DISPELLING THE MYTHS OF HOLIDAY JOB SEARCHING

Written by John Bateman-Ferry


Continued from page 1
Be flexible: The end ofrepparttar year can be a busy time for most organizations, so be prepared to interview atrepparttar 107083 last minute, very early inrepparttar 107084 morning or late inrepparttar 107085 day. Don’t plan to take your vacation during this time if you are serious about your job search! Staying available will give yourepparttar 107086 edge over other candidates who may have holiday plans. Volunteer your time for a worthy cause: While there are opportunities to volunteer all year long, many charitable organizations need extra help duringrepparttar 107087 holidays. Volunteering will not only make you feel better about your own position, but can offer great chances to network. Send holiday cards to companies you’ve recently interviewed with: It’s a great way to follow up and remind them that you are still open to meeting with them. Keeprepparttar 107088 cards simple and secular, avoiding overt religious themes. Don’t send them to companies or people with whom you’ve yet to interview. Remaining upbeat and makingrepparttar 107089 most ofrepparttar 107090 many job searching opportunities thatrepparttar 107091 season brings will not only give yourepparttar 107092 jump on your fellow candidates, but may lead to a great new year, replete with a new position.



John Bateman Ferry is the senior vice president and general manager of leading career services company Lee hecht Harrison.


HOW TO MAKE PERFORMACE APPRAISALS WORK

Written by Rolf Gruen


Continued from page 1
Provide managers withrepparttar information they need to reward for performance. A good appraisal system will openrepparttar 107082 door for performance- related discussion and career progression opportunities, while objectively indicating areas that deserve reward and recognition and those that need to be improved upon. Keep it simple—avoid multi-page documents that can grind your organization to a halt with a blizzard of paperwork. Look atrepparttar 107083 big picture. Too often over-worked managers can make snap judgements based on onlyrepparttar 107084 most recent performance, without looking atrepparttar 107085 overall contributions of an individual. Standardizing your performance appraisal system and adhering to frequent review of data and exchange of two-way communication will keep things in perspective. Focus onrepparttar 107086 future. In referring to positive performance, make references to how it can be carried on in future endeavors and when discussing opportunities for improvement, and work toward mutual agreement for new work habits and higher expectations. Discuss options for coaching or additional training to encourage a commitment to meet agreed upon performance outcomes. No surprises. The savvy manager will always conduct ongoing development conversations with his or her team members, sorepparttar 107087 performance review meeting should not berepparttar 107088 arena to discuss negative results or behaviors forrepparttar 107089 first time. Give your team members verbal feedback and adequate time to improve before documenting a problem. It’s important to considerrepparttar 107090 message you want your employees to take with them fromrepparttar 107091 experience of appraisal. Be careful with assigning numbers—but do so in a consistent manner. If you are not careful, you can lose people who will be put off by a sloppy administration of performance appraisals. But if it is done carefully and well, it can maximizerepparttar 107092 capabilities ofrepparttar 107093 individuals and will contribute torepparttar 107094 well-being ofrepparttar 107095 employees, management and organization as a whole.



Rolf Gruen is the senior vice president and general manager of leading career services company Lee Hecht Harrison's Seattle office.


    <Back to Page 1
 
ImproveHomeLife.com © 2005
Terms of Use