Starting a new job – tips for a successful first week

Well, we’ve all been there, the first day at a new working-place, in some way it reminds us about the first day at school – very excited, a bit nervous and filled with hope.

I guess that the butterflies will always be there on the first day of work, but there are ways to make the first days more efficient and successful at the same time as you manage to make an impression and show your strong sides.

This is actually the reason why I haven’t been so active online and on this blog in the last couple of weeks – I just started a news job as a Personnel Manager at a very successful Swedish tourism and Shipping Company, so I’m actually very happy and proud to get this opportunity.

This is why I have some more tips to share with you, as I try to find lessons in any new situation I experience.

So here are my tips for a successful first week at a new job –

• First impression – the first days you should look as professional as possible, dress at the same way as you did at the interviews, show interest, stay full days at work and be open-minded.
• Be curious – show your interest and curiosity, the first days should be about learning.
• Be observant – try to see what is going on, who is who and who is doing what. Learn about the unwritten rules and the office politics and unofficial dress code. Are there special routines for the working-place? Even usual sittings.
• Patience please – give yourself the opportunity to learn and observe before you act. You need to realize that Rome was not built in a day so you can not be an expert in the first days at work.
• Ask questions – dare to ask as many questions as possible. There are no stupid questions and the more you ask the faster you are going to learn.
• Write notes – write all the important information that you get, all the answers and new questions that you have afterwards.
• Be open – tell people about yourself, your background, different experiences and about your family. Be interested to learn about your new colleagues as well.
• Be friendly – be nice, open and social. Try to remember as many names as possible. This is the best way to learn to know your peers and make a good atmosphere at work.
• Forget about everything else – the first days at work, you are going to be tired when you come home, allow yourself to rest and to recharge your batteries so you would be at top for the next days’ challenges.

Please share with us your past experiences and tips when starting a new job!

Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead,

Yours faithfully,

Moran.

Size-Me

Last week I participated in a very important and inspiring event in Stockholm – Egoobost magazine’s Size-me event. The goal of this event was to urge young women to focus on the inside instead of aiming to look as the common beauty ideal.

Egoobost is a Magazine targeted for young women and is focusing on issues as career development, education and self-esteem. The magazine was established by a very famous Swedish blogger, Isabella Löwengrip- Blondinbella who is only 21 year old and managed to start several successful companies, write two books while continue running a successful blog.

I’m very impressed by the ideas of the Size-me concept since looking 10-20 years back, I see that our world became more and more superficial - and that is something that disturbs me. 

When looking today at newspapers and magazines you can find many shallow articles about dieting, how to get rid of cellulites, make-up and beauty tips and many commercials with retouched photos of young, anorectic girls with many layers of make-up.

I think that it is about time that we start making a change for the sake of the future generations – we need to focus on what that is important: our wisdom, personality and depth instead of trying to look as a Barbie or ken.

When we stop spending time on changing our natural beauty and starve ourselves – we would have more time and energy to focus on our goals and ambitions in life.

Let’s all start looking at the inner-beauty of ourselves and others and to focus on what that is really important in life. 

When we start taking some steps in the right direction and give an example – the rest of the society will follow our lead.

Wishing you all a meaningful week,

Yours faithfully,

Moran.

How to Use Manifesting To Get Anything You Want

I really love watching MarieTV at www.marieforleo.com.

Every Tuesday, she releases a new inspiring video with wise advices.

This week, she interviewed a guest expert and bestselling author, Gabby Bernstein.

Gabby says that if you’re struggling to get something in life — from career goals to relationships, health or happiness — the REAL work is an inside job.


Below are Gabby Bernstein’s 3 important manifesting steps which you can take immediately to get anything you want:

Step 1: Get Clear - before you can get anything you want you need to know what it is that you want. 


Step 2: Release your negative beliefs and have the courage to clean them up.

Step 3: Know the universe has your back.

So, please enjoy the video and subscribe to MarieTv is you are thirsty for more inspiring videos!

Wishing you all a successful week,

Yours truly,

Moran.

Step by Step – focusing on the next goal

It is very common to have dreams – we all have them and what would our world be without them?!  

In some cases, these dreams are very small and easily achieved and in other cases we have many years of challenges ahead of us.

I hope that you too have a vision – a dream of where you would like to see yourself in the future. In order to achieve a vision, and to get the motivation and the needed energy to reach it, you would need to think about the journey ahead and to plan your future steps towards this dream.

Many successful people and athletes use a similar method to reach their vision – they focus on the step ahead. 

Focusing only on your vision could make you feel as if it is unachievable and too far away and this could take off the wind beneath your wings. 

So the key is to focus on your nearest goals and to take the journey step by step – focus on your next goal as if it was the only step on your ladder and once you achieve it start focusing on the next goal ahead.

I’m sure that we are all on the right track towards our individual success – we just have to remember to take it step by step!

Wishing you all a meaningful week,

Yours as always,

Moran.

A lesson from the past – know the expectations

Many years ago, I had a bad experience that taught me a lesson when looking for a new job and I hope that it could help others not to make the same mistake that I did without experiencing it on their own.

