Self-evaluation is indispensable for career planning

The biggest goof-up that men and women make in their line-ups to careers is to set out without any aim as students or take up low-key jobs with no idea of the course that they are moving on. Evidently, they lack a sense of direction and have no objectives set to be attained.  

Aimless that they may be, people linger and pass time till possibly when it is too late. Graduation over, the gravity of the situation is realized. It is then that a plunge is taken into a career. Any opportunity that comes their way is grabbed in. This is wrong in entirety because a job hunt and that too, a well-paying one should not be undertaken as a late reflection. Similar ought to be the case for identifying chances for progression. On the contrary, both job opportunity and job search should be a well-planned effort, evolved over months and years.

 Practice makes a man perfect. Therefore, one should go in for preparation, more preparation and additional preparation. Can an athlete ever do well if he does not practice? It is futile imagining that a person going on the tracks for a hundred metre shuttle without having practiced even once! He would never be able to estimate the effort required to be exerted. Similar is the case in respect of anybody wanting to step out to do something in life.

Any step that has a ramification needs to be taken with due caution, particularly when one's future is involved. It could well be that a number of giant strides are involved; and if that be so, it is essential that the number of smaller steps needed to reach the endpoint be envisaged. In other words, the end result and the methodology to attain it need to be established.

The above procedure, per force has to be very meticulous and should incorporate various impediments likely to be encountered - problems and difficulties, hurdles and complications, confrontations and disputes, etc. alike. Whatever is covered by a single small step is to be viewed as a short-term goal, which takes a person nearer to satisfying the giant stride, that are nothing but long-term goals. The three steps for carrying out self-assessment are:

· Determining where you want to be: It is sensible to deliberate upon various appointments one has been in along with the main subject pursued in college. Two issues then call for introspection. The first is to find out if one is satisfied wherever he is and the second is to discern where precisely one wants to be in the ensuing five to six years. There is no embarrassment or humiliation involved if one is unable to respond with certainty. A number of web sites offer extensive information to include vacancies that are in consonance with various career fields; they should be made use of to identify any agreeable one.

· Defining work and career objectives: Having discovered a job vacancy that is to one's liking, job and career goals that one thought of while in the final year of college or around the time when search for a job was launched should be jotted down. While job goals relate to one's current appointment, career goals pertain to the larger career mosaic. Examples of career goals are, amongst others, plans to change career in the immediate future and aspiring for a fat remuneration package. After listing out these goals, a couple of positions should be identified - some that one would like to bag today and some that are being aspired for in the next few years.

· Drafting a fresh resume: The final step is to incorporate changes in one's resume. To be able to do so, one needs to prepare and organize things. What are required to be put together are lately acquired qualifications, all testimonials and certificates and appropriate references. All these should be integrated appropriately in the resume, in consonance with various career chances and prospects together with goals and objectives that were identified earlier. If not satisfied, groundwork should be done to seek admission in a training institute, get to serve on working groups and boards or modify the resume to include the foregoing, partly or in entirety.

Self-evaluation over, what should be done next? Career magazines should be perused and internet sites browsed to identify appointments that are of interest and inspire together with their qualitative requirements. Information related to exceptionally good recommendations and sundry barriers that would have to be dovetailed or overcome respectively. It is important to accord priorities for their completion. Probable dates of completion should also be set for them. The aim of the entire exercise is to maintain individual gusto. One should be on the move, literally and figuratively. If a course is plotted and the future steered on it by executing a self-assessment, eventually everything that one seeks in a career will be accomplished.

It should be not be forgotten that career-related sentiments and views can be converted into tangible certainties by typifying career motivations. Remember that the first step that a man takes in his life is plain reflection and every success that comes his way is a result of chasing a dream. So what stops you from moving ahead and making a plan for yourself? 

The ‘how’ of a good career innings

Today, the days of nine to five jobs are things of the past. Work and workplace alike are getting aggressively competitive and therefore, all endeavours to build a booming career is becoming increasingly complex. Under such circumstances, employees have to really slog to get noticed.  

