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Have you been wondering how to compose an e-mail that captures your strategies and goals effectively?

It is time you did something about it.

As a young professional in today’s global business world, it is imperative that you are competent in both oral as well as written communication.

Important forms of oral communication at the workplace include:

• Building interpersonal relationships.
• Giving presentations and debating viewpoints effectively.

You need to master oral skills for both in-person and over-the-phone interactions.

Similarly, important written communication includes:

• Writing professional e-mails (sans SMS slang).
• Putting together concise reports.
• Creating visually powerful Powerpoint presentations.

And the key to acing oral and written communication is to spruce up your communication skills. And it is a lot easier than you think.

Here are some easy tips to do it on your own:

1. Improve pronunciation and diction

There are a few tricks to making a vernacular accent more globally understandable.

~ Try making sure that ‘air’ comes out of your mouth when saying the letters, ‘T, P, K’ and the sound ‘Ch’.

~ Focus on elongating your vowel sounds. This will also automatically slow down your rate of speech.

~ Sing English songs out loud!

~ Watch news shows on channels like CNN and BBC.

~ The web site www.m-w.com is great for pronunciation help.

~ I would also suggest buying books on pronunciation and language that come with audio cassettes.

A good book that I found really useful was Better English Pronunciation by J D O’Connor. It is part of the Cambridge series, and some of those books come with cassettes.

2. Spruce up your writing skills

~ Believe it or not, you have to Read More!

~ Well-written magazines, like The Economist and India Today, are great to read not only to improve language skills but also to learn more about the world.

~ In terms of books, read what interests you. The basic goal is to read as much as you can.

There are a plethora of good authors who are popular today. Some good writers whose language is easy to follow include Vikram Seth, Jhumpa Lahiri, Paulo Coelho, J D Salinger, Albert Camus and Roald Dahl.

~ People tend to forget basic grammar when writing e-mails. An e-mail is nothing more than a letter which is sent electronically.

Make sure salutations and content are professional. Use special phrases when attaching documents. For example, “Please find attached with this e-mail a report on…” This helps you sound professional.

3. Five exercises to practice every day!

i. Pretend you are a newscaster and read out the newspaper to your mirror.

ii. Do not read local newspapers. Focus on national newspapers.

iii. While reading a book, underline all the words you do not know. Look them up in the dictionary.

iv. Make a list of these words, and make sure you use at least five of them in a conversation during the day.

v. Most important, make an effort to speak in English to your friends and family.

Article Reference: http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2005/jan/27comm.htm

They are among the most envied groups in society – those individuals who proudly declare, “I love my job!” and actually mean it. These are the dynamos of the world who have managed to make a living out of their passion. They wake up each day with renewed vigor, a sense of purpose, and the intention to accomplish bigger and better things than they did the day before.

Then there is everyone else.

Many more people in the world have a “day job” that they get paid to do within an eight- to ten-hour time span each day but which doesn’t exactly make their toes curl, even though they may be quite good at it. This is not only the case with creative people – aspiring actors and actresses, writers, artists and musicians – but also with people who have never discovered what they are truly passionate about in life. They go through the motions each day of hitting the snooze button three or more times, counting down the hours until lunch time and the end of the work day, and living for the weekend and major holidays.

If this sounds like you, you may be experiencing “Career Depression Syndrome.” According to an article by CNN.com entitled, “Signs You’re Stuck in a Dead-End Job”, there are a number of symptoms of Career Depression Syndrome, or CDS, including decreased motivation, withdrawal from coworkers, feelings that one is not valued for their contributions at work and a noticeable change in temperament. Causes mentioned in the article include stress, burnout, or plain old unhappiness with one’s job.

