My Career UK

How to Deal with Coworkers

2009-05-07T19:44:00.001-07:00

If your coworker has a constantly negative attitude and is forever complaining, there are several things you can do before throwing in the towel and simply avoiding them. First of all, sit down and actually listen to their complaint. Maybe they are always complaining because they do not feel like anyone is actually listening to them. Ask them lots of questions and clarify their complaint until you have gotten down to the bottom of the problem. Figure out whether your coworker actually has a legitimate complaint or is just a whiny person. If it is a legitimate complaint, ask them if they would like some help in resolving it.

Some typical complaints include lack of praise or acknowledgement from employers, bad management, an excessively heavy or unreasonable workload, work related anxiety, lack of challenge, and insufficient wages.

However, do not let yourself become completely involved in their tale of woe. You are not their therapist, merely a caring friend. You can point them in the right direction, offer a few tips or give them some good self help books, but that should be the extent of your involvement. Make sure that you know what your limits are or else you will find yourself turning into your coworkers personal therapist. If your coworker is a somewhat reasonable individual, hopefully this approach will work. Sometimes people just need to complain and get it out of their system.

If this does not work because your coworker is either incredibly negative, nitpicky or downright insane, then either stand up to them and tell them what you think or practice avoidance techniques. Tell them that you refuse to listen to their constant complaining and that you have better things to do with your life, and maybe they should get a new hobby. Maybe they can consider making rubber band balls.

Contact your employer or Human Resources if your coworker simply will not shut up. It is their responsibility to handle the situation " do not resort to verbal warfare or violence, as this will only get your fired from your job. If the coworker does not cease complaining, the negative atmosphere that they are producing will eventually affect your ability to work. If your employer is unable or declines to deal with your coworker and all else fails, consider getting a new job, because after you have done everything suggested in this article, there is honestly nothing else left to do. Good luck!

Tips on Resume Writing

2009-05-07T19:43:00.001-07:00

1. What job are you applying for? Keep the specific job in mind when you write your resume.

2. Your resume short be short and simple. Old and unrelated job experiences should not be included unless they are somehow relevant.

3. Before you list someone as a reference, check with them first to see if that's ok. If you don't ask them first, you might get screwed when it turns out that the person hates your guts and thinks you do terrible work.

4. Compile a list of good qualities that you have and connect them to job experiences that you have listed.

5. When putting a resume on an online database, be sure to include the correct keywords to make sure that employers will be able to pull up your resume.

6. When writing about your job experiences, use job titles that are specific. It is not good enough to say you worked in Accounting - say that your title was senior payroll analyst in Accounting.

7. Make sure to read through your resume several times and proofread it, because if you have typos in your resume, you might not get hired because the boss thinks you are an illiterate loser.

8. Summarize everything neatly and succinctly using bullet points so the employer can read through your resume within a few seconds.

9. At the top of your resume, put the most important stuff.

10. Make sure that you have put down the correct contact information.

11. Stress your accomplishments, not your duties.

12. Do not include a photo of yourself. It will not help you get hired unless you are a model.

13. Create a new and personal cover letter to go along with each resume you send out.

14. Your age should not be written on the resume - you don't want the boss to discriminate against you if you are too old or young.

15. You do not have to list every single job you have ever had if you are not comfortable in doing so. However, please note that the employer might ask about the years you have not listed.

16. Add Mr. or Ms. in front of your name on the resume if you have a gender-neutral name like Lindsey or Jeri.

17. Lying on your resume is a big no-no. It's really easy to find out what is a lie these days with background checks. If it's not true, don't do it.

18. Your hobbies are probably not relevant to your job, so don't list them.

How to Make Business Calls

2009-05-07T19:39:00.001-07:00

1. Enunciate carefully.

2. Speak slowly.

3. If youre nervous, write yourself a script and read from it. You can also list potential responses that are likely, and also write a script for those.

4. Dial carefully to ensure that you are calling the right person.

5. Pray for an answering machine, theyre much easier to talk to.

6. In one breath, introduce yourself, the company youre calling from, and the purpose of your call. Then you can pause and let them get a word in.

7. Always be polite and respectful.

8. If someone does not want you to call back or give you information, respect their wishes and say thank you anyway, and then take them off your list.

9. Try to get the pronunciation of the name correct, or ask how to pronounce it.

10. If there is more than one person listed for the phone number, check to see whom you should ask for.

11. Try to call business numbers rather than residential ones during the day; it will be easier to get a hold of people that way.

12. Do not call around noon; people are usually having lunch.

13. Do not call before ten in the morning either.

14. Do not call after five in the afternoon.

15. You do not need to yell into the phone " they should be able to hear you if you speak into the receiver in a normal tone of voice.

16. If someone is rude to you, never lower yourself to his or her level. Respond with grace and politeness. The customer is always right.

17. If you have a cold that affects your voice, try to make the phone calls on another day when your voice is back to normal.

18. Keep a list of all the people you have called to make sure you dont call them twice by accident.

19. If you get flustered on a phone call, you can always apologize and say youre new. People are usually very sympathetic to that.

20. If you need to put someone on hold, make sure to put the mute button on. Its rude to make the caller listen to the mumbled sounds of the office voices. Also, who knows what they might overhear?

21. If you are calling for a piece of information and the person doesnt have it on hand, specify a time when you will call back, dont be vague about it.

22. Make sure the phone is really hung up when you finish a call.