Everybody is required to use the principle of output management to derive maximum benefits. But outputs should not be at the cost of excellence. Time will always be running short and hence opportunities to impress will be correspondingly less. Therefore, it will always be apt to focus efforts in the correct direction, simultaneously ensuring that deadlines are met.

There are several methods, systems and procedures, all different from one another that an employee can adopt to chart out a successful career. These are:

· Assessing the amount of output: This is a mandatory requirement for career progression and can be used to great benefit and gain. The answer to this vexed essentiality is to not give undertakings or make tall promises; one ought to be modest about capabilities and pledge accordingly about projects and assigned tasks. To put it in simple words, the technique requires promising less and delivering more. For example, if a project requires three days for completion, there is nothing wrong in seeking five days from the boss. Subsequently, when the work is completed ahead of schedule, the employee image registers a very significant boost in the eyes of the employer. The lawyer fraternity uses this technique more than anybody else; perceived intricacies, loopholes and weaknesses are invariably highlighted to the clients. But when the judgment is delivered, it speaks volumes of the advocate. This method can immensely help those wanting to excel in a workplace environment. After all, there is nothing wrong in a little bit of self-promotion.

· Getting into trivia and details: The requirement is to get noticed and acknowledged by the boss. But time will always be at a premium and hence the most vital point is to focus on issues that are his key requirement areas or that are likely to be observed by him. Some people may assert that this technique smacks of opportunism, but since there is no cut-throat or letting down of others involved or being indulged in, there is no harm adopting it. Sometime needs to be spent researching what the boss is generally seeking or on the lookout for. It will be sheer wastage of time concentrating efforts on items that the boss is unlikely to look for or is disinterested in. It is always better to devote little time in identifying aspects that receive maximum consideration of the boss, prioritize them and then proceed to concentrate on them. Needless to say but very significant is the issue of time management. The foregoing is very important in an atmosphere where rapidity and tempo are key attributes. The magnitude of importance registers an additional boost if employees have the option to choose what they ought to do and decide on the priorities for their accomplishment.

· Eluding efforts to multitask: Inferences drawn from workplace research indicate that if an individual concentrates his or her effort on several projects simultaneously, the results achieved are qualitatively inferior. Such outcomes adversely affect the efficiency and output factors. Therefore, undertaking a number of run-of-the-mill projects at a single point of time is unlikely to facilitate career progression. At best, it will ward off the pink slip. Individuals who excel or get involved with exceptional assignments invariably get noticed. And individuals who get noticed get recognition. So, when promotions are round the corner, they are likely to reap improved and enhanced benefits. It is of little consequence if the time taken to complete a singular project is relatively more; on the contrary, better output quality is always desirable.

The truth of the matter is that if one can plan on what work is required to be done and then do that work in accordance with the plan, the workload that is involved will be subjected to better control. And if the load associated with the work gets reduced, stress levels also diminish. It should never be forgotten that a disorganized and overwhelming atmosphere leads to poor performance too.

People can slog all twenty four hours and never stop dreaming big about their careers. But if their centre of attention is incorrect, there is every possibility that they will never reach great heights. Anybody who understands that a specific task may get him or her into limelight is bound to make it to the top. They will then no more be just ordinary persons in the crowd. On the other hand, they will be those who matter. They will be successful people. 

Your maiden job – a launch pad for your future

Only after graduation or post-graduation, does one realise that textbooks do not teach everything. Lessons at school and college are indeed theoretical and devoid of finer practical nuances. In fact, the first job in anybody's life is an experience by itself and it offers a horde of practical advice and pragmatic counselling.

Try having a word with a person who has run half his career distance. You will be astonished to learn where he set out from. Therefore, your first job cannot be used to prefigure your profile and the position you will attain at the end of your career.

