Category: Career Discussions

How To Become A Professional Baker

A key focus of my blog is Career Discussions. Some careers combine creativity with the ability to make a difference. One of the biggest differences one can make is through food. The following contributed post is entitled, How To Become A Professional Baker.

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Have you ever thought about becoming a professional baker? If so, then you might have wondered what the best route is towards making that happen. The truth is that baking is one of those great creative joys which you are going to be able to make a lot of, and perhaps even get a career out of, but it is also something which you need to put a lot of work into if you are going to make it your career. In this post, let’s take a look at how you can become a professional baker in no time.

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Follow Your Passion

First things first, it’s a good idea to make sure that you are doing all you can to follow your passion, as this is going to lead you in the right direction every time. This simply means that you are looking into what you enjoy about baking and actively pursuing it. As long as you do that, you are going to find that you can make much more of your baking love, and that will in turn make it easier to turn it into an actual career. So be sure to follow your passion at all times if you want to make the most of this.

Take Some Classes

Although you might already be in a position where you are very skilled, you will find that taking some classes is always a good way of improving your chances. There are a lot of classes out there that you might want to take, and if you take a look at truffle nation you should see an example of the kind of place to look for this service. The more that you learn about baking, the better, as you are going to be able to make it into a career so much more easily and readily. So this is definitely something that you should think about.

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Apprenticeships

As with many other kinds of work, an apprenticeship is a great way to learn more about this way of life to improve your chances of making it into an actual career. An apprenticeship is a great way to improve your skills in a quick manner, and you are going to find that this really helps you to get a lot more done with regard to boosting your career. Of course, you are going to want to ensure that you go to the very best in order to make the most of this. That way, you can hope to gain the career you have been looking for.

Similar Careers

If you want to do something like baking, but you are not quite sure whether baking itself is the one, then there are a range of other, similar careers that you might want to consider instead. For instance, you might decide to become a restaurant chef, or even a food critic. In the world of food, there are many roles you might want to pursue, so that is definitely something that you are going to want to think about.

Job Hunting Hacks: Steps To Help You Find Your Next Job

A key focus of my blog is Career Discussions. I the course of pursuing one’s career, there will likely be job changes for one reason or another. Find the next job isn’t always easy or straight forward. The following contributed post is entitled, Job Hunting Hacks: Steps To Help You Find Your Next Job.

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Job hunting is never easy, but in the aftermath of a pandemic, it can be particularly challenging. If you’re currently looking for a job, or you’re thinking about changing careers in the future, here are some steps to take to find your next role.

Update your resume

The first step to take when applying for any kind of job is to update and review your resume. If you haven’t applied for a job for years, or you tend to hit the ‘submit’ button without checking your resume first, it’s essential to take the time to read the information and make sure that it’s up to date. If your resume is out of date, you could be selling yourself short. Include recent developments in your employment history, training and qualifications, and tailor each application to the specific role.

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Improve your interview skills

Job interviews are daunting, and many of us feel anxious and nervous beforehand. If you tend to experience severe anxiety, or you don’t perform well under pressure, it’s wise to consider doing workshops or classes to help you build confidence, control nerves and navigate the process smoothly. Practice presenting, public speaking and answering questions and go through role-play scenarios. If you get an interview for a job, take your time to respond to questions, arrive on time, make sure you look the part and showcase your personality and passion.

Protect your online reputation

Today, employers can find out about candidates before they even meet them at an interview. If you are hunting for a new job, it’s wise to think about how you come across online. Set your social media profiles and accounts to private, delete posts you have shared in the past that could possibly cause offense or damage your reputation, and investigate services that remove mugshots if you’ve been cleared of charges. If an employer searches for information about you online, you want them to be able to find content or data that create positive impressions. It’s worth checking privacy settings and removing posts or photographs you might not want in the ether before you start submitting applications.

