First Comment

I hope everyone had a very happy Fourth of July. As everyone is getting back to the workplace over the next few days and going back into work mode, we have a guest post about the opposite: the workplace farewell. This one is submitted to us by Maria Rainier. Maria is a freelance writer and blogger for First in Education where she’s recently written about online landscape architecture programs along with a piece on tax examiner jobs. In her spare time, she enjoys yoga, playing piano, and working with origami. Without further ado, here is Maria's guest post:
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It has become more and more common for employees to send out a mass e-mail to their co-workers announcing their departure. The e-mail usually offers some words of appreciation for co-workers, provides some details about future plans, and invites everyone to keep in touch. For most of us, the e-mails are forgettable, if not groan-inducing. But in a few rare cases, some disgruntled employees have become Internet legends for their memorable send-offs. Your writing skill and your ability to inspire or inflame aside, should you send out a mass e-mail bidding farewell to your co-workers when you’ve decided to move on to greener pastures? Or is it unprofessional not to send such a note?

To Send or Not to Send

There are many reasons to send out the farewell e-mail. If you work in a large company, it gives you the opportunity to notify those in other departments of your departure and the impending change in procedure. No matter the size of your company, the farewell e-mail also gives you the opportunity to express appreciation for your co-workers and to lay the ground work for maintaining those relationships after you’re gone.

There is no rule of thumb for whether you should or should not send the e-mail. The best barometer is your own company culture. If workplace farewells are common at your company, your co-workers may think you cold or aloof if you don’t send out a note. On the other hand, if no one sends out such notes, you may seem inappropriate if you do.

Follow precedent for constructing your note, but be sure to always keep it positive and end on a high note. If company e-mails tend to be long and reflective, don’t be too terse in yours. You don’t have to match previous examples sentiment for sentiment, but do try to convey the same overall tone (i.e., adding a few more sentences if you’re usually brief, or learning to pare it back if you tend to go on and on). Try to fit in, but always be sincere and do what feels comfortable.

Some Guidelines

Farewell e-mails can be as unique as you are. However, there is one concrete rule: Don’t bash your boss or your company. There are plenty of notorious examples of letters that broke this rule, but it’s safe to say those employees won’t be getting a good reference and won’t be able to rely on those contacts for any networking in the future. If you want to be able to list your job on your resume or maintain your contacts, then keep any bitterness or frustration out of your e-mail. Focus on the positive.

Some easy ways to keep things positive are to thank your co-workers for the work you shared and to reminisce fondly about the times you had together. Remember to be appropriate and professional. Don’t talk about that wild bachelorette party in accounting or your boss’ rumored affair. Do share funny stories if you have them. It will help break up the tedium of the typical, form e-mail farewell.

Give some reason for why you’re leaving, but don’t get too personal and – again – don’t vent frustrations about the job. It is appropriate to say that you’re leaving to take a new job, or to move for family reasons, or because you’re taking time off from the work force. It’s not appropriate to talk about how you’re taking a new job that pays a lot more, or how you’re leaving because you’re sick of your boss.

Leave your contact information, such as your e-mail or links to your Facebook or LinkedIn page. But leave these details only if you really want to stay in touch.

Finally, remember to be yourself in your e-mail. You want to say goodbye, but you also want to be memorable. No one wants to read a tedious, form e-mail. Let your personality shine through, but remember to be appropriate. When in doubt, ask yourself: What would your new employer think if he or she saw your e-mail?

I haven't disappeared--we merely have been having some technical issues with the blog. But I am back with a great guest post from Mariana Ashley on the departure of a co-worker who was a positive influence. We've all had this happen and this is some good advice on how to deal with it. Mariana is a freelance writer who particularly enjoys writing about online colleges. She loves receiving reader feedback, which can be directed to mariana.ashley031 @gmail.com. Here is her guest post:
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Think of the kinds of things that keep you happy at work. Probably you enjoy your job or some aspect of the work you do. You might have a great supervisor who understands your skills and needs as an employee. Maybe your commute is easy and stress-free and you have good benefits. And maybe you consider your co-workers to be your friends.