The first job is an opportunity to ascertain how well-equipped you are to reach for the sky. You get to know the functioning of your organization, how assignments and projects are implemented and what factors contribute to the success of individuals and establishments. As you gain experience and move forward, career changes are bound to take place. So, you should be learning or doing the following at your first job:

· Minding your outlook: The most common grudge against youngsters is that they habitually desire excessive attainments rather too early in life. They also seem to suffer seriously from the 'I know better than you' syndrome. You ought to understand that it is only hard work and sincere effort that will benefit you. Additional responsibility is given when you prove your worth and for this, you will also need to build trust with your peers and bosses alike. You will also need to be cordial and concurrently firm in your dealings with your subordinate and support staff. This calls for tact and if you fail, chances are that a tag of either haughtiness or timidity will be attached to your personality.

· Spotting those who matter: In any organization, despite a laid down command and control channel, there are many others who call the shots. These influences, extraneous or intrinsic should be known. And this could be done by watching and silently weighing how co-workers and others interact and how things are accomplished. There could be some appointments that are may seem insignificant, but in actuality are very important. Who are these powers to be? Who are the people being regarded as ideals and why? Answers to such vital questions will indicate the decision making chain of the organization vertically up or vertically down or a blend of the two.

· Knowing cultural facts: It is of great consequence to observe the conduct and outcomes that are appreciated in your outfit. In addition, you should ascertain the standpoints your organization. You should seek to know and understand the establishment's declared goals and how do they vary from those of rival organizations. All organizations function on teamwork. As a new entrant, do you sense that solidarity exists amongst the rank and file of the company? It is quite likely that many policies may not have been reduced to writing but are operational by convention; if so, what are those tenets? Last but not least, you should also get to know people who appear to be doing well.

· Gaining insight: Your first job affords you many opportunities to discover more and more about yourself - your plus points and your negative points, pursuits that you are comfortable with and activities that you get pleasure from. At work you come in contact with people. You should make it a point to take note of their nonverbal language, because the same facilitates comprehension of their attitudinal disposition towards you. You are thus able to identify individuals who are a source of inspiration as also those who tend to bleed you dry. In other words, you need to adopt a management style that draws out the best in you something that would be acknowledged and appreciated by everybody, up or down the chain notwithstanding.

· Acquiring new skills: The process of learning is cyclic and has no end. And it is never too late to learn. Since it happens to be your first job, you are still on a threshold. The vast expanse of the future and opportunities enclosed therein lies in front of you. To move around in it without getting lost, you need to have expertise. Experience gained today should impel you to do better tomorrow. And for that, you need to get your hands on new qualifications and latest skills. Remember that so far you have had only rudimentary exposure and that by itself is inadequate to stand you in good stead for your entire career span. So, you need to be making perennial efforts to improve your profile.

· Seeking feedback: All organizations generally have an annual performance review. But there is nothing wrong in asking for a quarterly or six-monthly review. This will help you in getting to know how well you are coping with organizational expectations. A distinct advantage accrues if reviews are held frequently. You will be able to stem drags that may otherwise be your predicaments later. You will thus stay on top, particularly if you ask and get to know how you can perk up your performance.

· Recording pats on the back: Bouquets and brickbats are common occurrences in anybody's career. Brickbats, though unpleasant serve to improve individual and organizational performance. On the other hand, bouquets are acknowledgements of good work done and are seldom forgotten. It is always sensible to keep a record of all compliments for good work done. These can be made use of in the future, particularly when there is stiff competition and the need to create an impact is felt.

· Monitoring internal postings: Members of staff are frequently moved from one department to another. These moves facilitate a good comprehension of the entire spectrum of organizational activities. It also helps in the understanding of various appointments and appointment holders. Over a period of time, keeping eye on intra-department postings help in grasping job obligations and prerequisites.

Your first job is a school of a different kind. You learn many things, some of them not even heard of by you earlier. You formalize your behaviour, upgrade your skills and become proficient at your work. The first job therefore, is a launchpad - you leap forward from it to make a career.

Nuts & bolts of sound career objectives

All organisations enforce different operating procedures to attain their targets. It is vital for them to also do some futuristic contemplation by standardising staff outputs, skill upgrades, capacity building, aptitude management and relief scheduling.