If you recognize several of these symptoms in yourself, the last thing you want to do is ignore them, as CDS may begin to affect not only your mental and physical well-being over time but also your most intimate and valued relationships. Change cannot take place until you acknowledge that there is a need for it. There are several steps that you can take towards conquering CDS:

1. Cease self-defeating rationalizations. This particularly applies to individuals who choose to play it safe and reduce their talents and interests to mere hobbies or part-time work in the name of “job security”. This is fine if you’re happy pursuing your passion on the side, but if you habitually change jobs after several months because you are frustrated or unfulfilled, it might be time for a paradigm shift.

In my current line of work, I meet with countless college students who have shied away from majors that reflect their true interests because they have developed the notion that earning a degree in their chosen major will result in difficulty finding a job or making a good salary. Some students are influenced by well-meaning family members or friends who attempt to steer them in a more “practical” direction. What these students often fail to realize is that they are the ones who will have to spend each day dealing with the consequences of a poor career choice, not their parents or friends.

Then there are individuals who complain that because they are married, have children, or have a ton of bills to pay, they must stay in a job they hate in order to support their families. If this sounds like you, this attitude of hopelessness will only thwart your progress toward a happier life. While you may have to endure a job for a period of time until your circumstances improve, you do not have to give yourself the life sentence of an unfulfilling career. Positive change is always possible – unless you manage to convince yourself that it’s not.

2. Take a personality test. Your career depression may or may not be the cause of common issues such as work overload, an overbearing supervisor or a less-than-desirable salary. You may in fact be in a position that doesn’t fit well with your personality.

For example, if you are a “people person” – the quintessential extrovert who loves to connect with others as often as possible – you may be experiencing CDS because you’re stuck in an office somewhere, shut off from the rest of the world, with limited opportunities to engage in meaningful exchange. Likewise, if you are more of an introvert who needs ample time for quiet reflection and planning, a fast-paced customer service job is probably not your cup of tea.

There are many personality assessments that you can complete online. One of my favorite websites for these is http://www.keirsey.com. This site was developed by David Keirsey, a renowned psychologist who has done extensive research on the topics of personality and temperament. On this website, you can complete several quick and easy assessments that will help shed light on different aspects of your personality and how they relate to careers as well as other important areas of your life.

3. Shift your priorities. My husband and I used to long for the American Dream – the big house, luxury automobiles and other tangibles that are often symbols of success in our society. Once we acquired these things however, we had to work longer hours just to keep them, which cut into our quality of life. I had limited time and energy and zero motivation to write, which is one of my greatest passions. I was left with a huge void that no amount of money could fill, and each day at work I felt as though I was just going through the motions.

Not long ago, my husband and I began dialoguing about the things that matter most to us in life. Not in any one of our conversations did material things come up. Instead, we talked about how we’d like to have more time together, more time to pursue our personal interests and significantly less stress in our lives. We recently made a commitment to “downsize” our lifestyles so that we can focus on the things that are most important to us. For us, downsizing means paying off or selling those things that are weighing us down and shifting our focus to our overall quality of life.

4. Set small, realistic goals. It can be a bit overwhelming to set a goal of finding a wonderful, exciting job within a specified period of time. Instead, why not set smaller, more realistic goals for yourself? For instance, you may say to yourself, “this week I’m going to update my resume,” or “this month I’m going to begin searching the Internet for job opportunities.” Those are goals that you can bring to fruition. You cannot, however guarantee that the perfect job will come along in January or that you will achieve a promotion this year.

It is also important to always be working toward a goal. Working hard for week or month and then wallowing in six months of stagnation is counterproductive. If you didn’t find that exciting new job last month on the Internet, continue to search but add another element to the equation. You may want to seek career counseling or utlize some additional job search tools.

5. Surround yourself with positive people who support you. Some people are narrow thinkers. They may not see the same possibilities that you see in life, and may therefore respond negatively when you share your new goals with them. “Why would you want to do that?” they might say. “You have a decent job; at least you’re employed.” And yes, employment is definitely a good thing. But ideally you will strive for more in life than to have just any job.

