LOVE YOURSELF

Yeah, you hear me right!
Love yourself.
The first question that comes to your mind is "Excuse me, who would not love myself?"
Mind you, you will be amazed!
Upon deeper probing, you may find that not everyone will love themselves.
Why so?
There are a lot of reasons.
Some may feel it is too narcissistic as fairy tales would teach children.
Some may feel that it is too self-centred and living in a community should not focus on self only.
The above not illegitimate reasons but the question is to what extent has this been carried out?
There must be a balance between I - WE.
Why?
If there is no balance, the impact will inevitably affect the rest as well.
Consider the following scenarios.

Scenario A
A is a selfish person. Whatever he/she does, it is all calculated and focus on themselves only. They will do what it benefits them. They do not care about the others so in times of need, they will manipulate others to help themselves.
What happens in the long run?
People will slowly distance themselves away from them and the selfish A cant survive because everyone needs others's help to advance.

Scenario B
B is a caring person. He/She will spend a lot of their time on helping others. He/She feels it is the right way to do things and who knows he may need help from others. Better to build up the goodwill. As they get to know more people, more people ask them for help.
What happens to B in the long run?
B will realise that he cannot cope with the increasing demands of others asking for help. Why? Others are taking advantage of B because he/she is free in their thinking.
If B cannot deliver his promise to help, others will complain or even bear grudges on B.
That will inevitably bring more stress to B because he cant deliver so he fails himself and he has to bear with the grudges and complaints againist him. But in the first place, that is not his business isnt it?
Then he realise, sometimes when he need help the most, people actually rejected him because they have other piorities in life.
After going through a lot of self-thoughts, B might get more jaded and pent up anger rising. In the long term, this is not good for both B and others.

Suppose there is a balance, A loves themselves but finds time to help others. B changes their piorities and love themselves first, it would be better so that everyone around them knows where is their limit and would not have unrealistic expectations about them.

Isnt this nicer?

Happy New year, 2012!!

It has been long since I updated this. But happy new year!!

A little story on work

Right from the start, P know that P will not last long in this company. P did not choose on my own free will to come in. Couldnt find a job so beggars cannot be choosers. Maybe subconsciously, P was not hoping to get a job because P was not ready for it.
Nonetheless, P still forced myself to go, even if P have to vomit at the end of every interview session. P do not want to be penniless. So money was a factor for poor fresh grad.
On the 1st day of work,P tell myself, nevermind, P shall go in and learn new things. New experiences that will help me, since in the past P only focus on my studies. Never develop the soft skills.
It was a big mistake and P pay a heavy price for it. P was not ready at all. Did not even prep herself by reading books on relationships and at least office politics and perception. P tot be herself is good enough. P is who P said P to be and behave like that. P did not mean any harm to others so long P get job done with sufficient information.
P am that happy.
Well, others told her " You are the happy-go-lucky kind of person and that kind of person dun last."
P am also very grateful to those who lend a helping hand to her. Maybe that was wrong too. Maybe they took pity on her, maybe they had other things in mind. Everyone has a motive for helping others even those who seem harmless and sincere. One does not know what transpire in their minds. At that point in time, for someone like her who has no information network, no other support and expected to do things, a helping hand is like a lifesaver. For the moment. And by the way, the helping hand is not even her boss.
Her body language is terrible. P often gave people the wrong impression. But that was just her. P din know P was being demanding, emotional and stupid. And that puts people off. P had to sculpt an image for others. To her, this is so fake.  P had to adjust. P din know P had to give up so much just to fit in. Maybe P should just videotape herself in an interview session or put me under stress questioning. So many "should" and "think".
P did not know P was so hard to communicate, given she was a Communications student. P thought all the time she was the easiest person to get along and talk. Now then she knows that people do not think so. They think she is arrogant, offhanded and self-considered genius. In other words, an A*****e. Since she is like that, leave it as it is. She will still perform and do her work. No need to help, she might just slapped it back. P always believes it takes 2 to clap. As a person more experienced and senior than her, her boss did not realise she needed help since she is fresh on the job? In fact, it is a great opportunity to build relationship with her considering the boss need her to perform. P tried with her attempts to communicate via emails. P is just inadept at talking to bosses so she is hoping emails help. It is her way of building relationship with the boss. From there, she will know how is the boss and so on. What rapport is there to talk about when the receiving end do not reciprocate? What did she do before that to deserve all these preconceived perception? In the end, what did it get her? When she start a new position, P told herself to start afresh. She needed her boss to believe and trust her and keep her in the loop. To P, it is not a very demanding requirement.  In the end, it is others who help her. What can P think of her boss?
Well, some may say the boss attempted to build rapport but failed because P is too stubborn to see it. But what do you think of a boss who attempted to dig your personal information at point blank? Where is the privacy?
P also need an outlet to vent due to work-related stress. Who can she talk to? The same people who gave her helping hand. She needed guidance to do her work, let go some steam and talk crap. Apparently, that also need a correct timing and uphold a saint image at all times. As you know it, she did not and did it her own ways. Now people start to think she is playing office politics when she only wanted reprieve. Reality and perceptions. This is not the 1st time this wrong perception of her took place. Maybe she should get a diary and write it down. That becomes her reprieve. "Should" again.
Maybe P have too high expectation of herself and others, including her boss. When P cant live up to it, P cringed, P suffer and torture herself to eternal hell. Frankly speaking, her boss failed to impress her or rather did not live up to her expectation. But that is just her. P and her damn perception so P should go to hell with it. P just want to be P, what is so difficult about it? Afterall, everyday 8 or more hours is spent in the office. Can one wear a fake mask at all times?
P should just leave. Why torture herself working in an office where there is a lot of work, little manpower and suffers from other's wrong perceptions with little or no help at all?
What do you think?

