How to Criticize Your Boss Without Losing Your Job

How to Criticize Your Boss Without Losing Your JobFeedback, as any good professional understands, is critically important. Theres nothing like a little constructive criticism to put the fire under your tail feathers and help you to understand and grow past your own limitations. But it isnt just a one-way street. From time to time, it will be importanteven necessaryto give your babo a little feedback too. You should want the kind of employee/boss relationship where that is possibleand work to cultivate it. googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.display(div-gpt-ad-1467144145037-0) ) Here are a few strategies for when you need to offer a little good-natured criticism to your boss without offending him or her or risking your good rapport.1. Pick your moment.If your boss is in the middle of a particularly stressful project or a bad week, you might want to wait until shes not stomping around fuming with the shortest possible fuse. Let things die down a bit and pick a mora peaceful, low-k ey moment to broach the subject. But do make sure to do it face-to-face. Meeting in person is a much better way to make the kind of connection you need for this to work.2. Ask permission.Particularly if you have a mora formal relationship with your boss, or youre nervous about how to broach the subject, its always a good idea to ask first. A simple, Would you be willing to hear a different perspective on the situation? or Could I offer my two cents? will work wonders and set the conversation up nicely.3. Keep it light.In this and all office interactions, stay positive. If humor is in your wheelhouse, try a humorous tone if appropriate. Avoid profanity and offensive jokes though keep it professional. Be playful and as gracious and appreciative as possible. And try to limit your use of the word but. As in I really enjoy working with you but4. Back it up.Dont just assume your ideas are great and worth sharingbetter than your bosss. Support your ideas with facts about production or prod uctivity. And then make sure that your feedback will genuinely help the person. The more you can make it valuable to your boss, the better.5. Make it about you.You statements tend to make people extra defensive. Try to frame everything through your point of view. I notice this It affected me when And try not to generalize with words like always or never. Think about how an improved relationship would make you a better worker, and explain this, point-by-point, to your boss. If you frame it as for the good of the company, youre more likely to get a positive response.6. Go in with a game plan.Think through what youre going to say in advance. The more you plan it out, the better. And find a friend or family member to rehearse it with beforehand. The cooler and more prepared you are going in, the better it will go. If you storm in right on the heels of an annoying email interaction, youre bound to say something you will later regret.7. Know when to stop.Say what you have to say as quickl y, gracefully, and succinctly as you canthen stop. It can be hard, once you get started, to turn the faucet offparticularly if this is the first time youve tried giving feedback to your boss. But youll need to make sure to quit while youre ahead and give room for your boss to respond. And try to listen with an open mind The communication lines, at last, are open.

