We all need an escape from work

It occurred to me recently that everyone needs to take a break, even just a short one, from everyday life.

Sometimes we all need a break from whatever our work is. Getting away on a nice vacation at a beach sounds wonderful, but may be impractical. We must find a way to escape from work, even for a short time, so we can rejuvenate our minds and our bodies.

Often we don’t even realize how important that escape is, until we do take one and wonder why we didn't do it sooner. If a week off somewhere tropical is not available to us, we need to find other ways to distract us from whatever consumes our daily routines at work. For some people, work is so mind boggling, so brain numbing that our minds cannot stop working even when we are trying to sleep. For others who do physical labour, the body may continue metabolizing even when the work stops. Either way, we need to escape by doing something different than the usual.

For someone who thinks constantly, using their brain to solve problems or figure things out, a physical activity can be all that is needed. In our beautiful country, mountain hikes are available, free, close, and beautiful. Maybe reaching one more peak or going one more kilometer is enough of a change to create a different experience for someone usually working in an office. For a trades person or an athlete, maybe taking a language class or playing a mind challenging game will be a fun change. For employees who work with people all day long, an escape may be taking a short trip alone, and visa versa, someone working alone may want to try joining a group activity. Reading books which are the opposite of your typical choice can be an escape for some, perhaps someone really conservative reading a harlequin novel will offer the needed escape.

If a vacation is on the horizon, doing something completely outside your predictable choices will offer a different kind of challenge. A beach vacation sounds amazing, but would be most valuable to those who rarely take such a holiday. Cultural holidays and active options will be the most invigorating.

We are all different, but we all get into our ruts and stick to the usual routine, instead of trying something new for a change. The escape is what we all need, regardless of what we do for work. Even stay at home parents need a break from everyday life; every one of us needs some way to escape!

Try something different to escape this time. Do the opposite of what your norm is and see how rejuvenated you will feel!

Career Killers

There certainly are things people do that absolutely kill their careers. There is a big difference between making mistakes or doing dumb things, and killing your career. You may think some of these killers are common sense, but people do them anyway.

Not showing up for work is a killer. Some people actually disappear and then show up days or weeks later, expecting to still have a job. You may think this is a young persons’ mistake, but young people rebound. It is the professionals who sometimes pull this one and expect it to go unnoticed. But peers talk and bosses talk, and it is remembered.

Another career killer is gossip. Yakking about your company or your boss is completely unprofessional and unacceptable. Gossip is best reserved for pillow talk, and nowhere else. Anyone who speaks before they think and spreads rumours about people or companies outside the confines of home, deserves to not have references for future job opportunities, which brings me to the issue of personal baggage. Bringing home issues, addiction issues, selfish issues, security issues, or credit issues into the workplace is a definite killer.

All types of abuse and violence are carried forward to future jobs, and therefore are career killers. Eventually, abuse will not be tolerated in any workplace. I am not saying that an employee should not ask for assistance when facing these issues, but they need to discuss them in private, with a Human Resources person or counselor, or even a top boss. But bringing this baggage to work in any form is dangerous to the employee and everyone else. Employees who are afflicted with baggage create stress for co-workers, supervisors, customers, and everyone else in earshot, a true blue career killer!

And finally, a lengthy gap between jobs will kill any career. Employers are not interested in hiring people who need a year or two off to re-energize. People who think it is OK to take a year off with a severance and then another year on employment insurance, and then easily be able to get a new job, have another thing coming. Employers want workers, not lazy people who need mounds of time off.

All age groups, genders, industries, and job positions face these killers. I speak the truth, on behalf of employers, so pay attention if you want to secure your future career opportunities. References are still being done today.

Getting out of the job search funk

How does a job seeker get out of the job search funk? Let’s face it, the sun is shining, the grass is green, and flowers are blooming. Who wants to spend their time looking for a job?

Oh wait, employment insurance is running out, which means it is time to get going again and find something.

Most job seekers have felt discouraged at some point while looking for work. The competition is rising, the rejections are many, and money is tight. Some people actually sink into a depression while unemployed, while others get used to being busy doing nothing. Eventually, the unemployed need to find employment.

The first step towards getting the right job is to figure out what kind of job that is! Taking a few moments to figure out where your passion lies, and which hobbies, interests, and tasks you enjoy doing, will really help to get your energy up and build some momentum.

The next thing to do is to spice up that resume! Talk to people, people you trust, and show them your resume. Ask them to describe you at your best. Take some notes and inject the truth about you into that resume, but only the best stuff. Use the descriptions other people use of you, add the proof and the power words, making sure it really sounds like you, and double check the spelling and grammar. Keep it to two pages.

Feeling better? Next, pick your job search time blocks. Like a job, certain tasks need to be done at specific times, so create that time for the job search process. For example, you could plan to get up at 8am, go for a walk, have breakfast, shower, then start calling companies you want to work for that fit your criteria. Ask questions to whoever answers the phone, including are you currently hiring? What do you like most about working for the company? How long have you been there? Spend X amount of time (your choice) doing the calling portion of the job search process.

For the next time block, you could plan to grab a coffee and start doing some searching on the web. Find job postings that interest you and start sending out your spiffy new resume.

Last, but most importantly, in the job search program is to follow up! Spend at least half an hour each day following up, asking “did you get my resume?” and sending out thank you notes for the interview process.

Once you have all this planned out and under way, you should be out of the job search funk, have plenty of energy, and still have at least half a day, every day, to get out and enjoy the sunshine!