How to Create Your Own Happiness at Work

Typically, your happiness and your work do not go hand in hand. But when it comes to making yourself happy, you need to learn and understand what works best for you. Being happy at work can lead to increased motivation and engagement, more energy, and increased productivity. Below are tips to encourage you to create your own happiness with your work.

First, you must understand that only you can determine your happiness. If you are unhappy with your current job, you can either look for another or stick with it. Anytime you are feeling stuck on a decision such as this one, remember that you can change your ways to enjoy your much deserved happiness.

Secondly, realize there are going to be obstacles that you cannot control. Do not worry over the things out of your control; it only adds unnecessary stress. It is okay to be aware of issues, but do not get wrapped up into changing them if it is beyond your means.

Thirdly, stop comparing yourself to other people! We grow up constantly comparing ourselves to one another to ensure we do not stand out from the crowd in a poor way. When you feel accomplished for your work, do not allow others’ comments and opinions take that satisfaction away from you. Tune out the negativity and solely focus on what makes YOU happy, not those around you.

Fourthly, stay authentic to yourself. Understand your limits and how large of risks you are willing to take. Stand your ground on actions that cross the line morally for you. Review your personal values often and do not take action on something you will regret.

Fifthly, smile and laugh often. Your facial expressions are closely linked to your emotions. Take time to chat and joke (appropriately, of course) with fellow teammates to lighten the mood of stress and pressure you may be feeling at work.

Hopefully with these tips you can find your own happiness at your work. Work does not have to be stressful and worrying all the time. When trying to decide which job offer to accept, ensure you are choosing the position that you will be excited to go to on a Monday morning. If you look forward to going to work in the morning, your happiness will certainly shine!

Don’t Forget About the Soft Skills

As seniors in preparation for landing our ideal job after graduation, we oftentimes get so wrapped up in showcasing our hard skills in our resume to land us the interview, we forget about our soft skills. The hard skills will get our resume noticed by employers and ensure them we are capable of completing the job’s tasks. Although our hard skills are vital to display in our job search, our soft skills are what will land us the job. An employer is not solely focused on whether you have the ability to complete the job’s responsibilities but whether you will be a good personality fit for the organization. Below are important soft skills I believe employers desire to see during the personal interview.

Communication Skills – These soft skills are used in all aspects of your everyday life. Effectively communicating is vital in the workplace to ensure there are no mistakes. In the workplace, plan to communicate with teammates, managers, and clients on a daily basis in written form and verbally.

Decision Making – Being decisive about decisions will make you a desirable candidate. Hiring managers are not seeking for an employee who procrastinates, takes long periods of time to make decisions, or avoids solving issues altogether.

Drive – Demonstrate to the hiring manager that you are a diligent employee. This is the time to showcase your commitment to your work and how hard you will work to complete an assignment. Tell the hiring manager what motivates you to complete your work; this will allow them to learn more about your personality and whether you are a good fit for the organization’s culture.

Positive Attitude – Personally, this is my favorite soft skill I believe each candidate needs to showcase during their interviews. No hiring manager desires to hire a “negative Nancy.” Interviewers can easily pick up on comments or your nonverbal cues and decide quickly whether they believe you can help their team succeed or hold them back from success.

You can easily prepare to demonstrate your soft skills in an interview by determining which areas are your strongest and incorporate them into your responses. Enter the interview with a smile and show the interviewer how special of a candidate you really are!

Your Social Media Could Be Costing You Your Dream Job

Let’s be honest, we all love posting funny, crazy photos with our friends on our social media accounts for all of our followers to see. Many people use social media to share updates and photos but few understand the affect these can have on a potential job. With graduation only a month away, we should be cleaning up all of our social media accounts so that they display a great version of ourselves. If used appropriately, social media can either help you or hurt you in your job search.

When you mention job applications and social media in the same sentence, typically social media is seen as a disadvantage to you. Social media doesn’t have to be harmful in your job search. Social media can actually help you land your dream job. Sites including LinkedIn, Google+ and Facebook are frequently used by employers to list open positions within their company. These websites are great networking resources if used appropriately. Before sending employers the links to these accounts, ensure all of your information is clean and professional.

Although social media is a great resource to showcase your professional experience, it could sink you in a second. When an employer views unprofessional posts and photos on your social media accounts, it is an automatic turn-off. Employers search your social media accounts to ensure you would be a good fit and a strong representation of the organization. You may not realize what you do in your personal time affects outside views of an organization. It is important to avoid discussing politics, religion or any other related topics on your social media pages. While you have the right to express your opinions, your potential employer has the right not to hire you based off these opinions.

Social media can work for you during your job search if used appropriately. Clean up all of your social media accounts by deleting inappropriate posts and photos. Frequently search your name on Google and see what appears. If a link appears you do not want your employer to find, you should immediately delete this webpage if you are able. You can also change the privacy settings for your social media accounts so that employers only see what you want them to see. Social media can make or break your career so use it wisely!