All of these factors can contribute to a great workplace atmosphere, especially if you have for a co-worker someone whom you consider to be a friend and a positive influence.

But what happens if that special co-worker leaves the office for greener pastures? How do you respond then in the wake of that departure? How do you maintain that great work atmosphere and keep up your productivity?

As an employee, you have to do your best to maintain your productivity, despite the departure of your friend. Because it's much easier to stay focused at work if you have a good work atmosphere, you should try to follow some of these tips in order to quickly help things return to normal.

Change Everything!

Okay, you don't have to change everything, but you should at least consider making some changes to your daily return in order to minimize the effect of your former co-worker's absence on your own day. If you and your co-worker often met for mid-morning coffee to talk about your latest projects, then avoid this habit. Do something different, such as going for a walk, instead. By changing up how you work through the day, you can help your mind focus on the tasks you have before you in new ways, thus minimizing the effect of your friend's departure.

Begin Working on a New Project

Another way to get your mind off of the departure of your friend is to lose yourself in a new project if possible. By launching a new project, you can refocus on your tasks, what you have to do, and the goals you'd like to accomplish. This is incredibly helpful, especially if your former co-worker worked on past projects with you. Without him or her, you'll have a chance to see how you work on your own. This new project doesn't have to be anything complicated either; it could be as simple as reorganizing your files or preparing a six-month evaluation of your productivity.



Expand Your Friendly Horizons

After your co-worker leaves, especially if he or she was a good friend, you're going to need to make a new friend or two to expand your social circle of co-workers. Go out on a limb and interact with others; go out to lunch with a group you haven't really met for lunch before. Seek out others who might be good members of your team and try to involve them in new projects. The increased social activity and the amount of interaction you have with others will boost your ability to focus on your work.

Flee Negativity

One of the biggest killers of a good office environment is negativity in any form. You're job as an employee is to flee negativity. Don't cultivate negativity and if others are negative, you have to try to keep them out of your day as much as possible. Yes, you'll be disappointed that your co-worker has left, but you should keep that disappointment to yourself. The best way to make yourself happy is to think that you're happy. Letting negativity in you workday, especially negativity associated with the departure of a co-worker, will hurt your mood and ruin your productivity.

Stay LinkedIn

Finally, depending on the nature of your relationship with your former co-worker, you could try to stay in touch, either through a social networking site like LinkedIn or Facebook, or by socializing with him or her on the weekends. This is a good idea if you think having such a contact could improve your own career path as well; however, it could also be nice to keep that person in your life in some way, especially if you were good friends at work.

The great guest posts continue to roll in here at Astron Solutions World of HR. Phone interviews can be some of the most stressful parts of an interview process since you can't actually see the person you are speaking to (and sometimes can't hear them well either). Alexis Bonari has a blog post today to help you ace that interview. Alexis is currently a resident blogger at College Scholarships, where recently she’s been researching arabic scholarships as well as tips on finding archery scholarships. Whenever this WAHM gets some free time she enjoys doing yoga, cooking with the freshest organic in-season fare, and practicing the art of coupon clipping. Here is Alexis' guest post:
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More and more employers and recruiters have started interviewing potential job candidates over the phone because it is relatively cheap, and can be done fairly quickly. If you are a recent grad student, then participating in a phone interview with a potential employer could be stressful and intimidating.
Because of this, it’s extremely important to take the proper steps beforehand to make sure you are fully prepared for a phone interview in order to succeed in your job search.

The first step in preparing for a phone interview is to make sure your cell phone is completely charged, and that you are in an area with excellent reception. (If you are using a land line then this shouldn’t be a concern for you).