Renowned companies, as part of their employee welfare efforts, make available all opportunities to individuals to acquire additional qualifications. Employees are persuaded and egged on to attend training capsules and advance in their careers. However, the point to be noted is that much of the accent and toil in this context has to originate from the employees themselves. This helps in better career planning; the career roadmap is better charted with an equally good policy to rely upon.

Strategic visualisation is one unavoidable component of career planning efforts. You need to set career objectives for yourself. Such objectives have five parts; they are summarized in the acronym 'PARTS' itself as under:

Precise: When we say 'precise', an unmistakably enunciated responsibility is implied. People should be alert and all ears to the aspiration and need to reach a particular appointment or realize a stage of development. Though career objectives are liable to change with the passage of time, a plain and unambiguous convergence of thoughts on the general objective is inescapable.

Assessable: You need to have pre-described conditions with reference to which, you can keep an eye on your steps forward. In respect of most people, performance appraisals by superior authorities serve this purpose. If you have advanced significantly in your career, then there are career gurus who help in delineating various phases of advancement and weigh-up vis-à-vis established aims.

Realisable: The objectives that you set for yourself should not defy pragmatism and logic; they should be sensibly attainable with distinctly labelled phases of advancement. At each stage of advancement, objectives and goals can be set. If an objective is impractical or unworkable, your inspiration level dipping down cannot be discounted. Without serving much purpose, out of reach targets also induce feelings of helplessness and failure. On the other hand, important targets are difficult and take long time for attainment.

Timely: It is very vital to spell out deadlines and time limits or else career objectives will never get to be greeted. No career plots are successful in the absence of properly enunciated and definite and cut-off dates and time. In addition, feelings of perseverance, resolve and tenacity are generated and made certain of persistence by cogent and thought through plans.

Significant: All career objectives should have an uncomplicated and comprehensible perspective; they should be pertinent to existing circumstances and roadmap proposed to be followed. In other words, they should be in conformity with a premeditated action-plan. It should be noted that a germane objective offers unmistakable guidance, puts you on the correct course and lets you remain concentrated on your work and career.

Good career advancement generally revolves around a well-organized, well-ordered and efficient career plan. And your aim in having a career plan should be to achieve the overall career objective. Career plans should not be rigid; on the contrary they should be adaptable and supple enough to incorporate skill upgrading imperatives, learning and development efforts and midway work assignments. With these comes the requirement to create time and generate self-motivation to move forward.

What you need to do is a 'competence and void evaluation'. It will help you discern your weak-points that can be improved upon. Career advancement thus ought to be the justifiable and worthy of end-result of all change-for-the better attempts.

You should appreciate the immense feelings of accomplishment and realization that you would get if you attain your accomplishments; going beyond them would cause unsurpassable pleasure. As you move forward in your career and up in your organization, your involvement and interests increase as also your duties and liabilities. You can be rewarded with greater monetary remunerations and promotions. At senior levels, additional expert credit can be secured through organizations seeking to pick up people with specific expertise and qualifications.

Career objectives can and should never be decided all by themselves. An unlocked and unbolted discussion should be held followed by regular appraisals to make certain that the 'PARTS' are always intact. They should be reduced to writing, elucidated and without a doubt be in consonance with any career plan.

There is no harm in seeking the advice from your immediate boss or any other person, including professional counsellors. You will thus have access to varying standpoints and be able to remedy your mistakes, if at all they took place. Needless to say, career counsellors and your managers have wherewithal and time-honoured procedures that will assist you in formulating your career objectives and identifying career plans that are practical.

Determining career objectives by itself is not sufficient. Putting them across to your managers is very important for you to planning advancement activities; it is possible that in the process you may hit upon an excellent career path. Communicating your career objectives to organizations that you aspiring to join, is equally significant as the same is indicative of your aspirations, motivation and concentration. It conveys to the other party in no ambiguous terms what you intend chasing besides also expressing a declaration of definite purpose. During an interview process, you will definitely stand in good stead. It is because of this fact that objectives are invariably enumerated in a resume.

