How to stay stressed

The Americans are way ahead on blogging compared to Ireland.
This is taken from a very down to earth science blog which uses humour to get the point across. I really enjoyed this particular take on managing stress.

Use the following clinically proven methods to stay stressed
Never exercise

Take plenty of stimulants
(coffee and coke cola both count here)

Get rid of your social support system
ie tell your friends you can only see them when you’re not busy

Personalise all criticism
Ie. Don’t listen and don’t consider any information as useful feedback


Procrastinate
i.e Never do anything until the last minute


For the full description on each of these headings
click here to go the omni brain science blog and the original entry.

career builder
career advice ireland
career guidance Ireland
managing stress

Social Entrepreneurship - Another way ?

Within the public sector many people feel helpless to change the inadequate services they provide. Yet on an personal level the amount of compassion and effort shown to individual users can often be inspiring.
The private sector model often has little compassion yet manages to deliver change and serve more people more quickly than any public sector model.

In the current year, Ryanair will carry over 42 million passengers on 495 low fare routes across 25 European countries. They have 19 European bases. This, from a start in 1985 of just one route with daily flights and carrying 86,000 passengers in 1986.
I recall in 1985 the media were discussing long hospital waiting lists and outdated processes. In 2007, the media and Joe citizen are still discussing long waiting lists and outdated process. (If you’d like to see just how outdated take a look at the bitter pill,an excellent blog written by an Irish junior doctor.)

Now I’m not suggesting Michael O Leary could transform the health sector. He’d have to develop way more respect for the end user of the service, employees and for trade unions, but his type of skills would be useful for actually developing processes and systems that could deliver an improved service.

There is a growing awareness that business skills can be useful in the not for profit sector once business experts are prepared to work in a respectful and team orientated fashion.

American Bill Drayon set up Ashoka a social entrepreneur organisation which supports 1,800 people in 65 countries to come up with ideas to change how society operates. A social entrepreneur uses business acumen to deliver social reform. From my own experience, I know many not for profit organisations do not have enough skills, resources and experience to actually deliver on their mandate. So combining business acumen with a motive to “do better” could be a catalyst for a more balanced society.

An excellent Irish example of a social entrepreneur is Caroline Casey who is visually impaired. She worked for Accenture (renounced for it’s long hours , though recently they have been in the top 50 Companies to Work for Award) and then left to set up the Aisling Foundation in 2000. Aisling is the Irish word for vision or dream

The Aisling Foundation recognises company excellence in best practise towards people with disabilities. With 100 organisations representing 10% of the company’s population now taking part their (O2) ability awards is now a major event in the business calendar. An amazing achievement in just 7 years.

Caroline has just finished a scholarship to support the development of an international franchise for the ability awards. She’s being writing about her experiences in a very frank and revealing way in a series of articles in the Irish Times. (Friday’s business supplements)
I’ll give some more details in another blog.

So if you’re interested in developing your social entrepreneurial skills or
• in using your business skills to make a difference or
• want to see whether a particular type of work would suit you
• or want to gain experience in a particular field to further your career

Check out these websites

http://www.volunteeringireland.com/
This web site aims to promote professional standards in the not for profit sector and has a volunteer recruitment scheme which aims to match organisations and volunteers. There are project opportunities, such as website developer, ongoing requirements such as games coach. You can even be a virtual volunteer – work as a volunteer without leaving your home!


http://www.boardmatchireland.ie/
This website supports matching candidates and organisations at board director level based on interests and skills. They also have some useful information on the types of issues arising in the not for profit sector.

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caroline casey

Pick the right CAO course for you

You’re exhausted after finishing the Leaving Certificate but change of mind time where you can change your college options ends on the 1st of July. So you need to look at your options now to avoid a last minute panic and reduce the chances of dropping out of college next year. Depending on college course up to 30% of students drop out of college. So here’s a few quick tips to avoid this problem.

Check your application
Check out the application you made earlier on this year. Click here for details on how to do this.