It’s also important to make sure you are in a quiet room so there won’t be any background noise that will distract you as you are on the phone with your (hopefully) future employer.
You should also make sure your phone volume is set on high, and turn off any appliances, or even your TV or stereo, because they could act as potential distractions. (It may even be a good idea to place a “Do Not Disturb” sign on your door as well, just in case).

The next step is preparing some notes of what you would like to say or bring up during the interview. Write down some questions or even points you want to make beforehand, and have a paper and pen handy so you can write down notes during the interview as well. Remember one of the benefits of a phone interview is that the person interviewing you can’t see what you’re doing, so take advantage of this and lay out pages and pages of notes and questions you want to cover during the interview.

Also it’s extremely important to remember to speak slowly and clearly, and try to avoid drinking, eating, or even chewing gum during the interview, as each sound you make is essentially magnified over the phone. So if the person interviewing you can hear you eat while you talk, they could find it offensive and be easily turned off by your phone etiquette.

To make your voice sound more loud and clear during a phone interview, be sure to speak directly into the phone, or even try standing up so your voice will sound stronger. Also try to avoid saying things like “um” and “er” because these habits are particularly noticeable on the phone. If you try smiling while you talk it will also make your voice sound more upbeat, and will ultimately leave a good impression with the person interviewing you as well.

If you are still feeling nervous and uneasy about a future phone interview, there is no need to be! Remind yourself that a phone interview is actually much less stressful than an in-person interview because your potential employer won’t be judging you by how you look or act, but by what you say. So as long as you prepare what you are going to say beforehand, your phone interview should be a breeze.

I'm sorry to have been absent from the blogging world for a while but I just recently entered the world of dog ownership (picture on the right) and the puppy has been occupying way too much of my time. But I'm back now and we've got some great stuff on tap for this week including a few great guest posts. The first guest post is contributed by Katheryn Rivas, who writes on the topics of online universities. She welcomes your comments at her email: katherynrivas87@gmail.com.
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A picture of little Jack taking a nap

We often read so much about how to prepare for the actual back and forth discussion part of our job interview that we don't actually get any advice about how to prepare for the logistics of going to a job interview. When I say logistics, I mean all of the details surrounding the interview itself. If you don't get these details right, they can seriously hamper your efforts to nail down that job. And in this economy, you can't afford to let the details keep you from getting a steady paycheck.

Anyhow, when you get ready to go off to your interview, take a moment to track down some of these logistical details. These may seem obvious and common sense, but you'd be surprised at how many people might forget these in the nervous rush of thinking about the interview. And, of course, good luck!

Plan Your Route

Before you leave for the interview, plan out the route you will drive to get there. Keep in mind an alternate route as well so that you can adjust where you go in case there is a traffic jam. Also, use a traffic monitoring system, such as the one on your GPS, or use the radio to get traffic updates.

Figure Out the Parking Situation

Next, you should try to figure out the parking situation at the place where you are interviewing. Some places have easy parking, while others will require you to get your parking ticket validated. Simply check with whomever helped you set up the interview for more information.

Where Will You Meet?

This is a pretty basic step, but it's still one that needs to be taken so that you can avoid some anxiety once you arrive at the office. Simply establish where you will wait or how you will meet with whomever is going to interview you. Should you wait in the lobby? Will someone come and get you? Do you take the elevator up? Establish the process here to save yourself some trouble the morning of the interview.

Know Your Interviewers

This is very important, as it will help you determine how to prepare for the interview. Know exactly who will interview you, and if you aren't sure, don't worry about asking. You should be able to look up your interviewers on the company website and learn about them and what they do and how you will fit into their vision for the company. Knowing whom you are about to speak to in an interview will help you feel less surprised; even though you'll just be meeting them for the first time, by knowing who they are and having some information about them, they will be a little more familiar to you.

Save an Emergency Contact Number

Finally, make sure you save the company contact number in your phone before you leave for the interview. If you have an emergency, you need to be able to tell them about what's happening so that you can reschedule. It's better to let them know that you're lost before the fact, rather than call afterwards to apologize and reschedule.