Tip @ work #02 - Time management

It is important for anyone working to plan their working time carefully.
It will not only affect your own schedule but also the schedules of others.
If you are not careful, others may suffer the consequences of your carelessness.
People maybe forced to make risky and careless decisions in order to make their time and efforts more efficient.
Unless you are strategising to oust your rivals which I am sure is not your intention.
Eventually, the relationship between you and the other party will deterioate.
In the world where networking plays an important role, it is terrible to imagine what life would be like should one be ostracised.
Not only does information flow gets obstructed, one will be feel terribly and in the end affect the work.

From my experiences, here are some useful guidelines to help manage your time fruitfully:

a) When you need to enlist other's help, please inform them 3 months in advance.
If not, the minimum period is 1 month.
Please do not inform them 1 week in advance. Not only will they not inform you in time, they may not have enough turnaround time to help you and they will just filter off your request.
They may feel offended at being told the last minute because you seem insincere to invite them given the short notice period.
Finally, your plans will get affected because nobody wish to help you and your things will not get done.

b) Please do careful and detailed planning right from the start:
Though they may seem insignificant, logistical issues can kill any projects given that the resources are incomplete to finish off the project.
Every step and every processes have to be thought out carefully factoring issues like people's mindset, resources required, pre-requistic conditions and time required.
It will take time to figure things out so one must cater more time to unravel them.

Good Luck!

Tips @ work #01 - Never offend people

A quick question - What kind of people would not get their face slapped by others?

Answer?

Those who often radiate warmth and have a ready smile for everyone and every situation.

Long time ago in China, people already observed this and came up with a idiom, "伸手不打笑脸人。” In literal translation, it means one would not slapped someone with a ready smile on the face.
Why?
Why would they not do that?
The kind of energy that radiate from a smiling person is so positive that it is very difficult for anyone to smash that accumulation of positive energy. (Of course, we are not talking about fake people with fake smile. Those who smiled like that will be detected straightaway.And what do people do with them? Ignore them.)

This does not apply just to the physical smile. It also applies to the communications at work in daily lives. If you are courteous and friendly, you will find that good things will multiply. It might sound very tiring and troublesome with a lot of protocol, but ultimately it benefits you.

Why?

It is the positive energy.

It keeps you healthy and as you accumulate more positive energy for yourself, it influences others as positive energy is transferable.

You may ask how does the positive energy link up with the title?

Well, if you keep up with those positive energy, you will abide by it and try to find ways to sustain it and as a result, one will not offend people.

The consequences of offending people can be quite significant although the impact may not be seen until months or years later.

Think about other dept's head, PA to your boss, your colleagues.
If you offended them or disregard some basic manners, they will definitely pose as obstacles to the goals in your life.
I have seen how a man who has creative ideas to change certain customs when he organises a company function. There is innovation but he failed to pay homage to the sponsors who has helped out in the last function. In my opinion, the basic courtesy is to call and thank the person for the help rendered in the past and outline your plans to him so that he would not feel left out or feel that one is disrespectful towards him.
What happens to the man is the sponsor got angry and tried in some ways create obstacles for him.

Think of the tradeoffs, basic courtesy and humbleness with a smile, you will get a cordial friend at least. Or aloof and strong-headed, you will get another rival.

Which one is more worth your effort?

False start vs head starts

Life is full of false starts, believe or not, it does not just happens in the athletic world.

A lot of people feel that having too many false starts is not good for personal development. It will lower the person's morale.

I beg to differ.

Having false starts indicates that the preparation work is insufficient so therefore to prevent further losses or damages, the process which has commenced, is terminated.

Let me share with you an example.

Mr H has recently decided to apply for graduate programme at a local university.

He took a look at the deadline and he thought,"Wow! 15 Aug! Better hurry!"

He was very conscientious. He went to the library to research on his thesis topic almost every week.

Finally nearly 2 weeks before the deadline, he found the thesis topic of his choice.

Then he merrily carry on asking his ex-lecturer for recommendation letters and so on.

But,

little did he know that it is the little things like admin procedures that caused him to not complete his application in time. 

He was crestfallen and depressed for several days.

It seems like he was unable to plan even a small thing like this.

It also makes him doubt if he is able to go back to school, whether he still have the energy and the drive to do it.

However, a good friend saved his day.

The good friend asked, "What are the benefits of NOT achieving this?"

For a moment, there was silence. Mr H was simply stunned.

"How can it be possible to have benefits for not achieving the very thing that I desired? How could he suggest that to me? We have been friends for so long yet he said this to me. I am so hurt."

He could not answer the friend and left in a hurry. 