Also be selective when trying to reach out to people who have already achieved success in your desired career. I have learned the hard way that not everyone who has made it to the top of the career ladder is willing to show others how to get there. While it may be a good idea to seek advice from some individuals who have accomplished that which you desire to achieve, you may find that your greatest support and inspiration comes from individuals who are who are either working toward the same goals as you or who are not directly connected to your field of interest.

6. Visualize success. While opportunities have been presented to me in life that I did not expect, I cannot think of very many instances where I achieved success without first visualizing myself being a success. If you go through life hoping for a better job or career but not actually being able to see yourself doing it, you probably won’t take the necessary steps or even risks to get there.

I have never been one to regularly use self-affirmations, but some people who use these on a daily basis have found them to be extremely helpful in reducing negative thinking and creating a vision of success for their lives. I recently discovered a link to a helpful website about using self-affirmations: http://www.coping.org/growth/affirm.htm. If affirmations do not work for you however, you can experiment with other strategies until you find one that works for you.

7. Most importantly, don’t give up! Perseverance is a major key to success. There are very few overnight sensations in this world and many of those people who do manage to reach the pinnacle of their careers very quickly find that they have nowhere to go but down. Find joy in your journey rather than just fixating on where you ultimately want to end up, and you will be more likely to persevere.

Article Reference: http://voices.yahoo.com/how-cope-day-job-leads-career-depression-428290.html?cat=72

Your grade-point-average (GPA) in college is still a very important statistic. Many employers will look at your GPA before deciding whether or not to hire you, and graduate schools will definitely look at your GPA before deciding whether or not to admit you. It’s important to have as high of a GPA as you can get by the time you graduate college.

If you calculated your GPA and you don’t think you have a good GPA, you should definitely consider trying to raise it, no matter what year you are in your studies. If you’re a freshman, keep in mind that it feels a lot easier to maintain a decent GPA than it does to bring a low one up. If you’re near graduating, every bit can help out, and raising your GPA a tenth of a point could still make a pretty big difference.

Raising your overall GPA

Because your GPA is based only on the grades that you earn in college, there’s only one way to raise it: get better grades. If your GPA is around a 2.2, then any grade that counts for more than 2.2 points (a C+ or higher), will help increase your GPA. Vice versa, any grade that counts for less than your GPA will lower your GPA (if you have a 2.2, a C or lower will hurt you).

Any grades that are way above (or below) your GPA will make a much bigger change — an A will raise your GPA much more than a B. And any grades that are pretty much the same as your GPA will keep your GPA where it is. To improve your GPA, you need as many of the best grades that you can get

This is pretty straight-forward and obvious, but how you go about getting better grades can definitely vary. The key to raising your grades isn’t just “get better grades”, but to identify why your grades are low in the first place. Take a minute to think and ask yourself, “what is the major reason my grades are low?”

“I’m taking really hard classes”

If you’re in a tough major, you have been (and will be) taking challenging classes all throughout college. Even when you do your best, these classes might still be so hard that you can’t earn the grades you want. Over time, your GPA will show this, and you might find yourself struggling to improve it.

The solution is simple — take easier classes. This can be tough, depending on how you have your classes planned out over the years, but if you can at all make room or time to take some easier classes, you should do it. Simple general education classes in subjects you’re strong in (or interested in) can make a big difference. It’s easy to get at least a B (if not an A) in many of these classes, since you’re already used to working hard in your current classes. The more classes like this you can find room for, the more your GPA will show it.

“I don’t have enough time to do well in every class!”

Some of us are just busy. If you have a full course load and are struggling to have enough time to keep up with it for whatever reason, you have a couple options.

For one, you could try just taking some less-demanding classes — ones that don’t require you to put so much time into them. That way, you can prioritize your schedule and give more time to the harder ones.

If that doesn’t work, considering taking fewer classes — drop a class that you don’t need and don’t replace it. This will free up time for you because you’ll have one less class to worry about. The catch here, though, is that since you’re taking fewer classes, your GPA won’t change as much as if you were taking a full load. However, 4 A’s are a lot better than 5 C’s, so it’s definitely still an option. Keep in mind that you may need a certain number of units to be a full-time student

“I’m just not trying hard enough to do well.”

