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Leadership skills are very essential for successful management and also beneficial for a person’s career in any field of their choice. Executives from the human resource department of a firm look for candidates who possess leadership qualities. They believe that a person with such qualities can help the firm or the organization reach new heights in business and will also bring fame to the company. Leadership qualities consist of high qualifications, ability to make sound judgments based on knowledge, information and experience, communication skills, the capacity to multitask and interpersonal skills.

You need to have leadership skills in order to succeed in your career, says A. Harrison Barnes, the owner of EmploymentCrossing.com. Your conceptual skill will help you solve problems. It will help you recognize the problem and will let you work out better solutions. This will help you identify the opportunities for innovation. It even allows you to select the important information from a resource and apply it towards solving the problem at hand.

A. Harrison Barnes believes that communication skills are very important if you would like to develop your leadership skills. Your communication skills will help you change your ideas into words and actions. With this skill, you can appreciate your colleagues, your subordinates and peers. You will be able to ask essential questions and will also allow reply to queries posed by others. Your presentation skills will improve, both in written and in graphic formats. With good communication skills, you can effectively share information and build rapport with your colleagues.

Multitasking skill is another important aspect of a successful leader in any field. Every employee needs to handle or rather perform numerous tasks together without errors creeping into any of them. You need to develop these multitasking skills in order to be successful in performing every task that is given by the employer. You will be able to negotiate with people, review operations and bring in improvements in all the tasks you perform. It also helps you improve your time management skill. Since you need to give importance to every task allotted to you, you need to learn to manage your time accordingly. This will help you set priorities and maintain standards in your performance both internally and externally, according to A. Harrison Barnes.

A. Harrison Barnes says that along with the above mentioned skills, the most important skill is interpersonal skill. You may at any point in time, have a number of subordinates working under you. In order to get the best from them, you need to guide them well. You need to be a good coach and a good mentor. This skill even lets you work with different attitudes and cultures. It will help you have a good network both within and outside the organization. You will able to perform at your optimum when working in a team with the cooperation and commitment of your team members.

Having a good qualification helps immensely especially in today’s competitive world. It makes you stand out among the crowd. According to A. Harrison Barnes the candidate with a higher qualification is in more demand than the one with lesser qualification. This is due to a simple reason that the employers feel that greater knowledge will let an employee work with more efficiency and thus will be beneficial for the company. A degree is not only beneficial for the employer but also helps the employee to succeed in his or her career.

A. Harrison Barnes explains with an example that is gained from his experience. If you are looking for a career in the HR field then you need more degrees than the basic MBA and a business degree. These basic degrees are not uncommon but you need to be exceptional to catch the eye of an employer. Employers are always looking for people who have an added degree in sociology, psychology, and other areas of arts. They ensure that the candidate they are choosing for the company is as qualified as themselves.

In today’s world, higher degrees have become the norm for any employer who is in the process of hiring candidates for his or her firm. A higher degree is essential for both the employer and the employee. The employer will have a better future with employee with higher degrees and the employees will have better designations and will experience more growth in the organization. This will ultimately lead to a good salary. Thus it will allow the person to have the lifestyle he wishes to lead.

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Quitting a job is not an easy thing to do, especially if you have been in employment for long. Moving to a new job for better prospects or other reasons is not uncommon. However, during this transition phase, you must take care of certain key aspects to ensure that the relationship between you and your employer does not turn sour. You never know when you might need them again. Who better than A. Harrison Barnes of Employment Crossing to help you with effective career advice in this regard?

Previously, employment was considered a sign of security and quitting was considered self destructive. Quitting also indicated that getting along with other people was not one of your strengths. As Employment Crossing CEO A. Harrison Barnes points out, there are thousands of management guides that teach you to stick to the existing job or go for a new job opening in case the need arises. In the present day, the retention policies of various companies are making all efforts to hold their employees back; so when someone quits, you know that the employee is not being fired, but is leaving of his/her own volition.

How should you write your Resignation Letter?

While it is a good idea to inform your boss of your intention personally, a resignation letter needs to be written. There may be problems if your resignation letter is not written in the right manner. Your resignation letter is a legal agreement written to announce your intention to quit the job or employment. This letter is stored in the office for future reference and whether you like it or not, it is an undeniable truth that a corporate lawyer can use it to really mess things up for you.

