When you think of an office, what’s the scenario that you imagine? Do you see hardworking people doing their duties from 9 to 5, or do you simply hear the clicking sound of keyboards? What about the harmonious relationship between the management and employees? Do you sense that as well?
Related:4 Tips For Avoiding Conflict In The Workplace
It is the picture of an ideal work environment that makes employees productive. However, there are some awkward office situations that are out of your hands, and the only thing you can control is how you react to them.
Awkward Office Situations
Avoid the drama that particular office relationships can cause. Read on to find out what you can do when you find yourself in any of them:
The Scenario: You just finished presenting your proposal in the meeting room, received a resounding applause from your colleagues, and a slight tap on the shoulder from your boss. Inspired to do better, you return to that little cubicle of yours and continue doing the monthly report your boss asked you to do. You are so focused that you didn’t notice that he’s looking at your monitor. He leans forward, tells you that it’s not the way to do it, and types it for you—all the while enveloping you in his arms.
You are already feeling uncomfortable, but you just let him be since you still think it’s harmless (plus, he’s your boss). The next day, he asks where you live so he could drop you off. It leaves you puzzled—it’s not yet late and also, does his wife know?
What You Should Do: In this situation, trust your instincts. He and his unnecessary advances can manipulate the situation and make you look like you’re flirting with the boss. Don’t wait for him to cross the line and say no to his invitations unless you’re with your co-workers. If he’s really persistent, request a transfer to a different department. You can’t compromise your image and you don’t want to create problems for either his or your family.
Your office relationship with a colleague turns into romance.
The Scenario: You’re eating lunch alone in the pantry when your office crush enters and asks if he can join you. This guy is someone you’ve been eyeing for months now because you think he’s cute and has a good sense of humor. You thought that this will be the first and last time you’ll be spending alone time with him but after several days and weeks of having a quick, small talk while making coffee, he finally asks if you can have dinner after work—just the two of you. Everything went by so fast and now you’re officially dating an office mate.
What You Should Do: There’s nothing really wrong with having a relationship with an office mate, even if he’s from the same department. It becomes wrong when it affects your work. Are you so in love that all you can think of is him? Don’t forget that you have a pile of paperwork that needs more attention. Also, in case you decide to part ways, stay professional. It’s hard but you should have known the perils of office romance before engaging in one.
The rumor-monger's fishing for the latest ‘news.’
The Scenario: A colleague is having trouble with the task assigned to her, and you decide to help her out—that’s how your friendship started. You encourage each other whenever you are both stressed-out. Soon, you were able to talk not only about the latest rom-com flick but also share some tidbits about each other’s personal lives.
After a while, you find yourself working with a different team in your department. It’s your first time to work with them and you don’t know anything about your new teammates except their name and job description. To build rapport and teamwork, they invited you to go out after work. But instead of asking details about you, they were asking if your office BFF is seeing another man.
What You Should Do: During the forming stage, it’s normal to tell them interesting facts about you that can strengthen the team’s bond and for them to gauge your ability. However, it’s not an excuse to gossip about someone else just to talk about something in common. If you have to answer, just tell them you don’t know even if it’s not believable.
It’s hard to find real friends in the workplace, but it’s harder to have enemies. Gossip can backfire, so beware of the things you say. Avoid divulging secrets and stay with generic topics.
Can you relate to any of these situations? Comment below to discuss your office concerns and how you dealt with them, whether they're listed here or not.
This post was originally published at an earlier date.
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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