If you’re not applying yourself, then don’t be surprised that your grades aren’t what you want them to be. You need to buckle down and start trying, otherwise your grades will never improve. That’s going to take will power, and you’re going to need to muster it up.

In the meantime, a lot of the same advice works here as well — try to take easier classes and try to gradually learn to apply yourself.

Recovering from a low GPA can take a lot of time, but if you keep at it and find the best way to improve it, it can be done.

Article Reference: http://xatal.com/college/raise-gpa-in-college/

If you’re feeling overworked and finding it more challenging than ever to juggle the demands of your job and the rest of your life, you’re not alone.

“A lot of people are having a more difficult time finding balance in their lives because there have been cutbacks or layoffs where they work. They’re afraid it may happen to them, so they’re putting in more hours,” says psychologist Robert Brooks, PhD, co-author of The Power of Resilience: Achieving Balance, Confidence, and Personal Strength in Your Life.

“But even if you don’t have much control over the hours you have to work, you can ask yourself: In what other ways am I bringing greater enjoyment into my life?” Brooks says. “Focus your time and attention on things you can control.”

Here are five ways to bring a little more balance to your daily routine:

1. Build downtime into your schedule.

When you plan your week, make it a point to schedule time with your family and friends and activities that help you recharge.

If a date night with your spouse or a softball game with friends is on your calendar, you’ll have something to look forward to and an extra incentive to manage your time well so you don’t have to cancel.

“It helps to be proactive about scheduling,” says Laura Stack, a productivity expert in Denver and author of SuperCompetent: The Six Keys to Perform at Your Productive Best. “When I go out with my girlfriends, we all whip out our cell phones and put another girls’ night out on the calendar for one month later,” she says.

Stack also plans an activity with her family — like going to a movie or the park — every Sunday afternoon. “We do this because if there’s nothing on the schedule, time tends to get frittered away and the weekend may end without us spending quality time together,” she says.

Michael Neithardt, an actor and television commercial producer in New York City, wakes up three hours before he has to leave for work so he can go for a run and spend some time with his wife and baby.

“A lot of my friends tend to wake up, shower, and go straight to work. And they often complain about having no time to do anything,” he tells WebMD in an e-mail. “I find that if I can get those three hours in the morning, I have a more productive and peaceful workday. I can sure tell the difference when I don’t.”

2. Drop activities that sap your time or energy.

“Many people waste their time on activities or people that add no value — for example, spending too much time at work with a colleague who is constantly venting and gossiping,” says Marilyn Puder-York, PhD, a psychologist and executive coach in New York and Connecticut. She recommends taking stock of activities that aren’t really enhancing your career or personal life and minimizing the time you spend on them.

You may even be able to leave work earlier if you make a conscious effort to limit the time you spend on the web and social media sites, making personal calls, or checking your bank balance. “We often get sucked into these habits that are making us much less efficient without realizing it,” Stack says.

3. Rethink your errands.

Consider whether you can outsource any of your time-consuming household chores or errands.

Could you order your groceries online and have them delivered? Hire a kid down the street to mow your lawn? Have your dry cleaning picked up and dropped off at your home or office? Order your stamps online so you don’t have to go to the post office? Even if you’re on a tight budget, you may discover that the time you’ll save will make it worth it.

Stack also suggests trading services with friends. Offer to do tasks that you enjoy or that you were planning to do anyway.

“You could exchange gardening services for babysitting services,” Stack says. “If you like to cook, you could prepare and freeze a couple of meals and give them to a friend in exchange for wrapping your holiday gifts.”

4. Get moving.

It’s hard to make time for exercise when you have a jam-packed schedule, but experts say that it may ultimately help you get more done by boosting your energy level and ability to concentrate.

