News

Entrepreneur Wayne Huizenga once said, “Some people dream of success, while other people get up every morning and make it happen.”

A productive day begins with a purposeful morning. There’s a lot of science to back your morning routine and the power to set your day on a positive, productive course. 

In a commencement address Steve Jobs gave at Stanford back in 2005, he shared the motivational tactic he used to start every day.

For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been no for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Admittedly, everyone’s situation is different, and each day is unique, so the goal isn’t to develop a script that’s confining or overly rigid. Instead, step back and ask yourself if your mornings are working for you and if not, consider adopting some of these healthy morning habits.

Habit #1 – Wake up Early

While most of us are reaching for the snooze button, top achievers are getting a head start on the day. Start your morning with purpose. To begin, try waking up 15 minutes earlier and spend that time reflecting. For some, that means meditation or journaling. Give yourself that extra time to avoid starting your day rushed and under stress. 

Habit #2 – Practice Gratitude

Since you’ve got that journal out, jot down a few things you are grateful for. If journaling isn’t your thing, there are many ways to practice gratitude. Send a thank-you email, repeat an inspirational message, or count three good things each day. 

Science has shown that practicing this habit promotes positive emotions, well-being, and health. 

Habit #3 – Exercise

There’s a long list of benefits to exercise that improve not only your health but also your work performance; improved concentration, a sharper memory, prolonged mental stamina, enhanced creativity, and lowered stress. 

Make time for exercise. Your energy level is the foundation that determines how much you can get done in the day, so get moving in the morning. If an hour-long routine seems too intimidating, try running, dancing in your living room, or even walking around the neighborhood for at least ten minutes.

Habit #4 – Tough Tasks First

It is a concept suggested by Brian Tracy, author of the book Eat That Frog.

In the morning, our motivation and focus are at the highest point. So, this is the best time to take advantage of it – do your most challenging task, your “frog,” first. This way, you’re more likely to complete it, and it sets the tone for the rest of the day. 

Instead of opening your laptop while still in your pajamas, try out some of these routines first. They may just become part of your morning routine.  

A tenured recruiter can give you sound career advice and use their network for job leads for openings that may not even be on public job boards. To get the most out of working with a recruiter, you also need to play an active role.

Here’s some advice that we’ve learned in the more than two decades of experience working with candidates on how to make that relationship reach its full potential:

Be Transparent 

The more transparent you are at the start, the higher the potential to build trust, and it sets the tone for the relationship.

Are you seeking temporary assignments or a full-time role? Being clear about your career goals is the only way a staffing professional can do the best possible job for you.

Be open about your skillset, your salary history and expectations, and why you left past roles.

Be Specific

“I’ll move anywhere for a job!” Do you mean that? Be specific with your recruiter; let them know if you’ll only work in a particular area, geographically or industry-wise.

Utilizing our AI tool, we can tell you how many jobs are available in the area of expertise you have as well as the location you desire to live.

If you want to dive deeper, we can let you know who’s hiring and how your skills and experience compare to other candidates in the area.

Speaking of Money 

Please don’t be shy about it. A recruiter can fully help you reach your career goals if they understand your salary expectations and history.

Perhaps you’re entering a new field or are unsure about your salary expectations, let us be a resource for you. Applying our AI tool, we can help benchmark your compensation.

Play Your Part

A recruiter can help streamline your job search, but you’ll also need to play your part. We’ll happily go over your resume with you, help you prepare for the interviews, and be there through the entire process.

It would be best to stay open to objective feedback about your chances of landing the position, whether or not you have the right skills, or make a good culture fit.

Stay in Touch

If you’ve built a strong relationship, the guidance doesn’t stop once you’ve landed the assignment especially during the transition period of getting to know your new role. Let your recruiter know how you are doing and what’s working and what’s not.

We are data-driven and technology-focused but never lose sight of the fact that it’s people who make us all a success.

Ready to take the step? Speak with an INNOVA Recruiter today! 

 

 

 

You get to be in comfy clothes all day. Your commute is now down to the time it takes to walk to your home office. You are saving money on all those lunches made at home instead of eating out. Not to mention the flexibility of being able to sneak in a few house chores while on a conference call.

Working from home can have tremendous benefits. But this short-term solution is turning into a long-term reality for many. Sixty-two percent of the employed US adults are working part or full time from home. At the same time, three in five workers who have been working from home during the pandemic would prefer to continue to work remotely as much as possible as officials lift public health restrictions.

At the same time, work from home burnout is also rising; more than two-thirds of employees experience burnout symptoms. While we’ve discussed how it’s pretty normal to feel stressed right now, burnout can lead to a lack of productivity and affects your health.

Work from home stress happens when you can’t separate home life and work life. When you face elevated stress levels over a long period, it can affect both your mental and physical health.

