Make your employers appreciate & admire you

People who are appreciated and admired by their employees are invariably full of enthusiasm; they are always sharp, astute, hardworking and most importantly, action-oriented. Such employees do not look for guidance at every stage but display a drive to persist and can take decisions independently. They also harbour a positive outlook and display utmost confidence in themselves and their actions. In addition, you will find them very systematic in their work and keep organisational interests above everything else. 

Can you get to know if your employer appreciate and admire you? Yes you can if you you are given more opportunities for training and advancement. Similarly, if your seniors trust you, it manifests your impressiveness and trustworthiness. If that happens, you will find that your bosses take interest in your work too and will be more than willing to offer you suggestions for better execution of tasks. You should understand that if you are a good performer, you will invariably be in the good books of your employers and colleagues alike. And of course, appreciated and admired employees advance in their careers faster than others.

How do you make your employers appreciate and admire you? The simple answer to this difficult question is, ‘You need to work hard and with sincerity’. Working hard is no cakewalk, but it is not very difficult either. First and foremost, you need to modify your work disposition. This fundamentally calls for discarding all improper work habits that you may have and acquire skills that boost your work output on a continuous basis. This would necessitate a relook at your principles; doing this will be a challenge and which you will have to face. And more importantly, you will have to make such attitudinal changes known to your management as also your determination to stick to them.

A first impression is always the last impression, they rightfully say. And employees who generate that always get appreciated and admired; and also taste success. Here are some qualities that you need to possess to get into the good books of your employer:

• Truthfulness: You need to build for yourself an image of being honest, right-minded and upstanding in all that you do. there is no place for any pretence in your conduct and dealings because that is what truthfulness is all about. You should offer honest recommendations, frank advice and candid opinion. You should not forget that your integrity will be gauged accordingly and there any betrayal of trust imposed in you will be the most damaging element in your career.
• Assiduity: You need to always be persevering and keep organisational interests above everything else. You have to be genuinely diligent and meticulous in all your dealings and efforts; and not portray an impression that you want to be noticed and that is why you are working  the way you are working. It is important to remember that your hard work will give a tremendous impetus to your individual and organisational productivity and worth. In a nutshell, whatever you do should be result-oriented.
• Resoluteness: All good employees are devoted to constant progress in their careers. They are not satisfied with what they are and are always on the lookout for newer methods to increase their efficiency. While taking measures that to preclude committing mistakes, they realise that all mistakes are great learning experiences and make certain that they do not err repeatedly. In addition to workplace issues, good employees also seek to uplift their qualities of head and heart. They display intense feelings of determination to put their knowledge and skills to good use. By doing so, their productivity is indeed excellent and they emerge as indispensable individuals. 
• Accountability: It is a known fact that good employees remain responsible to themselves and take full liability for whatever they do. As team leaders, they do not indulge in any blame games. In the event of any collective failure, it is their habit to not point any single individual but instead take the blame on themselves. Giving lame explanations is not in their character. In addition, good employees are more than willing to share workload of others and shoulder additional tasks voluntarily. They make excellent mentors and are always willing to render assistance of any sort to any person who approaches them.
• Appreciativeness: The buzz word for workplace success today is camaraderie and team work. And that is why, good employers are invariably good team players. They understand the intricacies and significance of joint effort and joint effort. You should therefore, possess a great degree of canniness to check and gauge their own and other people’s sentiments that tend to influence their actions and conduct. Because they understand workplace dynamics and atmosphere better, they are more prone to accept changes and have an open mind. And that is precisely why they never budge to acknowledge and appreciate good work done by others.

Employers may not state this, but they know for certain who in their company is a good employee and who is not.  Employees who are proficient and who work in organisational interests are ‘good employees’ and will always be seen as organisational assets. If you understand what goes in to make a good employee and work hard to imbibe those qualities, you will earn the admiration of your employers. And needless to state, if you remain in the good books of your employers, you career interests will always be protected. 

Trumped up delusions about career selection

Many people have incorrect perceptions about career selection. They think that they know everything, including related finer points and methodology required to be adopted. Such misbeliefs, more often than not, makes them exercise an incorrect career choice. The outcome that follows is extensive discontentedness, frustration and vexation throughout their career journey.