How do you prepare for the Resignation?

Before you resign, it may augur well to enquire about employee related benefits that your termination may entitle you to by law. Further, evaluate the implications of a resignation; keep your table and desk clear of any questionable material that may be used against you; and tie all the loose ends to the best of your capability. Before embarking on a job search, you should be able to consider your options. This will give you an idea about whether your resignation demands immediate withdrawal.

Once the decision to leave is taken, make sure to leave before things get any worse is what A. Harrison Barnes suggests. Leaving the scenario before you start getting personally affected is something that is a wise decision at any time. Other than identifying your need for a job change, you should also be honest regarding not to get too overwhelmed by emotions.

What if you are fired?

Getting fired is something that can take place to the best of employees. The case may range from a conflict of personalities to there being a lack of opportunities or the required matching between you and your employer or organization. In this context, A. Harrison Barnes cautions not to take matters personally; being fired does not necessarily mean that you have failed. Also, when it comes to the exit interview, watch your step. It is not mandatory to provide the reasons for quitting.

Further, there are a number of online jobs available these days and you need to be on the lookout for prospective job listings for the right kind. In case you resort to venting your anger on the company you are leaving, it would do well to remember that it will follow you always. It is prudent to quit on good terms and let the management know that you had a pleasant time, even if it is not the truth.

Planning the Interim Period

The period between two jobs is one of the most crucial periods of your career. If you decide to help the company tide over the change, it can mean that you need to stick around for a couple of weeks more. In the words of A. Harrison Barnes, as far as possible, ensure that the focus in this period is on the company and not you. This will make the transition a convenient one for you. If the completion of a project is at hand, work tirelessly towards it. When it comes to handing over responsibility to a new person, train and coaches him effectively.

In sum, there are a number of considerations to keep in mind when you plan to quit. A. Harrison Barnes suggests that initiating a job termination with the right steps and measures will help avoid problems in the future, as well as create goodwill in case you ever decide to return to the organization.

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Those that are veterans have a leg up on many other people in the work force. The mere fact that a veteran has a wealth of professional experience derived from being in the service is a huge plus. Then, there is another major plus: there are scores of veteran’s groups to belong to that can greatly help with networking opportunities. Whether you are recently discharged from the service or you are someone that has been retired for years, if you want a new job you need to take the steps necessary for networking into a new position. Honestly, networking makes it a great deal easier to land a solid new profession. That is why it is extremely important to invest time in networking when looking for career advancement.

Why is networking important for career advancement? Basically, when a resume is sent to a hiring professional for consideration for a job, the individual reviewing the resume only has the words on the paper to go on. That means the job review professional does not have a clue as to whether or not the presented information is accurate. It may be or it may not be. But, with such a question mark surrounding one’s resume, a lot of good careers are stymied simply because the person reviewing the resume simply cannot verify things to the best of his opinion.

This is why networking is so important and why it has been beneficial to so many careers. When a veteran networks with other colleagues, a character reference can be put forth on the person’s behalf. This means the ability to land jobs that were previously outside the person’s grasp can now be reached. Then, there is another great benefit that one can procure from working with others and networking for jobs. Specifically, it becomes possible to land those employment opportunities that are part of the hidden job market.

What type of employment opportunities is available in the hidden job market? Basically, these jobs are those that are not open to the public. Most companies try to fill jobs internally. That means unless you are tied into a networking venture you would have a very tough time landing one of these jobs. Again, those that affiliate with decent sized veteran’s organizations will discover it much easier to find such work opportunities.

Of course, in order for veterans to take advantage of a number of networking opportunities it becomes helpful to align with veteran’s organizations that can aid in such goals. Some of the major organizations such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) can prove significantly helpful. Other helpful organizations such as the Veterans Resource Network Association, Vets4Vets, The American Veterans Association, and the American Legion are among the top ones.

These organizations are not difficult to join. Signing up with them is easy and you can literally hit the ground running when you do. So if you are a veteran and are looking for networking opportunities, these organizations are well worth looking into.

