How To Promote Your Personal Brand Within Your Existing Company

• 2-minute read •
A lot of advice on managing your personal brand is geared towards promoting yourself to the external market: update your resume; stay active on social media; join a professional association. But what if you want to stay where you are and raise your profile within the company – e.g., get promoted, move laterally or simply stay top of mind in your department? Here are five strategies for promoting your personal brand internally:

Read More

4 simple personal development tips

Personal development is not just about attending trainings or going back to studies. It is about identifying the factors that can hamper growth and controlling them. It is also about developing your motivation and personality.

According to Oscar Wilde, “The aim of life is self-development. To realize one's nature perfectly - that is what each of us is here for.”

The same applies to your career also. You have to constantly try and upgrade yourself, your skill set, your motivation etc to keep going. People complain that with busy schedules, they find it difficult to work on self development. However, personal development is not only about attending trainings or going back to studies. We present a list of some easy tasks that can contribute a lot to your personal development.

Develop a healthy lifestyle and appearance: A healthy body and brain is the pre-requisite to personal development. So, eat, sleep and exercise well. Also, spend some time taking care of the way you look. Your appearance gives you confidence and motivation and helps develop your personality.

Eliminate time and energy wasters and clutter: All of us indulge in one or more activities at work that not only waste time but also drain energy, leaving us with less time and energy to do more meaningful things. These activities can include surfing the Internet aimlessly, gossiping etc. Take control of these activities before they become habits. Identify these time and energy wasters and avoid them as much as possible. You can start by clearing that clutter of papers and files on your desk and cleaning your computer and inbox.

De-stress your life: Work on removing strain and stress from your life. Resolve your conflicts, maintain a positive attitude, read motivational books and plan your work well. You may still find it difficult to avoid stress, given the current economic scenario. However, identify your stress factors and work towards rectifying them.

Enhance your skillset: Use whatever free time you have in hand to enhance your knowledge and skill set. Enroll for a distance learning course, study at home or when you get free time at work; and add extra degrees to your resume. You can also read books and surf the internet to keep yourself updated about the latest happenings in your field of work.

These simple tasks can go a long way in developing your personality. They not just help you control your work, your life and your surroundings but also pave way for your career growth and personal satisfaction.

Apply Now - Resume or CV with Job Post Title
Email: jobs@aarenconsultants.in

Stumbling Over the Same Blocks at Work and at Home: How Our Personal Relationship Patterns Follow Us to The Office

How healthy is your relationship with your career? Do you swear you'll quit your job because it's so frustrating, only to agree to stick it out when your boss promises everything will be different if you'll just fix this one last disaster? Do you love certain things about your job, but do other aspects make it unpleasant a lot of the time? Do you hope for a job that you will love deeply and consistently, that will help you feel satisfied, useful, and productive?

A career path is like long term personal relationships in many ways, and our relationship style comes out in the relationship with our careers in various ways.

1. "I Can't Stand it Here Another Minute...and I've Said That for Years"

What This Relationship Looks Like:

• You know the relationship isn't working but you're afraid to leave.
• You let out frustration by complaining, which means you lose energy that would help you find something better...and you depress yourself and others around you.

Personal Relationship Aspect:

The above description of your relationship with work probably sounds very familiar. You know you should leave, but you feel needed often enough to stay hooked in.

How To Get Out:

• Instead of complaining, take small -- but definite -- steps to find out what you would enjoy doing.
• Ask yourself why you're afraid to leave such an unhappy relationship. Be very honest about this. Think about how you'd feel if you left. Ask yourself what you might get out of knowing that a major source of your problems is "outside" you (as opposed to seeing it as an internal conflict.)

2. "But They Need Me"

What This Relationship Looks Like:

• You get such a powerful ego boost from being needed that you're willing to put up with almost anything.
• You don't believe your needs are as important as your boss', co-workers', and/or customers' needs.

Personal Relationship Aspect:

Just insert "partner's needs" above where it says "boss', co-workers', and/or customers' needs." It probably says a lot about your love life.

How To Get Out:

It's critical to understand why you get such a charge from being needed. You'll have to confront your ego's need for this kind of gratification if you want to have a healthier relationship with your career. If you obey your ego's need to be needed, you may eventually leave your job, but you'll always be capable of being held hostage by someone that says they can't do without you.

3. "I'm In Control"

This was my relationship with work before my transition to a healthier worklife (and homelife.)

What This Relationship Looks Like:

• You prefer to manage all the details of your job, which means you work very long hours and/or are very stressed.
• You get a lot of your self-esteem from employees and/or peers coming to you for answers. This makes you feel in control of your world at work.
• You have a very hard time leaving work at work. You may be avoiding intimacy or stress at home. It's easier to follow the structure of work than the lack of it at home.

Personal Relationship Aspect:

• Women: You have a hard time looking up to your husband as head of the family.
• Men: You may want to control ALL aspects of work and home life. Note: Most religions specify separate, but critically important, roles for each gender. You may not aspire to these, however.
• You want to be in control of your comfort zone at home, and your partner's involvement in the areas where you need to be in control feels intrusive. You're not sure how to collaborate.

How To Get Out:

• Identify when you hold onto projects that could be delegated. Pay attention to how you feel when you are the expert helping others. You have to spot where your ego gets rewarded to change this relationship for the better.
• Having a meaningful life outside of work is your #1 job. Then you'll be able to leave work earlier, delegate more...all the things you know you should be doing.
• Cultivate a relationship with something that transcends you. In 12-Step programs, for example, a Higher Power is a humbling concept to the addict/alcoholic/co-dependent who feels that they control everything in their lives. Devotion to, and gratitude for, an awe-inspiring God or Higher Power is the antidote to the illusion that we can (or should be) in control of most aspects of our lives.