Understand yourself
Make a list of
· Activities you like doing e.g. music.
· Activities and things you hate. e.g. reading,
· What's important to you - are you a spiritual person, do you like lots of money?
· Any talents you have e.g. very good at rugby, physics, or listening
· Any aspects of yourself that you think you’d like to change e.g. you might
think you’re quite shy and would like to be more outgoing
· Any health issues that are a concern. e.g. being a pilot is out if you are
affected by colour blindness.

Compare all your lists to see if you can see a pattern emerging. For example if you like music and computers, then a career as a sound engineer may be worth investigating.

Use Qualifax
The qualifax website which contains details of all courses is a “must see” for all aspiring college students.

Find out subject requirements for your possible colleges and courses
Make sure you know what the subject requirements are, as these vary from college to college and from course to course. For example, Trinity requires an ordinary level grade D3 in English, Maths and a language with the pharmacy course requiring a higher C3 in Chemistry. If you are not doing Maths or Chemistry then even if you achieve a perfect 600 points you will not be offered a place. Put a big black line though these courses so you don’t waste a course choice option.

Find out all about courses
Now you’ve narrowed your possible choices down, start investigating. Course names can be very misleading so you need to understand all the subjects being covered in each year of the course and the approach. For example psychology in Trinity emphasises research while UCD is more practical in orientation. Ensure your course has proper accreditation e.g. HETAC or FETAC.
Get the prospectus and look at the course subjects. If you hate maths and your preferred course has a strong maths theme then you may need to reconsider.


Follow your heart
The course that is best for you is the one you will be interested in and enjoy. Try not to choose a course solely based on the points you think you will get, the money you think you will earn, or because family tradition is pressurising you. You’ll spend significant time in college and then in your career choice, so make sure you’re picking a course you’re likely to enjoy rather than endure.


Don’t take newspaper headlines on jobs too literally
Choosing a course by using newspaper headlines on available jobs is also a bad strategy. Click here to see why.


Complete the two separate CAO course choices in order of choice
Many diploma/ordinary degree courses have progression to honour degree level, so don’t be put off filling out the diploma/ordinary degree choices section. List your CAO choices in order of your personal preference not your possible points. Make sure the courses you think you’ll enjoy the most and where you are sitting the required exam subjects are at the top of your list.

If you find yourself still confused or very uncertain about your options, consider whether independent career guidance could help. To find out more about our career guidance services click here


Key words
CAO Change of mind
career advice Dublin
career guidance Ireland

The Seven Day Weekend

Looking at the Rollercoaster discussion boards the other day one of the most common issues raised in the work section was part time working. A common theme was the issue “my employer says the business can’t support it” with many employees feeling guilty about even asking for part time work.

Our society is so brain washed that unless we have a full time working job many of us feel like we’re not valued or making a proper contribution. This is not just an issue that affects Mothers, it affects Fathers, retired people, carers and people who have talents which are not recognised in the traditional working world i.e. people with disabilities, or creative talents. Many organisations treat people as machines, not as rational, intelligent, feeling people.

Yet there is another way which works for both people and organisations

Reading Ricardo Semler’s book “The seven day weekend” some years ago was a revelation. His Brazilian company Semco has grown from $35 million revenues in 1994 to $212 million in 2003

Here are some direct quotes from the book.

“Semco has no official structure. It has no organisational chart. There’s no business plan….There are no vice presidents….There are no standards or practices…. There’s no human resources departments…no career plans… no job descriptions…no employee contracts….supervision or monitoring of workers is rare indeed..”

“We (Semco) give up control so workers can follow their interests and their instincts when choosing jobs or projects”

“Semco employees are free to customise their workdays, to come in earlier or later than traditional schedules. The hours they work are determined by their self interest, not by company dictates. They’re the best judges of the amount of time and the proper place necessary to get their job done”
(This is the case even on the factory production line)

“Ours (Semco) idea is in hiring people who will find a click between their life purpose and ours”

“The date of the (candidate hiring) interview is posted so any employee who is interested can participate. (in selecting the new employee)
(If no employees turn up they decide the job must not be very relevant and usually decide not to fill it !)