Register with reputable recruitment agencies

It is possible to find jobs without working with recruiters, but registering with a reputable recruitment agency that has an impressive track record can boost your chances of landing a great job. Look for companies that specialize in the industry or sector in which you want to work, update your resume and talk openly about what you’re looking for. Recruiters have relationships with employers and employees and they will notify you if an opening comes up that matches your skill set, experience and preferences.

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Job hunting is challenging at the best of times, but many people are struggling to find the perfect position in the wake of the pandemic. If you are currently looking for a job, or you are considering a change of career, there are steps you can take to maximize your chances of success. Update your resume, tailor each application, hone your interview skills and protect your online reputation. It’s also an excellent idea to register with reliable recruitment agencies and to sign up for online job alerts.

5 Ways To Advance In Your Career

Two focuses of my blog are Career Discussions and General Education. Once starting a career, if it’s going to be your life’s path, you must think about advancing in your career. In many instances it’s not as simple as it sounds. The following contributed post is entitled, 5 Ways To Advance In Your Career.

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It’s always going to be the case that you’ll want to get ahead in your career. If you want to earn more or get a promotion, you need to be thinking about how you’ll progress. But it can be hard to work out how. Whether you’re in the digital world or not, there are a few ideas that can really help you. Let’s take a look at what you can do to get ahead at work.

1. Build A Personal Brand

First of all, you would definitely benefit from having your own personal brand in place. Think about how you can build up a reputation for yourself in your field. It’s a good idea to take a look at your reputation score and work out what you need to do to be able to position yourself as an expert. And, remember that this is going to take time and won’t be an overnight fix. But building it can certainly help your career to grow over time.

2. Improve Your Skills

From here, you might also want to make sure that you’re always working on your skills. If you want to get ahead, you might need to develop your skills to help you get there. There will be things that you can do that apply to your set field that will help you to get ahead. So start to work out what you can work on to grow and learn so much more.

3. Network

Next, you’re going to want to make sure that you’re networking. When it comes to things working out, you’ll need to be sure that you’re meeting the right people and making connections. You never know what opportunities can come your way because of this. So connect online and put yourself out there.

4. Get More Education

From here, you’re then going to want to think about your education. Because you might need to get a PhD or master’s in order to move to the next level. Maybe you even want to move industries or something similar? It could be the case that you really will need to get more education in order to effectively advance your career.

5. Put Yourself Out There

Finally, you’re going to want to make sure that you’re putting yourself out there a bit more. It could be the case that you just need to have more confidence and go after different opportunities. Sometimes, you hold yourself back because you’re afraid of failure or things being hard. But if you don’t ask, you won’t get. And what’s the worst that can happen? As long as you’re thinking outside the box and being creative, you’re definitely going to make it work for sure.

It can often seem like you don’t know where to go next with your career, but you can certainly turn things around by being a bit more focused and having a plan. So have a go at one of these options (or all five) and see if it finally pays off for you!

Working From Home: How to Improve Your Wellness

Three focuses of my blog are Career Discussions, Health/Wellness and Technology. Working from home has its advantages. While it was sparse years ago, more employers will be allowing it in the coming years even after the pandemic has subsided. There are drawbacks to it though that everyone should be aware of. The following contributed post is entitled, Working From Home: How to Improve Your Wellness.

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One of the ways that COVID-19 has impacted everyone’s lives is the need for many people to work from home. Once-flourishing offices have become desolate as many workers got told to work remotely using their home Internet connections and computers.

If you’re one of those individuals, you will be undoubtedly experiencing the challenges that working from home brings, such as loss of focus or concentration due to other family members being at home too.

You will probably feel somewhat isolated from your colleagues, and due to “stay at home” orders frequently produced by the government, your social interaction with friends has also been affected.

The purpose of this article is to give you some inspirational ideas and tips on how you can improve your wellness while you’re working from home. Here’s how you can look after yourself during these trying times:

Look For Ways To Relax

It should be no surprise that some folks develop anxiety and depression due to feeling isolated from their colleagues, friends, and extended families. With that in mind, you need to look at ways to help you feel more relaxed and not feel anxious about being at home.