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There’s no doubt, that there are many benefits of working as a freelancer. In freelancing work, you do not have strict schedules like in office environment and you can attend to your personal work more conveniently. You need not spend time forcefully in front of the computer since freelancers are not required to fit themselves in a cubicle all throughout the day.

The no boss environment can be quiet a luxury at times. Freelancers can organize their work suitably, and work at their own pace. However, freelancers need to be really disciplined in order to be able to work efficiently. They can also take frequent breaks and then get back to work. The main objective is to finish work on time. Working early or during the night all depends on the person’s choice.

One won’t be wrong in saying that a freelancer is his own boss, says A. Harrison Barnes. The freelancers can, to a considerable extent manage their own work affairs and be their own boss.  Freelancers earn quite a lot of money if they are good at negotiations and have a wide business network. What you can earn as a freelancer totally depends on your efficiency and skills.

Freelancers have the luxury to choose their own work. They don’t need to work on any project out of compulsion. They may turn down projects, if there are other commitments. You need not overburden yourself with work loads says A. Harrison Barnes. Freelancers can discuss their own work flows and benchmarks for performance. One does not need to compromise on your afternoon naps, enjoy vacations and spend more time with your kids if one is well-organized. There is no need to dress up in formals while you are working. Freelance providers can relax in pajamas while working. The freelancers can get their work done anywhere they want to. It can be the garden, your backyard, or your favorite café shops.

Though there are many positive sides to freelancing, it is needless to say that it does suffer from certain drawbacks also says A. Harrison Barnes. The freelancers are sitting alone when they are working either from home or from a café. It becomes very difficult for them to come out of troubles they are facing for there is no one around them, with whom they can discuss. The freelancers cannot meet new co-workers and meeting with people at work also helps in building up confidence and improves social skills. Since a freelancer is working alone, they need to keep themselves motivated at all times. In freelancing, the people are required to maintain their own rhythmic flow of work. At times disturbance at home, unexpected guests and other distractions can hamper productivity.

Those who seek motivation from external sources, find it intrinsically difficult to achieve targets.  A. Harrison Barnes feels that the motivation for work in the office set up comes from the co-workers and seniors. Lack of self-motivation comes in the way of professional prosperity. Another probable drawback in freelancing is that one needs to spend a lot of time and energy in procuring more work. Work from home may be tempting for many, but the fact remains that the office atmosphere, meant solely for work is free from distractions. One may have to pay attention to several other household chores, while you are working from home.

More and more women are opting for freelancing or work from home jobs to maintain work-life balance and to lead a happy life. Employers and companies too are now willing to outsource their work to freelancers provided they are responsible, know their job well and stick to deadlines.

If they are not committed and deliver work late, chances of getting repeat work from the same client are minimal. So it entirely depends on the person how far one can take his or her freelancing career.

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Obtaining employment these days can be rather difficult, and it can be even more difficult to break into a career. Even if you have the right degree and all the right training, you’ll find that jobs are still just as elusive. The reason for this is pretty simple; there are a few thousand other people out there with the same credentials as you are looking to be hired for the same thing.

Employers are not hard pressed for potential employees these days, and jobs

are in short supply. Therefore, the best way to go about getting employment is to figure out what sets you above the competition. The question you need to ask, is who are you, and what defines you. The following are a few of the questions that you need to ask yourself:

What are your likes and Dislikes?

Your hobbies are very important; some would say that they are what, defines you. What do you like to do? What do you not like to do? It might not seem important in a job setting, but what do you do if an employer asks you this? How are you going to answer? The last thing you want to do is realize that you weren’t prepared and begin stumbling over your words; that is pretty obvious. Any time you are asked a question, you want to be able to answer it quickly and confidently.

What Type of Work Would You Like to Do?

Though you’ve probably gotten into the habit of randomly filling out employment applications trying to stumble into a career, you need to determine what sort of work you actually want to do. There will come a point when a job does need to become a career, so when applying for work you need to ask yourself if it’s really something you want to be doing for the rest of your life. If not then it’s time to find another career.

Who Are You?

