How Employee Advocates Can Transform Your Business [INFOGRAPHIC]

How Employee Advocates Can Transform Your Business [INFOGRAPHIC] What on earth is an employee advocate? According to  our friends at SocialChorus: Employee advocates are socially engaged employees  who create and share their employers brand content on their own social networks. This means you basically have an army of marketers within your organisation and now its up to you  to equip them with the correct training, tools and content to share. Interesting  employee advocacy stats: Social media provides a pool of 1.7 billion people your employees could engage. 92% of people trust individuals they know, whereas advertising is only trusted by 14% of people, and employees are twice as trusted as a C-level executive. 77% of customers are more likely to buy a product when its recommended by a trusted source. Employees can reach an audience 10 times larger than what your brand is reaching. Content shared by employees receives 8 times the engagement of content on branded channels. 1,000 employee advocates can reach 1 million customers, drive 50,000 social engagement and create 5,000 unique pieces of content. 78% of sales people who engage in social selling beat their quotas and outsell peers. More on this topic at  Employee Advocacy: The Ultimate Handbook.

Personal Branding Interview Marci Shimoff - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Personal Branding Interview Marci Shimoff - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Today, I spoke to Marci Shimoff, who is one of the bestselling female nonfiction authors of all time. She has just released her latest bestseller called Love for No Reason: 7 Steps to Creating a Life of Unconditional Love, which offers a revolutionary approach to experiencing a state of deep and lasting love. In this interview, Marci talks about how to recover from stress and depression, and love yourself. Why did you decide to write Love for No Reason? What message are you looking to get across with it? After I finished writing Happy for No Reason I’d definitely gotten much happier. Still, I knew there was something I wanted that was beyond happiness. I thought about the times in my life when I was most fulfilled, and they were when I was in love. But of course, those times don’t last. So I began wondering whether I could feel that “in love” feeling all the timeâ€"whether or not I was in a relationship or whether someone was treating me the way I wanted. I ended up doing extensive research on love and interviewing 150 Love Luminaries, people living in a state of unconditional loveâ€"the kind of love that doesn’t depend on another person, situation, or romantic partner. I discovered that there are specific things we can all do to live with a more open heart. This message is urgent for the world today. Our present paradigm of loveâ€"one based on need and approvalâ€"has brought us nothing but personal pain and global conflict. Now is the time to open our hearts and become an unshakeable source of love for ourselves and everyone around us. In todays economy, people are feeling stressed out, and some even depressed. What advice do you have for these people? While it may seem like a luxury to focus on unconditional love when you’re in the midst of challenges, research shows that keeping your heart open when you’re facing challenges will actually help you get through them more easily and effectively. This is because the body’s “love response” is the antidote to the body’s stress response. When we switch on the neurophysiology of love, we release “love chemicals,” including endorphins, oxytocin, and serotonin, which help us to feel more positive, and we activate the higher brain centers that govern creativity, intelligence, and problem-solving skills. Is it possible to love someone else if you dont love yourself first? What changes can you make to feel better about who you are? In my interview with Love Luminary and psychologist Dr. Art Aron, he told me that a lack of self-love is a terrible handicap in relationships. He cited a study that showed that people who didn’t love themselves overreacted to problems in relationships, perceived signs of rejection where none existed, and put down their partners as a defense mechanism, reducing the closeness between them. Bottom line: healthy relationships with others are based on a healthy relationship with yourself. Experiencing unconditional love for yourselfâ€"and othersâ€"starts with taming your inner critic. That critical voice inside your head acts like poison on your system. Thankfully, the Love Luminaries offered a two-step process you can use as an antidote to this toxic condition: Give Your Inner Critic a Name. Naming the voice, with a dose of humor, is a way of becoming separate from it. It’s one aspect of youâ€"an unruly one at thatâ€"but it’s not your deeper self that’s speaking. When you step away from that voice enough to name it, you soon observe that its stream of unsupportive comments is more white noise than hot newsflash. You can notice the comments, but keep going without engaging with them. Find the Critic’s Deeper Message. Refusing to engage with the critic is an important first step toward reducing its power over you. But to send it packing, you have to find out why he or she is there. This involves going inward to ask, with kindness and openness, What are you trying to do for me? What you’ll find may surprise you. You see, your inner critic actually wants the best for you and is only trying to help, but doesn’t know any other way to communicate. In its own twisted way, it’s showing you how much it cares. So the next time you feel picked on by your inner critic, address it by name, ask it what positive purpose it’s trying to serve, and incorporate any of its suggestions that feel useful. Relationships are critical for human growth and happiness. What are some strategies to pull more people into your life instead of pushing them away? Learn to let love in! Many of us shy away from receiving because we don’t want to seem self-centered or selfish. While writing this book I decided that I would try a 40-day receiving practice. This meant consciously looking for ways that I could become more open to receiving love. For me, the main practice was actively allowing people to do things for meâ€"like letting someone hold the door open, accepting a friend’s offer to share her lunch, allowing a colleague go out of his way to help me. This was hard at first; I was so conditioned to say, ““Don’t bother, I can do it.” I realized I’d been going around with a shield that prevented people from giving to meâ€"from even offering to give. I’d made a point to always do it myself, because I didn’t want to bother others or take up their time. My I-can-do-anything Superwoman persona was really just low self-worth in disguise and it kept love out of my life. The next time I caught myself slipping into my old way of behaving, I took a deep breath, smiled, and said, “Thank you,” while receiving the gift fully by feeling appreciation in my heart. I suggest people try this practice themselves. Forty days of receiving love and support from others will keep your heart openâ€"and love flowing in and out more easily. Marci Shimoff has just released her latest bestseller called Love for No Reason: 7 Steps to Creating a Life of Unconditional Love, which offers a revolutionary approach to experiencing a state of deep and lasting love. Marci is the woman’s face of the biggest self-help book phenomenon in history, Chicken Soup for the Soul. Her six bestselling titles, including Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul and Chicken Soup for the Mother’s Soul, have met with stunning success, selling more than 13 million copies worldwide in 33 languages. They have been on the New York Times bestseller list for a total of 108 weeks (#1 for 12 weeks) and have also been #1 on the USA Today and Publishers Weekly lists. Marci is one of the bestselling female nonfiction authors of all time. She is also the New York Times bestselling author of Happy for No Reason. Marci is a featured teacher in the hit movie phenomenon and #1 bestselling book, The Secret. For the past 20 years, she has been a top-rated speaker an d trainer for numerous Fortune 500 companies, including ATT, General Motors, Sears, Amoco, Western Union, and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