As you can imagine, there are several methods that help which you can pursue. For example, you could consider using hemp extracts from places like bloomfarmswellness.com to aid relaxation, or you could look at using essential oils like lavender or chamomile. Some people find the ritual of making a real cup of coffee, laying out the coffee tools, grinding the beans, etc., before drinking a cup, to be surprisingly relaxing too.

It might take some experimenting, but you’ll soon discover which methods produce the best results for your individual needs.

Stick to a Strick Work Schedule

When you worked at your office, you would start and your working days at specific times. The only difference between then and now is that you’re working from home; you still need to carry out the same work as before.

You need to create a strict working from home schedule and stick to it with that in mind. For instance, you should make sure you’ve had a shower, got dressed, and eaten your breakfast by a specific time so that you’re ready to begin your working day.

Another point to remember is that your time for stopping work should always be the same. Don’t get tempted to overrun and work for a few more hours “because you’re working from home.”

When you create a strict schedule, you will ensure that you have time to maintain your family time or do things around your home. If you let work take over your life at home, you’ll negatively impact your wellness, and most areas of your life will suffer as a result.

Increase Your Contact With Family and Friends

One final tip to consider is increasing the amount of time you spend in contact with your family and friends. That might not be possible to do in person due to COVID-19 restrictions, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

The obvious solution is to use technology like Zoom to have video chats with your loved ones. Check out zoom.us to find out how to use the technology and set up an account. If some people don’t have Internet access, there’s always the good old-fashioned telephone!

Digital Tools For The Modern Professionals

Three focuses of my blog are Career Discussions, General Education and Technology. As a professional in 2021 there a myriad of new tools at your disposal creating a completely new landscape. As such it’s important to understand and to know how to use these tools. The following contributed post is entitled, Digital Tools For The Modern Professionals.

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From entrepreneurs to business people and sales professionals, various digital tools will help you stay organized and on top of your game. This post is designed to provide you with a brief overview of some different digital tools available for entrepreneurs, business people, and sales professionals alike. It also includes tips on how best to use these apps to increase their effectiveness.

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Entrepreneurs are at the forefront of innovation and progress, so it’s not surprising that there are various digital tools available for them.

Digital business cards

In this day and age, it’s not enough just handing someone a physical business card anymore. Entrepreneurs need digital business cards too! There are digital business card services available on the market, such as Blinq. The best part about this modern app is that entrepreneurs can make their digital cards right from their phones or tablets.

Time management

Apps allow entrepreneurs to track their working hours, set different goals, and even identify which times in the day they work best. These apps allow entrepreneurs to manage projects, collaborate with team members, and easily access files on the go through their phone or tablet.

Entrepreneurs need to stay productive while keeping track of how they spend their time. There are apps that allow entrepreneurs to track their working hours, set different goals, and even identify which times in the day they work best.

Money management

Professionals need a variety of digital tools for managing time and have to stay on top of finances too. There are many great apps for entrepreneurs when it comes to managing money. It allows entrepreneurs to track their budget, set goals for savings/spending, watch net worth increase over time and even get a credit score!

Digital assistants

Entrepreneurs can also take advantage of hiring virtual personal assistants who help manage tasks across the board. There are many apps available that entrepreneurs use as their digital assistants, such as Fiverr and Zirtual.

Project management

Business professionals have access to apps to manage projects, collaborate with team members and easily access files on the go.

Marketing

Marketing tools are also important for any entrepreneur. There are many marketing apps available to help with marketing, such as Mailchimp. The best thing about these marketing apps is how easy it can be to keep marketing on track while being able to work from anywhere.

Sales

Sales apps: there are many great sales tools available to help entrepreneurs, sales people and business owners. One of the most popular for sales related tasks is called Close.co which helps with prospecting, scheduling meetings and other sales related activities that would typically be done in a day while working from home or remotely.

Presentation

Presentation apps: presentation apps are also important for any entrepreneur. There are many presentation apps available to help with presentations, such as Haiku Deck and Powtoon. The best thing about these presentations is how easy it can be to make an engaging presentation from anywhere at any time.