He did not contact his friend for 2 days because he was still in the hurting stage and he wondered if there is any truth in his friend's words.

By the third day, a sudden "AHA" moment came to his mind and he quickly took a pen to wrote it down.

The title is " Benefits for not submitting my graduate studies application."

1) Mental preparation insufficient. The transition period from working adult to student needs to be adjusted.

2) The thesis topic needs to be more specific. Even if I submitted my application this time round, I may not be able to get in.

3) I should have a recap on the major topics again so that I can make more contributions in class.

4) A realisation that since I am working, in order for things to happen as planned, I need more time for preparation and get things done.No more last minute work.

5) Keep a lookout on the financial aid. Who knows someone or company might sponsor me.

After writing this down, Mr H felt fully satisfied. Even though his first application was a false start, he found many things with that experience. Many obstacles suddenly appear and he knows how to avoid them. He also realised that even if this is a false start, it did not diminish his motivation and desire to get his graduate degree. In fact, he was even more motivated to do it.

As you can see, false starts may indeed be a good thing. It gives you time to rehearse your movements and actions, give you time to spot obstacles and learn from there. 

The important guideline to everyone is "In every experience, regardless good or bad, lies the opportunity to learn and re-learn until one gets the message behind the experience."

If it is a bad experience, one have to try to turn it into a positive experience. It will be difficult to do it and at times seems impossible, but as you mull over it, like Mr H, you will eventually get there. 

It does not matter if you are fast or slow, as long as you get the message.

Learn to accept mistakes and failures, even though they are hard to swallow and one might choke. 

After all, it is just embarrassment for a fews moments of your lifetime to learn something that will last one forever. Think of it, isnt it a good investment?

Burden of mistakes

I am a perfectionist.
That is one of my strong point as well as being my weakest point.
I want things to be done to the BEST. When I mean best, it means to the best of my ability and beyond.
I get depressed when I could not reach the pinnacle.
Life, I feel, is pretty worthless at that point in time. I could not reach the top as I have expected.

Others might say, it is good to have high expectation of yourself.
But there is a weight I carry on my shoulders everyday.
I want to do the best in everything. EVERYTHING.
I get drastic mood swings from moments to moments in my daily routine.
I binged on food when I am stressed.
As a result, bad complexion and overweight issues came in.
Frankly speaking, I cant even recognised myself anymore.
Ever since I can remember, I will do self-beration for every single mistake I made during the day. And of course, as I berated myself, the events for the rest of the day get worse and worse. 
If I do something wrong this time, I will avoid doing those things.
I started to filter off those things.
For example, I feel very shy when I am in front of strangers. I feel very awkward where I placed my hands, the way I walk, the way I eat and the way I talk.
There is absolutely no grace in my body movements compared to others.
I also feel very awkward when I talk to others. When mum found out, she tried to rectify this. She would instruct me to run errands. I got sweaty palms thinking about the upcoming interactions with others. I would rehearse in my mind what I want to say, how to order and how to make my requirements clear to others.
But I still made a boo-boo out of myself. The language I used wasnt quite the same as the hawkers. From their body language, they seem to be rediculing me for not speaking properly.
I was devastated.
It was a horrifying experience.
From then, I dreaded the call from mum to run errands for her.
I fear interactions with others.
Of course, that becomes my obstacles in life from then onwards.


I hated myself for making mistakes. It just makes me look, feel stupid in front of others. I might portray a heck-care attitude in front and bull-doze my way through but I still berate and condemn myself mentally.
I am not stupid but why do I act stupid? Am I really that stupid?

As the days passed, I soon realise to my horror, the burden of keep reminding myself about my mistakes is too heavy for me to carry. I was crushed under the weight of it.
I missed out opportunities. I missed out a lot of fun along the way just to be in the comfortable position I feel safe in.
I tried to move myself out of inertia.
Very painful.
I feel very agitated.
I cant tell my parents about it.
I dont want them to worry.
I struggled to keep myself think positively but I dunno how. Posters and motivation quotes dont work for me.

Any ideas on how to do it and sustain it? I keep regressing. So worried that I will fall into abyss.

Self-identity - Feel at ease with yourself

As we grow up, I do not know if anyone of you realise this, when we explore the things around us, we would often explore ourselves in the process as well even at the young age of 5.
When we look around, suddenly we realise - hey, we are different from most of our peers and people around us. They do not seem to do this. So is what we are doing RIGHT or WRONG? By default, we will try to do the things that are RIGHT. And by meaning right, it means conform to what everyone is doing due to 1 theory - if what everyone is doing it, it means they are right, otherwise, they will not do it.
But being RIGHT does not means being yourself. Being right applies to major issues like drugs, trafficking, smoking, theft, murder.
Being yourself is different. What is the most important thing that you value yourself as a person. It does not matter if you are being different. It means being yourself, being confident and at ease with yourself. Do not look at others for conformity. Do not look at others for opinions when it is your turn to make the decision. It must be the decision that you are most comfortable and most congruent to your innermost self.
Accept that you are being who you are. Accept how you look in the mirror. Accept how your mind tells you this is how you should dress. Accept how you think about yourself.
It is you who needs to navigate through the different situations and scenarios, not others, not experts and not your parents. They might be there to provide guidance but you must make the decision - follow, reject or merge ideas?
I feel much better when I saw Johnny Depp's interview on himself.

