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11 TED Talks That Will Inspire You to Kickstart Your Career in 2021

There are two more weeks left of this year and it seems that a lot of businesses are winding down for the holidays. There are alot of transitions ahead of us that are carrying a significant load of uncertainty. The transition to a brand new year, a new administration in the US, the possibility of returning to a normal life with the distribution of the Covid19 vaccine. In order to inspire a more positive outlook on your career and the new year, we put together a few motivational videos. A good place for this type of inspirational content is TED Talk. TED is a not-for-profit organization that deals with ideas that are worth spreading. And a lot of those ideas come in the form of career advice.

New Perspectives For Your Career

 

How to Get Back to Work After a Career Break

In this talk, hear about Carol Cohen’s own experience returning to work after a career break, her work championing the success of “relaunchers” and how employers are changing how they engage with return-to-work talent.

How to Find Work you Love

Scott Dinsmore quit a job that made him miserable, and spent the next four years wondering how to find work that was joyful and meaningful. He shares what he learned in this deceptively simple talk about finding out what matters to you — and then getting started doing it.

Smash Fear, Learn Anything

Productivity guru Tim Ferriss’ fun, encouraging anecdotes show how one simple question — “What’s the worst that could happen?” — is all you need to learn to do anything.

Looking For a Job? Highlight Your Ability, Not Your Experience. 

In this quick, insightful talk about human potential, Jason Shen shares some new thinking on how job seekers can make themselves more attractive — and why employers should look for ability over credentials.

 

How to Get Into a Work-From-Home Mindset

 

How to Make Work-Life Balance Work

Work-life balance, says Nigel Marsh, is too important to be left in the hands of your employer. Nigel Marsh lays out an ideal day balanced between family time, personal time and productivity — and offers some stirring encouragement to make it happen.

As Work Gets More Complex, 6 Rules to Simplify

Why do people feel so miserable and disengaged at work? Because today’s businesses are increasingly and dizzyingly complex — and traditional pillars of management are obsolete, says Yves Morieux. In this energetic talk, Morieux offers six rules for “smart simplicity.” 

Why Working From Home Is Good For Business

As the popularity of remote working continues to spread, workers today can collaborate across cities, countries and even multiple time zones. How does this change office dynamics? Matt Mullenweg, cofounder of WordPress and CEO of Automattic (which has a 100 percent distributed workforce), shares his secrets.

 

Leadership

 

How to Lead in a Crisis?

Humility, transparency and urgency are the keys to successfully steering an organization — big or small — through the challenges that come your way. Leadership expert Amy C. Edmondson provides clear advice and examples to help any leader rise to the occasion.

How to Get Serious About Diversity And Inclusion in the Workplace

How do we get there? In this candid talk, inclusion advocate Janet Stovall shares a three-part action plan for creating workplaces where people feel safe and expected to be their unassimilated, authentic selves.

5 Ways to Lead in an Era of Constant Change

Who says change needs to be hard? Organizational change expert Jim Hemerling thinks adapting your business in today’s constantly-evolving world can be invigorating instead of exhausting. 

How Great Leaders Inspire Action

Simon Sinek has a simple but powerful model for inspirational leadership — starting with a golden circle and the question: “Why?” His examples include Apple, Martin Luther King Jr. and the Wright brothers …

 

Summary

 

These great ideas and new perspectives can give you the motivation you might need to start off the new year on a good note, in your professional as well as personal life. If you are looking for further inspirational content, check out our other articles on the ESG Consulting Blog.

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Boost Your Chances For a Job Offer at the End of the Year

Many applicants think that their job chances are very poor at the end of the year. Combined with the current unpredictability of the labor market and the resurging pandemic, the job search seems daunting and not very promising. Often applicants assume that hiring managers act according to the motto “everything is new in January” and therefore postpone their job search to January.

 

However, this attitude means that applicants have to assert themselves against a particularly high level of competition in January. Take advantage of the next few weeks and increase your chance of getting closer to your dream job. Get active now and read our encouraging arguments and practical tips on why this is the right time to focus on applying. 