“Research shows exercise can help you to be more alert,” Brooks says. “And I’ve noticed that when I don’t exercise because I’m trying to squeeze in another half hour of writing, I don’t feel as alert.”

Samantha Harris, a lawyer who works for a nonprofit organization in Philadelphia, says she recently started sneaking in a trip to the gym two or three mornings a week before her family wakes up. “It’s been a real boost in terms of the way I feel for the rest of the day,” she says. “I feel like my head is clearer and I’ve had a little time to myself.”

5. Remember that a little relaxation goes a long way.

Don’t get overwhelmed by assuming that you need to make big changes to bring more balance to your life. Brooks recommends setting realistic goals, like trying to leave the office earlier one night per week.

“Slowly build more activities into your schedule that are important to you,” he says. “Maybe you can start by spending an hour a week on your hobby of carpentry or planning a weekend getaway with your spouse once a year,” he says.

Stack points out that even during a hectic day, you can take 10 or 15 minutes to do something that will recharge your batteries. “Take a bath, read a trashy novel, go for a walk, or listen to music,” she suggests. “You have to make a little time for the things that ignite your joy.”

Article Reference:  http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/5-strategies-for-life-balance

After executive headhunter Steve Viscusi appeared on Good Morning America recently, he reviewed thousands of résumés from job seekers looking for advice.

Viscusi, host of the nationally syndicated radio show On the Job With Steve Viscusi and author of On the Job: How to Make It in the Real World of Work (Crown: Three Rivers Press), came up with these tips to help job hunters avoid common mistakes on their résumés.

1. Have a “normal” e-mail name, NOT blondie@aol.com or hotstud@yahoo.com.

2. Unless you’re Sarah Jessica Parker or Lara Flynn Boyle, why have your middle name on a résumé? Middle names are just an unnecessary distraction. The exception to this rule are women who are have hyphenated their maiden and married names.

3. Have more than one résumé. Change objectives and skills to reflect qualifications that are used in the job you are applying for. (This is my most important tip!!)

4. Use a font size that can be read by someone over the age of 40. Remember: faxed résumés shrink. 5. White paper only. Nothing fancy. 6. I advise that you mail, in addition to e-mail, your résumé, and always bring several extra copies when going in person.

7. Rarely leave anything off your résumé. Companies generally will check backgrounds (only after you start). Your résumé should match what they will find out.

8. I hate pictures on résumé. 9. Never mail résumés in your boss’s envelopes or using your boss’s e-mail.

10. Have someone else proof your résumé — don’t rely solely on a computer’s spell-check program.

11. Do not include the actual names and telephone numbers of references on a résumé. They are distracting and do nothing but take up space. Including “References available upon request” at the bottom of your résumé is more than enough.

12. When looking for a job, you need to send out a minimum of 100 résumés. Yes, 100. Send half of those to companies not looking. Just like every company that has an employee that hates their boss, every boss has an employee they’d love to get rid of. Send résumés to places you want to work regardless of whether or not you heard of an opening.

13. Always visit the company’s Web site.

14. Always send a follow-up letter.

15. If you have a cell phone, add it to the résumé so that a prospective employer can reach you easily and quickly, 24/7.

16. Don’t forget: Appearances count! a. Whiten your teeth. Buy the whitening strips or go to a dentist. b. Do not wear cologne or perfume. c. Don’t wear too much jewelry. d. Turn off cell phones and pagers.

Article Reference: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=124885&page=1#.T5j6nlJoi9s

All of us work hard in life – there is no doubt about it. We work hard in our jobs so we can excel at work. We work hard to maintain our relationships. We work hard so we can achieve the best results in our life.

After working hard for an extended period of time, there comes a point when we realize that there’s only so much we can do by working hard. Don’t get me wrong – working hard is important. I’m a firm advocate of hard work – I can be quite the workaholic. I can go on working non-stop to get something done. Hard work is definitely the brick of success.

