Seven Qualities to Get a Job You Want
When looking for an ideal job, it is important to separate the successful companies from the rest of the pack. The companies that stand out from their peers and employers in today's market have three things in common: they are profitable, they are valued by their employees, and they reward hard work. But what separates these organizations from others is that as soon as they hire someone, they begin building a company culture focused on continuous improvement in specific areas. In other words, any job you pursue should be able to unleash your full potential.
The seven qualities that differentiate high-performing organizations are:
1. Fairness: This refers to companies accepting their share of responsibility if something goes wrong instead of blaming the employee. The question "What would you do if you were in my shoes?" is a good indicator for testing a company's fairness. The best companies would respond with something like "I would take responsibility for my actions and work to fix the problem."
2. Transparency: This is an indicator of a company that is honest and straightforward with its employees. It is important to know what you are working for, so it's best to avoid companies that hide their agendas or present themselves in a misleading manner.
3. Open-door policies: The best companies are ones where employees feel comfortable bringing up issues and problems without fear of reprisal. Open offices with other employees and open doors are common in these companies, making it easy for people who want to discuss a conflict to do so openly.
4. Respect: This refers to employees being treated fairly by The company they work for, as well as each other. A common example of this arises when employees are made aware of their responsibilities and the purpose of their jobs by the manager. Another example of respect is when employees feel like they can come to you with any question or concern, because you are willing to listen, not judge or tell them what to do.
5. Accountability: This refers to a company being proud of its work and performance instead of waiting for others to praise it or hold it accountable. It's important that companies take responsibility for their actions rather than putting them on other people's shoulders so they will feel good about themselves.
6. Fair wages and benefits: This refers to organizations paying its employees above average wages for their industry, along with offering benefits like retirement or health insurance. In the end, hard-working people want to be rewarded for their efforts and dedication but not just with money. The best companies are those that treat their employees as they would want to be treated.
7. Leadership: This refers to people leading by example instead of delivering messages that others don't understand because they are unclear, hard to identify or simply not there. The best companies develop leaders who lead by example instead of just giving orders and expecting them to be carried out.
All in all, there are several factors that make a company successful. There's no denying that some companies are just more successful than others, but the key to success is finding the one that best suits your personality, wants and needs as an employee. The more you understand each of these seven qualities, the better you can take advantage of them and avoid ending up working for a company where you become frustrated with your lack of progress.
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What is Your Job Worth?
I have been in the workforce for many years now and i have worked with both large corporations as well as small business. I have learned that a job worth doing is worth doing well . . . or at least getting something out of it. But, i have also learned that a job worth doing should not interfere with one's personal life.
I will provide an example:
A while ago, i worked for a large corporation and it was a good paying job. I had to travel once a month (one weekend) to another state for the training. It was not mandatory but it was strongly suggested (if you want to move up). I did go and all went well until 1 year after i started working there, 2 things happened: (1) my husband and i were about to start having our first child; and (2) I developed two herniated discs in my lower back from lifting heavy equipment at work. It's like it happened overnight; my back went out one day. I was in so much pain that i was not able to walk or do anything. I had to go to the doctor and they prescribed physical therapy and steroid injections into the lower back. It helped a little, but not a lot.
I had been working at this place for over a year and if i wanted to move up, I had no choice but to travel because they didn't have any training in my hometown that was mandatory. If i wanted to get advanced, it had to be in another city away from home. It would have been the same traveling expenses as if i were on vacation; flight, hotel and food. Since i was not making any money, it was tough for me to take the time off from work. I agreed to do it but i said that if ever again something negative happened, i would have to quit.
Well, this month came around and my husband and I were soon expecting our first child and on top of that, i had to travel a day after finding out that now my husband has a high risk diagnosis of colon cancer. The weekend was coming up for my training and the baby was due a week before the training. Neither one of us wanted me to travel that weekend so i had to quit, even after giving them one year of service. No hard feelings, but it did leave me wondering what they could have done differently.
Yes, i understand that they have policies and procedures in place but if you knew everything surrounding it, maybe there would be room for some flexibility.
Here are some examples that I came up with:
1) It's a corporation; they could have sent me to an online training in my hometown so i would not have to miss time from work. Work from home and send in your assignments via email. They can do it for the new group.
2) It's a corporation; they could have sent me to an online training in my hometown but required me to attend an annual meeting once a year so i could get rewarded for my time. Maybe there was no training scheduled for that year or maybe they wanted to send everyone away at the same time. We're business people, we are always making business decisions, so this one is easy: Saving money on airfare, hotel and food would outweigh the cost of sending me away once a year to get rewarded with a pin or some piece of paper stating that I am now advanced or something like that.
Conclusion:
If you want to be successful, you must go above and beyond the call of duty. With today's economy and job market, it is not easy to find a good paying job as well as one that allows you to move up. I am fortunate to have had some great opportunities; all i have to do is say yes and take advantage of them.
Now, i am not saying that if you are unhappy with your job, quit immediately! Not all jobs are created equal and sometimes we don't know that until we try something else. Sometimes the grass on the other side looks greener but it won't always be like that.