4 Steps to a Less Stressful Working Life

4 Steps to a Less Stressful Working Life Whether you’re in your first year of working life or your tenth year, we all feel the strains of work from time to time. There may be early mornings, long commutes, busy days, difficult colleagues or tough clients. Sometimes we may glide through weeks at work but then get hit by burnout. Now and then we get days where we just feel sluggish. Sometimes we do so much overtime we just can’t catch a break. And often weekends feel like they fly by and working weeks never seem to end. Even if you love your job, it can still be hard. What can you do to have better days at work? Here’s 4 Steps to a Less Stressful Working Life. 1.) Exercise Certain levels of stress aren’t always bad. They keep us challenged, focused and goal orientated. But when that stress turns to anxiety, gives us insomnia, creates muscle tension or makes us fatigued, it’s a sign that something is wrong. Exercise is a great stress reliever. It’s not always easy to get to the gym before or after work, but it is worth it. If you struggle to motivate yourself to exercise, encourage a work friend to join you. Or if the gym isn’t for you, choose an activity you find fun and relaxing. You can build strength and feel serene with yoga. Or you could try a dance or boxing class. Swimming is one of the best all-round forms of exercise to release tension and burn calories too. Any exercise that raises your heart rate will lift your mood and increase your energy even if it doesn’t feel like it when you first start! 2.) Sleep Exercising more will help you develop better sleeping patterns. Stress and anxiety can interfere with your sleep. In turn, lack of sleep causes more stress. Not easy, but try cutting out  sugar and caffeine if you can. And if that’s not possible, at least make an effort to kick the habit before 6pm. Train yourself not to use your laptop or phone before bed. Set a regular time for going to sleep and waking up. If you aren’t sleeping enough your body increases its levels of stress hormones the next day. Create a bedroom that is peaceful, cool and dark. Try and remember that slumber is to be enjoyed and not a time to worry about a day that has already passed. 3.) Get an Eye Test. If you’re getting headaches during the day or feeling eye strain, the number one question you should be asking is; where is an eye clinic near me? Eye strain and eye fatigue can be caused by looking at a computer screen for long periods of time. The best thing you can do is get an eye test and make sure everything is ok. Computer vision syndrome affects up to 90% of those who work on digital devices. Eye strain can cause stress, tension and ongoing problems. You may need a stronger prescription and it’s a great excuse to get a swish new pair of glasses. Eye health should be a number one priority to prevent problems later in life. 4.) Take a Vacation Here’s an interesting post about working yourself to death. It tells us that Americans throw away an estimated 415 million vacation days every year. Whether we don’t take a vacation out of work-guilt, expense or never finding the time to plan a holiday â€" it certainly isn’t good for your health. By not taking time off to regroup and refresh, you aren’t doing yourself or your job any favors. Vacations relieve stress and help you reconnect and strengthen your relationships. And when we say take a vacation, we mean take a vacation. Don’t take your work with you. It’s time to escape and recharge so you come back a better version of yourself. Main  Image Source; Image Source; Image Source