Making a career choice decision is actually a complex process and entails devoting time to it. You cannot assume that it is an easy affair. The truth is that it is a process that comprises many stages and which call for self-awareness and knowledge about the pros and cons of different career options. Some common trumped up delusions and judgments related to career selection are:

• All issues fall in place after you make a decision: When you select a career, it is just the commencement of a long voyage. As you move along your career path, you will take many actions that ought to be envisioned and catalogued. Such cataloging is nothing but making a career action plan. The entire range of activities from the moment you decide to exercise an option till the time you attain all your goals should actually be a part of your career action plan.  
• You get to know a profession only when you are in it: While a direct and personal practical experience is the best option, you can get to know about various professions and careers through other means too. Researching about them through online efforts or reading published works are a good source of knowledge. Meeting and interacting with people who are already in such a career can also be very beneficial.
• Job trends & publicised jobs should only be considered: Career specialists periodically predict several career streams and talk about the job market. It is absolutely in order to consider such prognostications, should they be of interest to you. However, you cannot allow such predictions to influence your selection. The predictions made could be based on factual statistics, but their permanent relevance cannot be taken for granted. Something that is popular and in demand today may not be same, say after five years. Hence, due caution has to be exercised in incorporating them in your decision; however, you cannot ignore your inclinations, principles and knowhow while selecting a career.
• Skills pertinent to one career aren't useful in another: The skills that you acquire over a period of time are exclusive to you. They should not be seen as specific or useful to your present job only. Their retention and application elsewhere is always possible, though some modifications may be necessitated.  Therefore, you should make certain that your skills, once acquired, are not frittered away. 
• Contentment is brought about by money alone: Your earnings that you seek are surely a very important part of your career selection. But they cannot be the only or the most important consideration. It has been proved that that issues like remuneration do not necessarily and always bring about job contentment. What matters more is the pleasure that you get at work. However, you cannot discount the significance of remuneration totally and it should be a matter of consideration before you take a plunge.
• Modelling oneself on a successful person surely pays: A person could be excelling at his work and consequently being happy about it No two personalities are alike and anything that works for one person may not necessarily work for another, certain commonalities between the two notwithstanding. Therefore, if there happens to be a person whose career interests you, you must understand that the same may not be really your cup of tea.
• Leisure pursuits cannot be taken up as a career: Hobbies cannot become a source of livelihood: There can be nothing more distant from truth than this. When you are going about trying to select a career, there is nothing wrong in deciding on one that offers you concurrent pleasure and contentment, particularly if it happens to be pertinent to your leisure. You can become very adept and accomplished in your leisure activities, though most of the dexterity that you develop is a result of practical acquaintances in that field.
• One shouldn't change careers or jobs: Those days are history when people took up a job and superannuated from it. There is nothing that should preclude you from making a career change if at all your level of job satisfaction has plummeted. It is no wonder therefore, that quite a few people change careers during their working span. Career counsellors can pinpoint the career that you ought to pursue, though no accurate prognostication can be made. At best, he or she can simply guide you in arriving at a decision to select a career.

The process of selecting a career Career has much more than merely deciding on a job. There are several factors that will influence your decision and many subsequent outcomes will be dependent on it. You will definitely like to see a career that holds out good prospects of success and hence it is essential that you go in for one that is appropriate to you. It is necessary that the career that you decide to opt for should have the potential to offer you longterm support.  You should guard against any proneness to succumb to myths that run the risk of nonfulfillment and non-success.

Develop traits to sail through conflict situations

Every workplace is plagued with divergence of opinions. It is on account of this fact that conflicts arise between employees. Most workplace conflicts take place because people take differences of opinions as personal attacks by people who are out to damage their standings, reputation or status. Even if attacks on individual self are not perceived, the person whose views are divergent is viewed as an annoying character. However, despite the foregoing, whenever there arises a conflict situation, most of us feel as if it is a dooms day and tend to keep people viewed as hostile out of all planning and decision-making processes. It goes without saying that the results of such actions are disastrous with no efforts being made to resolve problems.

How do we go about to deal with conflict at workplace?

Some people are naturally gifted to handle conflict situations. They possess the knack of dealing with conflict in a direct manner, but often generate unnecessary consternation and mental strain. And people who prefer to not be stressed by avoiding conflict situations are generally submissive and tend to take disagreements and dissensions without making issues out of issues. Such people do not get disturbed by minor sources of vexation or pinpricks as a result of divergence of views. While some may feel that it a good way to conduct oneself, the fact is that they are at a disadvantageous position by virtue of their feelings remaining confined within them. This could well lead to the situation going out of hand. 