‘Love, art or music can be the cure – never give up

JOHNNY DEPP is at the top of his game these days - but life hasn't always been so easy.

New film Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides hits UK cinemas on May 18 and will no doubt boost his reputation as one of the world's top box office draws.

Here the 47-year-old, who lives in France with partner Vanessa Paradis, 38, and children Lily-Rose, 11, and Jack, nine, talks to GARTH PEARCE about what he wishes he'd known at the age of 18.

"When I was growing up I felt like a complete freak. I wish I had known that there were a lot of people out there like me, feeling the same way.

"I even felt weird at five. At the age of 12, I felt it was me against the world.

"I locked myself in my bedroom and played my guitar. It seemed as if I was in there for two or three years!

"It took years for me to feel comfortable with myself. I do not have to pretend any more about who I am and do not have to portray any image which is not myself.

"I wish I could have come to terms with who I was much earlier in my life, but I am sure a lot of people would say the same thing. I was able to play characters who were considered freaks to outsiders. But, to me, they were always real people. They felt love, anger and loneliness.

"I identified with these parts and was attracted by the emotions. I played Edward Scissorhands and Gilbert Grape in my twenties. What's Eating Gilbert Grape was a difficult time for me.

"The content of the film was emotional and I would not want to see it again. I might dive back in to that feeling. I was feeling very dark making it, with a lot of stuff going on in my head.

Rising star ... Johnny Depp 25 years ago

Rex

"The character (caring for a brother with development disability and having an obese mother who refuses to leave the house) hit me a little too hard.

"It was a rough time in my life and I was, for a while, humour impaired. I don't know whether it was a subconscious thing - because my character was such a bland, repressed guy - or whether it was just that time in my life.

"I get into my characters pretty deeply, but there is a limit. There are some actors who ask that you call them by their character name during filming.

"I would love to see them go to the snack bar in between scenes and pick up a Milky Way as King Tut or watch Cleopatra eating pretzel sticks.

"I just don't buy into that kind of stuff. Nobody becomes a character and stays that way. I could never rate myself that much as an actor. When I have to watch myself in a movie I get real nervous and kind of ill. I always watch and think of the things ISHOULD have done.

"But I don't get depressed about it. On suicide, the only thing I can say is that if things are so bad why die? Why not give it another day? Love, art or music can be the cure. Refuse to give up.

"When Kurt Cobain committed suicide I remember thinking how close I felt to his work and understood his music and words very well. But if he hated what he was that much, why not just give it up and escape and go somewhere? Grow flowers, catch fish, do something else. There are very negative attitudes shown by some people. We live in a very cynical society.

"Even little kids are cynical and we definitely need a refresher course in love, friendship and living.

"We need to rethink how to live. I wish I could have known at 18 that I would one day live in France and meet the love of my life.

"I met Vanessa in a hotel in Paris. It was instant love, across a crowded room. I became entranced by her back and neck.

"Then she turned her face and it was beautiful. She came across the room and asked: 'Do you remember me?' I had met her years before, apparently.

"But this time I was love-struck. There was no doubt in my mind that she was The One. She would change my life.

"Having kids also changed my life for the better. Being with my family makes me happy - and shows in my face. I feel young and happy.

"Being a dad made me realise what the important things are in life. It is certainly not fame or celebrity.

"There is so much fear, from the fear of losing jobs to the fear of losing loved ones. We forget about the moment - right now, what is happening.

"We dwell on the past and worry about the future. We exist in life and forget to live.

"I wish I knew that at 18 - I could have started living my life much earlier."

(Taken from The Sun - http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/woman/3558118/Johnny-Depp-Love-art-or-music-can-be-the-cure-never-give-up.html)

Like vs Don't Like

Very often, we hear people say

"I don't know what I LIKE but I definitely know what I DON'T LIKE."

Sometimes, you wonder how is it possible for people not to know their liking or their preferences.
It is how the brain is structured to tag your thought.
Our brains are cultivated through a myriad of channels eg society, media, peers and etc to pick up negative or bad things in our daily lives.
How do we know that?
We have a tendency to criticise every time we see something be it good or bad.
Thus, our brain is "tagged" with all the things that we don't like or hated.
Hence, the famous saying as above.
It is, of course, much harder to find out what one like. Nonetheless, it is worthwhile exploring what is one's preferences so that one can filter out what they do not like and get to the root of the matter.
The question is how can we find out what we like?
The method I have tried and tested is called "Reverse Engineering".
We can start by picking up the positive or the good things in mind and tagged it as

"Oh this is good! I shall remember it and use it."

In this way, the mind is reversed to pick up positive or good things that you like and thus much easier to find out your likings.
However, if the tendency to pick up negative things is still strong, fret not, you can always do a twist in your mind as such:

"Well, this is something I don't like. But what is the thing I can improve on with dislike?"

Reframing the way you view things can help one to find their preferences as well.
After several repetitive rounds, I am sure you can do it with ease and speed.
And, there is a fringe benefit, it changes the way one thinks i.e. from negative to positive. Do not know if you feel it, if you think positively, you will attract all the positive, helpful things in your life.
Not sure about it?
Try it and experience it for yourself.