Managers don’t have desks or offices, secretaries, parking places, business cards or official titles.
To the outsider Semco is totally disorganised. To customers however Semco provides quality services. Semco rarely loses customers and staff turnover is very low. (less than 1%)

Semler believes “The opposite of work is not leisure, but idleness” and we don’t have enough idleness in our lives today.

The main principle is to “ask why” and it must be asked at least 3 times in a row.

Why can Semco operate in such an apparently crazy fashion and still be successful for its employees, customers and stakeholders?

Why is our working culture such that being seen on the company premises is more important than actually producing results ?

Why is happiness in work not more important?

If you feel out of step with your working life read this book. I got it in our local library and it's an easy read. It will reassure you, you’re not the problem.

It is also useful for employers who want to manage in a more effective way.



Linking key words
part time working
career advice dublin
career guidance ireland
7 day weekend

Overlooked for promotion –again

When you’re looking for promotion and some else gets “your” job it can be frustrating. If you learn from this experience how ever, it could be very useful.

First of all, examine your feelings about why you’re frustrated. Did you actually not want the promotion but because some one you consider less able than you got it you’re annoyed?
If you want to consider this area further

Click here

Secondly look for some feedback on why you did not get the job. If you want to consider this area further

Click here

If you still feel you’ve done all the right things to get promotion and yet you’ve being over looked again, then consider the following

Does your employer appear to be treating you with respect?
Did they make sure you heard you were not getting the promotion in a
sensitive fashion- rather than through the grapevine?
Did your boss take you seriously when you went in to talk to him/her?
Have previous commitments to you been met?
Have you got a clear consistent indication of what you need to do to
be promoted?

If you don’t get the sense your boss is trying to treat you fairly, then you need to think seriously about moving on either within the organisation, (if it’s big enough), or to another job. Don’t do this hastily but do consider all your options.

Whilst working for a client, one employee, who had been badly treated and handed in their notice put it very well.

“Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me”

If treated badly by an employer, many people tend to internalise and unknowingly blame themselves. Their self confidence and self esteem tends to plummet, often unnoticed to them. If this continues, it becomes more and more difficult to move on, as the familiar situation is less intimidating then the unknown “new situation” of a new job.
Often the employer then treats that employee even more unfairly on the

“Joe is here years, he’ll never leave principle”.

So if you’ve been unfairly over looked for promotion that you made clear you wanted, take action. You can’t control the actions of your employer and expecting them to change is unrealistic. You can however take control of your own actions.



overlooked for promotion
career advice Dublin
career guidance Ireland

Facing Fear- Lisa’s Landua’s experience

Last Saturday’s Irish Times- (7th May Sports supplement- Grania Willis) tells the amazing story of 43 year old Liza Landua. You may recall her as the lady who crashed into a bog and survived 40 hours in freezing water. Despite being severely disabled and in constant pain as a result of this crash, she has laid a 2,000 square wooden tongued and grooved floor in her new house/stable. She’s aiming to represent Ireland at horse riding at the para olympics next year. However she still’s trying to find a sponsor for the para Olympics and her debts are mounting.

Liza’s mother was a drinker and Liza herself abused alcohol. She had been drinking when she crashed into the bog. Labelled as stupid due to dyslexia, she became a stutterer, then anorexic, then bulimic. She also attempted suicide. Her self confidence was non existent.

Trapped in the car though, she discovered a new will to live. She managed to squeeze her upper body through the steering wheel and into an air pocket under the foot pedals. She spent the week end there.
Passing walkers thought the car was dumped it was so deep into the bog.

However local furniture designer Chaim Factor noticed damage to saplings when he arrived at his workshop on Monday and went to investigate.
He stopped the quarry excavator (a local he called to the scene) pulling the car out, until the car was lifted in such a way that water drained out the passenger side and not the driver side. His intervention saved Liza’s life as otherwise she would have drowned.

This horrific event has changed Lisa’s life not only physically, but spirtually and mentally. She believes life is now worth living and just has the odd drink.