What is your relationship like with your career? Is it similar to your relationships in your personal or family life? That would make sense. Lifelong behavior patterns are usually consistent. Don't forget that you may demonstrate one type of behavior AND it's opposite...like the cliche that two opposites are 'the flip side of the same coin.'

Conclusion:

We don't have a totally different set of relationship problems between our home and work lives. Actually, this is a good thing. Once we get a deeper understanding of how we get in our own way in one area, we are more than halfway to resolving these difficulties wherever they appear in our lives.

Boundary Crisis Management Minimizing How a Personal Crisis Affects Your Work Life

We all have those days: Your car won't start, you spill coffee on your shirt, or you get a call from Uncle Sal, who wants to chat even though you're already running late. But by the time you walk through the office doors, you're usually able to focus on the day ahead and leave any personal tribulations temporarily behind.

Sometimes, however, what happens outside of work makes it challenging to be a model of professionalism on the job. Whether it's dealing with a death in the family, divorce or prolonged illness, your ability to focus and interact with others can be impaired. Following are some tactics you can use to help manage during tough personal times.

Take time. Certain events shake you to your core, and even though going back to work may provide a distraction, you probably won't be on your "A" game. You might, for example, have trouble concentrating or overreact to things that are usually all in a day's work. The best way to regroup may be to take some time off, either by using personal days or taking advantage of your company's extended leave policy.

Get the word out. Everyone reacts to personal ordeals in different ways, but it's not uncommon to be overcome with emotion when you least expect it. Make it easier for yourself -- and your colleagues -- by being upfront about your situation. You don't have to offer details; just let people know that you are having difficulties in your personal life. If you're uncomfortable telling colleagues directly, ask your manager or a coworker to let others know the basic circumstances on your behalf.

Remember, awkwardness is the norm. Some of your colleagues will be hesitant to speak to you, and others will want to talk more often than you'd prefer. If you don't want to discuss what's going on, politely let curious coworkers know when they bring up the subject. Your own reactions might be off as well. If you are brusque with your colleague or miss a deadline, apologize and do what you can to rectify the situation.

Know what you need. After a calamitous event, some people want to take on more work, and others need a lighter schedule. Speak to your manager to see what accommodations can be made to allow you time to recover. Also, don't be afraid to ask your colleagues for help. Letting them cover for you on a project for a few weeks isn't nearly as damaging to your career as submitting sub-par work. Most people will be happy to help you out if you're going through a challenging personal time.

You may want to get back to normal as soon as possible after a distressing event. But keep in mind that tending to your needs -- whether by taking time off or adjusting your workload -- and allowing yourself time to recover are the best ways to get both your professional and personal lives back on track.

Knowing your personal market value

Different jobs and industries have vastly different pay scales. As you work out your real worth in the job you are in now or hope to move into, do everything you can to research the market.

Understanding the relationship
Just like many areas of business, employment is a deal done on the basis of supply and demand. The workers with the skills and experience influence supply in the job market, and the companies currently hiring for certain positions influence the demand. How rare you and your skills are and how much your employer needs you is the fundamental basis for calculating your worth in salary and benefits.

One example of this in practice is within popular industries such as journalism. There are many talented writers around and a finite amount of jobs which means newspapers can offer very low pay rates to entry-level employees. The combination of few opportunities and the fact that people after these roles often do it for the love, not the money, puts the employer in a very strong bargaining position.

Finding the going rate
The Internet is a priceless tool for salary research. Using an online salary calculator will give you a rough idea of what you can expect in your particular role, industry and location. They are however limited in the amount of information they can provide as everyone’s skills, experience and situation is unique.

Search through various job descriptions to benchmark your role against. It will give you a good idea of the key attributes companies are looking for in certain jobs, which means you can emphasise these in your CV to make yourself a more attractive prospect. If you are lacking in any important areas, make an effort to brush up on your skills to maximise your value.

An individual's salary is not something that is generally discussed in the open, even within close groups of friends so try and steer away from asking people outright what they earn. Online it is a different matter as you have a certain level of anonymity. Ask a question such as “Is £25k a good salary for a Marketing Manager in Newcastle in the telecoms industry?” in a forum and see what your peers have to say.

This isn’t an exact science as all companies use various bonuses and benefits to bolster their employee’s salary packages, but it should give you a good idea of what to expect.

Using your findings
If you’re approaching your boss for a pay increase in your current role, you can expect some scepticism when you present your results, so be ready to back them up with specific examples. Make sure that any job description comparisons you make are fair, and that you are not exaggerating your own importance or qualifications.

Work with your manager to examine your role in detail. There may be things you are doing that your boss is not actively aware of, such as working unpaid overtime at home or skills you have developed, which are a real benefit to the business. All these can be used as extra leverage when you get down to the actual numbers.

If you’re discussing the possible salary for a new job, your potential employer will usually have a salary range in mind set by their management team. When you’re made a job offer, you’re immediately in a good position to negotiate as they obviously think you’re the right fit for the job. Consider the offer and match it up with your research to see if it’s fair. As you will probably be unaware of their other options, you shouldn’t get too over enthusiastic and go back to them with an unrealistic number, but if you think the offer could be topped up a little, there’s no harm in asking.

However strong your case, an employer simply may not be able to pay the figure you’re asking for. Budget constraints operate in every business and it’s impossible to accommodate every pay demand from every employee. If money really does end up as a stumbling block, consider using transferable skills to move into a more profitable and high-paying industry or job.

Choosing the right company to work for is an important decision at every step of your career, and if one doesn’t appreciate your value in the market, there will be another out there that does.