It seems like a rather obvious question, but it’s one that many people tend to stumble on. Something you need to remember is that there is only one of you, and there will only be one of you. This makes you more valuable than you could ever know. Because there is only one of you, you need to build yourself up so that employers will know that you are something special. Even if you do not want to be the center of attention, you need to remember that you are competing for a job that dozens of other people want. Being the center of attention is really the best thing that you can do in this situation.

Those are a few of the questions that you need to ask yourself when looking for jobs and trying to seek out careers. There is no doubt that the job search process can be extremely complicated and you will have many things to sift through before you finally find your place in the work force

The important thing is to never give up. You need to market yourself and let potential employers know that you are out there, and that you are not only waiting, but also actively trying to get in touch with them. Good luck on your job search, and remember who you are!

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If you are involved in attorney jobs or other legal jobs, you may need to improve upon your writing skills. Many people today simply don’t know how to write well. They assume that because they know a subject matter or have read a lot that they “just know” how to write well about the subject. But the reality is that many involved in law employment are poor writers. This harms their ability to expand their business or get more clients, and it can also hurt their odds of getting attorney jobs in the first place.

Keep your audience in mind

If you’re writing for purposes related to legal jobs, then you are writing for people who need legal services or who may want to hire you in that field. You aren’t writing for poets or for auto mechanics. Poets and auto mechanics may need an attorney’s services, but they’re not all who are in your audience. Use language that applies generally to everyone who could potentially hire you. Write clearly and concisely about what you can offer or about what you know about relating to their legal needs. When writing, imagine your audience, reading your words as you come up with them. This will help you keep your thoughts and words clear and to the point.

Plan your points and organize them

Organization is the primary essential ingredient to good writing. If your thoughts and sentences don’t flow, you will lose your reader very quickly. Spend some time just writing down notes or bullet points before you commence with your draft. After you writing your first draft, read it over from the top. Is everything organized logically? Are the major points fleshed out well? If not, go back in and fix that.

Use simple language

Writing well has nothing to do with showing off your vocabulary just like playing a good guitar solo does not mean trying to hit every single note or just playing as fast as possible. The best-selling author Stephen King has said, “Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule.” Well, although there may actually be some exceptions, you get the point. Use direct, common language that gets straight to the heart of the matter.

Avoid legalese

This goes hand in hand with the above point. Nobody but other people who have legal jobs are going to comprehend your writing if you fill it with specialized legal phrases and terms.

Use proper action words and avoid the passive voice

The passive voice is, for all intents and purposes in your writing, the wrong voice. This is because it’s not forceful enough. If you want to compel people to take you seriously and possibly hire you, you have to sound like a person of action. Use action words and use them in the active voice. For instance, say “I won the case”–don’t tell people “the case was won by me.”

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Whether your sudden change in career was by choice or by circumstances totally beyond your control, any alteration in job status has the potential to cause stress. New changes inevitably leave many people wondering how to best cope with the situation.

If the change in career was not your choice, then it is time to begin thinking before looking at new options. Because you may have always associated yourself with a certain industry or profession in the past you might now inadvertently be overlooking the perfect opportunity.

Don’t make the mistake of believing there’s only one specific niche or sector you must adhere to. There could be many occupations related to your skills that you might not have ever considered, or even known about. Stepping outside your familiar comfort zone even briefly has the potential to open up doors you may have never even knew existed.

Realize that it’s never too late to change the type of job you have or explore the career path you’ve always dreamed about. If you’re apprehensive about making the big move to a new career, or are worried because you have no choice, you’re certainly not alone. Today, more so than ever before, mid-life or later career changes are becoming common as people are taking steps toward fulfilling their dreams, utilizing their real talents, or simply adapting to circumstances beyond their control.

If you have the time to research various industries that interest to you, you will be able to determine which avenue is better for you in terms of salary, career growth, and personal satisfaction. Finally, we all want to be able to come home at the end of the day with a feeling of purpose and accomplishment. This is also the best way to begin creating a solid plan to outline your goals and your achievements. This will ensure you’ll not only be successful, but also happy in your new line of work.

Taking a career assessment test can be an invaluable way of helping you make the decision between different types of occupations that you would be best suited for. Use the test results as a guideline to consider a career you may have always wondered about or perhaps never even thought.

