The Global Workforce Happiness Index [STUDY]

The Global Workforce Happiness Index [STUDY] Are your employees happy? A new  research report by our friends at Universum, The Global Workforce Happiness Index, shows it’s time to take a data-driven approach to attracting and retaining top talent. The company  conducted the largest study to date of the most satisfied, loyal workers by country and by industry. More than 250,000 working professionals in 55 markets participated. The results deliver benchmarks for workplace happiness, analyse its impact on innovation and growth, and provide a way for companies to plan improvements.   The ability to retain experienced talent is no longer a matter of employee satisfaction alone; it is also tied to how employees compare to their peers in other organisations. This research has found that a negative gap between peers from one company to the next is often a signal that less satisfied employees are ripe for poaching. In fact, in 2018, 49 million more workers will leave their current employers than did in 2012 â€" a total turnover of 192 million workers worldwide. The Global Workforce Happiness Index uses a scoring system that tracks three factors: Employee satisfaction An employees willingness to recommend a current employer An employees likelihood to switch jobs in the near future. Companies can use the index to identify the specific drivers of employee satisfaction in their environments and the speed of addressing lapses between their performance and that of other companies. When in the negative and combined with the cost of recruiting and hiring, these factors can cost a company. So the index can provide a roadmap for improvement. Once achieved, positioning a company as an attractive place to work based on authentic data enables differentiation, more accurate candidate screens and reduced turnover. At the core of the study is the Happiness Quadrant, which depicts challenges and opportunities by region across four basic categories of satisfaction. But the real value of this research is in the granular findings by country, equipping employers to diagnose problems at the local level and respond with targeted solutions. RELATED: 10 Simple Steps to Being Happy at Work

The Vital Importance of Being Honest in the Workplace Marla Gottschalk

The Vital Importance of Being Honest in the Workplace Marla Gottschalk Weve all suffered momentary lapses of memory at work. Fuzzy recollections of what occurred on a specific project or initiative â€" time has a funny way of chipping away at facts and figures. We might lose ourselves in conversation and misspeak or dance around the truth to put another person at ease. However, knowingly misrepresenting who we are or what we have accomplished during our work lives, usually proves detrimental to both work and career. Ultimately, misrepresenting our own history has the potential to derail both promising careers and healthy organizations, alike. As a role increases in both scope and exposure â€" being mindful of how we present ourselves and remaining true to our word â€" becomes an even greater responsibility. Honesty about credentials and work experiences can affect nearly every aspect of our work lives going forward â€" and has proven to do so in many realms including government, sports and news/entertainment. Moreover, this dynamic can impact how we fill our most vital roles in organizations today â€" limiting our ability to match skills with organizational needs. Of late, this issue has very publicly affected those that we most need to trust. (Network anchor Brian Williams has been suspended for an inaccuracy describing his work experiences. This week it was revealed that VA Secretary Robert McDonald miscommunicated that he served in Special Forces, when he served in the 82nd Airborne Division. He has issued a formal apology. Personally, I thank him for his service to our country. ) From inaccurate resumes to name dropping, the selection process is wrought with misrepresentations and dishonesty. During our actual tenure within an organization, other looming issues with transparency can develop. These situations can lead to problems â€" both undetected and catastrophic. For organizations to remain effective, it is imperative that we not only identify needed competencies and utilize state of the art selection strategies. We must also attempt to remain transparent as contributors â€" so that roles are matched effectively with the appropriate candidate. This includes respecting the exchange agreement that exists between employers and employees. However, whether workplace cultures encourage honesty during selection and tenure, is another topic to carefully consider. Breaches during these processes can create a myriad of cascading problems, for all of us. What are your thoughts? Have you been tempted to stretch the truth, where your work history is concerned? Have you hired an employee and their resume was later deemed inaccurate? Is lying a necessary evil to move forward today? Dr. Marla Gottschalk is an Industrial/Organizational Psychologist. She is the Director of Thought Leadership at Kilberry Leadership Advisors, Toronto/NewYork. Her blog The Office Blend, has been recognized by Forbes as a “Top 100 Website for Your Career” in both 2012 and 2013. Lower Photo: Win McNamee / Getty Images This post previously appeared at LinkedIn.