Exactly two weeks ago we had a great guest post on not letting bad weather keep you down and today we have another guest post on what to do when you get overworked at work. As February winds down, the work is certainly going to ramp up. Think about it: December was the holidays, January is broken up by MLK Day and snow days, February you can enjoy the freezing weather with President's Day and Valentines Day, but the nitty gritty always seems to start as the shortest month of the year ends. Well then it's great timing once again to have this guest contribution submitted by Lauren Bailey, who specializes in writing about online colleges. Questions and comments can be sent to: blauren99 @gmail.com. Without further ado, here is Lauren's guest post:
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You begin your countdown to the weekend the minute you clock in at work. You find yourself unable to focus on any of the tasks assigned to you. You feel lost, confused, frustrated, and also entirely apathetic. All of these are signs that you may be feeling burnt out from your job. This is something that nearly every full-time working individual goes through at some point or another in their career. Luckily, the feeling of dread and unhappiness does not have to be permanent there are a few ways that you can combat feeling burnt out at work so that you can get back to enjoying your weekdays as well as your weekends.

Take a Break

When you're feeling overwrought and run over by your job, the best thing you can do is give yourself some space from it. Those who do not take regular vacation days tend to burn out faster than those who do, so consider using some of your vacation days and taking a break from the workday routine. Even if you only leave for a four-day weekend, it could be enough time for you to regroup and recharge. Take a trip somewhere new to give yourself a break from your usual routine. Even if you stay home, do something different during your time off, such as going to a new restaurant or visiting a friend you normally do not see. After getting some space from your job, you may be able to go back to it with some more clarity.

Plan a Future Break

Even if you cannot take a break at the moment, simply planning a future one can do wonders in lifting your spirits and giving you focus again. The promise of an upcoming vacation can add renewed energy into your work because now you have something exciting to look forward to other than just the weekend. Make it a point to plan at least one vacation each year even in-town vacations can be beneficial to your mental health.

Look for New Things to Do at Work

Your burnout may be a result of simply being stuck in a rut. Ask around for new responsibilities that you can take on, such as joining a new project or working in something not directly related to your field or department. A change in duties could be a much-needed breath of fresh air in the workplace, allowing you to reach outside of your comfort zone and try something different. If you are successful in all of your new projects and catch the attention of your supervisor, you may even change careers within the company, allowing you to shake off your last job and take on a new one without having to leave.

Look for New People at Work

Just as being stuck with the same job title and responsibilities can leave you feeling like you're stuck in a rut, being stuck with the same coworkers can have a similar effect. While you may not necessarily want to ignore your old coworkers completely, it could help you feel more lively and energetic to seek out new cohorts to socialize with. Explore the other departments in your company, or even talk to the other people in your building. New social connections can instantly make your work experience much more interesting and engaging.

Look for a New Place to Work

If nothing else works and you know that you need for your situation to change, consider looking for a new place to work. You can either ask for a transfer of location from your current employer, such as volunteering to transfer to another location, or seek new employment opportunities altogether. This way, you will gain the opportunity to start fresh again.

Once in a while we get a guest post submitted to this blog, but I don't think any of them have been as timely for us New Yorkers as this post on gloomy weather. So when you wake up this morning and see all the snow out there, you'll want to read through this post. This guest post is contributed by Alisa Gilbert, who writes on the topics of bachelors degree. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: alisagilbert599@gmail.com. Thanks to Alisa for this great post!
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Sometimes the dead of winter can make for some terribly gloomy weather when we leave for work. Nothing makes a commute more frustrating than having to drive through heavy rain and cold weather knowing that all you'll do is sit at work in a grumpy mood. Even worse is when you get caught in the rain walking to the office and you don't have a change of clothes! In any case, bad weather can often ruin the mood at the workplace, affecting both productivity and people's spirits. For those bad weather days, you have to try to come up with some ways to stay cheery. Hopefully these five tips can help you.