Career objectives are key agents to describe a career path, a visualization and inspiration for achieving something stupendous. Good objectives are likely to be pursued better if they have all the 'PARTS'. They are quite likely to develop, grow, advance, progress and change as time passes, but they should invariably comprise a broad and expansive career plan. 

Managing conflict at the workplace

There are no two people who harbour similar thoughts and viewpoints. Therefore, when people work in groups, differences in opinion will not be uncommon. However, such disagreements are a root of workplace conflict. And when conflicts intensify, their resolution becomes the responsibility of the head of that particular establishment.  

As a boss, it is essential to know when and how to intervene or mediate; and at the same time ensure that affected individuals deal with their alterations in a practical and fruitful manner. Now, if staff rows are unavoidable, how do you deal with them? Some practical tips are:

· Identify the issue: It should be ensured that everyone involved in the spat is well aware of the contentious subject, the very cause of the row. The process should carry on till the warring individuals agree that they are in disagreement and are clear about the reasons for the same.

· Agree to clarifications: All individuals should be afforded equal opportunities to put across their viewpoints pertaining to the problem. If necessary, the discussions can be moderated by allowing an individual a specific time to speak, say five minutes. It should be ensured that the time limit so stipulated is adhered to by everybody. The important point is that they should feel secure and not suffer from being given a prejudiced treatment.

· Envisage the consequence: The final result from everybody's perspective should be discerned. It may astonish all when they come to know that their ideas are not too dissimilar from one another. It should also be concurrently fathomed how every individual's objective is attained to the maximum level possible and sensibly too. It is worthwhile to consider the realistic aspect of the mediation process, that is, whether the effort is commensurate with the result. And should the process be unsuccessful, what is the nastiest development that can take place?

· Detect resolution scenarios: This is possible only if people have the same opinion on some aspect of the subject of disagreement. And if there is absolutely no convergence whatsoever, then efforts should be directed to identify some enduring objectives that hold out some significance and purpose for each and every one. Once identified, they should serve as a start-point.

A judicious approach and some prudence can definitely help in warding off workplace conflicts and the tensions that they give birth to. Some precautionary steps, if instituted in the right earnest can reduce the frequency of workplace conflicts and play down the unpleasantness known to be generated by the tensions associated with them. Such measures are:

· No issue should be allowed to go unaddressed. As a matter of fact, all contentious matters should be discussed in open forums, lest they assume a monumentally grave proportion.

· Be on the lookout for conflict indicators; once noticed, all possible measures should be taken to get to the bottom of it. The problem should be nipped in the bud.

· It should be ensured that a mechanism to solve conflicts exists. The issue can be broached up at a conference or any meeting and a conclusion arrived at on the line of action that people should adopt in the eventuality of disagreements.

· Organizational objectives and aspirations should be comprehended by every employee. Likewise, how what an individual ought to contribute should also be known. In this context, one should be absolutely unambiguous with regard to job depictions and the charter of responsibilities associated and the accountability that goes with them. In addition, the spheres of activity should be also demarcated well.

· Every worker, irrespective of his appointment or position should be provided with adequate opportunities for skill upgrading. As part of training activities, conflict resolution should be incorporated. More significantly, their usage by maximum number of people should be anticipated.

· A good job done by anybody calls for a pat on the back. All employees attaining anything noteworthy should be appreciated and their efforts acclaimed. It should be remembered that if employees are given recognition, there are minimal chances of their canvassing for spotlight and getting into altercations.

· Rumour-mongering and idle chats should never be promoted. No credence whatsoever should be given to gossip. Also, undercover works assignments should never be resorted to. On the contrary, unswerving performance review systems applicable to everyone across the board should be enforced.

Casual advice rendered by seniors to subordinates is a very valued instrument to handle workplace conflict. It can be done so during routine interactions, meetings and even when the conciliation process is on. In addition, any likelihood of follow-up administrative procedures and allied expenditure also stands eliminated. It is a proven fact that supervisors who deal with workplace spat with success are also the ones who do not face much condemnation in their careers.

