Career Growth Overseas

It appears that Gen Y of Australia has started feeling that the country's economy is slowing down. Therefore, they are exploring the possibilities of heading overseas so they can have good career growth. This trend has been corroborated by Robert Walters, a recruitment firm also.

James Nicholson, Managing Director of Robert Walters ANZ, adds that many of the Australian employers are not willing to offer overseas opportunities to their employees. He says "Millennials, or Gen Y, have grown up in a borderless world with greater access to international travel, so their sights are set high to begin with."

But according to some experts “moving abroad tends to inspire a giddy optimism in people.” Those who move abroad may learn how to lead their life differently because they have to eat, socialize, work, study and think like the original residents of the country to which they have relocated. At the same time, they have to take into account a few other aspects also while trying to relocate to a new country. 

One of the most important aspects they have to consider is the culture shock they may encounter. Secondly, they should think about the effects on their career and on the relationships they leave behind at their home country.

Pressure from family members, relatives and friends

If you move to another country, you may have to answer the following few questions that may be posed by your family members and relatives after a couple of years.

“When will you be coming home?"

"Will you be able to come for the festival this year?"

"Isn't the right time to give up the fantasy life of living abroad?"

Of course, the tone, tenor and timbre of the questions may vary but the common thread that may be running through them will be your family members, relatives and even friends want you to come back. Though they pretty well know that you can have good career growth if you continue working overseas, they can't remain without asking these questions. Almost all those who shift to an alien land for their career growth are likely to face this pressure.

Apart from heading home occasionally, you are advised to call your family members and other loved ones as often as possible. Getting a Skype number can be the best way to be in frequent and constant touch with them. This will substantially reduce the pressure. 

Having career growth abroad may take longer for some folks

Not everyone can grow in their overseas career as fast as they imagine. In fact, it can be more difficult than how they can build their career in their home country. But for those who have the right capabilities and have identified the right opportunities, growth may be rapid and highly rewarding. Especially, if you choose a country that is having a very high growth trajectory economically, you can grow faster. But remember that there are certain other countries in which the government bureaucracy, unfamiliar culture, etc. may not allow you to grow as much as you desire though they may be growing fast economically.

Home country is the best for some people

For those who are contented with climbing their career ladder one rung after another, home country is the best. But career growth need not be linear. Overseas careers exemplify this fact. So, if you are adventurous-minded and capable of facing uncertainties, you can choose overseas careers. But ensure to add two more attributes to your arsenal. The attributes are thinking out of the box and learning things like an autodidact. These two attributes will help you build your overseas career ladder. You will be able to recognize opportunities and so, switching to new jobs will also be easy. 

Your overseas experience will help you when you get back

Employers will certainly take your overseas experience into account when you return to your home country and look for a job. You may be considered resourceful mainly because you have proved your worth by climbing the career ladder overseas. But avoid talking frequently about your away-experience lest should be alienating a number of people.

Low-Paying Jobs Can Also Do Good To The Career Of Fresh Graduates

As soon as you step out of college, you may wish to land in a high-paying job. But experts advise that you should look for a job that lays the best foundation so you can have a good career growth at a later date. Just because the job does not pay you as much you expect, you need not hesitate to take it up.

Since the job will lay a proper foundation for your growth, you need not worry about the economic loss. This loss is only temporary. But once you learn the right skills and get hands-on experience from the job, you can expect to have accelerated growth in your career very soon.

In other words, you are investing in yourself by making this decision. This is similar to making a wise investment decision because what you are aiming at is nothing but value maximization. 

Life is not about making a single move. In fact, experts compare life with a chess game. If you do not execute each and every move judiciously, the game will be over very soon. 

It is not that you are advised not to have big ambitions but your progress in your career will purely be based on the strength of your foundation, the skills and experience you gain, etc. So, you should adopt all possible ways to do complete justice to your current job. This means that you should constantly aim and strive to enhance your performance level. 

In short, your execution of tasks in your current role will earn you much more than the monetary benefits you get from it. How you deliver will add weight to your profile. 

Meeting deadlines, delivering high quality work and seeking constant feedbacks are very important for developing yourself professionally. You should ensure that the feedbacks you get are candid and they come from experts and talented professionals . 