Weighing in Are Cover Letters Required in an Executive Job Search

Weighing in Are Cover Letters Required in an Executive Job Search Although there is ongoing debate about how often employers actually read cover letters, I feel strongly that a cover letter should always be included as part of a job search application package â€" especially at the executive level. Heres why: Executive-level candidates must show complete investment in the job search process; therefore a well thought out and polished application package, complete with a stellar cover letter, is a must. Although times are changing in regards to how information is shared (e-notes and emailed introduction letters are becoming common in job applications), the traditional resume and cover letter are still highly used and extremely valuable during a standard job search process.  Where a resume allows an individual to showcase their ability to do the job the cover letter expresses interest in the role, allows personality and principals to shine, and places personal emphasis on what the individual can offer the organization. The cover letter is also an excellent median for relaying leadership style and personal ethics. Overall, the cover letter is a vital tool for sharing critical career details; why waste the opportunity?  A warning â€" at the executive career level the expectation will be even greater that the cover letter is exceptionally well written (perfectly polished, succinct in style, and presented in a formal business letter format), and that it complements the resume without repeating it.  Executive-level cover letters also need to be sharp in focus and present immediate value to the reader.  Finally, extra care should also be taken to ensure the cover letter is cohesive in look and branding with all other career materials. Ultimately, it may feel like a waste of time compiling a cover letter because there is a possibility it may never be read, but if a cover letter was expected and not included it could negatively impact job  search success. As an executive are you willing to take the risk? Calgary Executive Resume Writer | Calgary Executive Job Seekers | Calgary Resume Writer

A messy desk undermines your career

A messy desk undermines your career You can judge someones personality by what his or her work space looks like. Take Tara Hirshfeld, for example. Shes set up her office on a picnic table. She has the laptop, the headset, even the office-type snacks. But there are leaves falling and cars honking. Intuitively, you know shes not an accountant-type. And you surely wont be surprised to hear that shes a student at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. People leave deliberate and inadvertent clues about themselves in their personal space and Samuel Gosling, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, studies these clues. And Gosling concludes that your co-workers are good at judging what the clues mean even if they dont know why. Deliberate clues people leave are things like plants, which reveal that you are nice and that you intend to stay a while, and candy, which reveals that youre an extrovert, because you want people to drop by your office and talk. These are deliberate because a person puts them in their office for other people to see. Some clues are deliberate but not other-focused. For example, a pebble you keep from the beach of your first kiss will not be meaningful to someone who doesnt know the story, but it reminds you of something nice. Still something like this gives the co-worker information, and he or she will pick up on the fact that youre sentimental. Hirshfelds clues fall into the inadvertent category. For example, when asked about her picnic-bench desk, Hirshfeld says, I needed some fresh air. She inadvertently conveys that she is non-conventional, which, for an art student seems fine. But for an accountant, watch out. You can give inadvertent clues with a plant, too. Anyone can buy a plant, says Gosling, but you need to be task oriented to actually keep the plant alive. Be careful about all the clues you leave about yourself in your office because your image is at stake. And the image you project might be more powerful than the work you actually do. So manage your workspace like you manage the colors in your wardrobe, the layout of your memos and all other aspects of your image. In many instances youll be able to control what you project. For example, if you are trying to be more detail-oriented in your work, but youve killed every plant youve ever owned, dont buy another because your dead plant will just emphasize your lack of attention to detail. When it comes to projecting a positive image through your personal space, some areas are more easily managed than others. A messy desk is tough. If you keep a messy desk, its probably inadvertent, and you will have to change behavior in order to clean up your act. Its worth the effort, though. There is a cultural bias toward orderliness, says Eric Abrahamson, professor at Columbia University Business School, Messiness is considered bad. Kelly Crescenti, an Illinois-based career coach, concurs: When people have a clean desk it looks like they get things done and they are productive. You cannot really know how productive someone is by looking at their desk, says Julie Morgenstern organizing guru and author of Never Check Email in the Morning: And Other Unexpected Strategies for Making Your Work Life Work. But she concedes that the image issue is giant. So even if you can find everything you need on your pile-laden desk, clean it if you want to look good. Start with a filing system, and Crescenti advises that at minimum, you take the last fifteen minutes of every day to actually use the system and clean things up a little before you go home. But as with all image management advice, dont go overboard: Everything in moderation. Abrahamson provides a postmodern defense of the messy desk: Messiness is related to creativity because it tends to juxtapose things that dont normally go together. Its the last frontier of messiness, says Abrahamson, and he reports that hes seen computer desktops that rival the worst of the classic desktop messes. Hirshfeld can attest to that. The last computer I had got very, very messy. But that might be okay; its true that your co-workers can accurately judge you by looking at your work space, but its also true that your computer desktop is a nice place to hide your worst attributes.

Best Denton Resume Writing Tips - 5 Top Tips to Help You With Your Resume

Best Denton Resume Writing Tips - 5 Top Tips to Help You With Your ResumeMany job seekers wonder how to write a resume to get the best Dallas employment. Although you may feel like an expert at this work, it takes only a few minutes of effort to write a simple resume. Even if you have never created a resume before, the process is easy and can be done in less than a minute!Some people tend to think that it is difficult to write a resume that will get them the best Dallas employment. Well, think again! In this article, you will find out the five main points that will make your job search much easier.Never ever forget about your goal. Your objective in writing a resume should always be to get the best Dallas employment. In order to do this, you must know what your best objective is. Are you looking for a full-time job or a part-time job? What position would you like to work in?For example, if you want to become a sales representative, you must know what career goals you have. If you are thinking of becoming a manager, then you must have written down some career goals you want to achieve. These career goals will give you the best information when you are writing your resume.Be honest about yourself. Once you know what your career goals are, you must also state them. Most employers will never use a resume with a blank space. You need to show your objective, as well as where you want to work.Remember that employers will not take the time to read a resume without a little information about the person. For this reason, be sure to give them a little bit of information about yourself. All of your career goals should be listed on your resume. Your employer will take the time to read them and decide if you are worth working for.The job you are applying for is similar to the one you wanted and had, so make sure you include all the same information on your resume. But keep it short and sweet. Make sure to include the following information on your resume:No matter what type o f employment you are applying for, make sure to list your positives in your resume. Include only the positive things that were important to you in your work history. This will put you in a good position to get the best Dallas employment.