The digital transformation has disrupted and transformed the professional world and how we function in it. Embrace it!

How Lifelong Learning Could Boost Your Earning Potential

Two focuses of my blog are General Education and Career Discussions. A common misconception is that our learning stops immediately after being handed our diploma. The most effective and successful people however continue their learning and get often get rewarded for it. The following contributed post is entitled, How Lifelong Learning Could Boost Your Earning Potential.

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Are you someone that has a thirst for knowledge that you just cannot quench? If you have a passion for learning and enjoy building your knowledge, this can have many positive effects on your life. Staying interested in the world around you, reading a wide range of books, and taking courses is an excellent way to keep learning and developing throughout life. As well as enriching your life, all this knowledge and willingness to learn could prove invaluable to your work life. You may even find that a passion for lifelong learning can help you to boost your earning potential, so it is excellent news all around! Here are just a few of the ways that lifelong learning can help to boost your earning potential:

Increases Knowledge

The more knowledge you have built up over the years, the more this can benefit your career. When you have extensive knowledge of a range of subjects, this can open up numerous opportunities for you to put your knowledge to good use.

Builds Resilience

Continually seeking out learning opportunities throughout life takes resilience and determination. Having the patience and dedication to keep trying to develop and grow is not easy and helps you to build valuable character traits. Resilience and determination are essential attributes and are critical to the success of many entrepreneurs, so you may find your desire to keep learning makes you the ideal candidate to run your own business.

Teaches New Skills

Learning new skills and taking courses to build your knowledge and expertise on a given subject could make it possible for you to transfer these skills into an earning opportunity. If you are interested in stocks, shares, and investments, you may decide to take a course to learn to trade stocks. Taking part in the course will enable you to develop the skills needed to trade, and you will be able to put your new skills and knowledge into practice to begin trading.

Helps Discover Your Passions and Interests

Sometimes you may discover a book or take a course that inspires you to find out everything you can about the subject. Discovering a new passion or interest is a great way to stumble upon things that you love doing and learning all about them. In some cases, your interest in the subject may lead you to take it a step further and turn it into a side project or even a full-time career.

Opportunities to Meet New People

Learning new skills and building your knowledge provides the perfect opportunity to meet new people that share similar interests to yours. This is great from a social perspective, but also in terms of your career. If you are keen to pursue your interest beyond a hobby, you may find that people you meet along the way can help. Through your quest for knowledge, you are likely to meet prospective employers, suppliers, and a myriad of other people that could help you earn money from doing the things that interest you.

Get Off To A Good Start When Studying For A New Career

Two focuses of my blog are Career Discussions and General Education. All careers require some level of study. When launching into a new career, you want to get off to the best start possible. The following contributed post is entitled, Get Off To A Good Start When Studying For A New Career.

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Studying for a new career, whether it’s your first career or you’re retraining, opens up new opportunities for you. It might be time-consuming and maybe expensive too, but it’s worth it if you want to improve your future. If you’ve chosen to study for a new career, you can choose to put in the minimum amount of effort to get the qualifications and experience that you need or you can try to do as much as possible to put yourself in the best position at the beginning of your career. When you are still learning and just starting out, here are some of the things you can do to find success.

Get the Right Tools

Having the right tools when you’re studying is a must. There are some things that you might be required to have while completing a course or attending lessons. However, even outside of formal learning, it can be a good idea to have some useful tools for self-led learning. As a dental student, buying your tools from dental equipment suppliers will ensure you have the right supplies to learn in your own time. If you’re learning to code, there are software programs and tools that will help you to practice.

Seek Out Work Experience

As well as learning in a classroom environment or by following educational material, it’s always helpful to get “real world” experience. Looking for work experience will help you to prepare for the world of work, once you have the required certifications and knowledge to get started in your new career. Having work experience will make it easier for you to find a job when you’re ready. You might find that there are internships available or shorter work experience days or weeks. Shadowing someone or being mentored by someone can help you to learn a lot.