However, when you have 24 hours a day, just like everyone else, you have to start working smart too (on top of working hard) to get the maximum value for your time and effort. Working hard gives you results, and working hard AND smart at the same time gives you the top results. In this article, I will share 18 of my best, personal tips on working smart. Apply them to your life and you will experience better self-management, higher productivity and more results. Here they are:

1. Get clear on the objective.
   Everything has an objective. It’s just a matter of whether you know it or not. What is the end objective you are looking for? The people who don’t know the objective of what they are doing are the ones who waste the most time. If you know your objective, you can be laser-focused and cut right to the chase. The clearer you are, the better.

1. Create a vision.
   Now that you know your objective, what is your vision? See the objective as your direction, and your vision as your destination. Knowing your objective lets you know where to travel in, while knowing your vision helps you charge forward.

1. Take the 80/20 route.
   There are always many different ways to achieve the same outcome. 80/20 route refers to the route that takes the least effort but gives you the maximum results. What’s the most effective route that will get you from where you are to where you want to be? Take that path.

1. Go for high impact items.
   There are endless number of things you can do to achieve a goal. Go for the most important tasks – the ones that cause the highest impact. For example in school, I would not attend lectures if I felt they would not make a difference to my learning. As I develop my blog, I concentrate on the key tasks that make the most difference such as writing high quality content for my readers and spreading the word about my articles.

1. Create structures to maintain your flow.
   If you know how motivation works, you will know it comes in bursts and waves. It’s not possible to maintain a 100% full motivated state every single second. Hence, you need to create/leverage on your environment to maintain your flow. Examples are your physical environment, people you hang out with, your routine and communities you are a part of.

1. Stop being a perfectionist.
   Being a perfectionist isn’t all that perfect if it prevents you from achieving more. Release the perfectionist mindset. Stop obsessing about the details and specifics; they often take care of themselves.

1. Learn from others.
   There are great resources, smart people, direct opportunities and top books around you all the time. Learn to make use of them. When I started out in my personal development industry and with my blog, I read materials from the experts and consulted the top bloggers, which helped me gain important insights immediately. Even today, I continue to do so as I expand my work. There is never a stop to how much you can learn from others.

1. If it works, stick to it.
   If there is already a success formula that’s working, then reapply that formula. There’s no need to innovate or reinvent the wheel for the sake of it. Innovate only if there’s value in doing so.

1. Ask for help.
   Most of us prefer to do things by ourselves and not disturb others. That’s a great work ethic, but sometimes asking for help gets us further than just doing it alone. People love to help. Many readers often email me at The Personal Excellence Blog for advice/help and I make an effort to answer their questions, because I want to see them do well too. Ask and you might get an answer. If you don’t ask, you’ll never get.

1. Cut out the fluff.
   Going for high impact items (#4) means you have to cut out the fluff. There are the things that need to be done, and then there are the nice-to-do things that don’t exactly contribute to anything in the long-run. Don’t do things unless they are absolutely needed.

1. Automate.
   Is there anyway to automate your tasks, especially labor intensive ones? It can be the simplest things such as setting up filters in your emails and using more functional applications that get the job done better. With The Personal Excellence Blog, I’ve automated several processes such as filtering specific emails to respective labels, having my new articles automatically feed to Twitter/Facebook, and having automatic thumbnails for my articles. That saves a lot of time so I can get right to creating quality content for readers.

1. Delegate.
   For the lower impact items that need to get done (such as administrative activities), delegate them to someone else. If you are running a business, hire someone to take care of them.

1. Outsource.
   If something is not your area of expertise or it can be better done by someone else, then outsource it. You only have 24 hours a day; your limited time should be spent only in places where you can add the most value. If you are running a business, examine if there are any aspects of your work (such as accounting, designing, programming) that can be outsourced to others. There’s no need for you to learn and get hands-on on every single thing, especially if it’s not the core of your work.

1. Wait.
   Sometimes, waiting may be the best solution. Things resolve themselves when you wait for a little while longer. I have experienced fixes that rectify themselves when I waited a while longer. If you are stuck in a dilemma, new solutions may pop in if you pause your steps.

