Showing posts with label Business and Career. Show all posts

What exactly is a fresh start?

It’s a phrase we hear often. I am making a fresh start today (or tomorrow after this pizza!).

But what exactly does it mean to ‘make a fresh start?’

Well in my line of work you get to hear a lot of people talking about this in some form or other. They might say ‘I am going to end this relationship and I will feel better’. Or perhaps ‘When we move to Australia, everything will be different’. Well often it is the case that they might go into another relationship and find that the patterns of their old relationship are repeating. They go across whole oceans and find that they still have problems with their neighbours. They change jobs and find that they are still being bullied in the workplace as they have been since their school days.

In psychology you may hear the term ‘locus of control’ (the Latin scholar in me remembers that ‘locus’ means place). This concept was developed by Julian Rotter in the 60s.

It indicates that some people take more ownership of their feelings and actions and think they have some control about what happens in their life through hard work or decisions they make. These people would be said to have an ‘internal locus of control’. They tend to feel more in control of their ‘destiny’ (if they even believe in it!) and therefore more positive about the future.

Others are more likely to feel as is everything happens ‘to them’ and they cannot control their environment. They are often quicker to blame outside influences for their circumstances and consequently may feel more helpless to control and change their circumstances.

It should be mentioned that many people may have a more internal locus of control in some areas of their lives and a more external locus of control in others. So they may believe that they can gain promotion and excel at work, but not have any control over finding love and a good relationship.

So how is all this relevant to making a fresh start? Well, I believe that a fresh start can be facilitated by making changes such as changing job, beginning or ending a relationship, moving home or starting at the gym. These things are all based in taking action and shifting stagnant energy and so naturally new feelings will be generated. So why do some people do these sorts of things and still find that ‘nothing has changed’ in how they feel and even in the issues they are experiencing?

I looked for a quote to say what I wanted to convey but I could not find one so here is one from me that might sum it up.

“Sometimes, it doesn’t matter where you move to, what job you are in, which relationship you choose or what you do sometimes you still carry the same baggage with you. A fresh start must first and foremost come from within.”

- Amanda Benbelaid

How to Use the Web to Boost Your Chance of Landing the Job You Want

The economy is showing signs of life again – that’s the good news. The bad news is that unemployment is still at historical highs and if you’re one of the 13 million Americans still struggling to find a job, or wanting to switch jobs, a lot of your applications are probably being swallowed up by the “the black hole.”

That’s when you send in a job application and never receive any follow-up from the company. It’s probably one of the most frustrating parts of looking for a new job. In fact, according to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, only 25 out of 100 applications ever get looked at by companies.

Now, a remarkable new service is helping job seekers instantly track almost every application they submit so they actually know what’s going on. It’s called StartWire.com and it lets job seekers track their applications, including status updates, on whether or not their applications have been reviewed, dismissed, or are still pending.

But, it does a lot more than that. In fact, it’s the first project management tool for the job search process--and its already making a huge difference to thousands of job seekers.

How it works

When you fill out a job application via a company website, you’ll typically get an auto confirmation email from the company, thanking you for applying. And then, the waiting begins.

StartWire however, has linked to more than 5,600 employers across the country and receives online updates on job applications for every one of their members. It updates you on the status of your application every time you log into your account, through email, or even via text message.

Even if a company you applied to doesn’t offer auto updates online, you can still track the job using StartWire. By allowing you to connect your job hunt to your Facebook and LinkedIn accounts, it can notify you if you have any connections related to the company that you can ask for help with your application.

Networking referrals are the quickest way to score job interviews, and increase your chances of getting hired by a whopping 300 percent.

StartWire is simple to navigate, providing color-coded reporting that makes it easy to see the status of your applications: active, stalled, or no longer in the running.

Best of all, StartWire can cross reference the position you’re looking for against over three million job listings and give you recommendations on what available jobs match your interests and experience level.

And, StartWire is free to use! Because StartWire is a completely ad-supported site, they don’t need to charge job seekers to use it.

Most importantly, StartWire keeps your information private. Your job search activity will never show up on a social network or search engine. If you choose to link to your Facebook and LinkedIn accounts, you remain in charge of how and what you want to share with your contacts.

The site also contains a comprehensive training center where you can watch webinars on topics like “Inside the Corporate Beast” or “10 Ways to Avoid the Black Hole and Get Hired.” Visit the company blog for cutting edge techniques on how to land your dream job and the latest resume tips.

StartWire has become an invaluable asset to over 55,000 job seekers in a highly competitive job market.

If you’re tired of your job search resulting in dead-end responses, take advantage of this free service and give yourself a huge advantage in the job marketplace.

Small businesses are the economic lifeblood of this country, and the majority of them began with help in the form of a small business loan. Very few small business owners have the funds available privately to start or expand their enterprise, so most are forced to seek out loans to move their vision forward.

But, there are some things that everyone should know before applying for a small business loan. It's always important to know what the bank or lending institution is looking for, what factors go into their decision to either grant or reject your loan. By playing to these factors, you can better your chances of securing that money for your business.

What is your personal story? Firstly, the bank will want to know about you. Your credit history, experience and education will all be factors preliminarily considered in the process of your application. These things speak to who you are as a business person, your credibility for running your own business.

What is your business plan? The meat of your proposal will be in your business plan. This is an outline you will present to the bank detailing your business idea while providing answers to questions the bank has.

How much are you applying for? This figure should be all-encompassing. It should include costs for startup and overhead, as well as operations costs like payroll and inventory. It is very important to you and the bank that this number be as accurate as possible.

Where is this money going? Again, accuracy and detail are important here. Your business plan should have a detailed breakdown of how much is going where and for what.

When can you repay your loan? This is the question that anyone, from the bank to your wealthy relative will want an answer for. Be professional. Use financial statements and cash-flow projections to illustrate how your business will generate profit and be a good investment for the bank.