I got a very interesting and exciting job – or at least according to the title and I was very happy to get such an opportunity while studying to my Master degree - to be able to work on a 50% basis when studying full time.

The only problem was that my employer decided to hire me due to the good impression that I left during an interview to another job while there were no real need for my services or a fixed idea of what I should contribute with. I only got a vague description and no real tools to make real changes as a Process leader.

Time went by and I started working there, I tried to meet up with my manager but she never had time to meet me and even when I managed to get short meetings – I never got clear answers about the goals for the position and her expectations.

So, I decided to work towards goals that I set up on my own, knowing that I’m doing the best I can in the current situation, I had many questions and many ideas but I needed to continue without getting any answers. After 5 months, my contract was not extended since my employer couldn’t see the “expected” results.

So from now on, I know that when I’m looking for a job I would need to know the employer’s expectations from me and to make sure that we synchronize our goals.  

So the next time you are starting a new job – make sure to get some kind of a job-description, to know your authorizations. To know what is the time-line for any expected results and what are the employer’s expectations from you and your work.

Wishing you all a wonderful week,

Moran.

Guest Post - 10 Steps Towards A Fulfilling Life

This week’s post is written by Joe Viviano who writes a very interesting and inspiring blog - Joe's Musings.

Joe is a 19 year old student at the University of Kansas – let’s all get inspired by his wisdom, I’m sure that with his talent and attitude he is on his road to success!

Take a look at Joe’s blog and subscribe to his posts at:

http://joe-renaissanceman.blogspot.se/

1. Never Take Yourself Too Seriously

Always find opportunities to laugh, be cheerful, and enjoy yourself even in the midst of adversity.  Here’s a fact of life: everyone will make lots of mistakes.  What’s important is how you respond.  When you try to control everything, you enjoy nothing.   

2. Appreciate Your Family and Friends

Spend more time with people who make you smile and less time with those you feel the need to impress.  Be grateful for the people that love you for who you are.  You will never fully understand how much they care for you until they are no longer with you. 

3. Question Everything...

...but never close your mind to anything.  You can learn so much from inquiring, asking questions.  Sometimes, you learn more from the process of questioning than the answers you find.

  

4. Take Action

No matter how many mistakes you make, you are still better off than those that never try.  Whether it was a success or failure, every experience can be an opportunity to learn.  If you are passionate about something, do whatever it takes to realize your vision. 

5. Have a Purpose

When you have a purpose, you can figure out how to achieve anything.  Always understand why you are doing what you are doing.  What is the reason you are on this planet?  

 

6. Knowledge Without Experience is Useless

Along similar lines, words will always limit the experience.  Books are a tremendous instrument for learning, but experience is the best teacher available.  Don’t let what you perceive to be a lack of knowledge prevent you from pursuing an opportunity.  Move forward with the knowledge you possess and let experience take care of the rest. 

7. Be Yourself

Always try to be the best version of yourself, not a second-rate version of somebody else.  Invest time and energy into improving yourself everyday.  Ignore the expectations others have of you and focus on creating high expectations for yourself.  Be more concerned with your character than your reputation because your character is comprised of the qualities truly distinct to you, while your reputation is merely what others think of you.

8. Busyness and Productivity are Two Different Things

Be careful about how you apply your time.  To distinguish between meaningless activity and real accomplishment, ask yourself, “Is the thing I am doing now important for me and my future?”

9. Real Friends are Rare

I don’t need a certain number of friends, just a number of friends I can be certain of.  With respect to relationships, it’s smart to focus on quality over quantity.  Surround yourself with passionate, positive individuals that will help you reach your goals.  Distance yourself from negative, toxic relationships.   

10. Motivation, commitment, and determination are money in the bank

In order to make the leap from who you are to who you want to be, you must put in the time, sweat, and energy to improve.  The one who wins the long race is often not the strongest or fastest, but the individual that has put forth the greatest amount of effort.  Ask yourself, “What did I do today that will enable me to achieve my goals?” 

I hope that you enjoyed this post as much as I did, thank you so much, Joe.

Wishing you all a peaceful holiday!

Moran.

Looking for a job? Help others!

Together we are much stronger than alone! For me, it is a way of living.

It is much easier to go through a tough process if we can share it together with others – so why not doing the same when we are looking for a new job?!

I think that we all should help each other when looking for a new job and that is why I normally try to find other persons who are at the same situation in order to give and get mutual support, advices, tips and information about suitable job ads that we heard about.

Reading each other’s CVs and cover letters could also give us a unique and objective perspective that could help us to master the process and get our dream-job. 

When we read others applications we can understand better how employers would react when reading our own application and this understanding could get us closer to our goal.

Since about 70-80 % of employees got their jobs with the help of their contacts it is even more essential to give and take in this process – to help others when it is possible as the person you are helping could think about you in the future when he or she hears about a job that you would be a perfect match for.

So my advice for you today is to get in touch with other job-seekers and help others on their way to a new job – if we all have the same helpful attitude we are all going to benefit from this relationship and to reach that perfect job easier and quicker at the same time as we feel better as a team.

Wishing you a lovely week to come!

Truly yours,

 Moran.