It needs to be understood that existence of conflict situations is beneficial because you resolve issues. But in the process of resolving issues, we need to be cautious in expressing our views without upsetting others. The crux is to avoid being subjected to impediments in functioning by others; and concurrently being able to impact and inspire others. You need to be an upbeat knocker. When you work as part of a team, you will encounter people who fail to put across their views in a cogent manner and thus pass through difficult times. There will be quite a few people who will remain calm and at ease with the developments around you; this category of people can be said to be positive knockers. They have the requisite qualities and adopt the following basic strategies that leads to resolution of problems and offset the ill-effects of divergent viewpoints:

• Don't allow team interests to suffer: Though you may disagree with your team members, you cannot afford to let your team’s interests suffer. Therefore, your focus should always be to resolve matters so that your team marches ahead. You have to act with due diligence and make your opinions acceptable to others. Though contingent on the prevalent situation, if you succeed in getting dissidents and grumblers to add on to your concepts and philosophies, a more integrated outlook will result. 
• Acknowledge & appreciate others: People who have the courage to oppose and challenge invariably acknowledge the perspectives and standpoints of others. This they do by giving a patient and focussed hearing; and seeking clarifications whenever necessary. By doing so, their attentiveness and thoughtfulness is conveyed. Others do not feel muffled, as a result, great transparency is achieved and ambiguities, if any, tend to get demolished. And when they make a point, it is accepted without much hassle.  
• Respect others & be respected: It is respect alone that begets respect. So, if you treat others with reverence and veneration, you will also be regarded likewise. Treating others with respect calls for displaying a highly social, concerned and sympathetic attitude. 
• Avoid verbosity & speak only for effect: This calls for knowing when to speak and what to speak as also when not to speak. Silence is always golden and it creates an impact. If you avoid speaking much, you portray a good impression and contribute to make a dialogue meaningful. You simply have to remain calm, well-poised and unruffled at all times, even when you are making a point. It should be remembered that the words that you speak are important alright, but your gestures and other non-verbal communications need to be in sync with them too. Research has shown that while the spoken word is indeed important, body language is equally important, if not more. When you communicate carefully and diligently, you always connect better and avoid the risks of being viewed as somebody out to dispose off opposition. Therefore, it is essential that you do not play any blame games or indulge in any offensive conduct.
• Assert yourself & influence others: You need to be able to prevail over others and this is best attainable if you recognise what they stand for. You need to listen to them without interrupting and not oppose any point just because it comes from a person whose ideas are not matching with yours. You will be able to influence others if, despite differences, you are able to channelize dialogues towards a common ground.

When you do not react unnecessarily to suggestions put across by others, you put yourself at an advantageous position. You are able to take up issues in a decent manner and assert yourself well; and without hurting anybody. And when that happens, people start putting in their best and the productivity of the team gets a boost. Such a boost is everybody’s dream! 

Qualities that determine your work performance

Every person has different penchants, turn of mind and viewpoints towards our lives, personal pursuits and capability to exert influence on various issues. Such outlooks and postulations serve to explain all our life and career attainments.

All our principles are based on several ideas and codes. You can well call them convictions and  together have an effect on our capabilities to carve out a successful career for ourselves. All successful people generally harbour such convictions in varying forms. However, the important ones pertain to your individual potential as relevant to the following attributes:

• Willingness to learn new things: There is no person who remains qualified at all times to take on any responsibility that may be assigned to you. If that be so, no one can be said to possess the necessary expertise to be qualified to fit into the next higher slot at all times. There are people who stand down and feel that they simply cannot step into a higher position. Such an perspective is brought about by a feeling of having reached the limit and an inability to learn any further. Such an outlook is neither desirable nor advisable. It is thus necessary that you have full faith in your learning abilities and capacity to progress in your life.
• Confidence in maintaining own individuality: If you seek to be successful, you simply cannot have a dual personality. You have to harbour an honest attitude, more so towards yourself; and more importantly, all your networking and relationships should be based on this principle. You will never be successful if you camouflage yourself in disguise. This implies that you should not maintain double standards and do things based on what others expect of you or tell you. If you do, you are more likely to lose your balance and thus will not conduct yourself in a logical  manner or within established norms of propriety. It should not be forgotten that apprehensions with regard to putting in your best will never stand you in good stead. It is always advised to acquit yourself in your own unique manner rather than imitating somebody else.
• Awareness & appreciation of own adroitness: You will be able to make optimum use of your competencies if you are aware of them and also hold them in high respect. The foregoing makes it inescapable for you to have full confidence in your capabilities because in its absence, you will deprive yourself of any initiative and lose out on any opportunity that may come passing by.  And if you happen to be experiencing work-related stress and strain, you will evidently want to try new ways and means of applying yourself to your job. Under such situations, if you do not have confidence on yourself, success will surely elude you. It is thus essential that you remain fully aware of your adroitness and appreciate it to the maximum degree. 
• Ability to be in command over oneself: The image of being self-confident and self-assured that you portray is defined by whatever you decide to think, do and experience. If you decide to think that you have no control over your life and that being successful is dependent on sheer destiny, you will for sure experience great feelings of being incapable. In the process, your life will become such that it revolves around only possibilities and probabilities. You need to think big and dream big because it is the dreams that eventually become realities, provided of course if they are practical. Whatever action you decide to initiate will give rise to new dreams and this will be a continual process. The outcome will be that you will be able to create for yourself a highest possible arrangement of living. Therefore, it should be clear that the singularly most important factor for success is hitching your wagon to the star and keep thinking of the good things that lie in store for you, working tirelessly to attain them. 
• Confidence in your own actions: If you opt for a career that you think is not very relevant to you, there is every likelihood that you will not do well in it. You need to be passionate about your career and job because doing anything that you like serves to refresh and galvanise you. And when that happens, the outcome is success. You have to wholeheartedly believe each and everything you do. And most importantly, you must also have faith in yourself and your value. But if you keep your approach and outlook restricted in scope, you will never have satisfaction and sense of achievement in your life. It is thus necessary that you understand that there are several aspects that you need to be skilled at and that you are the best and well-suited to attain success. 
• Perseverance to overcome obstacles: Your career journey cannot be expected to be smooth sailing all through and through. You will run into impediments and could possibly be quite a distressing experience. Quite a few people resign to fate and have no option but to stagnate. If there are obstacles in your career path, your progress is bound to be slowed down but in no way should prevent you from taking any initiative to overcome them, come what may. The situations that you face will have to be modified to be in harmony with you. You should make certain that you are never treated as somebody who has been adversely impacted. Remember that if at all there is somebody who can author your success story, it is you and you alone.

The position that you have been aspiring for could well be very far away. In the light of the foregoing, it is important to not lose hope and believe that you will accomplish whatever you set out for. Your optimism, confidence and cheerful outlook should be of such immensity that facilitates a favourable turn of events. And in the interim period, you should not let your resolution, perseverance and focus does take a beating.

Boost your intellective standards

For a moment, take yourself ten years back and think of your aspirations that you had then vis-à-vis your career. Can you see any changes now? Surely, you would have realised how your work-life balance has been offset. Your workload would have also become more intense as a result of which, you would be experiencing difficulties to acquit yourself well at your work. You may not be an exception because work fatigue is taking its toll on everybody. It is a foregone conclusion that the workplace of today has changed drastically, necessitating requirement of new skills to live on and thrive on.

Nobody wants to waste time and do things that bring about no positive results. And there is no working individual who does not want to lead a happy life. To be able to do so, you need to do well in your career and for that, you need to gain mastery over certain skills to ensure that you are not treated as somebody who is of an old generation and who is not well versed with new working methodologies. You need to boost your intellective standards.

What exactly are intellective standards? How can you give a boost to them?

Intellective standards are basically your cognitive abilities. They are brain-based skills that are required by us to execute any task that could well range from the easiest at one end of the spectrum to the most difficult at the other. Intellective standards are more concerned with the mechanisms of how we learn, remember things, handle problems and maintain our concentration at work. If you have poor cognitive skills, the procedure of information processing can be rather slow and very complex. This is precisely why brain training is an important activity because it helps you to train your cognitive skills. The following cognitive skills are very vital to be successful in your career

Disposition change: If you can bring about alterations to your standpoints and attitude, you are liable to be more imaginative and inventive. Workplace is all about flexibility and shedding rigidity. You can readily bring about altered attitudes and a changed mind-set by training your brain to use your hitherto fore latent capabilities.

Synchronisation of your learning process: Men and women who can superintend their own learning and development become specialists. With so much information available, your task is rendered simple. Since no institution teaches the art of superintending one’s own learning and development, the initiative to do so has to come from you and you alone. The truth is that this possible. 

Gathering information from various places: The era of today is one of information overload. But locating one that is useful, accurate and relevant from amongst the mine of facts and figures is a Herculean task if you want to keep disturbances and interruptions away. However, you can always train your brain to do that.

Perusing documents speedily: Your reading prowess has to be fast. If you take time to peruse anything, you are likely to be branded as slow and eventually behind times. You have to be rapid reader and learner. Your speed of comprehension speed has to be fast. Today, there are several courses available to develop this expertise and you can always subscribe to one.