The power of positive thinking should definitely be applied here. Look at your sudden change of careers as a challenge or a stepping stone to bigger and better things; this will help you concentrate on gaining a good job. Although sudden Career Changes may take place rather quickly in terms of time, it’s still a period of transition that requires inspiration, perseverance, commitment, and a good, solid plan to ensure your success.

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Have you ever thought that there are companies that you would love to work for, and have you ever despaired over seeing their Job Listings turn up empty over and over again? The truth of the matter is that there is no reason why you should not work there, and there may be jobs there that the people hiring don’t even know about! When you are looking at getting a job, you may be displeased by how few interesting things show up in the listings. What you might not know is that there is really a need for staff, but it is not showing up! In this economy, we need to jump on all of the different details and jobs that are available to us, so take some time and learn how you are going to be able to get the job that you are after.

In the first place, you will find that you are going to have a much better chance of getting started with a career that doesn’t exist when you are looking at a company where you know people or even that you have worked with in the past. The more you know a company, the more you know about what its needs are. Remember that you are looking at offering your services to them and you will find that you need to show them that you are someone who is going to do work for them that they cannot get anywhere else. There are many different options that are open for you here, and the more research that you do for them, the better off you are going to be.

Because of the nature of doing this, you will find that the more networking you do, the more interest you are going to be able to drum up. Think about all of your friends who are currently working in the businesses that you would love to work in and let them know about what you want and what kind of work you are looking for. In the first place, they might know about internal job postings that you are interested in, and they might be able to put in a good recommendation for you. This is something that can make a huge difference in the way that you move forward and how you are going to be able to get the right results.

When you are interested in doing work that a company doesn’t know that it needs; remember that you should look into doing contract work for them right away. Doing contract work for someone is something that can allow you to get your foot in the door. While you will not be working for them just yet, you will find that you are in a place where you can learn more about them. This is the kind of place where you can make your indispensable, so see what needs to be done. All information is good information.

There are jobs out there that are perfect for you; the employers might just not know about it yet!

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If you’re thinking about forex trading or you are looking for a career change, one of the opportunities that has become real hot in recent years is forex trading. Even though forex trading takes a bit of skill to get the hang of, once you understand the markets and the issues involved it usually becomes very easy to profit. Using forex trading platforms and systems as your method of employment should ultimately help you in your path to financial success. Here are some of the benefits of forex trading and why it might behoove you to try it.

The 24 Hour Market

One of the greatest benefits of forex trading is that the forex markets are open 24 hours a day from Sunday to Friday. This allows the full-time career forex trader to be able to trade at any time throughout the day. In addition, if you are still in an employment situation and are unsure of whether forex will work for you, part-time trading is always an option. Part-time forex trading allows you to trade on your own time no matter what time of day it is and profit from the trades that you make between Sunday and Friday.

Liquidity and Leverage

A couple of the other major benefits of forex trading are the high liquidity as well as the possibility to leverage your money and your trades. First, forex markets have a very high liquidity, meaning that it’s very simple to buy and sell forex whenever you want. You don’t have to be worried about being stuck in a trade that you don’t want to be in or waiting until the price hits a certain level. Your money in the forex market is extremely liquid and is one of the main reasons why the trend is becoming so popular throughout the globe.

The other benefit is the leverage that you’re able to obtain fairly easily. Leverage essentially means one is able to use a small portion of his or her money while controlling a larger monetary value of forex trades. For example, if your forex firm is offering a 200 to 1 leverage, $500 of your own money on the table could potentially mean that you’re controlling $100,000 worth of forex trades. In addition, the trades that are usually made have a very low transaction cost, which means that you’re able to trade more with more of your money. In fact, many people get involved with forex markets because of the great leverage involved as well as the low transaction costs, and this just gives you more chance to profit with more of your trades!

Profit Potential

Perhaps the greatest benefit of becoming a forex trader is that you have a huge profit potential from the rising and falling prices. There are some weeks where the prices could swing in totally opposite directions, but your profit will come from either the rising or falling prices depending on when or how much you invested. In fact, some forex amateurs are able to realistically pull in over $500 from a single trade over a span of a few days!

As you can see, there are many benefits to being in the forex market. Whether you’re considering switching to trading forex as a career change or you’d just like to try it out, there are many chances for success in the forex game.

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