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what keeps you employed ?

Can my characteristics, appearance, and good work improve my chances in keeping a gob? #work #employment #job #job-applications #advancement #career-advising #human-resources

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Subject: Career question for you

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Ken’s Answer

What keeps you employed is your continued involvement in a situation where you are making a meaningful contribution to the accomplishment of the goals of an organization and enjoying going to work every day and being appreciated for your contribution. It all starts with getting to know yourself and what motivates you and brings out the best in you.


Getting to know yourself and how your personality traits relate to people involved in various career opportunities is very important in your decision making process. During my many years in Human Resources and College Recruiting, I ran across too many students who had skipped this very important step and ended up in a job situation which for which they were not well suited. Selecting a career area is like buying a pair of shoes. First you have to be properly fitted for the correct size, and then you need to try on and walk in the various shoe options to determine which is fits the best and is most comfortable for you to wear. Following are some important steps which I developed during my career which have been helpful to many .

Ken recommends the following next steps:

The first step is to take an interest and aptitude test and have it interpreted by your school counselor to see if you share the personality traits necessary to enter the field. You might want to do this again upon entry into college, as the interpretation might differ slightly due to the course offering of the school. However, do not wait until entering college, as the information from the test will help to determine the courses that you take in high school. Too many students, due to poor planning, end up paying for courses in college which they could have taken for free in high school.
Next, when you have the results of the testing, talk to the person at your high school and college who tracks and works with graduates to arrange to talk to, visit, and possibly shadow people doing what you think that you might want to do, so that you can get know what they are doing and how they got there. Here are some tips: ## http://www.wikihow.com/Network ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/nonawkward-ways-to-start-and-end-networking-conversations ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/4-questions-to-ask-your-network-besides-can-you-get-me-a-job?ref=carousel-slide-1 ##
Locate and attend meetings of professional associations to which people who are doing what you think that you want to do belong, so that you can get their advice. These associations may offer or know of intern, coop, shadowing, and scholarship opportunities. These associations are the means whereby the professionals keep abreast of their career area following college and advance in their career. You can locate them by asking your school academic advisor, favorite teachers, and the reference librarian at your local library. Here are some tips: ## https://www.careeronestop.org/BusinessCenter/Toolkit/find-professional-associations.aspx?&frd=true ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/9-tips-for-navigating-your-first-networking-event ##
It is very important to express your appreciation to those who help you along the way to be able to continue to receive helpful information and to create important networking contacts along the way. Here are some good tips: ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-informational-interview-thank-you-note-smart-people-know-to-send?ref=recently-published-2 ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/3-tips-for-writing-a-thank-you-note-thatll-make-you-look-like-the-best-candidate-alive?bsft_eid=7e230cba-a92f-4ec7-8ca3-2f50c8fc9c3c&bsft_pid=d08b95c2-bc8f-4eae-8618-d0826841a284&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_20171020&utm_source=blueshift&utm_content=daily_20171020&bsft_clkid=edfe52ae-9e40-4d90-8e6a-e0bb76116570&bsft_uid=54658fa1-0090-41fd-b88c-20a86c513a6c&bsft_mid=214115cb-cca2-4aec-aa86-92a31d371185&bsft_pp=2 ##
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Piyush’s Answer

In short,

1. Understanding the Business Interests of your employer
2. Finding Challenging Situations and solutions to address them, which aligns with the business interests of your company
3. Understanding the company's, employees', shareholders' and customers' interests and aligning your thoughts along with them
4. Always staying focused and keeping the positive mindset
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Emily’s Answer

A person's attitude and follow through are probably what keep a person employed. The person who makes the hiring and firing decisions is the person who you want to see you as a person who does what they say, when they say they will-you want to be seen as someone who delivers on their promises. You also want to be seen as someone who is a team player, who works with what they have and doesn't complain. Things can be frustrating in a work environment and we are often asked to make due with some unfavorable situations. If you are seen as a complainer - you will not stay when it comes time to reduce the work force. If you are seen as a person with good attitude and a good self-motivation, you wil be kept.

Emily recommends the following next steps:

Take a course on communication or team work.
Watch Ted talks on highly successful people or on clear communication.
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Hadley’s Answer

From the perspective of what you can do to "keep" your job - It would really all depend on how much effort and ability you bring to the table. If you can be a team player and contribute to the growth and development of your industry with a positive attitude, it will show your value.

From the perspective of what personally drives you to work - I can say being at a job that values you as an employee and puts in the effort to encourage your growth and development is amazing. In turn it produces happy worker's who want to ensure the success continues and work towards making that possible.