 

Towards the end of the fourth quarter, some companies have not yet used up their annual budgets. That is why they often fill positions in the last few months of the year. In other cases, it is worthwhile applying because businesses are looking for support due to increased workload and projects that still need to be completed. Depending on the industry, the job chances of applicants in December can be quite good. Applicants should definitely stay tuned and keep an eye out for new job postings, especially for temporary employment. Some of the jobs might be temporary, but they are a perfect way to get started in a company. If you prove yourself, you will often be taken on after the project assignment has ended. 

 

A lot of  job offers are often not yet advertised. If you apply now, on your own initiative you actually have a good chance of getting your dream job. That is the case in particular for internal job openings, because companies often first look for suitable candidates from within their own ranks. Therefore, applicants with good contacts and the ability to network are more successful. It is difficult and time-consuming for companies to find the right employees. Therefore, they increasingly rely on recommendations and references. This applies to both internal and external candidates. Anyone who is aware of that and is actively growing their professional relationships, has a good chance of being placed as a potential candidate.

 

If you are discouraged in your job search, take stock of the year and set goals for the new year, so you have a clear direction of where you’d like to be in your next career step. Where do you want to be at the end of next year? How do you want to achieve these goals? Who can support you on this journey? Identify your ideal job situation and then define your strategy for how you will find the new job. If your plan is in place, bring your application documents up to date. This also includes your profiles on LinkedIn and other social media outlets. Many recruiters also check the social media profiles of interesting applicants. If the “overall picture” is correct, your job chances increase considerably. Connect virtually with a network that you can learn from and that may help you advance and get closer to your goal. Join groups and learn how you can sharpen your skills for the position you desire.

 

It is not in your control how many interviews you will score throughout the remainder of this year. So focus on what you can control and with a good strategy you will be able to start the new year perfectly prepared. You’ll have a clear lead over your competitors, but most importantly you will increase your motivation during an uncertain time. 

 

As an experienced provider of IT staffing, Engineering and consulting services, ESG Consulting can support you in your job search. Our expertise not only includes help in finding the right job, but also advice on all stages of the application process and beyond. Let’s connect and put together a plan. 

 

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Staying Focused During Uncertain Times – 4 Reminders

As we approach the end of this year 2020, there is so much uncertainty stirring around the world right now. After a long marathon of staying at home and for a lot of people, working from home, it is not easy to keep the focus on their goals and being productive. Here are some tips to motivate you to keep the focus on what is in your control and achieve your goals despite the uncertainties of 2020.  

 

  1. Create a Daily Plan

Set yourself a daily goal with the question: What do I want to achieve today? What is the priority? What tasks have to be done? The daily plan should be created the evening before, for the next day. At the end of the working day, you check your daily schedule. Whatever is still open, will be then transferred onto the next day’s to-do list and scheduled.

 

  1. Journaling & Gratitude Practice:                                                                                             

A daily writing habit has been shown to improve your ability to recall information, boost creativity, and lead to improved problem solving abilities and greater levels of self-awareness. Set a timer for 5-minutes and write down anything that comes to your mind. From tasks that need to be accomplished,to people you need to contact, to things you are grateful for… get it out of your head and onto paper. This simple exercise will give you clarity for the day ahead. 

 

  1. “Eat That Frog” First Thing In The Morning

First thing in the morning it is best to invest time in your most valuable priority. Don’t waste it on email or social media or administrative work. Use it to tackle those big tasks and activities that are the most challenging or important tasks of the day.

 

  1. Turn Off Digital Disruptions

Limit your exposure to negative news and anxiety causing notifications by turning off your social media alerts or close certain apps entirely, or at least for your workday. The fear and anxiety caused by the news is only going to keep you in a state of high alert. Therefore, you won’t be productive or creative. In fact, fear and creativity cannot co-exist.

 

Staying focused, productive, and accomplishing your goals can be difficult through times of uncertainty. Now more than ever it is important to take care of your physical and emotional health. Taking care of your basic needs and creating some structure in your day can help you bring back a little bit of certainty. Don’t forget to breathe… This too shall pass.