6 Obvious Signs that it’s Time to Quit Your Current Job

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Have you ever questioned the reason why you joined your company? Sometimes your workplace may not turn out to be what you expected. While every job has its pros and cons, if you feel unhappy at work or feel like you do not fit, you should be ready to move on and do something else.

StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article | 6 Obvious Signs that it's Time to Quit Your Current Job

But things are not always so clear cut. There is no fairy tale office where everything is always as you want them to be. You have to encounter both the negative and positive aspects of a job when working. In such a situation, making the wrong decision can lead to the loss of a good job promotion. You may also end up destroying the goodwill you have created since starting the job.

So how do you tell that it is time for you to move on?

When you lose the Thrill of Going to Work

Do you no longer feel excited getting up early to head to work? Do you feel like a machine when you start working on some of your daily tasks? That is a clear sign that you need to end your job and find something else to do.

The lack of excitement in doing your daily tasks can lead you to waste your time searching for other things that may excite you, such as playing online games or watching movies at work. Instead of wasting your valuable time, you should make use of it somewhere else.

When Your Ideas Are Not Being Considered

How long have you held out waiting to impress your boss? Sometimes you have to bear being left on the sidelines until you can prove your capabilities to your boss. But if you remain in the same position for a long time, you should consider working at a different place that identifies your value.

Moreover, if your workmates exclude you when making decisions or don’t appreciate your opinions, you should find somewhere else that is more welcoming. It is essential to work in an environment that appreciates your effort and work and makes you feel valued.

When You Are Smarter than the Boss

It is not a crime to be the smartest person in the room. But if you believe you have more skills than your boss, you may have to consider switching to another job. It can be very frustrating since you may have to downplay your thoughts as you conform to your boss’s even when you know they are disastrous.

Additionally, you will constantly be uncomfortable if you do not trust their decisions regarding the company. If you do not want to go down with a sinking ship due to poor leadership, you should seek a more challenging working environment.

When You are Underpaid

Does the work you do equate to the amount you receive as payment? You should not consider sticking around if your salary is too low. Aside from your monthly income, a good company should offer you work benefits, an employee health insurance, a 401k program, and a paid time off, among other monetary benefits. If you’re looking for a better job opportunity, you will find that there are plenty of advantages of Truck Driving for Barr-Nunn Transportation that you cannot find in other similar companies.

You Cannot See a Future

Does your company offer you opportunities to grow? A good company should create an opportunity for you to grow and rise in the hierarchy. Everyone is entitled to go after new opportunities and create a name for themselves. However, if your company does not provide you with such opportunities, you should find somewhere else to explore that.

When Your Work Environment is Toxic

Does your company tolerate bad behaviors, or does it hold perpetrators responsible? The culture of a company is depicted by how it responds to particular behaviors in the workplace. How does it deal with bullying, gender, and sexual harassment, or conflicts in general?

It would be best not to work in a company that does not protect you from such acts. Not only can they be demeaning, but some of them can hurt you mentally, physically, and emotionally.

It does not matter if you receive a good salary; if the environment is toxic, your productivity will be affected. You should instead find somewhere else that provides you with a safe working environment.

Summing up

Do not stick in a work environment that does not benefit you in any way; the grass is greener on the other side. Once you decide to leave, you should figure out what you want and find ways to get there. Take the step forward, fearlessly, and pursue a positive future.

How You Will Bounce Back From Job Loss

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StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article | How You Will Bounce Back From Job LossLosing your job brings up a variety of unwanted thoughts and feelings. You’re flooded with worries about how you’ll cope without a regular income. How and if you’ll ever find a new job. And depending on the circumstances of losing your job, you may begin to doubt your capabilities at work.

Although things may seem difficult now, there are brighter days ahead.

Bouncing back from job loss isn’t a matter of if but when. To help you get back on your feet quickly, breaking down what you need to do into manageable chunks is crucial. And so, through this post, you’ll find four vital steps to follow, manage your job loss worries and bounce back.

Don’t Beat Yourself Up

Before moving onto the next step, it’s essential to take time out to grieve your job loss.

Investing in self-care, such as eating healthy, positive thinking, exercise, and taking time to do something you enjoy will ensure you maintain a healthy body and mind. Both of which are essential to keep your head high and focused on putting your life back together, following losing your job.

Contact A Lawyer

The moment you lose your job, everything can seem a bit of a blur. You may not have truly taken the time to understand or even question your ex-employer about why they’re letting you go.

Finding out your rights as an employee, from experienced labour lawyers, is an essential step to take. By sharing your situation with a lawyer, they can advise if your employment agreement stipulations have been violated. Or, for example, whether you may have been subject to wrongful dismissal. In turn, professing your case to your company to ensure you are treated fairly or receive adequate compensation.

Manage Your Finances

Although it may be painful to look at your bank balance and budget right now, it’s necessary to avoid missing payments and falling into debt.

For this step, you want to work out how much money you have to live on for the coming weeks while finding a new job. In doing so, you can establish the urgency of needing to get a new role.