Negative thoughts

In the quest of new goal, one often forgets about the rationale of moving forward and regress whenever one faces challenges.
The fear factor is definitely tremendous for some. It takes continuous practice to deflect those negative and energy draining thoughts like:

a) I am not good enough.

b) I do not think I can do it.

c) Others are much smarter than me so they can do it and I cant.

d) What if I fail?

e) What will I lose if I fail?

f) I do think I deserve to achieve what I have dreamt of.

g) How will the smart people view me when I do the things I want?

Then I chanced upon this Taiwanese idol drama called "The Fierce Wife" (“犀利人妻”）
There is this part of the dialogue where the mother encouraged the divorced, dejected and depressed daughter which I find it motivating.

Mother: 人生难免都有这种意外，不稀奇。

             例如有病就接受治疗。治疗不好，就坦然接受。

             我们没有办法把握人生当中所有的事情，当事情来临的时候，就只有简单的三个

             字--  

             不要怕。

             所以遇到事情的时候，不要怕，要勇敢一点。

Benefits of speed Reading

As a skilled speed reader, there are many benefits that come with it.
Here are some which I personally find it very relevant and useful.

1) Once you get used to the speed, it is HARD to slow down. It is so COOL when the brain reads so fast that once it is done, I feel a sense of satisfaction that I know the gist of the material without wasting time. If I SLOW down, I just feel restless and find it extremely difficult to continue reading.

2) The more materials I read within a limited period of time, the more conversation starters I accumulate. If anyone approach me or I happen to be at a social setting where I know nobody, I can strike up a conversation and maintain it because of the knowledge that I have. Knowledge is POWER!

3) I can know the gist of boring topics without getting bored by it as the speed of reading is fast and with purpose. In this way, things that are boring yet compulsory can be absorbed easily without being negative about reading it.

4) Speed reading also helps me to organise my thoughts faster. Now that I know the gist, I can reassemble the keywords and knowledge to support my opinions about it. I can formulate my opinions and thinking much faster.

5) Speed reading also helps me to efficiently work my way through my research materials. Tonnes and tonnes of information waiting for me to digest and form my research, now can be done within hours instead of days.

I wonder what is your opinion on speed reading. Do share with me. :P

Winner

Everyone has a dream.

And everyone has the ability to fulfill the dreams regardless if they have the educational qualifications.

What matters is how to use the brains to get the dream done. The solution is usually in your hands and nobody else's. The answer you are looking for is not faraway. Its right before your eyes. You have what it takes to make a difference in your life, family and country. Once you begin to think beyond your current level, you begin to see beyond your nose then you will become a force to reckon with.Opportunities are lying every where waiting for people to open their eyes, engage their minds and explore them. 


You have ideas in you head that are begging to be released and explored. You have potential inside you that is waiting for you to expand.


How to get the ideas enlarged?
First, we have to be conscious of our thoughts and behaviour. We should do a thoughts detox every now and then. Get rid of the negative thoughts.
We are all humans and we will make mistakes. But who is to say once we make mistakes, we cannot repent? Therefore, take in the lesson for the mistakes, forgive yourself and focus on your human-ness and move on.
You are you. Nobody can replace you. 
Why not Concentrate on accentuating the positive, and see your self confidence bloom!

In this way, you are a winner in every right!

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Job worth

This is one of the areas that I have been meaning to figure out. How do we know the real worth of the job we have done?

Job Worth - Factors That Determine the Value of Work


Making a studied decision of the value your organization places is jobs preformed for it can greatly affect job retention and company performance.

How can we measure the value of a job? - Here are four possible methods:

• Traditional Approach - Considers internal equity, external equity and organizational philosophy towards compensation
• Broadbanding - Replaces narrow wage scales with wider ranges of pay. Pay can be flexibly changed to match performance, skills or duties
• Pay for Knowledge - Sets a wage based on a specific skill or knowledge set
• Team Pay - Group compensation based on the team performance. This encourages employees to strive towards a common performance goal

What is job evaluation? - Job evaluation is used to establish internal equity among jobs that establishes the basis for assessing and rewarding the contribution of the job to the goals of the organization. Job evaluation is not based on the credentials of, or contribution made by the person holding the position, but is seen as the systematic process of assessing the value of each job in relation to other jobs within an organization. The goal is to establish a ranking or hierarchy of worth within the organization. Job evaluation involves four steps: Job analysis, job documentation, job rating and creating a job hierarchy.