1. Pick your battles.
   We often face roadblocks in things we do. Go up against the roadblocks only if they are worth the time and effort. That means you need to consciously weigh out the pros and cons first. Don’t try to ram up against every barrier you face, especially if there’s nothing much on the other side.

1. Always lookout for a better way.
   Don’t restrict yourself to a certain set rule of doing things just for the sake of status quo. Study others and learn from them (#7). Review your situation regularly (#18) and look for ways to improve what you are doing. Be flexible to usher in changes that can help you get more results.

1. Stop when you are tired.
   I’ve realized from experience that trying to press on when you are tired only leads to slumps and ruts. Resting is paramount to accomplishing more. A tired person can’t do meaningful work. When you are well-rested, you work faster and better.

1. Review regularly.
   Do a regular review of what you have done in the past week and the corresponding results. Then analyze the things that are working and the things that aren’t working. With the former, keep them; with the latter, remove them. Very soon you will have a very streamlined list of things that work.

Article Reference: http://www.dumblittleman.com/2010/06/working-hard-is-not-enough-heres-18.html

Especially in this economy, employment gaps are typical. Employers generally view a gap in employment negatively, however, it does not have to be this way. In these cases, it is important to indicate why you took the time off.

There are a lot of legitimate reasons for employment gaps and assuming you did not spend your time eating Bon-Bons and watching Oprah, you should not be afraid to state what they were.  Whether you chose to become a stay-at-home parent, to pursue your education further, to deal with ailing parents (or your own illness), or were just unsuccessful in gaining new employment, you need to help an employer understand the reasons for the gap. Note that it is not enough to just mention your reasons on a cover letter as the resume must be able to survive as a stand-alone document.

There are generally 4 reasons to have a gap in your resume:

1. Raised a family
   This is an entirely legitimate reason to have a gap so do not try to hide it and please do not try to embellish it by using silly titles like Household or Domestic Engineer. Just say you invested in providing a stable environment for a family of X.

Your challenge in returning to the workforce is to indicate that your skills are fresh, so list the volunteer jobs you did with the school and community to showcase your organizational and other skills that support your theme. If you are from a technical field like IT or Engineering then you might need to showcase skills refresher courses or recent certifications you might have gained.

1. Unemployed
   Especially in these times, gaps due to unemployment are common and the need to enter information here is entirely dependent on how long you were unemployed.  If you haven’t worked in a year or more, having an unexplained gap on the resume connotes that people chose not to hire you which is certainly not the impression you want to make.

If you took some temporary jobs, just bunch them under the heading Temporary Positions and indicate you selected to take some temporary roles while searching for the next appropriate job challenge. You can also include volunteer roles here too. If you did some part-time consulting, then indicate that and list some projects and successful results you achieved.

1. Family Matters
   Sometimes you just have to take time off to deal with ailing relatives and financial matters. Or perhaps you were ill and don’t want to go into the details.  Dealing with this is simple.  Just list Sabbatical and state: “Dealt with urgent family matters now fully resolved”.

When it comes up in an interview, just say something like: “I always give 110% to my job and I knew that I could not do that at this time, so I decided to take the time off. However, everything is resolved now and I am ready to hit the ground running”.

1. Furthering my Education
   No one can fault someone for furthering their knowledge and value, so just treat this like another job and put a notation that you were pursuing a XX degree/certification.

Using these simple tips and presenting a positive attitude about your readiness can dramatically improve your job search results.

Article Reference: http://quintcareers.gotthejob.com/blog/4-reasons-for-career-gaps-and-how-to-handle-them-on-your-resume.php

If you want to improve your leadership skills you must make it a goal to go to the next level. Set the bar very high indeed for yourself. Never compete with others only compete with yourself. How do you do these things? Let’s examine the first aspect.