This means you should be ready for a few early sacrifices to reap rich benefits at a later date. You can be certain that the next opportunities will be much better. Sometimes, the new opportunities may be different from your current job but your hands-on experience will help you grasp things faster. Since you have successfully handled challenging situations and have learned from experts, your career development will be faster. 

To summarize, the initial investment you make on yourself by taking up a low-paying job that provides you with a lot of opportunities to learn, may lead to rewarding careers in future. As experts say, you will enjoy the benefits of a long horizon if you willingly make this initial investment on yourself.

Lateral Moves And How They Help Employees' Career Growth

That there is stiff competition in the job market is an inconvenient truth. So, it may not be possible for people to climb up the career ladder as fast as they desire. In fact, organizations are thinking of moving employees laterally. In this context, you must know whether a lateral move will enhance your career or not.

What do you mean by a "lateral move?"

A lateral move is that in which you, as an employee, will be moving to almost an equivalent position, in a different department or the same department in your organization. You will get the same salary or there may be a very small increase. The job title may also be the same. But your responsibilities will change.

In the organizational chart, your level will be the same as that of your former job. If you are shifted within the same department, you will be reporting to the same manager. On the other hand, if you move to another department, you may have to report to a new manager. Likewise, whether there will be changes in the work areas or groups will depend on whether you continue to remain in the same department or shift to some other department.

Earlier, employees were not ready to accept lateral moves. But now, the situation has drastically changed, points out Kirk Hoyle, a headhunter from Los Angeles. He says “everyone has a subconscious weakness right now. There’s a lot of insecurity about the future.”

More and more organizations are becoming flatter. In fact, organizations are trying for more output with less number of employees. So, it is not surprising that the number of companies that explicitly encourage lateral moves has been on the increase. For example, Deloitte has replaced "career ladder" with what is known as "career lattice" which is a metaphor that denotes sideways, diagonal and up-or-down moves. Similarly, Erin Hand, one of the vice presidents of Cox Communications that is a popular cable provider company, says that they have initiated discussions over the value of opportunities 'sideways moves' can bestow on their employees as well as on the organization. 

But you must choose a lateral move carefully. This means you should do your home work and study your responsibilities in the new position as well as the future opportunities that may be available to you. Especially, if you are holding a senior position, this study is all the more important, says Donna Schwarz, a career consultant from New York. In short, you should be certain that you can have real growth once you make the lateral move.

Whether your lateral move is within your company, a different organization or another industry, you must be prepared to feel the cultural differences you may encounter in your new position.

Advantages of a lateral move

1. You will be able to expand your skills. You can expand your network also because you will work with a new group of employees, managers and customers. 

2. Secondly, there are chances that you may be able to expand opportunities in your career path. Since available roles in senior positions are becoming lesser and lesser, opting for a lateral move, if you are in a senior position, may be beneficial.

3. You can overcome the problem of dissatisfaction and boredom thanks to your new position and new responsibilities.

4. When you face new challenges, you will have more chances to prove your potential. 

5. You can learn the tasks and functions of new departments and so, your organizational knowledge will expand.

6. Your visibility in the organization will increase as more managers and coworkers will come to know of you. In fact, management will be impressed with your readiness to embrace new responsibilities. So, your lateral move may lead to career growth.

Tips To Succeed In Your Career

"How to succeed in my career?" This is a common question that may haunt the minds of almost all employed people. Though this appears to be a tough question to answer, everyone should find out ways to succeed in their career because there is competition everywhere. If you are also obsessed with this question, you can use the following tips for beating the competition in your workplace and getting ahead.

1. Set your goals

You must first set your career goals. Unless you are clear about them, you can not achieve success in your career. You should have short-term as well as long-term goals so it will be easy for you to cross your milestones one by one. By setting goals, you can monitor your progress easily also.

2. Have priorities

Secondly, you should learn to set priorities and the task of setting priorities should be done on a daily basis. In fact, planning your day involves making a list of urgent and important tasks you should complete.

3. Never lose your focus

You may carry out a number of tasks during the course of your work but at no point of time, you should lose sight of your goals. Even if you go on a holiday, the aim should be to rejuvenate yourself for working with added vigor so you can achieve your goals on time. There may be a number of distractions but you should never give in. 

