A Job Seekers Guide to Parlaying Contract Work into a Permanent Position

A Job Seekers Guide to Parlaying Contract Work into a Permanent PositionA Job Seekers Guide to Parlaying Contract Work into a Permanent PositionEven if your ultimate goal is full-time employment, freelance work can open doors. Be careful, though, to make smart choices about what assignments to accept.Even for professionals whod rather stay on a payroll than hang out a shingle, freelancing and contract work have been lifesavers the past couple of years. As millions of full-time, benefitted positions have been cut, professionals have turned to self-employment not only to stay afloat financially but also to maintain strong work histories and grow their professional networks.Indeed, independent contracting can increase job seekers value even as they work toward permanent positions. Nevertheless, they must be selective if their goal is re-entry into the traditional corporate workplace.Working as an independent contractor while looking for full-time employment has a lot going for it, said Daniel Dern, a freelance technology and business writer. Freelancing and contracting, while no substitute for that regular paycheck - and the health, vacation and other benefits that go with most full-time jobs - have several major benefits. Among these benefits, said Dern, are increased visibility and connections, as well as the potential to improve your skill set and knowledge base.Mary Lynn Halland has counseled many freelancers and hosts a monthly meeting of independent consultants in New York. Halland, a consultant and chief absatzwirtschaft officer at Professionals for Nonprofits, agreed that contracting can serve a variety of purposes for job seekers beyond paying the bills.For example, in this era of personal branding and social networking, current contract work demonstrates your value and achievements in action. The ability to note the project youre working on or the business you have developed gives you something to talk about, Halland said.To raise their profile even hi gher, Halland said she encourages freelancers not to put all of their eggs into one basket. Working on a variety of assignments for multiple organizations increases a job seekers exposure and the potential for a full-time job offer. It also decreases the perception that the job seeker might split his loyalties with a dominant freelance client even after accepting a full-time job.Job seekers can also boost their visibility by getting to know as many people as possible at the company for which they are contracting. This could lead to early (or even exclusive) knowledge about new openings and win supporters once theyre in the running. That means job seekers working in contract positions make their value clear to as many people as possible within the client company. There should be something in it for them to get to know you, Halland said.The irony of independent contracting while looking for a full-time position Too much success at the former will likely make you less effective at the latter.As you get too busy, or as an assignment gets too big, you dont have time for anything else, Halland said. It can derail your job search or your search for new clients. And then you end up with nothing. Youve lost your momentum.Experts recommend pacing yourself with assignments and carving out a prescribed time each day or week for focused job-search tasks.Halland said its also important to know when to walk away. If a company seems happy to keep you on as a freelancer because its cheaper for them, and theres no sign that a job offer is imminent, reduce the time you spend on that assignment or simply move on.Caroline Ceniza-Levine, a career expert and co-founder of SixFigureStart, agreed For a freelancer, it isnt that much of a stretch to move in and out of freelancing and traditional employment, she said. The biggest issue is making sure that you dont let your job search fall by the wayside every time you take a freelance assignment. Otherwise, you will never gain any tracti on in your search and become a freelancer by default.