Handling facts and figures intelligently: The human brain has enormous analyasing capability; you can thus ruminate over a plethora of information commendably. However, you need to keep your mind open to do so. Fortunately, you can train yourself in this aspect too.

Arranging & systematising important ideas: Your capacity to be organised is better put to practice by using it concurrently with other skills. This capacity can be improved and invariably paves the way for acquiring correct know-how in any sphere of activity. You can always learn to do all this.

Comprehending the bigger picture: If you understand what the larger picture is all about, you will be able to understand how details of any activity correspond to each other and fit in sync. You will be better poised to learn new things, analyse matters and resolve problems. And the best of this that you can train yourself for it.

Concentrating on current tasks: Notwithstanding that we have our hands full with a plethora of tasks, the fact remains that you have to focus on crucial ones to accomplish better results. This is not only applicable to the work that we do, but also to other issues as well. You need to create an appropriate environment for the purpose. 

The workplace of today is plagued with tensions and fatigue; factors that prompt them are largely lack of skills and expertise as discussed above. In the light of the above, all jobs and careers entail certain special qualifications that facilitate analytical capabilities and decision making. Therefore, if you go back to the questions posed initially, do you feel that the skills talked of above would have helped you.? Your response will speak for itself! 

Evoke admiration at your new job from Day 1

When you take up an employment, the initial months there are very crucial. The fact about them is that during this period, you are establishing yourself to facilitate a correct career direction. Therefore, your aim should be to work hard and come out with flying colours in all your endeavours. It goes without saying that having a clear-cut purpose is invariably the foundation of all attainments that follow.

Getting a job is an achievement by itself and merits a pat on the back. Therefore, it is essential that you do not falter on your word given to your employers during your job interview. Your output has to match with your obligations. Five simple methods that can help you embed yourself and evoke admiration at your new job are:

• Remain apprised of your future: If you seek to excel yourself at work, you should have no doubts about your charter of duties. Many men and women blunder by falling for high-sounding appointments and are unable to fathom the precise responsibilities they are required to shoulder. It is essential that you are acquainted with the pecking order of your organisation in general and your immediate seniors in particular beside your co-workers. You may have replaced somebody and if possible you should seek to identify work areas that were not addressed or where he or she blundered. A likely interaction with your predecessor will help you understand how to take necessary corrective measures. You should also be clear about various parameters of assessment and reporting so that you keep them in mind while applying yourself at work. There will be some people who may find your inquisitiveness a bit unacceptable, but you should not be bothered about them because eventually it is going to stand you in good stead. 
• Plan well: Any objective that you set for yourself is all on paper unless you go about planning to attain it and then work hard towards its accomplishment. Your initial weeks at your job should also be spent in charting your way forward. The route that you select should invariably indicate specific signboards in the form of assignments required to be completed and qualifications that need to be acquired. Evidently, such signboards should be placed at intervals of time. Your planning is required to be pitched at both high and low planes has so as to facilitate timely monitoring your progress. When you plan well, implying consideration all ifs and buts, you get to visualise the stage or position that you are making your way to. Any lack of knowledge about the direction in which you are moving will make you confused about that stage. You need to prioritise your plans too so that yo are able to find out the significance of different tasks and the time that you ought to be devoting to them.  You certainly cannot jump into the sea and then start taking lessons in swimming! 
• Gear yourself by organising yourself: Organising yourself for your new job implies swotting all the findings you had about your company earlier. You could have been recommended specific studies too and you should do them with due seriousness. The team or section you get assigned to should be requested for all material that can prepare you to make useful contributions at the earliest. Organising yourself means planning all your future course of actions, particularly when your management has made clear what they expect from you. It will be appropriate if you reflect on your past performances to identify your weaknesses and ensure that past mistakes are not repeated. 
• Don't wait to take off: When you are at work, there is no waiting area where you can park yourself. You should be in a position to start the discharge of your functions as early as possible. When you start all your functions, people will read you for your zeal, preparation and ability to persevere against all odds. And that is why it is necessary that you  dole out promises because your inability to keep your word can cost you dear. Your aim should be to perform well, perform fast and perform more so that an image of being efficient is transmitted to the general environment. It is also essential that you make certain that there is no deviation from the principles of morals and ethics in all your actions.
• Be constantly alert to all happenings: The process of learning is an ongoing one audit is no way that you do not start from Day 1 of your career. It is necessary that you be flexible in your approach and start working at your new job with an openminded disposition. If you keep your wits about all things transpiring around you, it does not imply that you keep quiet. You can and you should raise queries so that all your doubts are clarified. If you try and practise what you did at your last job or emulate what others did at your previous work, it is quite possible that you will be building a hostile environment around you; even your friends and bosses are likely to develop some animosity towards you. The foregoing calls for frequent interactions and wherever required, going out of the way to help others.