If you’re drowning in debt, you need to contact the collectors urgently to explain your situation. They may be able to freeze your payments until you get a new job.

Other areas where you can make positive changes to ensure you can afford to live for a while if you find a new role is trimming your budget. Whether cutting down your food shopping budget or letting go of a few unused subscriptions.

If more drastic measures are needed, you could return a vehicle you’ve leased to the provider, to save yourself a monthly lump sum. Or downsize to a less expensive home.

Survey Income Options

Depending on the circumstances of your dismissal, you may be able to claim benefits. Contact your local government to see if you’re entitled to any financial support.

If you have a side business, you could use your free time to make the most of your entrepreneurial talents and expand it into a full-time gig.

Otherwise, you could seize this opportunity to take a new course and learn something that can either enhance or change your career path.

Taking time to take care of you. Alongside sourcing a lawyer for support, managing your finances and surveying new potential income options. Are the essential stages to follow to help you bounce back from losing your job.

How to Transfer Business Skills to Manage Your Life

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StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article |Business Skills|How to Transfer Business Skills to Manage Your LifeStarting and running a successful business requires a great number of skills, including fantastic organization, great financial planning, and people management. If you are an entrepreneur, chances are you have worked to hone these skills to the peak of your ability. Yet they don’t have to be confined to your business world. These abilities can help you manage your personal life, ensuring you stay on top of your finances, personal investments, and work-life balance. By taking a holistic approach to your life, you’ll find you make better decisions, and that you’re able to approach your business with greater focus and positivity.

Managing Personal Property

When you buy a new house, it is never simply a personal decision. You are also investing in a property, one that you can profit from in the future if and when you decide to sell, and it’s worth using all your business acumen to ensure you make the right decisions. Properties come in all shapes and sizes, with all different circumstances attached, and it’s worth doing your research. For example, if you’re buying an apartment that falls under an owners corporation, this can have many advantages, but it’s worth investigating strata law as the bylaws that govern these bodies can be complicated. A specialized lawyer may be able to advise you and make sure you’re getting the best deal possible in this situation. Whatever the type of property you’re considering, treating it as a business decision as well as a decision of the heart will ensure you are investing in your future.

Overseeing Your Accounts

For some reason, many business owners with an incredible grasp of their company’s accounts and finance can fail to apply this same attention to detail to their own personal financial situation. Don’t let this be you. Keeping a close eye on the state of your accounts is a vital part of living a successful life, one that allows you to plan for the future and accomplish everything you desire. There are also tips and tricks you can pull from business models to help you manage your finances more easily. Just as you may have ‘pots’ of money separated for different departments in your business, why not apply this same structure to your own bank account? Put aside a budget each month for clothes, groceries, and casual spending, and make it more efficient for yourself to keep track of your expenditure.

Scheduling and Prioritization

Do you ever feel like achieving the perfect work-life balance is an impossible task? You’re not alone. Many business owners find it difficult to make time for themselves. One solution to this is simple: schedule personal time and social events into your calendar just as you would a meeting or a work deadline. This may seem frivolous, but in fact, taking time out to destress and spend quality time with family and friends is vitally important in maintaining your physical and mental health. In turn, this will affect your ability to concentrate, and therefore the health of your business.

5 Facts Everyone Should Know About Home Loans Before Applying

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StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article |Home Loans|5 Facts Everyone Should Know About Home Loans Before ApplyingUnless you’re one of the lucky few to win the lottery, it’s a safe bet that when it comes time to buy a home, you likely aren’t able to pay for the whole thing with out-of-pocket cash. In order to afford your first home, you’re going to need a home loan—more commonly called a mortgage. Whether through a bank or a credit union, like Rivermark Community Credit Union, home loans are a necessary step for homeownership.

Before you look into applying for credit union home loans, there are important things to keep in mind. In this blog, we’ll examine the critical details to know before you apply for a home loan. We hope this will help make the process of applying for a home loan more intuitive and less complicated as you continue on the path to homeownership. Here are five facts about home loans.

Fact #1: You May Qualify for an FHA Insured Loan

During the Great Depression, the US federal government set up a program through the Federal Housing Administration to help struggling homeowners afford insurance on their homes. Over the decades since, FHA loans have become standard and more complex, offering people the chance to afford homes who might not otherwise have the chance to afford them.

The chief purpose of FHA-backed loans is to make it easier for people with lower incomes to afford bank and credit union home loans. The backing of the government eliminates some of the risk borne by the lending institution, meaning that they can waive certain fees, demand less money upfront, and overlook certain income requirements they might otherwise have.

If you aren’t sure whether you qualify for an FHA-insured loan, you can always ask. Do note that while FHA-insured loans make it possible for lower-income people to obtain a home loan, you will typically need to have decent credit to successfully apply.

However, also note that it’s ultimately up to a given lending institution to set the relevant terms, so things like rates, credit scores, and loan terms can vary from lender to lender, on top of what the federal government requires.

