Job satisfaction is a fickle thing. If you work in a job that doesn’t challenge or stimulate you, it can become a kind of torture to show up every day. If you’re stuck in this kind of rut, keep reading. We’ve got seven ways you can boost your job satisfaction without quitting your job.

Spend Time with Upbeat Coworkers

There is always someone in the office who is perpetually unhappy. Avoid that person. Instead, find that chipper, upbeat person, and hang out with them. Happiness is almost infectious. That will make your job feel less tedious and frustrating.

Branch Out

Nothing kills satisfaction like monotony. If you feel like your days are interchangeable, look for ways to break up the routine. Find a committee to join or get involved with planning a party for a coworker.

Takeaway: If all else fails, start a committee. Building something often creates satisfaction.

Embrace Gratitude

Even if your job isn’t fantastic, you probably don’t hate everything about it. Maybe you like your coworkers, or the company has great insurance benefits. Take a few moments to remind yourself about the things you’re grateful for about the job.

Eat Healthier

A carb and fat-heavy lunch will make you feel lethargic, which makes it easier to feel dissatisfied with your job. Choosing healthy meal options like a garden salad with grilled chicken gives your body resources.

Takeaway: Eating healthy will serve as a mood booster.

Fix the Problem

Is there one specific task or process in your job that makes you hate it? If it’s not a core element of the job, talk to your manager about ditching that task or process. Most managers will embrace changes likely to make you more efficient and engaged.

Stop Procrastinating

We often use procrastination to avoid starting unpleasant tasks, yet this avoidance breeds stress. Stress breeds dissatisfaction. The stress and anxiety only grow worse as we contemplate the approaching deadline for the unpleasant task. Make a plan for doing these unpleasant tasks and getting them off your plate. The sooner they go away, the more satisfied you’ll feel about your job.

Takeaway: You also get the added benefit of giving your heart, nervous system, and adrenal glands a break.

Build In Easy Wins

Working on long-term projects can create dissatisfaction because the results remain off on the horizon somewhere. Create some short-term goals that you can accomplish each week. These easy wins can give you a psychological boost and increase job satisfaction.

Quitting your job isn’t the only solution to job satisfaction. Sometimes actions as simple as eating a little healthier and changing whom you hang out with can boost your satisfaction. In other cases, you may need to take more challenging steps like weeding out procrastination or creating a committee from scratch. There is, however, almost always a way to make your job more satisfying.

Have you already tried a bunch of these steps and still can’t find any job satisfaction? That means it’s time to look for a new job, and Gallman Consulting can help.

Every company wants to be the company that’s always flooded with resumes, yet most aren’t. If this sounds like your company, you’re probably wondering what to do. Keep reading to learn five ways you can transform your company.

Flexible Schedules

An exceedingly small number of families conform to the traditional model of an income-earning husband and stay at home mom. That means the traditional, rigid 8-5 schedule works for almost no one. While some job categories must adhere to a fixed schedule, you’ll become a place people want to work if they’ve got wiggle room in their schedules.

Takeaway: You can build some minor flexibility into rigid schedule jobs by including a no-penalty grace period of 10-15 minutes at the beginning of each shift.

Wellness

Some companies probably still encourage 80-hour workweeks, but that is a path to losing good employees. Your workers don’t want to burn out on the job or have heart attacks. They want more balanced lives that leave them healthy and active. Encouraging health and wellness activities will make your company more desirable for potential employees who want those balanced lives.

Provide Development Opportunities

No one wants to feel like they’re stuck in a rut in their job. This is especially true in jobs where there is a small chance of promotion or no clear path to it. Left to their own devices, employees will seek out professional development elsewhere. Offering professional development signals that you take a healthy interest in your employees’ progress.

Takeaway: If you don’t provide development opportunities, your best employees will find another way.

A Culture of Recognition

Study after study and article after article talk about how people desire recognition at work, often more than they crave a raise. It’s a big ask in companies where managers often struggle to manage their existing workloads. Carving out time to provide employee recognition can feel impossible. This priority must start from the top and may require bringing on more managers to lighten the workload. The upshot is that inculcating a culture of recognition will create a vastly happier group of workers.

Be Trustworthy

It’s a sad truth that managers and supervisors will sometimes tell outright lies to get subordinates to do what they want. They’ll exaggerate how soon something must be finished or pretend higher-ups are angry about the degree of progress. While this might work in the short-term, it drives a permanent wedge the second the lies get exposed, as they almost always do.

Takeaway: Always keep things on the level. It only takes a single lie for a supervisor, manager, or business owner to lose credibility forever.