• Job Analysis - Collecting and evaluating information about the job. Should describe the nature of the work, that is the knowledge, skills, mental or physical effort and conditions of the job
• Job Documentation - Process of recording job content, normally through a job description
• Job Rating - Uses the organization’s job evaluation plan to compare a job to an evaluation instrument
• Creating the Job Hierarchy - Job rating scores are used to produce a ranked list of positions within the organization and wages paid for each position on the list

There are several methods that take these steps to develop a job evaluation:

• Point-Factor Method - This is an extremely popular method because of perceived objectivity, stability and reliability for pay setting purposes. It compares jobs by worth factors, which assigns quality to define difficulty. Total score is compared to benchmark pay scales in similar positions elsewhere
• Rank-In-Person - This is the system used in military and paramilitary groups like police departments. Rank is earned through education, performance, time in grade and skills. Rank belongs to the individual and not a task. Employees can move throughout the organization without an associated change in wages
• Market Based - Managers have authority to hire employees based on experience, desired outcomes and an overall project budget. Normally this is used in specific, short-term projects
• Grade Banding - This system reduces the total number of pay classifications and assigns a wide band of compensation. Pay can be flexibly changed to match performance, skills or duties. A concern with this system is that overall wages will drift towards to the high end of the scale
• Job Ranking - Positions are ranked by importance or by another fact important to the group and assigned a pay rate
• Job Classification - Comparison is made to an established set of job classes with predetermined requirements and pay rate. Best fit of job to classification sets the wage

What the difference between a position classification, a job description, and a job specification?

• Position Classification - Comparison is made to an established set of job classes with predetermined requirements and pay rate. Best fit of job to classification sets the wage. Specialization forces additional classes. Classes can make it difficult for employees move from one position to another
• Job Description - A written statement of the employee’s responsibilities, duties and qualifications. It will describe desired skills, education and working conditions
• Job Specification - A subset of specific skills, abilities or characteristics required for a particular position

What is internal and external equity?

• Internal Equity - How does compensation compare to other employees within the same organization
• External Equity - How does compensation within the organization compare to similar positions in similar industries

How can we measure how much someone should be paid? - Establish wage benchmarks with comparable industries and use a valid job evaluation system to create a job hierarchy for your organization. Consider the use of a Pay for Performance system like merit pay, profit sharing, bonuses or incentives. The worth of a job to the employee is not always strictly financial, often they are low cost intangibles. Be sure that compensation is legal and does not discriminate based on race, age or sex.

Read more at Suite101: What is a Job Worth?: Factors That Determine the Value of Work http://www.suite101.com/content/what-is-a-job-worth-a23877#ixzz1JDxLqkbN

Energy Flows - drain or gain

Most of the time, we do not know why we suddenly feel very tired and drained or we suddenly feel very energised and happy.

What kinds of things do people work on as they maximize the gain and minimize the drain?

Potential energy gains include:

• Finding work you love.
• Creating relationships that enrich and support you.
• Developing healthy habits.
• Exploring a fulfilling spiritual life.
Making a personally meaningful difference.

Potential energy drains include:

• Friction at work.
• Conflict or confusion in your relationships.
• Problems you don't know how to solve.
• Unhealthy habits.
• Procrastination.
• Stress.

This is by no means all-inclusive. A good way to start getting a picture of where the potential gains and drains are in your life is to look at the following list and for each topic, ask yourself, "What energizes me about this area of my life? What is draining my energy in this area?"

• Work
• Relationships
• Health & Wellness
• Hobbies & Activities
• Spiritual
• Meaning & Making a Difference
• Home Environment
• Financial
• Attitude & Beliefs

Job Fit

Good Job Fit Profile

The Impact of Personality and Transferable Skills on Career Planning

Matching career decisions to personality indicators and transferable skills will increase job satisfaction and engagement.

Creating a comprehensive profile of what a good job fit looks like for you will help you to make the most out of your career development decisions. A good job fit profile defines job fit with your personality (Myers Brigg Type Indicator), transferable skills, values, work environment preferences and passions. Document the five elements of job fit and refer to this profile when making career decisions. First we'll explore the impact of your personality and transferable skill set on job fit.

Personality (Myers Briggs Type Indicator)

Taking a Myers Briggs assessment to determine your four letter type can help determine if a career path will fit with your personality. The Myers Briggs assessment was developed based on Jungian psychology and the interaction between preferences when using perception and judgement. The four letter code or MBTI that results from the assessment outlines preferences such as:

• Favourite World - Introversion (I) – a focus on inner world or Extroversion (E) a focus on outer world.
• Information Processing – Sensing (S) – relies on basic information gathered or Intuitive (N) – prefers to interpret and add meaning.
• Decision Making – Thinkers (T) – prefer to use logic and consistency or Feelers (F) – prefer to consider the people involved and the special circumstances.
• Structure – Judgers (J) – prefer to have things decided and planned or Perceivers – prefer to stay open to new information and opportunities.

Transferable Skills

Having a clear picture of the transferable skills you have or your competency strengths can also help when determining the correct career path.

Rate your abilities on each of the following skills on a scale from 1-3 (1 = poor, 2 = average, 3 = excel). Once you’ve rated the list of skills, then take the skills you rated a 3 and now rate them A-c (A = Really enjoy doing, B = okay, C = not my preference). After this rating of the sub group, now order the A’s in order of preference i.e. the top preference first. This will create your top 10 transferable skill list.