How To Get A Response To Your Email

How To Get A Response To Your Email How To Get A Response To Your Email Cover Letters / Job Search / Thank You Notes There are mixed opinions about cover letters. Some recruiters say a solid cover letter can move them to contact a candidate. Others say they never read cover letters. Since you don’t know what a recruiter might do, the best bet is to always send one. Thank you notes are different. The majority (80%) of hiring managers say a candidate’s thank you note is helpful with 22% saying very helpful and 58% saying somewhat helpful according to a 2017 survey by Accountemps. So, it seems that sending thank you notes is a must. Despite that HR managers report that only 24% of candidates send them. Just as with a resume, content is KING in your cover letters and thank you notes. You need to demonstrate your value as it relates to the employer. In essence, what you can do for them. But it’s important to pay attention to the little things too. When it comes to correspondence, the language you use to sign off is more important than you may think. A study of 350K emails by Boomerang indicates that the most popular signoffs may not be the best. The most often used email signoffs, each appeared over 1K times, were: Thanks Regards Cheers Best Regards Thanks in advance Thank you Best Kind Regards However, the emails that closes with a variation of thank you received 62% more responses than most of the popular closings. Those that received the greatest response were: Thanks in advance â€" 65.7% Thanks â€" 63.0% Thank you â€" 57.9% Cheers â€" 54.4% Kind regards â€" 53.9% Regards â€" 53.9% Best regards, 52.9% Best â€" 51.2% Baseline (all emails) â€" 47.5% Until recently, I didn’t think much about a cover letter or thank you note closing. While I still believe that the most important thing is what’s in the note, going forward I’m going to recommend closing with Thanks in advance. Based on the study, I’ve changed my general signoff from Best to Kind regards. Does it make a difference? I don’t know. But I like it. For more details on the study visit Boomerang.

Will Your Resume Pass the Black Hole Test Part 1 - Hire Imaging

Will Your Resume Pass the Black Hole Test Part 1 - Hire Imaging Have you posted your resume online and been unhappy with the number of responses received? You’re not alone. Many online job seekers fall short with an internet-friendly resume. A different set of rules apply when going the cyberspace route. If you do take the cyberspace course, your e-resume will typically have three kinds of readers. Two are the human kind; one is a machine. So you need to write your resume for three potential audiences: employers, recruiters and resume scanning systems. Let’s touch briefly on the first twoâ€"the humans. Employers. When you apply to companies online, your resume usually goes to a person in human resources. These folks are frequently overworked and rushed. If you want their attention, answer what are almost always (in some form or another) their top three questions. Answer, of course, from your perspective as a job candidate. What specific job do you want? What is your general overall employment background? What value, expertise, or specific skills do you offer relevant to the job you’re hoping to land? Your resume is like a movie trailer. Stimulate your audience’s interest. Leave them wanting to know more about you. Recruiters. When dealing with recruiters, the advice above holds true as well. Recruiters usually want to know two more things. Where do you want to work / live (geographically)? What are your salary requirements? You will want to provide that information; the best vehicle is your cover letter, rather than the resume. Don’t leave them guessing. If they have to make a phone call or inquiry to find out, they probably will not do it. Now, what about the computers? Resume scanning systems. Almost all large companiesâ€"and many small to mid-size organizations these daysâ€"scan the resumes they get. Why? In a nutshell, because it’s simple, inexpensive and efficient. This is great for them. If you’re not ready with an internet-friendly resume, it could be bad news for you. Your resume stands a good chance of getting lost in their database instead of being read by a human being. What happens? When you post your resume online, initially the computer selects resumes based on some programmed criteria. Your resume must impress the computer, and it must speak the language of the computer. Many systems will allow Word and other downloads. Sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they ask you to copy and paste. If you simply send your resume in its original form, you run the risk that it will not be read, simply because the computer is unable to read the file or the format. The computer also seeks to match your keywords (or buzzwords) with those in its criteria. It wants 1 + 1 = 2; not 1+ 1 = whatever you want me to be. In Part 2, I’ll show you step by step how to create an e-version of your resume. In Part 3, we’ll explore how to create a keyword-rich resume that will help put you at the top of the pile with a computer audience. Actually, with your human readers too! Photo:   jurvetson