Shake it Out

If you find yourself sitting at work stewing in a foul mood, then maybe you should consider getting up and moving around. You may not be able to take a walk outside, so instead do walk through the office, maybe stop for coffee or a soda, and recharge you energy. Moving around gets blood flowing throughout your body, and as a result, it can be enough to shift you into a better mood.

Surround Yourself with Positivity

On your walk around the office, consider trying to have some chats with your co-workers and friends, especially those who are characteristically cheery people. The social interaction will help distract you from your inner frustration; hopefully, some of their cheer can rub off on you. The energy of the social interaction will help prime your pump to be productive and get your next project done.

Add Color to Your Cubicle

If you know the weather is going to be terrible, then you should consider trying to brighten up your workspace. A freshly cut flower, a bowl of candy, even a photo of yourself on a beach far away can help lighten the mood in your office. Just a little splash of color can be enough to rest your eyes.

Do Some Busy Work

At some point, your gloom will really affect productivity. If this is the case and you find yourself having trouble getting your main work accomplished, then you should consider trying to switch gears and work on something that has lower stakes for you. Consider de-cluttering your workspace or organizing your files. If you have another project that has some rote, mindless task that goes with it, try to get that out of the way. These kinds of activities can actually be very calming and ease your frustrations.

Look at the Bigger Picture

Finally, if you feel your mood dropping, then you should take a moment to sit back and think about the bigger picture here. One day of bad weather is a drop in the proverbial bucket when it comes to your projects and what you need to accomplish for your job. Don't let one day get in your way. Take control of your attitude.

Once in a while, we get an excellent guest blog submitted to us. This is one of those cases. Jay, a friend of mine, who just graduated law school and passed the bar, is someone I would classify as a "grammarian" (others may use the less politically correct term "grammar nazi"). He hates people's misuse of "your" and "you're" and of course "there", "their", and "they're". But while perfect writing is not required in any job, knowing how to write like a professional is a good way to get hired, to keep your job, and to advance. Here is some advice from Jay in our guest blog today:
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I am a newly admitted attorney who graduated from law school less than one year ago. Lawyers, by definition, have been trained to write like professionals. This is one of the redeeming aspects of our profession, and I am proud to uphold this “tradition.”

Sadly, writing is not the art that it used to be. From the dawn of mankind until the early 1980’s, human beings wrote on surfaces ranging from stone walls to ordinary paper, using utensils ranging from granite rocks to ballpoint pens to typewriters. The common element among each of these formats is that those human beings had no room for error. There was no backspace key or pencil eraser or Wite-Out. Once that typewriter key was pressed, or that pen stroke was made, the words were – figuratively and often literally – set in stone. Consequently, writers were forced to choose their words very carefully.

Fast forward to the last couple of decades. The invention of the personal computer has revolutionized the way in which people write. The two biggest changes, in my opinion, are that we can write faster than ever before and that we can easily correct our mistakes. Admittedly, this faster pace of writing has lessened the strain on our bodies and our minds. The downside of this speed is that to avoid negating the time and trouble we have saved by using computers, we rush through the thinking process. Quite simply, because we can write quickly and correct our mistakes effortlessly, we write as the words and thoughts occur to us. For many people, the concept of “stream of consciousness” has transformed from an exercise in a high school English class into the primary way in which we communicate with other people.

Lots of modern norms have accelerated this change. Nobody writes a letter anymore; we write e-mails instead. Text messages have replaced handwritten notes and postcards. Blogs have replaced letters-to-the-editor. Twitter has replaced newspaper clippings. Communication has never been easier, and the end result is that people are writing more frequently and faster than ever. We are constantly looking for shortcuts to save even more time. The problem, however, is not how fast we write. No, the problem is how we write.
I believe that “AIM-speak” is just plain ugly. First used in instant messaging programs more than a decade ago, this style of writing has spread to modern e-mails and text messages. The words “you,” “because,” and “tonight” have become “u” and “cuz” and “2nite.” We are even too lazy to phrase the simple question, “What’s up?” anymore. Instead, we opt for the shorter “wsup?” These examples are just a few of the countless shortcuts people now use in contemporary English writing.