How to deal when youre a perfectionist but your boss is not

How to deal when youre a perfectionist but your anfhrer is notHow to deal when youre a perfectionist but your anfhrer is notYour desk is tidy and your day is planned well. Youre early to meetings, meet your deadlines, you submit reports that are flawless and you fulfill your commitments. If youre a work perfectionist it may be frustrating if co-workers arent as impeccable as you. Its even more frustrating if your boss is not a perfectionist.Weve asked career experts how to manage your Type A approach to work with your boss Type B.Keep the focus on what you doThe impact of your role at work is something you can control. Focus on the impact you are making within the company and define those tasks or projects as wins when executed, says Dean Campos, founder of ClearLegend, an operational performance training company in Fort Collins, Colorado. He has worked with many millennial professionals driving them to success due to tactics acquired from a research-based perspective. In addition to remaining focused in your own work, Campos says to make sure you are highly aware of your emotions at work.Take a step back in your mind and ask yourself how you can use the situation as an advantage to gain experience or expertise, he adds.Focus on what you can control in this situation you.Realize your boss may be results-orientedYour boss doesnt have to adjust to your perfectionism they have their own path they follow. Sometimes perfectionism just takes more time, and the results may be the same- with better time management approaches.Perfectionism requires many hours and in the business world, every minute counts, says Vaida Kardokaite, a marketing manager Angle180, a marketing firm in Chicago. Sometimes you get stuck on the details and spend hours on things that dont matter. A result-oriented manager may see a project path differently but the goals are the same success.Embrace the differencesDebra Benton, an executive coach, who is president of Benton Management Resources, an d author of 11 books including her latest from McGraw-Hill titled, The Leadership Mind Switch Rethinking How We Lead in the New World of Work, says a good boss always tries to hire someone smarter than her/him and has different skills.So if you are a Type A hired by a non-type A that is a good boss rounding out his or her team, she says. Your task is to find out the thing the boss sees in your which enhances the team, Benton says.Manage your emotionsBy remaining calm and collected, it demonstrates your professionalism, even if you want to take control of every situation. Offering initial steps to move forward in hectic, critical or timely situations, you can succeed without making a boss feel you are in control or threatening their position or authority, says Jill Tipograph, co-founder of Early Stage Careers in New York, a coaching service focused on helping college students, college graduates and millennials successfully launch their careers, and optimize their early jobs.Your stea dy emotions can help diffuse a testy situation and keep the lines of communication open and successful.