Some burnout signs:

• Inability to focus
• Missing deadlines
• Mood changes like irritability, sadness, or anger
• Experiencing symptoms of depression, like hopelessness, loss of interest in things you used to enjoy, or fatigue
• Feeling discouraged or apathetic about work
• Getting poor sleep, experiencing insomnia, or having trouble falling asleep.

Here are some work from home burnout contributors:

• Missing co-workers
• Feel the need to always be on
• Have back to back meetings
• ‘Zoom’ fatigue

Ways to avoid burnout:

• Pay attention to how your body feels
• Change your working conditions – take scheduled breaks
• Focus on what you can control – what you eat, how much you exercise, and getting enough sleep
• Check-in with your boss and co-workers.

Overcoming burnout may require more than a long weekend, but be kind to yourself and talk about what you are going through with friends and co-workers; chances are you’ll find that you’re not alone.

High-five, the salary negotiations are over, and you’ve formally accepted a new job offer. Now there’s only one thing standing in the way of your new gig: your old one.

Here’s how to exit your IT job on a positive and professional note.

Give Adequate Notice

Once the ink has dried on your new contract, set a meeting with your boss to give your official notice. Two weeks’ notice is standard, but it’s a considerate gesture to provide more time, depending on your contract.

If the company is known to show employees the exit once they give their resignation, don’t give more notice than two weeks. In this case, it’s best to prepare yourself well in advance by tying up loose ends, downloading the files you need before making your formal announcement.

Conduct Exit Interviews

One of the techniques we recommend clients do is conduct a series of informal exit interviews with peers, supervisors, and people you’ve supported in your IT role.

Ask for actionable feedback, positive or negative. Remember to keep your cool if you receive negative feedback, don’t argue, offer explanations, or get defensive.

Tie Up Loose Ends 

Try to complete the projects that you’re currently working on. Even if finishing requires more hours than you would like to spend on your current job, it’s your responsibility not to leave any loose ends (or, if it really can’t be wrapped up in two weeks, leave detailed instructions). It’s not only for the sake of the person who will be replacing you, but it’s essential to your professional reputation to leave a job on a high and positive note. Nothing shows gratitude and accountability like a job done well—and finished.

Offer to Train your Replacement

IT is such a rapidly advancing career field; there’s a good chance your paths will cross again with your coworkers. By offering to train your full stack developer replacement, for example, then you’re earning gold stars all around. Offer to help screen resumes, sit in on interviews, work with the new hire, or create a manual for your position. It will go a long way to leaving him or her with a lasting impression.

The overall goal is to exit your IT job gracefully and under the best possible conditions. Think about how you can leave your team and supervisor in an excellent place to continue the work without facing significant challenges you could have prevented. Reestablish good working relationships with your peers and supervisors to foster the most positive career conditions you can.

It may sound simple, but it is: default to doing the right thing in any particular situation. By doing so, you’ll reap the long-term benefits that can follow you for decades in your IT career beyond your current position. Showing gratitude and professionalism will make sure they’ll remember you fondly (whether or not you can say the same for them).

If you are looking to make a move from your current IT role, contact INNOVA people today.

 

The late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the demure firebrand who in her 80s became a legal, cultural and feminist icon, and known for her influential dissenting opinions, could also offer powerful career advice.

Four years ago, Ginsburg wrote an op-ed in the New York Times in which she offered her advice for living:

Another often-asked question when I speak in public: “Do you have some good advice you might share with us?” Yes, I do. It comes from my savvy mother-in-law, advice she gave me on my wedding day. “In every good marriage,” she counseled, “it helps sometimes to be a little deaf.” I have followed that advice assiduously, and not only at home through 56 years of a marital partnership nonpareil. I have employed it as well in every workplace, including the Supreme Court. When a thoughtless or unkind word is spoken, best tune out. Reacting in anger or annoyance will not advance one’s ability to persuade.

Ginsburg later returns to the same theme when describing her work on the Supreme Court:

Despite our strong disagreements on cardinal issues — think, for example, of controls on political campaign spending, affirmative action, access to abortion — we genuinely respect one another, even enjoy one another’s company.

Collegiality is crucial to the success of our mission. We could not do the job the Constitution assigns to us if we didn’t — to use one of Justice Antonin Scalia’s favorite expressions — “get over it!”

Whether you want tremendous success or more happiness, whether you work from home or in an office, Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s timeless and elegantly simple words can be applied, “it helps sometimes to be a little deaf.”

Anyone who pursues big or audacious goals (like being the second woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court) is going to hear some thoughtless or unkind words.

Here’s one way to help yourself tune out and implement Ginsburg’s advice. Whenever someone casts some unkind words in your direction, ask yourself, “What are the facts here?” Set aside the other person’s emotions (e.g., anger, resentment, accusations, jealousy, etc.) and listen only for the facts.

The easy option can be to react — fire off a scathing Slack message, email, or lose your cool during the meeting in the heat of the moment. The Supreme Court justice’s words are a gentle reminder that there is always another option: Don’t say anything at all, stick with the facts, remember the shared mission, and get on with your day.