10 of the Worst Cover Letter Mistakes to Avoid

10 of the Worst deckblatt Letter Mistakes to Avoid 10 of the Worst titel Letter Mistakes to AvoidMake aya your titelblatt letter helps your candidacy by avoiding these all-too-common mistakes.Once youve updated your professional resume, its time to prepare your job applications for submission. This usually involves making some small tweaks to your resume and creating a titel letter to accompany your application.But arent cover letters a thing of the past?Yes and no. While 74 percent of recruiters dont find the cover letter to be an important factor when evaluating candidates, the remaining percentage do. And since you have no way of knowing which type of recruiter will receive your application, its best to cover your bases and include a cover letter with every job application. As an added bonus, a reported 53 percent of employers admit they prefer candidates to send a cover letter.However, elend just any cover letter will do. If youre going to take the time to craft this document, ma ke sure it helps, elend hurts, your candidacy, by following cover letter dos and donts. Below are 10 common and costly mistakes to avoid when writing your next cover letter.Cover Letter Mistake 1 Lack of researchThanks to the Internet, theres little excuse to not personalize your cover letters. Whenever possible, research the name of the hiring manager or recruiter (if its not listed on the actual job post) and the company whos filling the punkt, and use this information to customize your opening document. If you skip this step, youre sending the message to the reader that you dont really care enough about the position to do your homework. In a world where employers are inundated with applications, any excuse to eliminate candidates will do. Dont let this cover letter mistakegive them a reason to cut you from the pile.There are some exceptions to this rule. If youre responding to an anonymous job posting, youre not expected to include the name of the company or the hiring manager in the cover letter. When a company goes out of its way to keep its name and the names of its employees confidential, you can assume the hiring manager wont take off points if you use a generic opener.Cover Letter Mistake 2 Overly formal or casual greetingsWhenever youre applying for a job or preparing for an interview, take the companys culture into account. You can get a better sense of the employers brand by checking out its Careers section online, reading reviews on Glassdoor, searching for its profile on The Muse, following the social media accounts the company set up for recruitment purposes, and talking to your networking connections whove worked at the organization. This will help you decide if youre better off going with a Hello Jeff or a Dear Mr. Berger type of greeting.If youre unable to address your cover letter to a specific person, steer clear of incredibly formal introductions, such as To Whom It May Concern, as they are not conversational and can be considered off-putt ing. The same goes for super casual openers like Hi Even if youre dealing with a startup that prides themselves on being non-traditional, this cover letter greeting is a little too laid back for your first communication and may have the reader questioning your professionalism.Play it safe and stick with a gender-neutral opener such as Dear Hiring Manager or Dear Recruiter.Cover Letter Mistake 3 Talking all about me, me, meThink of your cover letter as your abverkauf pitch to the hiring manager. Instead of spending the entire time talking about yourself and your wants and needs, consider the needs of your prospective employer. Your potential boss is the one who will (hopefully) read your cover letter, after all.Review the job description again and check out the latest news on the company. Ask yourself why the organization is hiring for this role. In other words, what pain point will this position solve? When you can relate to the hiring managers concerns and position your skills as t he solution to his or her needs, you have a better chance of avoiding cover letter mistakes andcapturing the readers attention.Cover Letter Mistake 4 Repeating your entire resumeRemember, the recruiter already has your resume - theres no need to rehash your entire work history in your cover letter. In fact, I believe this is why so many employers disregard the cover letter theyve read so many bad cover letters that merely summarize their candidates resumes, that they landsee no need to read them.One cover letter tip is to surprise the hiring manager by using your opening to demonstrate your understanding of the companys position in the marketplace and its needs and then highlight your experiences and accomplishments that speak to these requirements.Avoid these common cover letter mistakes.Hire a TopResume writer today.Cover Letter Mistake 5 Generic messagingEven if youre applying to an anonymous job listing, a common cover letter mistake is using boilerplate text. While your introdu ction may not be as specific as it would be for a position where the employer is known, this doesnt give you license to use a generic template for the main sections of your cover letter.Based upon the job description, make a list of the top 3-5 requirements for the role. This may have to do with your knowledge of a certain topic or an industry, your experience performing a particular task, or your education and other credentials. Then, brainstorm how you possess each prerequisite, referencing a specific contribution, accomplishment, or experience from your work history that illustrates these qualifications. Summarize this information in a paragraph or a set of bullets. This is a great way to customize your cover letter and grab the readers attention.Cover Letter Mistake 6 notlage following instructionsAs I previously mentioned, some employers, especially those in the healthcare, education, and legal sector, still value a cover letter and will request one in their job description. Do yourself a favor and re-read the job description carefully to provide context to your cover letter dos and donts. Often times the employer will request certain information to be included in the cover letter. The last thing you want to do is ignore this request, as the reader will assume you are not detail-oriented and unable to follow the simplest of instructions.Cover Letter Mistake 7 TyposWhen youre competing against a large pool of candidates for one role, the smallest cover letter mistakes could be used to eliminate you from the pile. These days, weve grown all too reliant on spell-check and autocorrect to edit our communication. Its easy to overlook the small mistakes, such as using higher when you really meant to say hire. Dont let these silly details derail your job application.Follow this simple cover letter tip Reread your cover letter. Then read it again. Then hand it over to a trusted friend. You know, the one that majored in English. If youre looking for some resources to improve your grammar and punctuation, check out Lynne Truss book, Eats, Shoots Leaves The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, and Woe is I The Grammarphobes Guide to Better English in Plain English by Patricia T. OConner. Theyre great readsCover Letter Mistake 8 Writing a novelIf recruiters spend an average of six seconds scanning your resume before deciding if youre a fit, how long do you think theyll spend reading your cover letter? Heres another set of cover letter dos and donts your cover letter shouldnt be any longer than is necessary to get your points across. And it definitely shouldnt exceed one page.Also, keep its readability in mind. Similar to your resume, try to create white space in your cover letter by avoiding dense blocks of text.Cover Letter Mistake 9 Going off brandWhether youre searching for a new job or managing your career path, its important to pay close attention to how you present your professional brand to others online, on paper, and face to face. T o that end, another cover letter tip is to give itthe same look and feel as your resume. If youre uploading your cover letter as a separate document to an online application, ensure it uses the same header as your resume. Also, make sure the font type, color, and size, the contact information you provide, and even the name you use on both documents remain consistent.Cover Letter Mistake 10 TMIWhile you can use a cover letter to explain an employment gap or your interest in relocating to a new city, dont overshare your personal details with a prospective employer. The recruiter doesnt need to know the gory details of your back surgery or how you had your heart broken and need to find a new city to call home. These extraneous details cant be used as selling points and will only detract from your qualifications and candidacy.Click on the following link for more job application advice.Your resume should be mistake free as well. Is yours? Find out with a free resume review.Recommended Re adingThis Cover Letter Tip Can Double Your Interview RequestsHow to Be a Great Candidate Even if Youre Under-Qualified for the JobHow to Write a Catchy Cover LetterRelated Articles

