel and don’t check it during work hours or on your work computer.
5. Hand out your cell phone number and if you get a call during work hours, return it away from the office and on a break.  Ideally, where nobody can hear you.
6. Try to time your interviews outside of your regular work hours as much as possible.  The company that wants to interview you normally understands your duties and obligations to your current employer and will work to accommodate you.
7. Attend to suitable attire as best you can.  If your office is a more casual place, and you keep showing up overdressed, it will raise an eyebrow or two.  If necessary, keep your interview clothes accessible, perhaps in your car and change before going to the interview.
8. Mind the rules of decent employee etiquette: don’t badmouth your current employer when interviewing, make sure you give plenty of notice if you land a new job so that you do not leave your current employer in a lurch, stay in touch with your old colleagues as they are essential to your career network.

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As the days become colder and talk of the big Turkey Day increases you know the holidays are right around the corner. If you are job hunting during this period of the year you know that many companies are not hiring. However it is not all bad news, because many companies that fiscal year matches the calendar year spend November and December finalizing their updated business plans and budgets for the new year.

So during this time one strategy that could work for you is instead of talking directly to the human resources department do some research into the company and find out who could be an advocate for you. Who would have an easier time at work if you were hired? If you find this person you could send them a letter or even call them up and introduce yourself. Explain that you would like to apply for a position with their company, and stress that you would be a benefit to this contact.

As Dale Carnegie has said in his classic book “How to Win Friends & Influence People” you want to convince others that your best interest is actually in their best interest as well.

Another way of networking for jobs is to go out and meet people! During the holidays there are so many network opportunities. Take for instance the video here of Santa’s Surprise Spectacular event at the Porter County Museum. This event was a local free event for families to have a Christmas tree lighting and to welcome Santa Claus. At these types of events everyone is friendly and open to talking and sharing with each other, a far cry from sitting across someone’s office desk.

Lastly if you need some immediate cash many of the retail chains are still hiring part time help for their busy holiday season, even in these uncertain economic times.

It has been said for years and years, and although many things have changed in the workplace, one thing has not: the best way to find is job is while you still have a job!

There is nothing a potential employer likes more than hearing a prospective new hire is

a) still employed, and

b) has been with that company for a decent period of time.

This shows two very important traits to the employer: responsibility and stability. That is a musical stanza to most companies. They like employees that “stick around” and have the necessary skills and personality to be able to “stick around”. Nothing says “a good risk” to the prospective employer like the person who has been with a company for awhile and is seeking a new position before leaving that company.

For you, there is nothing but good news about finding a new job while still employed: The interviewer asks you why you left your past job, and your answer is, “Oh, I haven’t, actually. I’m still with them, I just felt that it was time for me to advance my career and I’ve gone as far as I can go with my current employer.” Initiative, responsibility, drive, stability. That is what your answer shows.

You are also not in a budget crunch, trying to job hunt while feeling more pressure than you need. Your thoughts often riveted to getting a job before the budget crunching gets worse. You don’t inadvertently display desperation or frustration or stress while interviewing. You have stability, thus you show stability naturally in your mannerisms and in your attitude.

You can also take your time. You can be more selective in the interviews you will accept and the salary and positions you will accept. You may even finally have that chance to do some real position and salary negotiations as that job is not your immediate livelihood with your thoughts focused on your all-to-intense financial demands. In essence, you are not possibly jumping too quickly and taking a position beneath you or minimally for less pay than you can actually comfortably work with.

The bottom line is that you have a better playing field because you have a job already.

You may have to jockey your schedule a bit here and there. You may have to take a few vacation hours now and then. You may even have to deal with an employer who knows you are job hunting and doesn’t want to lose you (which can sometimes lead to a better position and a better paycheck itself). Yet all of these factors are so much easier to manage than being unemployed week after week. Finding yourself desperately hunting for a job, and not being able to find one rapidly enough to keep financial pressures at bay is simply not happening to you.

With the advent of online job boards, and the numerous ways that one can manage submissions for potential employment, it has become much easier to remain gainfully employed while searching for your next new position – which will be one that you can more comfortably negotiate!

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We all love to make money and we love to have meaningful careers that help us give and receive a sense of fulfillment. No matter how one may think about the subject of “work” the one fact that is true – we spend the majority of our lives at it. Better make the best of it.

But what do you do if your job seems to be getting the best of you? First step: Find out if it is the job or if it is you!

Let’s take a look for a moment at when it is the job.

• You have verifiable reasons to believe that the company is not doing well. Verifiable reasons would be things such as layoffs followed by more layoffs.
• You have concerns over management – things that management are doing may not be in the best interest of the company. This could be actions such as coming to work late consistently, not portraying to the staff a positive attitude. Slackness in work demands or a lackadaisical attitude toward deadlines and projects. Plentiful heated discussions between management team members showing a strong dissonance amongst the leaders.
• The company has a highly consistent volume in turnover – much higher than is normal for that type of company.
• Benefit programs are getting cut back or eliminated.
• Your paycheck bounced.

Indicators such as these suggest that it is time for you to dust off and brush up your resume and begin searching. Don’t worry about loyalty or how things will turn around etc. Get proactive and get the job hunt going. The company you are with is “having a bad day” and you don’t want to be caught on the unemployment lines wondering what happened.

Now let’s look at if it is you.