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Make Connections

Knowing the right people is extremely helpful when you’re starting a new career. It’s much easier to get a foot in the door if you have some connections. You don’t need to know very powerful people, but it’s helpful if you start getting to know some people who are already established in your industry. They won’t necessarily give you a job opportunity directly, but you could know someone who can inform you of something that’s suitable for you, recommend you, give you a reference or offer advice on how to find a job.

Choose Your First Job Carefully

When it’s time to find your first role in your new career, it’s understandable that you might want to take the first opportunity that comes along. You might be scared that you won’t get anything better, even if you’re unsure about the role that’s being offered to you. However, you should be careful about finding your first job. While you can’t expect to step into your dream role, you should think about what you’re looking for and what you don’t want.

When you’re studying for a new career, there are plenty of things you can do to prepare yourself and get the best start.

How You Can Protect Yourself In The Workplace

Two focuses of my blog are Career Discussions and Workplace Discussions. No matter which workplace you’re in, it’s good to know how to protect yourself in necessary. The following contributed post is entitled, How You Can Protect Yourself In The Workplace.

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Whether you have an employment contract or you are considering an ‘at-will’ worker, you need to make sure you know all your rights. They will be different depending on your employment status, however, when it comes to being fired, it is illegal to be fired for reasons such as disability, gender, race, and other types of discrimination, all are forbidden by law.

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How can you protect yourself in the workplace? Let’s have a look below:

Information Is Invaluable

Information is the key when it comes to protecting yourself. If you do find yourself in any sort of employment dispute, you will be thankful for learning the rules and information before you fight your corner. You cannot protect yourself if you don’t know you are in the position to do so. Make sure you read any employee protocols and read the information relevant to yourself such as talking to San Diego Disability Law Group if you are entering the workplace with a disability.

Make Sure you Keep Records

It can be easy to become overwhelmed or tired at work and not have a clear memory of important facts. This is why it is essential for you to keep contemporaneous records. You hold onto any letters, employment handbooks, pay records, employment agreements, and make sure keep a record of any conversations about unfair treatment or disciplinaries. If the conditions and terms of your employment change without justification occur you need to make sure you take action promptly.

Companies will always conduct performance reviews to evaluate employees’ performance and look at their pay and promotion. You need to make sure you have a copy of your written performance review and know how to handle feedback or any disagreements about your performance. If you do have a disagreement with any of the comments that you received, you should ask to insert your notes documenting your disagreement, this can then become an essential part of your performance review and your personnel file.

There is one way of keeping these, however, they need to be clear to see when and where each incident occurred, the parties involved, and any of the details of the incident. You should also show how it was resolved.

Talk To An Employment Lawyer As Soon As You Can

Last but certainly not least, it is essential for you to seek legal advice from an employment attorney as early as possible. They are able to help you assess whether an employer’s conduct constitutes a violation of employment laws and if you can think about legal action. They are able to run through many different options, whether it is to use the company’s internal complaint mechanism or handle things separately.

Many employees may feel as though it is a tough battle when they run into issues with their employer. But that doesn’t need to be the case. If you take the steps above and research properly, then you can rest assured you are handling things properly. Make sure you always look at all your options and get help when you need it.

Standing Up For Your Rights In The Workplace

Two focuses of my blog are Career Discussions and Workplace Discussions. In some instances, situations arise where worker’s rights are threatened in the workplace. It’s for these reasons its important for workers to know what their rights are. The following contributed post is entitled, Standing Up For Your Rights In The Workplace.

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There are laws and regulations that employers have to meet the standards of and legal repercussions for those who don’t. However, when rights in the workplace are being ignored or disregarded, it can seem hard to know what you should do. After all, the power balance between employee and employer isn’t equal, and it’s not unreasonable to fear for your livelihood. So, what steps should you take to have yourself covered?