Though old-style cordiality at workplace is fast waning, the fact is that it is the only medium that can bring about harmony and reduce strains at any place of work. On the contrary, an outlook that does not harbour graciousness and good comportments has a very exorbitant cost tag attached to it. On the other hand, any workplace that is stress-free invariably promotes a superior life worth - something that in turn promotes work efficiency and which, every company seeks. 

Don’t take deadlines as deadly

“I've learned over decades of building that a deadline is a potent tool for problem-solving.”

-Adam Savage

Unconfirmed statistics indicate that nearly fifty out of every hundred people postpone for tomorrow what can be done today and amongst them, twenty are chronic defaulters. The remainder is either disinterested and shirks or fails to complete tasks otherwise. Whatever be the case, they are all cases of default, whether deliberate, circumstantial or inadvertent.

Since productivity and efficiency is invariably everybody's aim. Hence, the fear of not being able to perform well looms over them. But they seem to have a dawdling attitude towards their work and assignments, which is definitely not desirable. So it is all about deadlines - setting them, meeting them, working with them and beating the stress that comes with them.

SETTING DEADLINES: The process of setting deadlines comprises several steps, more common ones are:

· Skill upgrading: Escapist behaviour can be got rid of and self-trouncing actions overcome by attending a course on soft skills. It also facilitates realization of the importance of setting deadlines, besides helping acknowledge the damaging nature of such tendencies.

· Exercising control: Deadlines are useful when they are utilized for ventures and assignments over which complete domination and jurisdiction exists. For example, a person can exercise control over the time required to complete a task involving writing work with relative ease. But if they have to follow an exercise regimen and be required to shed flab within a given period of time, it would be a difficult proposition.

· Pledge: When beating any idea of setting a deadline, a sort of promise is required to be made. It ought to be an obligation imposed on oneself that this work will be completed in time and to precision. The nitty-gritty of the procedure is to comprehend that formulating objectives and goals and sticking by them are the secret to setting one's deadline and adhering to them.

MEETING DEADLINES: Living up to deadlines and dispensing good quality performance are concurrent actions. If a person is short of time, his or her career can be made or blemished. Some actions that facilitate meeting deadlines are amplified below:

·  Clarification: Whenever an assignment is being given, all doubts should be clarified. Questions should be asked, ideas given and elucidations sought. It will be better for the boss and the employee alike if all ambiguous issues are made clear ab initio. The boss would appreciate the employee's concern and will not regard queries as a pretext for evading the project.

·  Jotting down: Upon a task being assigned, the same should be reduced it to writing. The human brain too has limitations as there is a tendency to disregard minute details which, contribute to perfection. Excessive dependence on memory therefore is not recommended. Reference material at hand, be it in a diary or on the computer will always stand in good stead.

·  Collation: Only one file or folder should be maintained for a particular assignment. If a computer is being used for making downloads and collation, its inherent benefits and drawbacks should be considered in general and specific terms.

·  Cushion: Whatever a deadline is given by the boss, one that precedes it should be set as a matter of practice. It will be imprudent to presume that the deadline will be extended. Setting own deadline will provide cushion time in the eventuality of amendments and alterations being introduced later on.

·  Evaluation: If there is any pre-assignment action required to be initiated, the same should be discerned precisely. For that, the instructions should be perused in detail and evaluated for any outside support, including the persons who need to be contacted. This will ensure that the project takes off in time.

·  Preparation: It should be made certain that all items being made use of are in a serviceable state. Advance planning for items of stationery, transport and other equipment is inescapable.

Deadlines puts pressure on you and to that extent could be regarded as a negative inspiration. Still, they are better than no inspiration at all; in fact, they serve as the ultimate inspiration. Deadlines refine the mind. They remove variables like exotic materials and processes that take too long. Remember that the closer the deadline, the more likely you will start thinking outside the box. 