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Simeon’s Answer

Generally, you stay employed because you do consistent quality work and get along well with your supervisors and coworkers. I wouldn't say there's anything appearance-related that would ensure job security. You also have to make sure you're in an industry that does not go through waves of lay-offs. If that happens, there's not much you can do to hold on to your job if there is a wave of lay-offs.
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Medhavi’s Answer

I really agree with Piyush's answer, I would like to add

1. Being recognized for your work
2. Have a continuous development plan, keep learning relevant stuff
3. Your communication and networking skills can really help you
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Robin’s Answer

There are a number of factors that can affect your continued employment. I think exercising some of the following skills can keep you employed.

Take Interest: Take an interest in your work. Try to learn how your area of work fits in with the total workstream. Get to know other people on your team and what they do. Also learn what the people or teams upstream and downstream from you do and how your area is linked to them. Know the company, department, and team goals. Set goals for yourself (personal and with your leader) that will help you improve each year.

Be Teachable:
A "know-it-all" is not pleasant to work with and often lacks the attributes needed to do a job well and work well independently and corporately. Ask questions. Take notes. Listen to others who know more than you. Admit when you've made a mistake. Leaders need to know the people they are bringing onto their teams or on their project workgroups are less concerned with looking like they know everything and more concerned with learning and performing the job well.

Be Flexible:
Situations often change at a job at the drop of a hat. Learn to be one of the people your leader can rely on to be a part of the solution, not part of the faction that's always complaining. Learn how to shift work priorities, and to see the situation from a higher perspective, not just how a shift in direction is going to affect you. Don't be afraid to offer suggestions (but don't get offended if your ideas aren't used at that time). Being flexible means being a team player to get the job done and being one of your leader's go-to people to help out in a jam. This type of attribute gets noticed.

Stay on Task:
Your leader depends on you to stay organized, report challenges about your task early on (not a few days before the deadline), work with others (even the difficult people), follow up with those you need information from, go the extra mile to ensure your work is accurate, and meet deadlines. If your work is due but you have a bunch of excuses as to why it's not done, it's like you're campaigning to be let go. One of your personal work goals should be to never make yourself look bad and to not make your boss or your boss's boss look bad due to unacceptable work behavior. Own your work; don't allow distracting people or situations within your control stop you from doing that.

Communicate:
Fully understand your leader's expectations. Ask questions. If you don't understand a directive, ASK QUESTIONS! Better to have clarity than to waste time doing something wrong. Good communication skills is key. If you have concerns about your work, approach the leader to whom you report (supervisor, team lead, director). Good communication is only about broadcasting; it's also about tuning in. Learn how to be a good listener.

Work Well With Others:
Be the person who offers to help your teammates when they are struggling to make a deadline or if your leader asks you to assist. Not only does this help the other person but it helps you learn more about what that person does. There's nothing more frustrating for a leader than having a team that doesn't get along and is not willing to compromise. Not only is this unproductive , but it creates a toxic work environment for the team. Go to a teammate if you think you both need to have a conversation to help clear the air and get you both back on the same page. Difficult people have a reputation for being difficult.

Sometimes, even though you've done all you can to be an asset to your company, things like reorganization, changing company goals, and corporate redirection can negatively affect your employment. Know that if this happens to you, it's not personal. Don't let a layoff or forced resignation cause you to doubt yourself or your abilities. Learn from the experience and move on without bitterness.
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ASHISH’s Answer


1. Involvement
2. Challenging : Enthusiasm to work in new projects
3. Happy to help attitude if time permits
4. Love for what you do , basically without this first 3 might be difficult.
5. Communication : How open you're about your progress, what you don't like in something. Be assertive, neither meek nor aggressive.
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Battsetseg’s Answer

The most important thing is to do your work genuinely. Another aspect is to get along with your boss and as well as the colleagues. The last thing that you should consider is not to avoid any work and tasks. With these things, i am pretty sure, you will stay employed 😊

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Kathryn’s Answer

Thanks for your good question...I would say there are several factors that go into "keeping a job" or staying employed.  The first one that comes to mind is ATTITUDE about your position. A positive attitude can go a long way to keeping your job. I tell my bosses all the time "I LOVE MY JOB!" and that is true. I've been with my company for 35 years, so it must have had some impact to my long employment with this company. The second factor would be to WORK HARD and don't be afraid to offer help to your co-workers. Be a TEAM PLAYER and show the Company you want to give back to them. This should help you keep your position and climb the ladder to even further success.

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