First of all you must make a decision to improve your attitude. This is the first thing people notice about you and a good attitude can do more for you than you can imagine. I would rather hire someone with an exceptional attitude than some one with a world of experience, but has a negative attitude. When you have positive or negative attitude it can become contagious. Which one do you want to have in your family, church, business or community? And the old saying is true, “Your Attitude will determine your altitude”.

Set a good example. To be a good leader you must lead by example. Never think for a minute that someone is not watching you. People watch what you do, they listen to what you say, and they look at your appearance and your attitude and they they make a decision is this the profile of a leader?

Work hard and smart. You have to be willing to do the things others won’t do. You have to be willing to do the things you would have others do. At some point in time you have to roll up your sleeves, forgetting your ego, and go to work. Those who report to you will most definitely respect you for that. You must always look for the smartest, most efficient and effective way to get a project done, then share that technique with your subordinates.

Set goals. Always set goals in all six areas of life which include the mental, physical, social, career, family and the spiritual. This helps you to establish balance within your circle of life. Set some goals that you can only achieve with stretch, which in turn will give you excitement, enthusiasm, passion and drive. Suggest that your associates set goals as well.

Creative ideas. Always keep your pipeline full of different ideas which help to achieve the goals of the organization, your department, your associates and family as well. Your ideas should save money, develop people, increase market share, and save time.

Passion. Live your life with passion. Let passion be a part of everything you do and let it infuse every part of your being. People want to be around those that exhibit passion and enthusiasm.

Listen. As a leader you must learn to listen. This is one of the greatest skills you can have and that is to listen. Others want to know that you are listening to what they have to say because it will make them feel important. Don’t be distracted or appear to be when others are talking. Give them your undivided attention. Avoid the tendency to speak before they have finished. You will be respected for this attribute.

Recognize others. Be very quick to recognize the accomplishment of others, do this often and when other associates are around. Give associates honest praise and feedback.

Tough decisions. Make tough decisions quickly and move on. Never waffle back and forth about decisions you need to make that could affect everyone involved.

Admit your mistakes. As a leader you should be willing to admit your mistakes and your faults. No one likes someone who is never wrong and appears to always know everything.

Sense of humor. Have a sense of humor. It’s okay to have a sense of humor at work. This let’s everyone know you are approachable.

Confidence. Increase your self confidence. No one will follow someone who appears to be afraid of his own shadow. Develop techniques to improve your confidence.

Continuous education. Always look at life as an ongoing learning experience. Read books; go to seminars; listen to motivational material; take a class in sales training; learn from those you come in contact with.

Reference:

http://voices.yahoo.com/effective-tips-improve-leadership-skills-446089.html

Satisfying boss is not an easy task. The task of satisfying boss will never get listed in an employee’s objectives, but still more important. Here are some ways to satisfy the requirements of a boss.

Never try to object the idea of your boss immediately. This will always increase the tension and anger of your boss. Instead, whatever stupid idea your boss says to you, just get it inside your ears. Later, while implementing the task, try to convey your boss about the problems in it so that your boss can understand it practically.

Try to give an attendance daily. This will make your boss to feel happy. Though you do not have any reasons to talk with him, just get into his cabin and say a good morning or good evening. This will increase Boss-Employee relationship.

Try to update the status of activities. Do this even there is no significant advancements in your tasks. Try to tell valid reasons for delay in your tasks. Never blame your boss as a reason for delay since nobody will accept such kind of foolish talks.

Try to convey successful completion of activities immediately to your boss. This will make him happy and also boost the synergy of the team. He may call his team and explain about that success. Team work will grow by this way of sharing success stories.

Try to keep in touch with your boss through mails even though he is not available in office. This will make him understand about your sincerity in activities.

Ask for clarifications in your tasks if any. This will make him feel happy since you still believe that your boss is the perfect person for such kind of clarifications. He will clear your doubts in a happy mood. But never ask same doubts again and again to him which will definitely make him annoy a lot.

Reference:

http://writing.wikinut.com/How-to-Satisfy-Your-Boss/d2apmpn2/