Moving Your Career In Care Into A Different Direction

Moving Your Career In Care Into A Different Direction If you’re studying for a career in care, or you’ve been working within your chosen field for a while now; you’ll understand how much hard work and dedication is involved. Sometimes you may find that elements of your role are more challenging than others, and sometimes you might feel you aren’t challenged enough. The great thing about the care services is the scope you have to grow and develop in your career, and the array of options you’ll have with the right skills and qualifications. There are a plethora of areas and levels you can enter your future in caring for others, depending on your education and experience. With a new year here you might feel that it’s the right time to push forward in your career, or perhaps try another area that you’ve long been tempted by. January is a great time to work out what action you’ll need to take to get yourself where you want to be this time next year. Whether it’s training and education, funding and finance, or your time management that you’ll need to assess; start writing a month by month plan that you feel you can achieve. Breaking up your main aim into smaller, manageable goals will ensure that you don’t feel too overwhelmed or put off by what’s entailed. You’ll also feel a great sense of achievement after completing each part of your placement, course, or training, which will give you a boost to tackle the next part of the process. The following are some ideas for those looking at options in a career in care, and some advice on how to achieve job satisfaction and motivation for the year ahead. Nursing As previously mentioned, there are an array of options and entry levels with a career in care, and nursing is an excellent example of this. Whether you’re part of a small doctors surgery, part of the emergency team in a hospital, or work with the vulnerable in a care home, each job brings its own challenges and rewards. You’ll need to consider where you feel your skills can shine the most, or if you feel that you’re ready to take on the next level in your current place of work. If you’re currently working as an RN and feel like you’re ready to take on more responsibilities and want to broaden your knowledge in your chosen field, it’s worth looking into online RN to MSN programs so that you can study and work at the same time. You’ll need to be prepared to utilize much of your free time to train, study, and gain the experience needed to qualify for your MSN, but the rewards will be worth it. The qualification could take your career across the country, or open up new opportunities in your current place of work that you weren’t able to take on before. It’s worth working out how to best use your time, and if getting onto an MSN program is a feasible option for your current lifestyle and abilities. It might be worth talking to a senior member of staff, who you trust, and discussing their thoughts on your career and development in nursing. Perhaps it’s not just about your qualifications or moving up the career ladder in your hospital or surgery;. Perhaps it’s more about the fact that you feel ready for a change of pace to better suit your lifestyle. If you feel that your hours need to be steady or reduced due to childcare, personal health and wellbeing, or any other reason, it’s worth looking into how you can transfer your qualifications to move into something slightly different. You might head towards a care facility for the elderly, vulnerable, or disabled after coming out of a hectic life in the emergency room. You’ll find life in care homes are based around a strict routine, which may suit you better than the unpredictability of A E. You’ll also be more likely to be able to keep to your set weekly hours, making it easier to organize family and life outside of work. It might the opposite of slowing down and finding a routine that you’re after.   It could be that you feel ready to take on the trials and challenges you’ll face in a busier and more chaotic environment. You could look into going overseas to help with care and giving aid to people in poverty-stricken or war-torn countries. There are an array of programs out there that are seeking qualified nurse to come and help with their charity and effort, so do a little research and think about what you can offer and do to help. Whatever you choose to do.   It’ll be for the right reasons and give you a boost to get up each day and care for people to the best of your ability. Psychology As well as a fascination with the human mind, those who study and train in psychology often head into a career in caring for those who need help regarding their mental health, wellbeing, and rehabilitation. If you have an education and qualifications in psychology, you could look into counselling in a variety of settings, like schools, prisons, hospitals, and recovery clinics. You could also specialize in social care, and have a better understanding of people’s experience by meeting them, before assisting them and guiding them through challenging times in their life. The need to help and care for others will never leave you, so you can utilize your thorough knowledge of psychology to choose a career path and develop further as you gain valuable experience. With even more training and dedication, qualifications in psychology can lead you towards a doctoral degree, where you’ll open yourself up to all sorts of opportunities and career development. Whatever area of care you go into, you’ll want to ensure that you’re improving and bettering people’s lives, so don’t be fearful of looking into new things and pushing for more responsibilities and challenges in the future.

