It can be scary figuring out how to talk to your boss. When is the timing right? How should you begin the conversation? What are the correct questions to ask? Unfortunately, the only way to get better at this is to practice and become aware of the situation and the risks. Situational awareness, or paying attention to your surroundings, can help you succeed in all aspects of your life, including your business relationships and performance.
The best way to practice learning situational awareness is to ask yourself, or others, questions; you need to learn and observe before you can try it yourself. By asking questions, you are opening yourself up to the idea that you do not have all the answers, but all the answers can be found in time. While situational awareness may not begin as second nature, once you start to observe your surroundings and listen to the people you interact with, you will discover that it becomes easier. By simply looking for it, situational awareness presents itself to you.
You may be wondering, “What’s the point? Why practice situational awareness at all? What will I get out of it?” Being aware of the situation makes you a leader – you become observant and know how to respond quickly to tasks, planned or unexpected. In a work environment, your boss will see you as reliable, confident, and trustworthy. If you are able to act quickly and calmly under pressure, you will be the one getting a raise.
There are a few things to note when practicing situational awareness. Trust your gut – your instincts will begin to practice situational awareness before your mind catches up, so listening to your initial gut feeling on a particular matter is, in fact, the beginning of situational awareness. Listen to your co-workers – learn what they do, how they work well, what their project priorities are, and ask for advice when you need help. By communicating with other members of your professional team, you are able to gain more information and be more aware of the situation as a whole, not just your part in the plan. Share your knowledge – providing information to team members and sharing your experiences helps strengthen your leadership skills, creates better communications practices, and makes you look good in front of your boss.
Ways to check your situational awareness are easy to look for, as well. Make sure you aren’t confused about tasks, your information matches with others’, you are able to solve conflicts when they arise, and you know your expectations and limitations. Pushing too hard to get something done undoes the work situational awareness starts. Listen to conflicts and find the solution, communicate all useful information, and makes sure you are aware of the entire process without being fixated solely on the end goal. Additionally, you have to be healthy, both physically and mentally, or situational awareness will not help. You need to be open to suggestions, flexible with plans, able to think on your feet, and resist impulsiveness. When you experience stress, make sure you know how your body will react and how you can combat it. Do you freeze up or panic? Do you run from a situation or blame someone else? Do you make mistakes or ignore problems? Remember being aware of the situation will help you combat these stress symptoms: relax, stay calm, fix the problem promptly, focus on solutions rather than the error itself, get help when you need it, and always have a back-up plan.
Situational awareness will prepare you for the times you need to act quickly and want to take risks in a project. It will calm you when problems arise and train you to be observant in all aspects of life. Ultimately, you will succeed at a greater rate by being aware of your situations and knowing how to deal when the unexpected arrives.
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The leaves are changing, the kids are back in school, and that familiar chill is in the air. You think it's the perfect time to look for a job, and it is! But are your job search fears preventing you from making that leap?
It's not uncommon to feel lost when embarking on your job search journey. After all, school teaches us everything except how to get a job. What should you put on your resume? What questions should you ask in an interview? How can you stand out in the hiring process when there's so much competition?
Are you feeling spooked yet?
Believe it or not, there's no need to be afraid of the job search process! You can land your dream job with the right tools and strategy. You can find a job that won't give you nightmares. Here are three spooky secrets every job seeker should know as they look for a job this fall.
1. An Effective Job Search Starts With An Interview Bucket List
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Despite your fears, you've decided to take the plunge and look for a new job. You might be asking yourself, "Where do I start?" The answer is simple: start by creating an interview bucket list.
An interview bucket list is a list of 10-20 companies you'd love to work for. Are you passionate about a company's products or services? Do you feel connected to its mission? Can you relate to its values and beliefs as an organization? If you answer "yes" to any of these questions, that company probably belongs on your interview bucket list.
Once you create an interview bucket list, you'll be able to conduct a targeted job search, one with direction and a foundation upon which everything else will be built. An interview bucket list helps you focus your job search and networking strategies on the right opportunities, making it easier to get your foot in the door at one of your dream companies.
2. Your Job Application Needs To Disrupt Hiring Managers
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In order to stand out in the hiring process, you need to disrupt recruiters and hiring managers. You accomplish this by doing two things: optimizing your resume and writing a disruptive cover letter.
A well-optimized resume includes keywords from the job description. This ensures your resume gets past the ATS and into the hands of the hiring manager. Once it's in front of the hiring manager, it needs to grab and keep their attention. Quantifying your work experience—adding numbers to your bullet points—will make you stand out from other applicants. Hiring managers will want to know more about you and your accomplishments, and that's how you land a phone interview.
Before that, though, a hiring manager will read your cover letter. To disrupt them, you need to write a disruptive cover letter (obviously!). A disruptive cover letter gives you the opportunity to tell a story about why you feel connected to the company you're applying for. It's that storytelling aspect that will stand out to hiring managers and compel them to pick up the phone and give you a call.
3. Employers Hire You Based On 3 Things
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You can't get hired unless you know what employers are assessing you on in the interview process. While your skills and expertise matter, companies actually hire for three things: personality, aptitude, and experience (in that order).
Most job seekers don't realize how important it is to demonstrate their personality, aptitude, and experience in an interview. You could have the right experience for a job, but if the hiring manager doesn't think your personality is a good fit for the company culture, you probably won't get a job offer.
Make sure you demonstrate your soft skills and learn how to answer behavioral interview questions to prove you're the best candidate for the job you're applying for, not just the most qualified.
Want To Learn More Job Search Secrets?
As you look for a job this fall, it might be helpful to know some more spooky secrets so you can get over your job search fears and finally take control of your career.
We know the job search process can be scary. However, it's important to get clear on what you want to do next and focus on conducting a strategic job search, or what we refer to at Work It DAILY as job shopping. This is the only way to effectively market yourself to employers. If they can't see exactly where and how you add value, then that's going to decrease your chances of landing the job.
The competition is fierce, and there are a lot of factors that are out of your control. But the one factor you can control is your job search strategy, the tools and tactics you use to land a job.
If you want to learn the secrets to conducting a strategic job search, sign up for our Job Search Bootcamp, a two-hour, on-demand video workshop that comes with a free workbook.
In this video workshop, you'll learn:
- How to use backchanneling to get directly to hiring managers.
- The secret to using a connection story to stand out against the competition.
- How social media can be your secret weapon to get job interviews.
- The resume format that is getting job seekers more job interviews.
- And, a lot more hacks for job search success!
Let us show you the secrets to getting a new, better-paying job you actually love. Sign up for our Job Search Bootcamp today.
Are you ready to land the job of your dreams (and leave the job of your nightmares)?
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