Recruitment Agencies Chicago Archives

3 Morning Activities That Are Guaranteed to Boost Your Productivity

How you spend your morning helps determine how productive you are throughout the day. When your morning begins with energy-producing activities, you are better able to decrease your stress level. Incorporate these three activities into each morning to increase your productivity throughout the day.

1. Meditate

Quieting your mind stimulates creativity, contemplation, and being in touch with yourself. Meditation also helps you relax, keeps your stress level down, and improves your focus and memory. You are better equipped to think more efficiently and effectively. Start by setting aside five minutes each morning and working up to 30 minutes. Sit up or lie down, close your eyes, and focus on your breathing. When your mind wanders, refocus on your breathing. If you have trouble keeping still, look for a guided mediation online. Follow the instructions while focusing on your breathing. With practice, you will gain peace of mind and accomplish more throughout the day.

2. Eat Breakfast

Since your body gets energy from turning food into glucose, you need to start each day with a healthy meal. Plus, your metabolism is better earlier in the day, meaning your body can more easily turn the calories you eat into energy to use throughout the morning. Aim for eating within two hours of waking up so that you can capitalize on your energy stores before starting work. Include protein and healthy carbohydrates such as fruit or whole grains. Avoid donuts and other sugar-laden foods that will not sustain you.

3. Exercise

Exercise improves circulation and releases endorphins that increase well-being and minimize pain and discomfort. Whether doing yoga at home, participating in a spin class or running around the neighborhood, you will lower your stress level and maintain energy throughout the day. Completing your exercise routine in the morning ensures it gets done while allowing time to complete your work. Plus, because exercise helps you clear your mind, you are better able to focus and make good decisions about work projects, problems and more.

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5 Buzzwords You Should Incorporate into Your Interview

The words you use during an interview convey an impression of you and your abilities. You want that impression to show you are the most qualified candidate and should be offered the job. Be sure to incorporate these five buzzwords into your next interview.

1. Responsibility

Mention a few key responsibilities you held that are essential to the role. Share stories of how you contributed to other employers and helped them move forward. Mention specific examples of your knowledge, work ethic, and accomplishments that will transfer to your next position. Use the responsibilities listed in the job posting as a basis for your answer. Include statistics in your answer. For example, “I understand customer service is a key part of this role. I spent three years working in a high-volume call center, answering customer calls and finding solutions. I am adept at deescalating situations and making customers happy.”

2. Passion

Demonstrate why you are passionate about the position. The interviewer wants to know you will come to work each day because you care about what you do, and will perform beyond your job description. Mention specific reasons you are excited about the role. Perhaps you enjoyed performing those tasks in the past, enjoy thinking about how your work will affect your target audience, or how you can improve your skills. Maybe you see things through to completion and finish your work on time. For example, you reorganized a presentation at the last minute because the client changed their direction. Or, you still finished a project when the office computers were down.

3. Leadership

Discuss your greatest examples of leadership. Talk about how you led teams and projects and took ownership of your results and accomplishments. For example, show how you encourage top employee performance through recognition and rewards and assigning new responsibilities for professional growth. Mention how you delegate responsibilities to enhance employee skills and increase value to the organization. Discuss how you openly give and receive constructive feedback so individual and team performance improve.

4.Collaboration

Provide examples of how you collaborate with teammates. Working in teams promotes innovation by sharing and developing ideas to move the organization forward. The interviewer will be especially impressed if you collaborated with employees in another department. For example, mention how you ensure everyone understands their role in completing a project and what the timeline is for each task. And, discuss how you stay on task and help others follow suit. Plus, share how you ask for help and assist your teammates when needed.

5. Results

Explain the measurable results you achieved that relate to the position. The interviewer wants to see specifically how you benefitted a previous employer, and how you may benefit your next one. Provide statistics with your answer. For instance, “I increased sales by 25 percent in three months.”

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Yay or Nay: Applying for a Job You’re Technically Underqualified For

Like most people, you have probably come across an amazing job opening and were disappointed to learn that you were underqualified. Perhaps the posting called for ten years’ experience, and you had only two, or for someone who managed a team of at least 50 when you managed just 15. The question is, how do you determine whether to apply for the role or look for another one?

Yay: You Have Transferable Skills

If you can demonstrate that you have transferable skills, then apply. Employers are more focused on hiring potential than an exact match. Highlight your transferable skills, knowledge, and experience in your cover letter so that the hiring manager knows you understand the position and what they are looking for. And, write a memo that outlines what you believe the main challenges of the role are and how you would handle them. Mention your awards, achievement of performance standards, upward career advancement, and professional certifications to show you are a high-level professional. Provide examples of how you blend with company culture. You just might be called in for an interview.

Yay: You Have an Employee Referral

If you know an employee who will refer you, then apply. Since referred candidates tend to have similar interests as the employee, blend with company culture, and remain loyal to the organization longer, they are hired more often than non-referrals. If you do not have a connection with the business, then create one. For instance, if the hiring manager is speaking at an upcoming event, then plan to participate and introduce yourself. Or, if the company founder was featured in a recent article, reach out with a comment or question. Cultivating relationships will give you an in with the organization.

Yay: You Can Demonstrate Motivation

If you can clearly show that you are motivated to excel in the role, then apply. Unlike technical skills, motivation cannot be taught. Highlighting a plan to gain the required skills through hard work, dedication, and willingness to learn increases your chances of being offered an interview. For instance, show that you are open to taking a class or engaging in on-the-job training. And, mention examples of how your flexibility and desire to learn benefitted previous employers and can add value to your next one. Or, offer to work for free on a temporary basis so that the hiring manager can see that you are an asset to the company and should be brought aboard full-time.

Nay: You Are New to the Workforce or Changing Careers

If you are just entering the workforce or switching careers, then do not apply. You lack the skills and experience necessary to fulfill the job responsibilities. Applying would be a waste of time for both you and the hiring manager.

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