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Know whether they’re breaking the law
How you handle the case depends on what kind of issue you have with the manager or higher-up. If they are breaking company policy, then it will be a matter to be handled internally. However, you should also take a look at the things your boss can’t legally do. If it’s illegal or it breaks some form of regulation, then you have a lot more options that you can rely on if the first step doesn’t change anything or solve your concerns.

Report it internally first
Many of the kinds of wrong-doing in the workplace can be classified as professional misconduct and any business that is big enough should have procedures to report it. As Bright HR states, you can report this internally once you have an idea of what is going on. It’s best to have evidence to submit, but even if you don’t, they should make a record of the report all the same. They might act on it with an internal notice but, even if they don’t, you will have evidence that this is a long-standing issue if you need to take it a step further.

See if you could act as a whistleblower
Sometimes, reporting it internally might not be the best option if, for instance, the business owner or highest levels of management are also in on the misconduct. Or perhaps reporting it internally didn’t solve anything. If that is the case, then it might be time to look into help from places like the Whistleblower Info Center. The right legal advice services can help you make sure that you’re proceeding as carefully as possible, all the while making sure that you’re holding them accountable, whether it’s in the courts or through on the industry’s regulatory bodies.

Can your employer punish you?
The biggest fear of all is that if you speak up, you can be punished by your employers or managers. This is one of the reasons to make sure that any action taken outside the workplace is done with the right help. However, if you are mistreated or even let go after filing any complaints or cases against an employer, then that is very likely to count as workplace retaliation, which is illegal in and of itself. It may even amount to a wrongful termination suit. Once you decide to stand up for your rights, do be aware of the risk of retaliation, but be just as aware of the fact that you can fight it.

Keeping employers accountable is a big part of keeping the workplace safe. It can be scary, but with the right advice, you can make sure that you’re protected.

How To Change Your Attitude And Be More Successful In Your Career

A key focus of my blog is Career Discussions. Being successful in your career involves more than just proficiency in your skill or area of specialty. The are other aspects involved. The following contributed post is entitled, How To Change Your Attitude And Be More Successful In Your Career.

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Your attitude towards life and your career will have a direct impact on your ethics. An improved work ethic is easier achieved when you attain a better attitude, one that is more dedicated and passionate. Finding your passion for your career can be challenging, especially if you are in a place of work where it is hard to progress. Yet, with the right attitude you can achieve greater success more quickly. Here are some tips.

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

Use coaching
Coaching is a great way to change your outlook on life. It can help with work-life balance, personal, or career goals. With coaching, you can learn from those who have a positive attitude and have used that to achieve great things.

You will want to consider high-performance coaching to get the most of your experience and achieve your goals more efficiently. This will allow you to improve your attitude towards life and your career, which can enhance performance and help you attain greater success.

Have a trigger phrase
Many coaches introduce trigger phrases to their clients. It helps maintain a positive attitude and helps them work on their progress alone. After all, a coach cannot be with you to maintain your mood and success every minute of the day.

A trigger phrase helps ignite an emotion. For instance, a positive trigger phrase such as “pushing through will help me achieve success”, will instill into your mind to keep going to attain your goals. These trigger phrases will help boost your business mindset and ensure that you maintain the right attitude at all times.

See failures as a way to improve
Everyone experiences failures in life, especially throughout your career. You should see them as a way to develop a positive attitude and help you improve. When something goes wrong, you can use the mistake to avoid it from happening again. To do so, you might change the way you work, which could improve your business and help you achieve greater success.

Never allow failures to bring you down or make you give up. They should be seen as a stepping stone for improvement.

Surround yourself with the right people
Those that surround you can have a direct impact on your mood and your attitude. If you surround yourself with lazy and unpassionate people, then you might struggle to stay positive and want to strive for greater things in your career. Likewise, if you surround yourself with driven business-minded individuals, then it will push you to be the same.

Even if you find that your friends are not the best people to be around for your career, you can still see them. Just spend more time focusing on people who bring positivity and the right attitude into your life.

Although we may experience a poor attitude from time to time, there are ways to maintain the right attitude. This will help you have a better business mindset, feel more content in your job, and achieve more success in your career.