The Best Career Management Advice You#8217;ll Ever Receive

The Best Career Management Advice You8217ll Ever Receive Its an activity fruchtwein adults are familiar with when its time for a job search and, therefore, time to get a resume together.For many, just the thought of it alone produces anUgh Its like having to construct your life history all at once, all from scratch. It feels like tortureOn top of that, memories are dicey. They are unreliable, which makes them less then ideal companions in the endeavor to present the best of yourself on paper to a prospective employer.Therefore, this is one of the fruchtwein important articles youll ever read addressing effective career management.Dont Rely on Your Memory Keep Track as You GoPlease do not be the person who tries to sell all of their talent through the lens of a single-sheet resume constructed with shoddy memories. Dont let your memory be your only resource It will not help you represent the best of yourself.To stop underrepresenting yourself, putthese career management tips into practice immediately1. Keep Track of Your Job Experience ina Job JournalNot only will this be extremely beneficial when its time to write a new resume, but itwill also begreat for your performance reviews. This is your memory bank on paper2. Try to Quantify What Youre DoingThat way, you can express your accomplishments and value at work in the form of hard data, which can be highlighted on your resume.Examples- XYZ project welches completed three days ahead of time.- The successful event was put together for $2,000 under budget.- I saved a customer from going to a competitor, which saved us $X dollars.3. Pay Attention to What You Really Enjoy DoingWhen I ask my career coaching clients, What work activity gives you high levels of satisfaction?, many cannot answer.Its easiest to identify what satisfies you when youre in the act of doing it. Levels of satisfaction are not necessarily dictated by job title or description, but by job functions.Ask yourself, W hat in my job, do I like doing? Notice the level of enjoyment or satisfaction you feel when doing some task. Rate it on a scale of 1-5 for future decision-making. Remember Its not the job description or the job itself that youre rating its the individual tasks and activities you engage in at work.This final tip is one of the most important I can give you. It is the most essential in crafting a meaningful career experience. When Im career coaching, I ask, What did you most enjoy doing in previous roles? Many cant remember or dont recall accurately, particularly when they are trying to recollect from several years prior.The inability to zero in on what you enjoy will contribute to a pattern of perpetually choosing jobs that you willfind unfulfilling. This will keep you locked in an ongoing quest for an ideal job and it will adversely impact your engagement levels at work.Though we in HR talk a lot about an employers responsibility to help employeesstayengaged, this is a two-way stree t. We each play a part, yet I do believe it ultimately rests with the employee. Your engagement is substantially influenced by your level of work satisfaction. That choice is yours.As you can gather, these critical tips are not one-time activities. They are ongoing practices. In fact, theyre so important they should be considered career management habits, not tipsSo, are you in the habit oftracking your experiencepaying attention to what truly brings you enjoymentand quantifying your contributions and value?These habits are essential elements of career success. They are the best career management tips youll ever get so be sure to follow themJoAnn Corley is CEO of The Human Sphere.