The key to becoming a company where people want to work starts and ends with never treating people like a number. If you treat everyone like a human being and show a modicum of human concern, people will flock to your company.

Put in the work to become one of these companies.

Many people fear writing a resume. Some people fear to make mistakes, and others fear the possibility of rejection. All too often, though, people fear the writing itself. If fear has made you put off writing your resume, let’s try to put that fear to bed. You can write a stellar resume by following a few basic guidelines that we’ll cover right now.

Hit the Essentials

Every resume must cover certain ground. You must include any relevant education, licenses, or credentials. You need a work history, although you can generally keep it to the last ten years. Don’t forget to add your contact information.

Takeaway: Not hitting the essentials makes you look unprofessional, but now you know what you need.

Get to the Point Quickly

Whether your resume goes through an HR department or to a hiring manager, it’s landing in front of busy people. Don’t make them work to understand your meaning.

For example, don’t write: “Provided supervisory oversight for a project team that ultimately delivered a boost in revenue of $500,000.”

Instead, write something like: “Managed project team that created $500,000 in new revenue.”

Highlight Recent Accomplishments

If you’ve been in your industry for 15 years, you’ve got a lot of experience behind you. Don’t try to fit everything you’ve ever done onto the resume. Highlight recent accomplishments. Did you step into a supervisory position and finish a job during a crisis at your last job? Mention that.

Takeaway: Highlighting recent accomplishments sends the message that you aren’t just phoning it in every day.

Reuse Keywords from the Job Description

Many people stumble on this one. Keywords are just important phrases, usually related to a skill or industry jargon. For example, a warehouse might mention a specific software program they use for inventory management. If you know that program, mention it by name on your resume. Including these keywords makes your resume more likely to get to the interview phase of the process.

Look at Other Resumes before You Start

New to the job search process? Never written a resume before? If this is you, the process can prove difficult because you don’t know where to start. The easiest way to get a handle on writing a resume is to look at other resumes. The good news is that there are tons of free example resumes all over the Internet that can help guide you while you write your own.

Takeaway: It always helps to see how someone else has done something successfully.

Don’t let writing anxiety or other fears stop you from pursuing a better job. You can write a stellar resume. Hit the essentials and be concise. Highlight any recent accomplishments. Work in some keywords. If you struggle to get started, look for some examples online. Before you know it, you’ll have a stellar resume.

Once you prepare your stellar resume, it’s time to look for jobs. Check out Gallman Consulting career opportunities and we’ll help you place that resume with the right employers.

Much has been said about the power and benefits of habit and routines, including lower stress and more productivity. Yet, habit and routine can also have a dark side. They encourage us to become stagnate in jobs or situations that we don’t love or that don’t empower us. Trying something new means abandoning our routines for a while or developing new ones.

Let’s look at three larger benefits.

Boosts Your Creativity

As great as routine and familiarity are at making sure we pick up the kids and make lunch for work, they can also start wearing down our creativity. It turns out that creativity depends a lot on fresh experiences. Trying something new gives your brain fresh material to play with and can lead to new bursts of creativity.

Reduce Fear

The prospect of trying something new often brings with it the vague but persistent fear of some failure. Fear has a way of growing and infecting your view of other things, even the familiar. When you try something new, you decide you won’t be afraid of that potential failure. You start teaching yourself to be less afraid of everything else. You can even pick something where failure means nothing, like taking up abstract painting. Also, if you get it “wrong,” no one will know.

You Improve Product You

In a sense, you are the product you sell to an employer. You bring skills, experience, and knowledge to the table. When you try new things, you expand your skills and broaden your experience. You improve the product that is you, which can make it easier to secure a raise or a better job. Of course, that means you must pick new things that have some relevance to your job or desired career path.

Trying new things has other benefits, such as making you a better-rounded person or simply improving your self-knowledge. Still, it’s a solid first step in boosting your creativity. It can help you master your fear. Learning new things can also make you a better catch for potential employers.

Here’s Why December Is The Best Time Of Year To Apply To Jobs

The end of the year is a time of family obligations, shopping, and traveling. Your kids may need new clothes, or you need to find your spouse that vintage thing they love. It’s easy to assume that everyone involved in the hiring for businesses is doing the same things. Yet, it turns out that December may be the best time of year to apply.

Let’s look at a few of the reasons why.

Fewer Competitors

In 2018, around a third of all Americans traveled for the Christmas holiday. Thanksgiving often sees mass travel, as well. Traveling, even if only in your own state, takes planning and time. While people do that planning and then visit their families, they often aren’t actively pursuing new jobs. Yet, many companies still need to fill empty positions, especially in retail, shipping, and always in tech.