The world is such that if you fail to give wings to your passion or give a structure to your dreams, there will be many who will use you to do that for them. That is why you should never let your dreams remain mere dreams; you must work hard to accomplish them in whatever way possible and to whatever extent possible. If you are determined to write your own success story, there cannot be any impediment in your efforts. Therefore, you must think and dream big; and  

When all your efforts are channelled through a common conduit for advancement, no condition can alter a single sentence of your success story! So, dream big and dream great! And more importantly, do not postpone working hard at your new job; start working from Day 1 so that you start getting acknowledged from Day 1 itself.

Ways to achieve career success

This piece is intended for youngsters - those about to finish school or in college. At the age at which students are, their ambitions are big and aspirations high. And if counselled and advised properly, there’s no way that they can reach great heights in their careers.  

So all you youngsters, get set to do well in your life. All of you can attain whatever you seek provided you harbour a positive outlook, trust yourself and your capabilities, develop upbeat habits, set realisable goals for yourself and display a high level of determination. The keys to success are:

• Harbour a positive disposition: You ought to know and comprehend what a positive is and what it signifies. You should be well aware how your outlook matters and how different aspects of your life are impacted by it. In fact, it is your outlook that steers your life. Therefore, it is essential that you are geared up to discern your outlook at any given moment of time and make certain that it becomes a permanent trait of your personality. 
• Have utmost trust in yourself: This is possible only if you comprehend various facets of human potential and can be accomplished by following a simple procedure to discern your inherent penchants, talents and capabilities. Having done this, it is necessary that you acquire higher academic qualifications and take keen interest in some leisure activities as well. You will thus be able to generate personal contentment and adequate opportunities for a stable economic growth.  
• Develop upbeat propensities: You need to understand how positive traits are created. You should learn to identify and discard those habits that by themselves tend to get the better of you. And simultaneously, you need to follow routines and schedules that will usher in ease of functioning and in the process, success. 
• Make sound choices: It is necessary that you also learn the important prompting factor for any situation that you may be in at the present time. Therefore, if that be so, you need to develop a personal proactive line of action for results that you want to show up. And this will be possible only if you exercise your options diligently.
• Set objectives & attain them: Objectives and desires are not synonymous. Your desires can remain desires if you do not appreciate what they entail and act towards their attainment. You should accord precedence to things that matter, pledge yourself to your work and continue working hard in accordance with your planning, till such time you take things to their logical conclusion. 
• Use your ingenuity: You should not let negative influences to impair your life. It is important you think out-of-the-box to arrive at solutions to problems at hand. Your ingenuity can prove to be a strong influencing factor in all your spheres of activity.
• Be tenacious & don't give up: Tenacity implies perseverance against all odds. You cannot afford to lose out on things by giving up midway. It is essential that you keep tag of all things and display appropriate focus and resolve to move forward towards success. It is also necessary that you rejoice as you accomplish. 

The above tips will help you to create your life and success. It should be remembered that  it your own hard work that will pay you and hence your personal dedication and devotion has to be of a very high order. When we talk of dedication and devotion, there are various factors involved. Your commitment will automatically register a boost when you have a clarity of purpose and direction, harbour an intense feeling of self-assuredness and proficiency to sway others. All these will be possible if your work output is outstanding, if you possess good communication skills and if you are good at building relationships.

Career stages that you cannot avoid passing through

A young person who has just embarked on a career journey and somebody who has been working for two decades are at different stages of their careers. While the former may not may be unduly concerned about the future, a person who is close to the end of his career will invariably be worried about what is in store for him. There are five broad career stages through which everyone passes through and it is essential that all working individuals understand them so that they are well-geared to face the challenges associated with them.

All career stages call for comprehensive knowledge and skills that facilitate career advancement and successful career journey as relevant to a particular stage. It is pertinent to state that every stage is loosely connected with a sequential length of time and is particularly distinguished  by one’s outlook towards work, general conduct, different categories of alliances enjoyed and work issues that are held in high esteem or accorded higher priority.