How to Write a Skill Set Resume

How to Write a Skill Set ResumeWriting a skill set resume is similar to writing a resume for any other occupation. You need to know how to write a skill set to resume for your skill set.Think of the skill set you have. What are the things that are important to you? When you have identified this, you can now start the process of putting your skills in the correct order.The next step is to list down all the skills you have and rank them according to importance. This is done by listing down your skills and the things that are required of you according to that. This way, you will be able to compare yourself with other people in your job category.Next, you can find a list of skills that are related to the job that you are applying for. These skills should be carefully selected based on your experience. This will help you build your skill base. This will make you look more professional and stand out from the others in your work group.You must also ensure that you give an appropriate skills for your desired position. If you don't list down the appropriate skills, you will not be considered. Do not overburden yourself with too many skills and if you feel you must list it down, do it with a checklist, so that you don't forget to include the ones that you have already learnt.Skills that are listed down first on the resume are most important. A resume is about showcasing your skill set and creating an impression about you. Be careful to always put the most important skills first on the resume. This will allow you to get more information from employers and help you land the job.Skill set resumes should never be more than two pages long. This is because employers are looking for only those skills that they believe they need to fill the vacancy. There is no room for any information that will take away their time or that they won't need. Also, your resume should not be longer than the requirements of the job.These tips will help you get your resume written in the best way pos sible. If you follow them, you will be on your way to finding a job faster and easier.

Hire great people and pay them fairly - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Hire great people and pay them fairly - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog Container Store CEO Kip Tindell explains why his retail staff are paid significantly higher wages than whats?typical for the industry: Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

Get a daily reminder to be happy at work - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Get a daily reminder to be happy at work - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog What does it take to make us happy at work? Whats one simple, easy, fun thing that we can all do that works! Well Ive found one that seems way too simple to work, but does anyway: A daily reminder. Ive recently been working with a division of a Danish insurance company that were seriously in need of some happiness at work. They were stressed out, they were woefully understaffed, they had way too much work AND half the people there were new hires. During my work with them, I found that giving them one small idea, action, thought or exercise every day to remind them about happiness at work was surprisingly effective. This works because it helps you focus on happiness at work. If you dont, its easy to have every intention of making yourself and others happy at work and then forget all about it because were all so busy at work. Thats why Ive set up a new tool that you can use to make yourself and others happy at work. Ill be using a website called Twitter to send out tips, ideas, quotes, thoughts and challenges as well as the occasional update about what Im currently up to. If you want to get these updates, you must sign up at Twitter.com and then sign up to follow my account. You decide whether to receive the messages as email, via IM or as text messages on your mobile. Ill be sending messages out daily (more or less) and itll always be something simple, easy and above all fun. You can of course stop receiving them any time, if you dont likeem. So sign up now, and see how it works for you! Thanks to Tom Nixon for the idea and for convincing me to try it. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related