4. Keep widening your skills

The job market is never static and your organization may not be an exception. You should therefore keep acquiring new skills. Sometimes, you may have to acquire skills that you think are not related to your current position. But companies expect that people should have complementary skills. For example, a marketing executive should know the basics of accounting, an accountant should know administration and marketing and so on. In short, you should be a continuous learner.

5. Never hesitate to socialize

Though man is a social animal, not everyone may be willing to socialize. But you should learn to socialize if you want to advance in your career. By making friends with new acquaintances and attending social functions, you can gradually develop your social skills. You should be genuinely enthusiastic when you meet new people. If you improve your listening skills, you can certainly become popular among people. Being a good listener will help you learn new things on a continuous basis.

6. Use the SWOT tool wisely

You should do an honest assessment of yourself to know your strengths and weaknesses. If you feel that you deserve a pay rise or promotion thanks to your merits, you should not hesitate to claim it.

7. Face challenges squarely

There are many people who are afraid of challenges. They can never advance in their careers. But if you want to develop into a complete person, you should accept challenges. This attitude will help you explore areas you have never ventured earlier.  On the contrary, if you cozily remain in your comfort zone, you can never grow or learn new things. This attitude will impede your progress. 

8. Communicate effectively

Effective communication is the key to success in any career. Effective communication involves not only passing on your ideas and thoughts but listening also. When you imbibe ideas and communicate effectively, you can persuade people and will also be able to gather all the information you may require for carrying out your tasks.

9. Never indulge in gossips

This rule is applicable not only for career advancements but for leading a successful life as well. You should show respect to everyone and be good to the company as well as other employees.

10. Get sufficient rest

This is for rejuvenating yourself so you can execute your tasks more efficiently. You need not be a workaholic for succeeding in your career. Instead, you must learn to relax and manage your work-related stress effectively so that your productivity keeps improving constantly.

11. Be responsible

You should have a responsible attitude. If you own responsibility for whatever you do, others will respect you. On the other hand, if you disown your responsibilities, you will very soon earn the wrath of your co-workers as well as managers.

12, Work to boost your confidence levels

You can be confident only if you acquire the required knowledge and skills in the job you do. If you work with confidence, you can move ahead very quickly. But there is only a thin line that divides confidence and arrogance. You should understand this and refrain from being arrogant. While confidence can help you advance in your career, arrogance will demolish all your dreams.

13. Try building strong relationships

You should make efforts to have strong relationships with everyone in your company. Developing strong relationships does not mean developing friendships. It means building trust. Likability, respect and trust are very important factors that will make your journey towards your goals smooth.

If you bear in mind these tips and work sincerely, you will certainly succeed in your career.

Are You A Good Negotiator?

If your company has assigned you with the job of negotiating contracts, it means they expect you to work hard for getting satisfactory agreements. This does not mean that the contracts you negotiate should favor your company alone. The other party of the contract should also be pleased with it.

Reasons why you should ensure that the other party is also satisfied

1. The foremost reason is that satisfied parties will never fail to uphold the clauses of the contract. Even if you draft a lengthy contract and get it signed by the other party, you can not assume that it will cover all the contingent situations. Satisfied parties will willingly fulfill even if a particular situation is not covered in the contract.

2. If the other party is satisfied, they will automatically come forward for future contracts also. They may even do word-of-mouth publicity for your company.

3. The party will adopt an open and cooperative attitude when you negotiate future contracts with them.

On the other hand, if you aim to negotiate a contract that favors your company alone and that contains clauses that are detrimental to the other party, they will make all-out efforts to score when you call them for negotiations for your future contracts.

When the company assigns you with the job of negotiating a contract, they may have certain expectations. Likewise, you may also have your own expectations. But once you negotiate and finalize the contract, you as well as your company will tend to compare the contract terms with what you had been expecting prior to finalizing the contract. This aspect has been researched by Richard Oliver and Bruce Barry, professors at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Another member of the research group was Sundar Balakrishnan of the Seattle-based University of Washington. These researchers have corroborated this comparison theory. They also said that the feelings of different negotiators will not be the same though the deals and the outcomes are similar.

How to be a skilled negotiator?