Needless to say, I find this laziness disgusting. It is sloppy and unprofessional. Computers already enable us to write at almost the same rate at which we think, so do we really have to shave off an extra millisecond by dropping the letters “y” and “o” when typing the word commonly written as “u”? If William Shakespeare saw us doing that, he would be very, very angry with us.

In my opinion, it is worth the extra time to write out each word as it appears in the dictionary. Quite honestly, there is little or no penalty associated with doing so. The time saved in using these language shortcuts is negligible, and the reward obtained by using proper grammar and spelling is considerable.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the law. Halfway through my first year of law school, I applied for a judicial internship with a Senior U.S. District Court judge in Hartford. Countless other law students at my law school applied for the same position, along with many students at other law schools in my region. I won the job, I later learned, almost entirely on the strength of my writing sample: an appellate brief I had drafted over a period of three weeks for my moot court class. While that job was an unpaid summer internship, I later obtained my first full-time job out of law school – a two-year clerkship with a different federal judge in the same courthouse – solely on the basis of the written materials I had produced for a law school professor while working as a research assistant. And sure enough, more than six months into this job, I have learned that the most important part of my job is drafting opinions for my judge that are written in proper English. Part of my job is to submit documents that do not contain any grammatical or spelling errors. The words must also flow and be sufficiently clear so that the reader can easily and quickly glean the information he or she seeks.

I should note that in my (admittedly limited) experience, I have found that you need not be brilliant to write in an organized, clear, and grammatically proper manner. You just have to take enough time to allow your thoughts to flow naturally. If you rush carelessly through the writing process, your words and sentences will appear sloppy and unprofessional.

Too often I see adults spew out e-mails and memoranda that appear to have been composed by someone typing while wearing mittens. I wonder how much time and energy those individuals put into their words. Sloppy prose reflects the care and attention (or lack thereof) that the author invested in its creation. As a lawyer, and particularly as a judge’s law clerk, I see this frequently. In a discovery dispute, for example, a lawyer will submit a series of e-mails in which the opposing counsel (allegedly) dragged his feet to delay discovery. The e-mails are meant to show the court how the other lawyer was non-responsive. But usually, I am more inclined to notice the poor English that the lawyers used in those communications. Incredibly, I have observed lawyers who were trained at Ivy League law schools use such words and expressions as “bc” and “thx.” If I were a client, I would refuse to pay my lawyer $400 per hour to write like a 7th grader.

The bottom line is that how you write says a lot about who you are as an employee. If you want to be treated like a professional, then you should write like one. Decades ago, scraps of paper containing handwritten notes were easily discarded, lost, or forgotten. Now, the vast majority of what we write is permanently recorded on the Internet, in someone’s phone, or in the recipient’s inbox. Every e-mail, every memorandum, every report is etched on a hard drive somewhere, waiting to be recalled at a moment’s notice. These things have your name written all over them. Many of these items can be Googled by future employers and co-workers. Future presidential candidates might even be mocked or grilled over the sloppy English they used decades ago as young professionals in their twenties.

My point is that if you write like you are an adolescent, people will treat you as such. Whether you are a lawyer or a journalist and therefore write for a living, or you are a doctor who claims that writing chicken scratch is “part of the job,” taking the time to write carefully and thoughtfully is a valuable investment. Sooner or later, people will notice that you express yourself intelligently and professionally, and that will pay major dividends. And why is the ability to write clearly, fluidly, and properly so valuable? Because so few people take the time to do so. Do yourself a favor and be one of those people.