The Downside of Hiring Generation Y

The Downside of Hiring richtungeration YThe Downside of Hiring richtungeration YFor the most part, I am an enthusiastic supporter of in richtungeration Y, the newest, youngest group of employees in your workplace. But richtung Y employees do have a downside as a result of their upbringing that can cause negative consequences in the workplace. Interested in the downside of hiring and managing richtung Y employees? While they bring significant skills to your workplace, they have characteristics and attitudes that arent welcome at work. Ive shared the joys of working with Gen Y employees in the past Myths About MillennialsThree More Myths About Millennials Todays article will focus on the downside and what employers can do about it. Ill start with two stories that motivated me to write this piece. Gen Y Stories Staying at our cottage recently, we were joined by my 22-year-old niece and her three best buddies for four days. So, we listened a lot to dreams and schemes since the curren t young people are experiencing a seriously unfriendly job market. We marveled at their worldview, their limited knowledge of the world and its events, and at the proficiency with which they managed four days of their lives from their smartphones. With this environment in mind, the young ladies decided to have a beach fire and spent the evening chatting and renewing friendships. The next day, my husband tried to build a fire for me. He discovered that, rather than schlepping fire logs to the beach, the girls had burned every piece of kindling in the garage kindling that he had spent two days splitting logs to create. In my next story, our company employs many Gen Y employees, and we are inclined to emphasize their great characteristics. Every once in awhile, we are reminded of their downside. We held a barbecue to celebrate a product launch for the whole company. Employees ordered one of three entrees in advance. And, guess what? The first employees through the line, primarily hung ry Gen Ys, helped themselves to as many entrees as they wanted some took all three. The result? The caterer ran out of food before all of our employees could eat. My husband and I, who generally wait until we are sure all of the employees get food, spent the celebration party eating at a local restaurant. So, did many of our employees who missed out on the meal. Did these Gen Y individuals think about what they were doing and the consequences? In both stories, no. But, the stories do highlight the characteristic of many Gen Y people to be thoughtless and self-centered. These are traits that harm their performance and particularly their relationships with their Generation X and Baby Boomer colleagues. The Gen Y Downsides Gen Y employees are different from the employees who are managing them. Once you integrate this information, working with Gen Y, while leid easier, is more predictable and you can prepare. These are common situations encountered when you look at the downside of hiring Gen Y employees and tips about how to work with the downside from the perspective of the generations at work. Its All About Me Wonderful MeGen Y was raised by doting parents in a world that centered around them and their needs. Seriously. Transfer these self-centered individuals to the workplace, and you have scenarios such as the ones I described earlier. Some of the missteps can be resolved if coworkers realize that clear communication can solve some of the problems. For example, in the party buffet line situation, a sign could have reminded the employees that they were allotted one entre, the one they pre-ordered. The caterer could have been prompted to either get the committee head or remind the employees that they could only take one entre or coworkers would go hungry. I could have assumed the young ladies either didnt understand the concept of kindling (yeah, right) or were looking for the lightest wood they could find to traverse 30 stairs. I could have laid out cle ar expectations since I had the knowledge that the young people would look for the easiest, most self-centered, thoughtless solution - which they did. And, yes, I dont like it either, but in a way, we need to re-raise these employees. The workplace does have to teach lessons while taking advantage of their marvelous strengths. Im Smart, and I Have the AnswerA Baby Boomer employee reported to her HR office that the Gen Y employees on her team were committing age discrimination. After the HR manager intervened, the conclusion, which the employee agreed with, was that they were having communication problems. The older employee assumed that her greater knowledge and experience would be respected and acted upon by the younger employees. Instead, they challenged her opinions and wanted to do aspects of the project their own way. The employee, who was used to automatic respect and trust from people young enough to be her children and grandchildren, had to learn that while treating each oth er with mutual respect in the workplace is a must, expecting your ideas to be adopted because you know more is not. The Gen Ys need to understand that they cant reject an idea, no matter where it came from, without weighing its merits. That idea sucks is not enough nor is it a polite exchange among coworkers. Gen Y Employees Lack a Strong Work EthicThe difference between Gen Y and the older generations at work is that they are unwilling to put in the face time that older generations put in at work - they want work-life balance. I remember working at General Motors every executive waited until the plant manager left the parking lot for the day, before leaving. Gen Ys view time as a resource that they can fill with all of their varied interests, projects, hobbies, families, and volunteering. They are willing to work hard at work, but it is only one component of their lives. Time is a limited resource that they dont want to waste. Organizations will do well with Gen Y by recognizing t heir priorities and meeting their needs. Supply flexible work schedules, earn their commitment with work that motivates and inspires them and provide leadership that is willing to listen and teach. With this environment, Gen Y will work hard and demonstrate deep commitment. Gen Y Has No Respect for Leaders and No Loyalty to Employers. Gen Y is hungry to learn, but the teaching must be respectful and targeted. Leaders earn the respect that allows Gen Y to learn things they dont know like how to lead people, plan strategically, manage change, and inspire followers. They dont recognize authority as was also evident in an earlier example. A workplace that is meeting Gen Ys needs for respectful interaction, flexible schedules, deep listening, motivational work, and new challenges so skills keep growing, will retain their Gen Y employees. But leaders must earn their respect which leads us to the next downside. Gen Y Wont Take Critical FeedbackThey want praise, praise, praise and thank you . Yes, it is difficult to critique Gen Y employees work. They do not respond well to authority, and the leaders and managers must prove that they are worth following or the Gen Ys you most want to keep will network their way right out of your organization. But, they are hungry for feedback, at the saatkorn time. They want to know how they are doing and they want to improve. The key is for the leader or manager to build their relationship first. Gen Y employees are used to adult supervision from people whom they know love them and have their best interests at heart. If this is where your critical feedback is coming from - their perceived best interests, Gen Y employees are grateful for feedback and suggestions. You can capitalize on their very real strengths, their resourcefulness, doing whatever it takes digitally, and bea fast learner. As always when I am discussing the generations at work, I am not trying to paint a whole generation with the same brush. For every thoughtless Gen Y, you will find thoughtful, caring people who volunteer, are faithful friends, and who work hard to succeed. And often, it is the same person.