Lisa’s story illustrates not just incredible courage, but a willingness to accept change and make the most of what she has. She gets around slowly- a wheelchair and motorised buggy. Yet she drives herself and her horse to shows.

Sometime stories like Lisa’s whilst inspiring can be very intimidating, she seems like a superwomen with abilities way beyond normal people like us. Yet before her accident she was just an ordinary person- having difficulty coping with life. Until she was in fear of losing her life.

Any time we move from our “comfort zones” we have to face fear. With many of our client’s this is a fear of failure and I’ll come back to this. If we carefully consider all the angles and logically know what is the best course of action but still let this fear of failure stop us taking the next step, then we reduce our opportunities to learn and be happy.

Eleanor Roosevelt puts it well

“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in
which you really stop to look fear in the face... You must do the
thing you think you cannot do."

Note.
If you would like to support Lisa, click here to go to external web site.



Linking key words
fear of failure
career advice Ireland
Lisa Landau

NFTE- A practical approach to disadvantage

I was at the NFTE Ireland All Island business plan awards yesterday. NFTE the National Foundation for teaching Entrepreneurship is a 2 year old charity drawing on an American model of teaching disadvantaged youth business skills. Participants learn by setting up their own businesses in a structured support programme. Studies by Harvard University show an increase in knowledge, interest in attending third level, increased career aspirations and a belief that attaining one’s goal is within one’s control. The University of Warwick demonstrated participants developed key skills such as self confidence and self esteem.

Yesterday’s event consisted of graduation and prize awards, full of energy and fun with a calypso band. You could tell which competitors came from schools with girls by the level of screaming which greeted names of winners.
This year’s winners included primary school students, secondary school students and students who had left mainstream education and were in out reach projects. There were even prizes for the teachers.

Talking to one group of students from one of the outreach projects afterwards was enjoyable. Initially they were very shy and reluctant to talk. I think they were travellers. But once they got going there was no stopping them. One teenager had made €1,600. Another said he had been a “total messer” before he went on the project, but now he wanted to go to college and do psychology, because he wanted to help other young “total messers” like himself.

NFTE is a great example of social entrepreneurship in action. This is a concept of using business skills to resolve social issues. I’ll come back to this because it’s becoming increasingly important and for many people it’s a way of improving job satisfaction using existing skills.

If you’re feeling a bit jaded about the business world, getting involved with NFTE could be a solution. Time commitments can be as little as 3 hours per year to 20 hours per year depending on how much you want to help. It could be challenging, but the energy and enthusiasm of these young people and their teachers is hugely enjoyable and refreshing.
So if you're interested in find out more, click on the link below.

Link to further Information on NFTE web site

Note
if you're interested in this area, the Young Social Innovators Showcase is on this Thursday and Friday.This is also well worth a visit though unfortunately I can't get to it this year.

Link to further Information on event web site

career advice ireland
NFTE

“Muddling along” in the job?

As long as I have known this particular friend she has been unhappy with the organisation she works for. It’s a permanent, pensionable well paid job which has made her very financially secure. She’s a high performer and in her current role she sees significant mismanagement which she finds very frustrating. She does what she can to stop this. She counts down the days to the next holidays.

Yet she stays there “muddling along”. She seems to believes with limited academic qualifications she has no other options, but to wait for a redundancy package. Her organisation would fund training but it’s not for her. Yet with her skills and in the Celtic Tiger economy, she has plenty of options, yet she can’t see them.

That’s what happens when you stay too long in a job you hate. Your self confidence starts decreasing and you begin to doubt your own judgement and can start feeling inferior. In worse case scenarios depression and physical health problems appear.

So this bank holiday week end, take some time out to review how happy you are with your working life. Make sure you're not letting a need for security outweigh your need for job satisfaction. Life is too short.


We featured in the Irish Independent last Thursday in an article on “muddling along”. You can use this article to kick start this self review process by clicking here which brings you to the Irish Independent loadzajobs.ie web site. (For copy right reasons we can't publish here)


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