Is your job killing you???

Oh my goodness!

This article presents a quite serious insight on the consequences and dangers of witting down all day long.

So if you're like me and have a sitting-down-all-day-long job, you must read this!!

“Work/life balance”

“Work/life balance” is a theme we hear about all the time. All of us seek it, but do we really know what it means??

The article I'm sharing today argues that "to many people, “work/life balance” has... become a code phrase for women wanting to scale back and work part-time".

Do you agree? If not, what is "work/life balance" to you?

Job titles

I was reading this article today: Are Job Titles Still a Big Deal in the Modern Workplace?

That got me thinking... I don't think job titles are necessarily important, not is hierarchy. It all depends on the size of your business and industry.

Here at Career Team, our business cards display no job titles, simply because we try to convey that anyone in the Team is willing and able to help you. Regardless of their job description. We all have different roles within the business, but no labels.

However, I do acknowledge that for larger businesses hierarchy can be necessary. If you work within a team of 100, for example, you need to know who you respond to and who reports to you.

What do you think? Is a job title an important part of defining someone's role? Or, as people become more multi-skilled and jobs become more complex and varied, job titles will start disappearing?

The Worst Career Advice: Do What You Love

Hello everyone! Happy Friday! Today I'm sharing a little article I just loved to read!

"Career decisions are not decisions about what do I love most. Career decisions are about what kind of life do I want to set up for myself. After all, how could you possibly pick one thing you love to do?".

Do you agree?

I do! When I was younger, I wanted to be an astronaut. Then I wanted to be an Ufologist (clearly watched too many X-Files episodes....). Then I wanted to be a psychologist, actress, dancer, movie director.... Not too long ago, after watching loads of Gordon Ramsey shows, I decided I was really passionate about food and resented that I didn't have the guts to drop everything and go to culinary school.

But the truth is, we will always feel strong and passionate about different things. As we go through life, we experience new things, meet new people, acquire new tastes and love new and different things. So how can we choose the one thing that we love the most and make a career out of it??

I'm not saying it's impossible. A lot of people do it! But I agree with the author when she says "If you tell yourself that your job has to be something you’d do even if you didn’t get paid, you’ll be looking for a long time. Maybe forever. So why set that standard? ... The pressure we feel to find a perfect career is insane."

I also agree with her conclusion: "Do not what you love; do what you are."

Now I'll let you read the article and make up your mind. Do you agree?

Tina Fey's "Bossypants"

I haven't read this book yet, but would like to. Always interesting to have an insight into an entrepreneurial woman's mind, specially a successful one.

But whilst we haven't read the book, this article shares some important lessons about work from her book.

Have you read any inspiring books lately? Please share!

Accountability

Accountability is the key theme in this very interesting article.

It suggests that the most important interview "question" is: "Tell me about the last time you made a mistake". The manner in which candidates respond should give the interviewer an insight on their character. The article offers a few possible responses to this question and suggests, based on these responses, which candidates should be considered for hiring and which should be dismissed.

From a managerial point-of-view, it is crucial to gain insight on how a future employee will act when making a mistake - if they will own-up to it and try to fix it or if they will try to hide it or blame it on somebody else. That's why most employers and agencies conduct thorough verbal references.

At the end of the day all human-beings make mistakes. However, proving that not only you will be accountable for your mistakes but, furthermore, you will seek to correct them immediately could be what makes you stand out from the crowd!

What do you think of this approach?

Stress or sick leave??

It is very true! Sometimes stressful relationships with co-workers or bosses, inability to cope with workload amongst other things can cause emotional stress. In turn, stress affects the ability to cope with physical illness.

This article discusses a study that found "that people on sick leave often aren’t physically ill–they’re just stressed out"

So when in a stressful environment, one may take sick leave to actually heal their minds, claiming to have illnesses that would have otherwise not debilitated them.

Have you ever found yourself in that position?