• Reading comprehension
• Writing
• Listening
• Speaking
• Thinking logically
• Distinguishing sound
• Seeing
• Tasting
• Touching
• Smelling
• Expressing and understanding verbal and written ideas
• Facilitating discussions
• Providing feedback
• Generating ideas
• Describing feelings
• Interviewing
• Editing
• Making predictions
• Remembering
• Problem solving
• Prioritizing tasks
• Managing time
• Analyzing information
• Goal setting
• Identifying resources
• Creating systems
• Using physical strength
• Enduring
• Balancing
• Reacting
• Teaching
• Creating trust
• Motivating, coaching
• Delegating
• Advocating for others
• Perceiving the feelings of others
• Respecting differences
• Team building
• Asserting
• Persuading
• Negotiating
• Reporting
• Researching
• Helping others
• Being aware of others
• Calculating
• Reasoning
• Using perception and spatial abilities
• Using equipment
• Programming
• Trouble-shooting
• Paying attention to detail
• Staying focused
• Selling
• Adapting to change
• Implementing ideas

Read more at Suite101: Good Job Fit Profile: The Impact of Personality and Transferable Skills on Career Planning http://www.suite101.com/content/good-job-fit-profile-a34523#ixzz1JDrcFrVG

Job Passion IV

Schein's Career Anchors

Understanding what inspires you in your career

It used to be that once you decided on a career, you stayed in that career until you retired.

Not so anymore: The notion of lifetime employment has been replaced with lifetime employability. This means that you can't rely on your employers to maintain your employment: You alone are responsible for your career progression and development.

Career management and planning in this environment is a challenge. So that you remain satisfied and fulfilled by the work you are doing, you need to adjust your career development activities accordingly.

Career development is no longer only about gaining the skills and knowledge you need to move up within one company. Career development today is about achieving flexibility and continuously evaluating and developing your skills in order to remain employable and fulfilled over the long term, regardless of who you are working for, and what industry you are working in.

To achieve this level of flexibility, you need to have a very strong sense of who you are and what you want from your work. Not everyone is motivated by the same thing, and our ambitions vary greatly. Some people thrive on being creative and innovative whereas others prefer stability and continuity. Challenge and constant simulation may be important to one person, while creating a work/life balance is paramount to another.

So, to effectively manage your career, you need to know more than what you enjoy doing: You need to understand WHY you like to do it. You need to figure out what the underlying characteristics of the work are that make the task enjoyable, interesting and stimulating to you.

To help people answer this question, Edgar Schein, a specialist in organizational psychology and career dynamics, identified eight "career anchors."

Understanding the Theory

Schein’s theory is that everyone has a “dominant career anchor” and that by identifying your particular career anchor, you can determine the careers and roles that will provide the most satisfaction. For example, if “service” is your career anchor, then you could choose from a wide range of career options that allow you to serve others. If your preference is to “manage”, you can manage people in a variety of industries and across many types of jobs.

Schein has identified eight career anchors, or themes, that define a person’s preference for one type of work environment over another. The idea is that once you have determined your dominant theme, you can then identify the types of positions that give you the greatest satisfaction, and plan your career accordingly.

Career Anchors – include talents, motives, values and attitudes which give stability and direction to a person’s career – it is the ‘motivator’ or ‘driver’ of that person.

A career anchor is the one element in your self-concept that you will not give up, even in the face of difficult choices.

Identify your career anchors and how well you perceive these to match your current job

Edgar Schein at MIT identified eight career anchor themes (see table below) and has shown that people will have prioritized preferences for them. Schein identified these career anchors to enable people to recognize their preferences for certain areas in their job.

For example a person with a primary theme of Security/Stability will seek secure and stable employment over, say, employment that is challenging and riskier. People tend to stay anchored in one area and their career will echo this in many ways.

Understanding your preference will help you plan your career in a way that is most satisfying to you. For example, a person with a primary theme of security/stability will seek secure and stable employment over employment that is challenging and riskier. People will be more fulfilled in their careers if they can acknowledge their career anchors and seek jobs that are appropriate for these.

Career anchor category	Traits
Technical/functional competence	This kind of person likes being good at something and will work to become a guru or expert They like to be challenged and then use their skills to meet the challenge, doing the job properly and better than almost anyone else
Managerial competence	These people want to be managers They like problem-solving and dealing with other people They thrive on responsibility To be successful, they also need emotional competence
Autonomy/independence	These people have a primary need to work under their own rules and ‘steam’ They avoid standards and prefer to work alone
Security/stability	These people seek stability and continuity as a primary factor of their lives They avoid risk and are generally ‘lifers’ in their job
Entrepreneurial creativity	These people like to invent things, be creative and most of all to run their own businesses They differ from those who seek autonomy in that they will share the workload They find ownership very important They get easily bored Wealth, for them, is a sign of success
Service/dedication to a cause	Service-orientated people are driven more by how they can help other people than by using their talents They may work in public services or in areas such as human resources
Pure challenge	People driven by challenge seek constant stimulation and difficult problems that they can tackle Such people will change jobs when the current one gets boring, and their career can be varied
Lifestyle	Those who are focused first on lifestyle look at their whole pattern of living Rather than balance work and life, they are more likely to integrate the two They may even take long periods of time off work in which to indulge in passions such as travelling

With the themes identified by Schein in mind, complete the table below – this will help you identify how well suited you are to your current job. By completing this tool, it may highlight that you are in the right sort of job or that you need a change if you are going to succeed in your desired career path. This may be a positive thing as it will give you insight into your future goals and objectives.