Be on cloud nine at your job

Your fondness for your work – people may query you on this aspect deliberately but knowingly in a vague manner with the basic intention of discerning the direction you are heading to. Your response could well be Oh! Not at all’, ‘Not a great deal’, ‘Fairly good’, ‘A lot’ or ‘Totally’ if it is intended to be straight forward. Perhaps you could compare things by way of an unserious comment like ‘In fact, I prefer things easy but here they are not cool’. It is also likely that you start reflecting over facets that inspire you.

Hypothetically speaking, let us suppose that you are not happy with your job and are trying to look for another one. If at all you find one, will you be certain that things would be to your liking there? The issue of contentment is contingent purely on your attitude and hence your baby. If that be so, how will you make certain that you do not generate the same situation for yourself at the new workplace? If you do not have a penchant for a particular work, you will always harbour a tendency to get fed up; dissatisfaction that will invariably follow will be the very cause of your breakdown and eventual collapse. Therefore, a pertinent issue that arises is how you devise a work that is to your liking.

All job details amplify various attributes, abilities and proficiencies that are necessary for that particular appointment, but such explanation by themselves are not sufficient. You need to think about various other features and judge if the work and workplace environment goes with you or not. It is you who is making a choice and thus the decision also has to be yours. If you ask for an honest response to the vexed question of your suitability for a specific job, you will get an honest answer, provided you are not influenced by extraneous factors. You have to look within yourself and cogitate. The process may not necessarily be time consuming, but has to be deliberate. Some queries that you must raise with yourself are:

· Quantum of freedom of action you seek at your workplace.

· Degree of comfort if you are supervised and supervised.

· Level of comfort enjoyed in the midst of co-workers.

· Amount of support and encouragement that you seek.  

· Measure of responsibility that you can shoulder and feel happy doing so.  

· Level of ingenuity and initiative that your workplace offers.  

· Exclusivity levels offered by your workplace.

· Your confidence in yourself to achieve set objectives.

· Keenness for new openings and breaks.

· Likelihood of stirring up sensitivities to improve work outputs.  

· Your work penchants and fascinations.  

· Any particular person under whom you seek to work.

· Gelling of your organisational objectives with your personal goals.

Professionals in the field of human resources vouch for workers who are sufficiently eligible, satisfactorily experienced and passably competent. Their outlook also has to be positive by all counts. Such employees stand chances of success much more vis-a-vis other types, particularly those possessing very extraordinary qualifications and imposing references.

Mind-sets and dispositions imply a positive attitude towards work; therefore, discernment of what and whatever you are fond of is an inescapable requirement if you want to remain happy and contented. More importantly, the ways and means to achieve them should also be clear to you. Satisfaction is not a commodity that can be supplied; it is something that has to be carried along by you and nobody else.

Sometime or the other, we would have encountered worrywarts and complainers at workplace. They are the lot that makes you squirm and recoil. Well, they do deserve some sympathy because eventually they are headed to doom. But the issue is how can you bypass or ignore such negative people and be able to maintain your zeal and motivation? There are possibilities that some components of your work are disinteresting and hence they do not inspire you. But there will also be some aspects that inspire and egg you on. What are those aspects? You need to be aware of them so that their range and scope are enlarged on a day to day basis and bring about a diminution in the list of those that you find boring. And how do you do that? You need to look far ahead of your basic penchant to be convincing. Imagine this – what would things be like if everybody had access to whatever they dreamt of or yearned for? How would things be if working paid positive dividends to every single soul?

So addressing the basic question – are you on Cloud Nine at your work? Put concisely, the how of it lies in taking the following actions:

· Ascertaining what you actually crave for: You need to identify various features, attributes and ideals that in your view are the most significant at present. You need to have an aim, a vision, and a goal. For the man sailing through life with no purpose, every wind is the wrong wind. Never ever forget that your destiny will be frequently met in the very tracks you avoid trudging on. If you give food to your dreams, a time will come when your dreams will nourish you.

· Opt for them: There is absolutely no harm in demanding what you seek. You should inch forward to attaining them. It will not be presumptuous on your part to believe that you genuinely deserve them. Thereafter, go ahead with full steam; impediments en route should be spotted and eliminated. What you should not lose sight of is the fact that if you do not look for what you like, you will never find it, leaves aside tasting it because what is unsought goes undetected.