Seasonal Work Spikes

Seasonal work may not be exactly what you’re looking for, but it sure beats unemployment around the holidays. Gifts for all your friends and family won’t pay for themselves. Plus, seasonal positions spike around the holidays. Target and UPS alone are looking to hire on around 225,000 seasonal workers this year. Plus, as with all temp positions, there’s always a possibility you’ll be asked to stay on if you impress your boss.

Extra Money in the Budget

Many companies employ a use-it-or-lose-it budget approach. That means that anyone in the business that still has money in their budget must find something to spend it on or risk a small budget the following year. For any department that’s been running understaffed, the manager will want to fill empty positions if it’s even remotely possible. It also means that applicants with fewer qualifications have a better chance of getting into the room with the hiring manager.

While traditional folklore might hold that no one hires during December, that’s not true anymore. Many big companies increase their hiring during the holidays. Plus, managers often have extra money in their budget they must spend or risk losing the next year. You also face less intense competition from others, as people back off their job hunt in favor of planning and attending family events. In other words, December is a great time to apply for a job.

If you feel less than engaged at work recently, like you’re just putting in the time, than you’re not alone. Around 7 in 10 workers in the US feel some level of disengagement from work. If that’s not the kind of employee you want to be, keep reading for some quotes that will help you stay motivated at work.

“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” ~Robert Collier
“A year from now, you may wish you had started today.” ~ Karen Lamb Takeaway: The only way you can finish something important is to start. If you keep putting off the start, you’ll never finish.

“Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.” ~Earl Nightingale
“Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” ~Will Rogers
“A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work.” ~Colin Powell
“Almost every successful person begins with two beliefs: the future can be better than the present, and I have the power to make it so.” ~ David Brooks Takeaway: In many ways, motivation is the belief that you can make the future better. Even if you only make it better for yourself and your family, it’s still better.

“Be humble. Be hungry. Always be the hardest worker in the room.” ~Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
“Don’t watch the clock. Do what it does. Keep going.” ~Sam Levenson
“Believe you can, and you’re halfway there.” ~Theodore Roosevelt
“Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.” ~ Dale Carnegie
Takeaway: Failure tells you that you took a wrong turn somewhere. Figure out where you took that wrong turn and don’t do it again.

“Happiness does not come from doing easy work but from the afterglow of satisfaction that comes after the achievement of a difficult task that demanded our best.” ~Theodore Isaac Rubin

Staying motivated at work can be difficult, especially if you feel disengaged. Just remember that many people feel disengaged at work from time to time. You can choose to be motivated. If you need a little help with that motivation, check out the list of quotes above. Success stems from consistent hard work, not occasional flashes of effort.

Have you been trying and failing to stay motivated at work? Can’t seem to find any inspiration? It might be time for a change. Let Gallman Consulting help you find a more motivating workplace for you.

The wicked witch and Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13^th) could be the least of your Halloween safety concerns for this holiday!

Just a couple of Halloween safety tricks so you can enjoy your treats:

• Never trick or treat alone.
• Use reflective tape on costumes and bags to help drivers see you.
• Examine all treats for choking hazards and tampering before eating them.
• Only eat factory-wrapped treats: do not enter the home of a stranger.
• Never walk near lit candles or luminaries.
• Wear a flame-resistant costume.

Be safe this Halloween when you go trick or treating!

Barbara Greene
GPS Safety Specialist

Lying on resumes and CVs has become so commonplace that around 85% of companies report catching applicants lying on their resume. While some lies might only rise to the level of obscuring the exact dates worked at a company, others wholly misrepresent a person’s skills or credentials. So, how do you spot a lie when you see one? Look for Incongruities One of the simplest ways to spot a lie on a CV or resume is to keep an eye open for incongruities. For example, they list accomplishments that don’t line up with their job title. Someone working in HR won’t realistically have anything to do with sales or production numbers. A massive jump in job title from one company to the next can also serve as a red flag for dishonesty. Takeaway: Incongruity doesn’t always mean dishonesty, but it should prompt some serious questions for the candidate. Universal Proficiency It’s the very rare candidate indeed who brings proficiency in every skill listed in the job description. Someone who works with spreadsheets might have seen a pivot table, but it doesn’t mean they’re experts at making them. By the same token, someone might have played around with HTML a few times, but it doesn’t mean they can write the code for your new website. Make sure you dig into these proficiency claims with some technical questions that can expose exaggeration. Get a Background Check If you think that someone is misrepresenting their education or credentials, the simplest way to vet the CV is with a background check. These checks can verify not only educational history but work history and even prior earnings. Background checks come at different levels of scrutiny, and more extensive checks cost more. You’ll need to decide how deep you want the background checks to go. Takeaway: A background check will prove much cheaper than going through the entire hiring process a second time when you discover the lie. Use Backdoor Reference Checks No one provides references who will torpedo them with a potential employer. That means that sometimes, you need to go with a backdoor reference check of someone who worked with a candidate but isn’t on their reference list. You can use a resource like LinkedIn to find former managers or coworkers. Takeaway: These backdoor reference checks often reveal a much more accurate picture of someone’s skills and accomplishments. With lying some common on CVs these days, you must remain wary for the lies. Keep an eye open for incongruities and claims of universal proficiency. Shell out for a background check on all serious applicants. Dig into their background with backdoor reference checks. It’s always better to avoid hiring a lying applicant than needing to replace them later.