The five different career stages that any working individual has to necessarily pass through are:

• Development & advancement: Generally speaking, this stage comprises the period of life upto the time of entry into adolescence. It could also be called the formative years and is a time when a person first becomes conscious of the future and begins to devise methods to increase one’s proficiency levels and get to acquire firm control over his or her destiny.
• Research & knowledge acquisition: The decade that follows the first stage - generally up to when you are around twenty five years old - witnesses a crystallisation, drawing up and enactment of a career choice. One tends to try out different responsibilities and career options while still at college and also by way of hobbies, part-time employment , with of without remuneration. Taking up temporary jobs to gauge one’s penchants and suitability could also be taken up so that one’s mind is made to select the most appropriate career path.
• Inception & Stabilisation: This is perhaps the stage that extends the longest; it starts from after completion of the initial embedding and lasts for around twenty years. During these years, an appropriate field is opted for and concerted action taken to carve out a place for oneself in field selected. It is the period of youthful adulthood which is made use of to stabilise and advance forward by way of acquiring new skills and qualifications.
• Continuation & sustenance: This stage begins after being in a career for about two decades and generally when one is yet to cross the fifty mark and continues for twenty years or so. The stage stands out by way of what can be described as  by commitment and devotion to duty, irrespective of one’s accomplishments. One either comes to terms with his or her position or works hard to further enhance it. There are people who think of changing jobs or careers to remain in a their comfort zone. For those who reach their career endpoint and are unable to cope up, frustration may also set in.  
• Retirement & superannuation: This stage is when you reach the age of sixty and are all set to reach the destination station your career journey. Many people say that stage is ideal for reinventing or rediscovering yourself and that retirement is not the end of the road. An employment after retirement is always recommended alongside leisure pursuits. One could also work from home or take up the role of a mentor, based on your penchants and experience.

There are inherent restrictions in the above stages, largely on account of the emerging work culture and peculiar individual circumstances. It is not essential that everyone pass through all the five stages discussed above. Taking a step back is also seen as as a part of career management. And this can take place at any point of time in your career and leads to self-discovery and you are able to fathom the gravity of changes that could perhaps be  deciding to make, together with identification of issues that warrant prompt attention. You are thus in a better position to address the challenges that you may encounter in the journey ahead. And that perhaps highlights the truth that as years pass by and you age, you become more insightful, independent and impactful.

Dishonourable & unprincipled workplace behaviour

If one understands what integrity is all about, it will be clear that it is not a restrictive word. It does not gust in the wind or alter with the weather. Integrity is nothing but a replica of your inner self and if you happen to peep within you and see a person who has impeccable morals, you will know that he will be steadfast as far as his honesty is concerned.

There is no company or organization, irrespective of its size that does not have bad employees on its roll. Such employees may engage themselves in acts of indiscipline and dishonourable conduct. Needless to state, the management will always regard their presence as disadvantageous to organizational good.

What is that construes to be an act of indiscipline? It could well be absenteeism, absence of punctuality and idling away time during working hours, etc. All such acts make an adverse impact on work output. On the other hand, dishonourable and unprincipled workplace demeanour implies misusing company resources for personal benefits or gains, retaining official documents for unlawful utilization, misrepresenting facts to derive personal benefits, misappropriation of funds and fudging business documents. Back-stabbing, threatening other people, credit stealing, discrimination of any type, indulging in bribery, sexual harassment are also acts that certainly dishonourable and unprincipled conduct. Though there is a very thin dividing line between acts of indiscipline and dishonourable and unprincipled demeanour, the decision to proceed against employees who indulge in them and maintain continued protection of organizational interests rests with the management.

All errant employees, irrespective of their length of service or appointment generally feel that discovering unethical behaviour is a trial of their own principles, standards and morals. Some of their actions may appear inconsequential and insignificant ab initio; and hence could qualify for letting off. But they also leave an individual rather confused as regards initiation of action against errant employees. Considering the fact that no two people are alike, there will be perceptive differences on what is right or wrong, ethical or unethical and principled or unprincipled.

Any working individual is generally aware of how he or she should be conducting at work and what is right and wrong. Therefore, if anything is perceived to be a violation of rules and regulations, it should be the good judgment and intelligence of the person noticing should come in the forefront. If such a person is sincere and responsible, he or she will promptly tick off the errant employee and make certain that any further indulgence in detrimental activities is put an end to by reporting to the higher management. But if an individual decides to not overlook any unethical conduct, there will always be tight spots with regard to how to actually go about the matter. Such puzzlement will have to be defeated.