Fact #2: Debts May Not Be Disqualifying

One concern we often hear from people coming to us for a credit union home loans is that they have debts they’re working to pay off: credit cards, medical debt, student loans, and more. These aren’t actually deal-breakers, as it turns out. Lending institutions often overlook medical debts in collections, and student loan debt is, actually, typically considered an indication that you may have higher income in the future than you do currently.

Even credit card debts or other accounts in collections can be acceptable by home loan underwriters. The overwhelmingly important thing that lending institutions will look at is your credit score. If your credit score is solid, this indicates to them you’re trustworthy, even with some collections on your account.

If you’re in debt, talk with your lending institution to see what sort of expectations, if any, they may have for you.

Fact #3: You Can Reduce Your Total Payment by Paying Extra

As with all loans that rely on compounding interest (that is to say, nearly all of them), having a longer payment period typically means two things. You pay less month-to-month, but you wind up paying more in the long run since there’s more time for the interest to compound. Play around with one of the many online mortgage calculators, and you’ll see this as plain as day.

For that reason, paying extra on your mortgage if you come into some extra money can reduce the overall length of time it takes to pay the mortgage back, and consequently, you’ll pay less overall. So, if you get a major bonus at work or receive an inheritance, putting it toward your bank or credit union home loans can be an excellent idea.

However, not all lending institutions will permit extra payments. Some may insist you hold fast to the agreed-upon payment plan. Discuss this with your lending institution ahead of time to see what options are available to you.

Fact #4: Money in the Bank (Probably) Won’t Count

When a mortgage underwriter is assessing the sort of funding they’ll be able to make available as part of a home loan, if you have considerable assets saved, you might be tempted to think that this will count in your favor. However, most modern underwriters consider assets negligible in terms of assessing your ability to pay back your loan. The reason for this is that they care more about your ability to pay in the long-term, and a nest egg can be depleted, even a sizable one.

For this reason, regular income is significantly more important than fixed assets or cash in the bank. However, one way in which this can be beneficial is that it will allow you to put more money down, reducing the amount you must borrow, which reduces your total financial obligation, as discussed in Fact #3.

Fact #5: Self-Employed? You Might Have a Rough Time

One of the nice things about the US tax code is that it allows—even encourages—business owners to write off expenses on their taxes in order to foster entrepreneurs. However, when it comes time to apply for a mortgage, this same benefit can backfire.

The reason for this is that one of the key documents underwriters use to assess your income and your ability to pay is your tax return. If you’ve made $200,000 in one year, but you’ve written off $170,000, the underwriter will see you as having an income of just $30,000, which may not be enough to apply for a home loan. This may be the case even if they know you make enough money through your business because underwriters often have their hands tied by executive decisions, particularly when they work for large, nationwide banks.

It’s for this reason that if you’re self-employed, you may want to consider credit union home loans instead. Credit unions, as local entities that serve specific communities, often have more freedom to work with their members than those employed by big banks.

Here are some additional fun facts about home loans. Did you know the term “mortgage” comes from a French term mort gaige, meaning “dead pledge”?

How To Ensure Your Resume Stays Top Of The Pile

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StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article |Resume|How To Ensure Your Resume Stays Top Of The PileIn order to get the job you want, you need to have the skills that are required. You need to be able to fulfill the employer’s needs and do what they want. At the end of the day, you’re going to be a valuable cog in their well-oiled machine. If you don’t have what’s necessary, then you won’t get picked – it’s quite simple. There is another thing you need to do, though. You must ensure that you’re looking very attractive to them. Before they actually choose you, they need to fall completely in love with you and realize that there is nobody better for the position. If you can do that, then you’re golden.

You’ll get a chance to do this in an interview and during a trial period, but before any of those take place, you’ll need to grab their attention with your written communication. Your resume (or CV elsewhere) should be eye-catching and to the point. They need to love what they see and what they read. Here’s how you can make sure yours stays top of the pile for good:

Don’t Overthink It And Be Too Extravagant

It’s easy to want to write an awful lot about how good you’re going to be for them. While it’s counterintuitive, you’re going to want to write the fundamentals about yourself and leave it there. Too much detail and too much bragging won’t do it. It’s not an awards ceremony or a professional development plan; it’s a resume. They might become bored with all of the details or see it as trying too hard.

Get All The Right And Relevant Details In There

There’s nothing quite like reading something that wastes your time. For some reason, a lot of people like to put information in their resume that is just completely irrelevant to the situation.
Make sure you’re talking yourself up, but don’t talk about something that nobody really knows nor cares about. If you’re applying for a mental health position, then perhaps you should mention a masters of counselling degree, but don’t talk about something that is the antithesis of the profession.

Think About The Way It’s Presented

The look of it matters a lot, too. The content needs to be on point, but if it is presented in a terrible fashion, then minds are going to be made up very quickly. The way you present your resume says a lot about how you are and how you act as a person. Make sure they are excited to meet you.

Check Over For Mistakes A Few Times

The chances are that you will have made a few errors throughout the writing. That’s okay as it’s something everyone does every single day. Just make sure you look over it all a few times in order to wipe out any issues. You never know, there may be a zero tolerance for this kind of thing at the firm you’re looking to work in – they may see a small error and throw it in the trash immediately.