Getting into the interview phase is often such a struggle that you may feel like you need to take any job offer that comes your way. In practice, though, a bad job can prove even more disastrous than waiting a little longer for another option.

Keep reading to learn some red flags to watch for when interviewing.

Your Duties Are Vague

You need clear information about a job and the expectations attached to it before you can make a good decision. If the interviewer can’t give you a clear set of duties, it means they haven’t thought the job through. It may also mean they haven’t thought through how you’ll be evaluated in the job. That’s a recipe for an unhappy work life.

Terrible Reviews

No employer will get stellar reviews from every former employee. That being said, most ex-employees won’t take the time and effort involved to craft a negative employer review unless their experience was truly awful. Multiple negative employer reviews are a clear sign of a toxic workplace. Steer clear.

They Dodge Your Questions

Every candidate should have at least two or three questions to ask during the interview. If nothing else, ask about where you’ll be working specifically or who you report to day to day. These kinds of basic questions should get answered immediately. If not, it could be a sign of trouble.

Expect You to Take the Job on the Spot

Unless you’re interviewing with a dream company for a dream position and a dream salary, no employer should expect you to take a job on the spot. This is especially true if the job includes relocating. An employer should be willing to give you a little time to think it over and discuss things with your spouse or partner.

They Actively Lie

It’s one thing for a hiring manager to overlook telling you something. It happens. It’s almost always an innocent mistake. It’s something else entirely if they tell you something that proves false.

You Might Not Want That Job

Getting an interview is a big step, but it’s not the only thing you should consider. You can run into situations where getting a job offer isn’t a good thing. Keep your eyes open for the red flags listed above. You could save yourself some serious frustration and a bad work situation.

Businesses and recruiters don’t just use social media as a way to find applicants. Around 43% also use it as a screening tool to weed out candidates. That begs the question: What are the social media red flags I should avoid? Keep reading and we’ll give some of the biggest red flags to avoid.

Illicit Drugs

While pictures of you drinking a beer with friends won’t kill your interview chances anymore, almost anything related to illicit drugs will hurt you a lot. Like or not, your after-work behaviors can impact your company’s brand image. No business wants an association with illicit drugs. That goes for liking posts about drugs as well.
Takeaway: You can like or support whatever you want, privately, but public announcements on social media make it fair game to disqualify you.

Complaining About Work

The occasional post about having a bad day at work probably won’t raise any eyebrows. If you posted complaints about your old job or employer on a regular basis, though, it can make potential employers nervous. Constant negative posts can make other potential candidates not apply for jobs at a company.

Charged Political Posts

As a general rule, most companies avoid associating themselves with any political position or party. Businesses can’t and won’t tell employees not to be involved in politics. That being said, they don’t want employees creating a hostile work environment with any brand of political speech.
Takeaway: Confine political posts to general comments, such as encouraging others to vote. Avoid bashing any specific politician or even bashing a political party.

Vulgarity

Off-color jokes and cursing might be fine at the local bar, but it doesn’t belong on your social media profiles. Recruiters view the overall tone of your posts as a sign of what to expect once you’re on the job site. Most employers and staffing agencies aren’t interested in hiring someone who curses constantly or uses crude humor.

Misspellings and Bad Grammar

It might seem trivial, but it’s not. Lots of typos and bad grammar send a clear message to businesses, staffing agencies and recruiters that you don’t value clear communication. Good communication skills are one of the top soft skills every employer looks for in a candidate. It’s a particularly avoidable problem, given that most computers and phones come with spellcheck features.
Takeaway: If spelling and grammar aren’t your strong suit, use spellcheck and look for a free grammar checker like Grammarly that will help you clean up those posts.

Make Sure You Use Social Media Correctly

Social media is a powerful tool that can help you land a job if you use it the right way. Avoid common mistakes like drug references and charged political speech. Instead, focus on subjects like training programs, volunteer efforts or your kids’ sporting events.