All organizations have enunciated codes of conduct and methodologies to address unethical activities indulged in by their employees. Such rules are periodically brought to the attention of all employees periodically. The rules per se identify the values on which relationships are based and which in turn influence the functioning of the organization. Such codes are generally in the form of a pamphlet and are a very vital constituent of company guiding principles and business conventions. They are designed to provide a framework of shared understanding in relation to the way in which employees are required to conduct themselves and interact with those who are associated with the company.

The codes of conduct that are framed by companies and organizations are required to be signed by every employee; and a record of perusal is maintained to enable clarity of thought with regard to what is required to be done if anything adverse comes to notice of anybody. This will also make possible initiation of prompt necessary action against errant employees. The inescapable requirement is to make known to the environment the detrimental effects of unethical conduct. If this is done, there is no way that employees – both who indulge in unethical conduct and those in whose presence violation takes place - will be alert to and conscious of the possible actions that may be taken by the management. It goes without saying that when this takes place, reporting practices and methodologies routinely come into play without intervention.

In the light of the workplace atmosphere that exists today, our thought processes and conduct are always on the look out of a response; and hence, there is invariably some amount of fear and apprehensions in our mind, if at all an adverse development takes place.  Unprincipled and dishonourable workplace demeanour can best be addressed by way of appropriate communication and dissemination of rules and regulations because unless this is done, you will not be able to know what is right or wrong.

Live the life you want to live

You will never find peace of mind until you listen to your heart. This is the truth of life and hence it is essential that you live the life that you want to live. And that will be possible only if you make a correct career decision. Arriving at any decision is certainly not an easy task and making a career decision is surely a very thorny matter. One needs to understand that a work that is fulfilling and rewarding is never easy to lay hands on.

If you get prejudiced by rules, principles and customs in opting for a career that fails to inspire you, no blame can be apportioned on you. Regarding any employment as employment is seen as the best mainstay in the world of today. Customary practices are always tricky and barbed matters; and they invariably tend to have the better of you, claims and counter-claims by people on the issue notwithstanding.

Every individual tends to get befuddled when a career decision is required to be made. A large portion of what constitutes our life span can be real enjoyment if we go about discerning it. It is only through the process of trial and error, duly complemented with an assessment of oneself that we get to find out what is suited best for us.

Till not very long ago, there was no foolproof way to select a career for oneslf. And unfortunately, nobody made a serious effort for the same. Any and every job opportunity was seen as a catalyst to usher in personal security and wellbeing. But there was a drawback; earlier attitudes did not promote any requirement to make a wise career decision - it was quite like a lion getting married to a tigress.

You simply cannot make a career decision at random. And neither can you do it by flicking a coin and predicting if it will land heads or tails up. What you need to do is to set your bearing straight and then keep advancing in a direction that makes certain that you are on the path that a career of your like lies on. Therefore, you need to discern with a fair amount of accuracy the career that is your cup of tea.

Things as they stand today, men and women seek to pursue more than one career interests. But regrettably, they lack clarity of thought with regard to what drives them and what they aspire for. In the light of the foregoing, they trudge along their career journey without being happy or contented because they do not know what they seek to be or do in life.

Attaining precisely whatever you desire in your life is habitually interpreted as an exceptional dispensation and not an opportunity. Quite a few people will label you a wild dolt for trying to chase a career that you will get pleasure from. Yet, you will be able to logically reason out that pursuing something that is of consequence to you is indeed rational.

Human actions are such that if you hedge your bets, things turn out in your support. If you fail to come up to your aspirations and capabilities, you will be unduly strained. The price that you are likely to pay for embarking on an incorrect career will be in terms of damaging your reputation and self-confidence; and eventually making you off-colour. Your aspirations and thought processes of what a career ought to be like, more often than not leads you into the same old channel or gully. It should not be forgotten that all human actions have within their fold and scope possibilities, compulsions, responsibilities, penchants and aspirations. They are not illogical at all but it is indeed a very regrettable issue that penchants and aspiration bear the brunt by getting overlooked.

Today, you have a multitude of alternatives and options at your disposal. If you want to achieve whatever you seek to, then there is no way that you do away with the need to broaden the range and possibility of things. This would necessarily demand seizing new land to increase the extent and scope of your realities and legitimacy. You will be able to successfully accomplish his if you can prioritize your penchants and aspirations. The manner in which you do so is contingent on your drive and determination. You simply cannot keep moving ahead with a headache and popping painkillers off and on into your mouth. The earlier you understand that the answer to your life is you and only you, the better it will be.