· Do not engage yourself in aspects that you detest: You should realize that there are options available to you and that there is no dearth of them. Windows of opportunity should be anticipated and you should not wait for someone else to open them for you.

The most relevant point that should be noted is that you are indeed worthy of deriving happiness from your work and experiencing the contentment that it advances. Nobody else can gauge and quantify your own success. If at all others do it, you have nothing to gain because it is simply their lookout. Remember that success is always at the mercy of effort and that there is no success without toil and difficulty. And of course, eagerness and self-trust are its secrets.

Overcoming exhaustion brought about by work

Work is something that a person cannot avoid. In fact, it is in everybody’s genes; it is a habit that cannot be shed with ease. While work per se does not make you misdirected, bewildered and even confused, the other side of it is that it exhausts and enervates you. But despite this truth, there is nobody who can be said to not be hooked on to it - offhandedly, collectively, financially and mentally.

Different researches conducted across the world have surmised that when a person takes up employment, his happiness and inspiration levels are high. But as time passes, a change takes place in outlook and attitude. While around twenty to twenty five per cent people are able to maintain that intensity, others become dissatisfied and unhappy at work. Work comes to be regarded as a disillusioning, disappointing and dissatisfying experience. It is viewed as a pursuit that lacks spirit, reason and accomplishment. The purpose in life that men and women seek thus is visibly misplaced.

Why does work drain? It is largely because it we have pulled out every bit of consideration, kindness and compassion from it. The world of today calls for high performance that could well be robotic, emotionless and money-oriented; it could also be driven by long procedures and targets to be achieved at all costs. It is therefore, no wonder that a smile on the face has become a rare commodity today.

There is also a deceptive acceptance prevailing among people that the lack of compassion has been brought about by more than required fixation on performance and operations. But this is not really correct. The truth is that things like numbers and documents; and happenings like meetings and conferences have become the be all and end all of work. Atypically, all these are not at all linked with the kind of inputs that yield any worthwhile upshots. Yet, humans downrightly prefer to generate effects and consequences.

The ill-fated phenomenon that prevails today is that work does not offer benefits that perhaps it did centuries. In the era gone by, our ancestors functioned in groups. - be it hunting, happiness or sorrow. They supported fellow group members and encouraged those who were feeble or demoralised; they learnt and practised the rules of community living. Every single individual was aware of their individual responsibilities both for a common cause and for also their own self. That is the reason why in those days, success pointed towards pushing the boat out. And if whatever reason that was not attained, losing one's life was almost inevitable. Those principles and standards at work are conspicuously absent today.

Practically every organisation, contrary to claims made by it, does not accord any priority back-up to learning development programmes. The focus is generally on forceful quest for attaining set objectives and achieving excellence in all spheres of activity, including productivity. Companies will thus tend to benefit enormously if they successfully infuse a humane work culture.

In olden times, the traditional custodians of the society were its heads. They were, as per the modern day terminology, the leaders. In any organisation or office today, leaders wield great influence and can bring about the much desired humane work culture. This is possible only if you practise the following tenets:

· Have a cultural perspective and not let it be left to chance or any likelihood of manifestation. The culture that is sought by your team as a whole should be modest and obvious to you.

· When you speak or disseminate any bit of information, do so in ways more than you’re your own very conversation should aim to get others on your side.

· Your team and you will meet success quite frequently. And every time it happens, you must celebrate; this will send appropriate indicators to the surroundings.

· All coffers of negativity be apprised for sure that their negativity certainly impacts others. Should they not share your concerns, they should be left to fend for themselves.

· Interaction with newcomers and novices should be strong; this will facilitate making the essence of your cultural vision known to them. You should also seek to know from them whatever they did to promote their team's culture.

In practically every organisation, it is only one or maximum two groups out of ten that lay emphasis on the need to follow pleasant caring conventions. This does not augur well for the society at large. To bring about a change does not entail learning anything new; on the contrary, it involves ignoring those concepts and models that have choked our natural penchants.