• You find it harder and harder to get up in the morning and go to work – often you find you need to will yourself to just get there.
• You find no real joy in the tasks you perform – they bore you and you watch the clock tick with agonizing slowness.
• Your attention is always going to other interests that you have as they are more rewarding than your work.
• You feel like you are working much to hard for the money you make – and it can be verified – it is not just a “feeling”. Raises have been turned down, but the work load has increased.
• Your job is off your original career goals and you feel truly like you are stuck in a rut and can’t get out of it.
• You are there because you haven’t been able to come up with any good reason not to be there.
• Other people in the office are annoying to you, the work is annoying to you, and the office itself is annoying to you.
• You keep wishing you were somewhere else.

Most likely what has happened in this scenario is that you have strayed so far off your original career goals that you just don’t see much satisfaction in your work, and it probably colors the rest of your life as well. Don’t keep yourself there. Get onto the job hunt. Get that resume, review for yourself your own goals and objectives. Get yourself revitalized by pursuing a job that is more in keeping with your original goals!

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It is almost instinctive to want to show your new employer that all those things you said to land the job are true. For many there is this almost overwhelming desire to race in, pay little heed to what is currently being done and start to “show your stuff”, which of course is a little bit of the uncertainties one often feels coming to the surface.

That’s ok too. There’s plenty to be uncertain of with a new job. There is the fact that you just took total confidence in yourself and projected that strong enough to land a job. Now the time to demonstrate is upon you and that can be unnerving because you were confident in your old job. You had been doing it for a long enough period of time to become confident in your abilities, your employers, and your co-workers. That security blanket is gone.

There is that definite sense of “what if I can’t do what they want after all, or what if they don’t think I can do it?” in those first several days on the new job. Avoid it, push it aside, ignore it, do whatever you have to do not to let it come to the surface and here it why: It is nonsense and it will drag you down.

All the “what ifs” in the world are not going to get you through those first few “new days” Here is what will:

1. Come to the office dressed appropriately. And if you are a bit overdressed that is absolutely fine, it shows your attention to putting out the right image is important to you for the company.

2. Ask questions, take notes, and do not be afraid to ask! Let’s repeat that: Do Not Be Afraid To Ask Questions! Employers expect it and welcome it. They are not impressed by the “know it all” because that employee may know accounting procedures, but he doesn’t know the company yet.

3. Manners. Mind them and win. Be courteous and friendly to all whom you meet. Stay away from work place rabble-rousing. You are way too new to get involved in any of those issues. Just be polite and friendly to all.

4. Be conscientious.

Make sure you don’t do any of the following:

1. Make personal phone calls from work – either on the office phone or your cell phone. Take a break and go outdoors if you truly need to make a call – keep it quiet and to yourself, others don’t know you well enough to hear your personal business.

2. Criticize others or criticize the work.

3. Compare your last job to your new job in a derogatory manner.

4. Refer too often to your past job. You’re at the new place now. The past is the past.

5. Be late, take too long of a lunch, or too many breaks or miss a portion of a day or a full day.

6. Ignore your personal appearance and hygiene.

Remember this as well. Be yourself. Don’t try to rewrite the book on who or what you are in the hopes of “fitting in” or “gaining notice”. Just comfortably be yourself, do the best that you can and respect the company and co-workers. Be willing to learn the ropes and get along with all. You’ll do just fine.

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It is becoming more and more the trend to start the initial interview process with a telephone call instead of a face-to-face meeting. Companies are doing it more and more because it is a cost and time saver for their managers or Human Relations staff. It is a rapid way to whittle down the list of applicants to those top people whom the company is most interested in bringing in for a second round of interviews, which will be done face-to-face.

Thus with this changing trend, it has become more important to be able to do an interview over the phone with success. Keep in mind the following points while interviewing:

1. The company wants to know that you are a serious applicant.

2. The company is looking (in some instances) for key phone mannerisms that may be pertinent to the position.

3. The company is looking for the “body language” that can come through over the phone.

General rule: The phone interview will rarely last for more than twenty minutes.

Get yourself prepared for your phone interview:

1. Get plenty of rest and have a good meal before the interview. Keeping your body in good shape helps to keep your mind alert.

2. Be comfortable. Set yourself up in an area to do the phone interview where you won’t be interrupted or worry about being interrupted. Have the privacy you need to be comfortable. Also, have some water or coffee or tea at hand. Whatever you may like to drink during work hours is fine, but absolutely have water in case you do feel nervous and you find your mouth is dry.

3. Here’s the advantage to a phone interview: You can have your “cheat sheet” right there at your side. Just don’t read from it. Make it bullet-style. A few key points about yourself that you would like to touch upon, simple bullet style answers to help jog your memory but not written out for you to sound-like-you-are-reading-off-a-prepared-list.

4. Make sure you have two or three questions to ask the interviewer that are pertinent to the job and the company.

5. Have your resume and letters of reference as well as any other documents that you sent to the company available so that if they should ask you about key points you can easily refresh your own memory before responding.

Despite what others may have said in the past, a certain amount of body language does project through the telephone. Thus you will need to seize upon that as an advantage and not as a disadvantage.

Speak with confidence and certainty. Portray your enthusiasm. Do not pause for too long, or take too deep or rapid of breaths. If you feel like you may project more energy through the phone by standing, then do so. Even walk if it gives you more confidence – but just a comfortable walk – no marathon motion – your potential employer would not be impressed by heavy breathing!

Do not or eat or chew gum or smoke cigarettes during the phone interview the person on the other end can hear you puffing or chewing. If you cough, cover the speaker and excuse yourself.

Project a positive attitude, speak to your best skills and sell why you believe you are most suited from the information you currently have. Do not let your voice or mannerisms sound tired or slow.

Follow these simple guidelines and you will probably find that you have a face-to-face coming up in your near future!

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