1. You must start managing the situation even much earlier to the beginning of the negotiation process. Let us take a particular situation as an example. Most of the companies negotiate rise in salaries of employees once in 3, 4 or 5 years. If you are a skilled negotiator, you should create a situation through which employees should start perceiving that the company is passing through a tough phase. This will lower their expectations. 

2. Show a reaction that may deflate the expectations of the other party. Especially, when the other party makes an initial offer, your reaction should be such that it lowers their expectations. On the contrary, if you talk with a cooperative tone, you may increase their expectations.

3. Never make a steeply favorable counter-offer. This will inspire the other party to ask for more. 

4. Never agree very quickly also. Researchers like Adam Galinsky and Victoria Medvec, both of North Western University and Vanessa Seiden of Chicago and Peter Kim of the University of Southern California have categorically established that if you agree very quickly, the satisfaction levels of the other party may be less. They may think that they could have achieved a better deal had they made a higher offer. 

If you keep in mind these points and negotiate wisely, your company will certainly think that you are an asset to them.

Will Your Resume Help You Succeed?

If you have completed your studies and are looking to land in a suitable job or if you are trying for a change of job, the most important thing you should do is to compile a resume or update the one you already have.

You may want to enter an organization that suitably feeds your aspirations. At the same time, you should not forget the fact that companies also think that if they recruit wrong employees, that may dent their image. So, according to them, having such wrong employees with them is a sacrilege. This means that your resume should show to the recruiters that you are the right person for them.

It is true that the space available on your resume is very limited and it may not be possible for you to pour out everything in that limited space. Therefore, you should execute this task very skilfully. Some of these tips may help.

Try to keep your resume crisp

There is no point in beating around the bush. At the same time, your resume should not be bland or stale. Employers may not be impressed with monotonous resumes.. You should therefore think out of the box because your aim is to impress employers who may have very limited time for scouring through your resume. In fact, they will be getting scores, if not hundreds, of resumes and so, they won't spend much time on your resume if it is boring or stale. One of the best ideas is to provide your information in short sentences and space them evenly so employers will find the information easy to go though. This style will help them learn more about you in a very short span of time.

Your resume should focus on the company's growth also

Your aim will certainly be to grow in the organization but the company will expect that you should help them grow also. So, your resume should focus on how you will help the organization grow. The recruiting authorities should be convinced that you are a better bet for the company's growth than the other candidates.

Be explicit about your achievements

You should explicitly prove how you can contribute to the company. For example, you may have led a team in your previous organization. Or if you are freshly stepping into the job market, you may have organized events in your school or college. You can elaborate on these points in your resume and explain how you can capably handle such assignments or situations. 

Further, the achievements, the hobbies or the work experiences you elaborate in your resume should be exclusive to you because these factors alone will bring you on the recruiters' radars.

Never lie or exaggerate things

There are candidates who may exaggerate their skills and accomplishments and incorporate untrue points in their resume. This is dangerous. You should never add skills you do not possess or achievements you have never made. You are certain to be caught very soon. Companies want trained people and you can not expect that you will be trained after you land in the job. Of course, some companies provide training but that may be for imparting the special skills that may fulfill their special needs.

Recruiters should know that you are a worthy candidate to spend time with

You may justifiably think that recruiters are harsh because they are trying to judge you just by spending a few minutes going through your resume. You may also think that first impressions need not be the right impressions. But when you make your resume creatively by using the space on it optimally and by expressing your ideas, achievements, etc. clearly and in an interesting manner, you can certainly impress recruiters who may ultimately decide to spend time for interviewing you. Nowadays, there is no paucity of ideas for making such creative resumes. You can use graphical representations, pie charts, animated illustrations, etc. You can even opt for tri-fold brochures, video resumes or those printed on fabric. These ideas infuse life into your resumes. 

Know your recruiters

You should first try to know your recruiters. Certain companies may not like quirky resumes while some companies may welcome them. So, your Curriculum Vitae should suit the company to which you are applying for.

When to stop talking about yourself

This is a tricky thing because no one can know clearly whether they have given solid information about themselves. You may also have this apprehension. Though you cannot fully overcome this apprehension, the best way is to end your resume with a summary of your details, aspirations and what you wish to accomplish.

Simply put, if you put in creative efforts for making your resume, you can show to recruiters that you stand out from the crowd.