Identify your career anchors and how well you perceive these to match your current job:

Schein career anchor	How important is this aspect of your career to you (score out of 5, where 0 is not important and 5 is vital)	How does this match with your current post? (score out of 5, where 0 is not important and 5 is vital)
Technical/functional competence
Managerial competence
Autonomy/independence
Security/stability
Entrepreneurial creativity
Service/dedication to a cause
Pure challenge
Lifestyle

An alternative way of using the Career Anchors:

Career Anchors	My motivator or driver	Implications for me.
Technical and Functional Competence – what you would not give up is the opportunity to apply your skills in the area of technical/functional competence and develop those skills to a high level.
Managerial Competence – what you would not give up is the opportunity to climb to a high enough level in the organisation. You want to be responsible for total results; you seek challenging assignments and leadership opportunities.
Autonomy and Independence – what you would not give up is the opportunity to define your own work in your own way, in your own time, to your own standards. You would turn down opportunities for advancement in order to retain autonomy.
Security and Stability – what you would not give up is employment security. Your main concern is to achieve a sense of having succeeded so that you can relax; you are concerned about financial security and less concerned with work content and rank in the organisation.
Entrepreneurial Creativity – what you would not give up is the opportunity to create your own organisation or enterprise. You are restless by nature, constantly require new creative challenges and are willing to take risks and overcome obstacles.
	AND
Variety - why do you seek variety? What are your range of talents and drivers that you wish to fulfil?
Power, Influence and Control – Do you enjoy controlling others? How important is this to you?
Service to others - do you get a lot of satisfaction in helping others? Is this important to your lifestyle?
Basic Identity - do you prefer to wear a uniform or something similar?

What next?

Is there a mismatch between what career anchors you rate as being most important to you and those that relate to your current situation?

• You could discuss the completed table: Identify your career anchors and how well you perceive these to match your current job, with your career mentor, partner at home or a trusted friend.
• If you find that most things you value are not part of your current job, this might give you the impetus to make some specific career plans and move on.
• If you find there is a good match, you are likely to be in the right job or role.

Using Careers Anchors

The thought of a career change can be confusing, stressful, and scary for some. Others seize the chance to make a change for the better, even if it means a shift in income, location, lifestyle or training.

Changing to a trade-based career may be an option for people who prefer practical roles, hands-on work, specialized skills or the desire to work for themselves and not be confined to an office.

So, if you’re having trouble dragging yourself out of bed and off to work – here are some tips for career changing:

1. Think about what you really enjoy doing
   You can structure the following activity to help you discover your passion and/or strengths:
   List 5 things you love doing
   List 5 things you love doing AND you’re good at (they could include the first 5 activities, but they might not!)
   Think about whether any of the above fall into an occupational group – for example, a person who love turning wood probably will enjoy carpentry or joinery (Building & Construction). Someone that loves clothes and can draw may be well suited to clothing design, manufacturing, costume making or millinery (Manufacturing). If you like the outdoors, active careers can be found in landscaping, horticulture or building (Rural & Farming).
2. Think about the achievements you would value in life
   Expert on organisational leadership and culture, Edgar Schein identified 8 career anchors. These anchors are what drives people to success. Once you discover your career anchors (i.e. what drives you) you can focus your career more effectively.
   To discover your career anchors – List the 8 anchors on paper and spend half an hour ordering them in priority according to what drives you, and what’s important to you. Then, come back to the 8 in two days time and see if you’d swap anything around. This activity can provide real clarity about what it is you want in life and what work, career or trade skill you might enjoy.
3. Seek feedback from others about what you’re good at
   In your workplace, school, tech or your family there are people around you who may have valuable feedback about your strengths and weaknesses. Playing to your strengths make sense. There’s little use in being passionate about gardening if you are really a black thumb. It’s important to focus on passions with a dose of reality – rather than daydreaming.
   Ask them what they think you’re good at. Ask them if they have observed you doing something with real interest, engagement and enjoyment. Knowing how other people see you and have observed you can be a real insight to yourself.
4. Research the options for re-training
   By now you may have identified one or two real possibilities for a career based on a greater understanding of your passion, strengths and career anchors. Now’s the time to research what skills are required to get there. You can watch all sorts of videos on this site that explore the passions other people have discovered in skilled trades. You can also search profiles on other career sites or the Internet generally. You can also read our guide on How to get an Apprenticehip if your career path requires it.
5. Put a plan in place to do it!
   If you’re a school leaver – you’ll need to plan the 5 key steps to getting where you want to be – will you need an apprenticeship? What training must you enrol in? By when should you find an employer? Write yourself a short list and go!

If you’ve just finished studying or are mid-career and looking for a change – you’ll need to plan the 5 changes to make in your life to get there. Will you need to quit your job or can the company accommodate you in the field of your choice? Can you change to an apprenticeship program or do you need a different employer? Do you need to relocate or change salaries for a short period while retraining? Creating a plan will give you the confidence to follow through.
If you’re a senior manager or corporate defector you may be lucky enough to have acquired wealth and be able to make the change with little risk and some time on your side. If you have family commitments, a mortgage or other debts, you plan needs to reconsider what material aspects of you life need to be modified to reduce the pressure of earning a high income while you are changing careers and retraining.

References

1. Schein, Edgar H, (1990 & 1996). Career Anchors (discovering your real values), Jossey-Bass Pfeiffer