S IUSLAW N EWS C AREERS & E MPLOYMENT G UIDE | March 2020 | 3C
Build your
network en
route to
landing a
new job
A new year provides a perfect op-
portunity to turn over a new leaf, and
many people commit to doing so by
making New Year’s resolutions.
While there are no rules governing
resolutions, certain resolutions tend
to top the list of the most common
year after year. Setting health and
fitness goals are very common, but
so are resolutions to switch careers.
In fact, a 2017 survey from YouGov
found that 14 percent of respondents
were committed to finding a new job
in 2018.
Building a strong professional net-
work can help people find a fulfilling
job when they are looking to advance
their careers. The following tips can
help professionals establish such a
network.
• Recognize networking is a two-
way street. Networking can be an ef-
fective way to find a new job, and it’s
also a great way to help other people
do the same. While you’re looking for
a new job, if you come across oppor-
tunities that aren’t a good fit for you
but might be for someone in your
network, don’t hesitate to contact
them. Your efforts will be appreciat-
ed, and those you help might do the
same for you if they come across job
openings that suit your background.
• Build your online profile. Linke-
dIn, a social media site for profes-
sionals, is a go-to resource for human
resources officials, and it’s also a
valuable way to stay connected with
professional acquaintances. Career
services professionals advise adding
anyone you have worked with to your
LinkedIn network. Continue building
your profile as your network grows
and you work with more people.
When others invite you to join their
network, accept those invitations.
• Update your résumé. Update
your résumé as often as you deem
necessary. Colleagues you’ve worked
with in the past who are within your
LinkedIn network may periodically
view your profile, and an updated
résumé is a great way to keep them
abreast of how your career is going.
If they can see what you’ve accom-
plished since you last worked with
them, they might be more inclined to
reconnect or recommend you for a
job opening.
• Stay in touch. Professional net-
works are most effective for profes-
sionals who keep in touch with their
colleagues and acquaintances. Follow
up with colleagues you’ve worked
with in the past to see if there’s
anything you can do for them or to
check in on how a project you dis-
cussed with them is going. Staying in
touch can shed light on job opportu-
nities or open other doors that might
facilitate your job search.
A strong professional network
can help professionals advance their
careers and help others looking to do
the same.
Things to look for in a new job
Professionals change jobs
for various reasons. But re-
gardless of what’s behind a ca-
reer change, many people can
benefit by looking for things
in a new job that can make
them happy both profession-
ally and personally.
• Salary: Of course every-
one would love to earn more
money when changing jobs,
but there is more to changing
jobs than just improving your
bottom line.
As you begin your job
search, consider how much
you currently earn and if that
allows you to live a life you
love. If so, don’t overempha-
size finding a new job that
pays considerably more than
your currently earn. On the
flip side, young professionals
who want to start a family in
the years ahead should con-
sider the costs associated with
such a decision and how the
salaries they earn at their next
jobs may affect what they
want down the road.
• Work/life balance: Before
beginning your search for
a new job, think about why
you want to switch careers or
companies. Long hours often
leads to burnout.
If you’re looking for a new
job because you’re burned
out, try to find a job that af-
fords you a better work/life
balance. A study from the
Happiness Research Institute
in Copenhagen found that,
with the curious exception of
people who work more than
55 hours per week, stress rises
accordingly with the numbers
of hours worked each week.
Keep that in mind if your goal
is to find a job that affords you
a better work/life balance.
• Satisfaction: When at-
tempting to achieve a better
work/life balance, it can be
easy to overlook satisfaction
at work in exchange for more
time at home. But studies have
shown that feeling satisfied by
what you do can have a pro-
found impact on your overall
happiness.
It’s possible to find an en-
gaging career that still affords
you time away from work, and
such a career can ultimately
pave the way toward a happier
life.
• Commute: Bending over
backwards simply to get to
work and then get home from
work can have an incredibly
negative impact on your life.
A study from the Office
of National Statistics in the
United Kingdom found that
commuters, especially those
who spend between 60 and 90
minutes commuting to work,
have lower life satisfaction
and lower levels of happiness
compared to people who don’t
commute. Before accepting a
job offer, estimate your com-
mute time to and from the new
office and try to determine the
impact of that commute on
your quality of life.
Many people aspire to find
a new job at the dawn of a
new year. Job seekers should
consider a host of factors be-
fore switching jobs to make
sure they make the best deci-
sions.
How to attain occupational wellness in career
Wellness is a broad term that
can refer to various aspects of
daily life. Disciplines like yoga
and meditation might be the
first things to come to mind
when people think of wellness,
but focusing on wellness at
work can have positive, lasting
effects on overall well-being as
well.
Occupational wellness is not
necessarily a familiar term,
but it’s something that most
professionals strive for.
According to the Student
Health and Counseling Ser-
vices at the University of Cal-
ifornia, Davis, occupational
wellness inspires people to
find work from which they
will gain personal satisfaction
and find enrichment.
Occupational wellness pro-
motes the exploration of var-
ious career options and the
pursuit of those opportunities
that most appeal to each indi-
vidual.
While it may seem like com-
mon sense to aspire for an
engaging, enjoyable career,
the effect that finding such
a career can have on overall
well-being might not be so
apparent. In an analysis of a
recent Gallup World Poll, a
survey that asks hundreds of
thousands of workers across
the globe about their jobs and
their job satisfaction, Harvard
Business Review found there
is a correlation between job
satisfaction and life evalua-
tions. People who report being
satisfied with their jobs seem
to be happier overall.
So how can one embrace the
concept of occupational well-
ness? UC Davis offers individ-
uals the following suggestions
as they begin their journeys to
occupational wellness.
• Perform some self-reflec-
tion. Reflect on yourself and
what you need out of a job.
Are there certain occupation-
al tasks you enjoy? Are there
some you find burdensome?
Identifying those you enjoy
and those you feel are oner-
ous can help you narrow down
your options to careers you
will find engaging and reward-
ing.
• Consider unpaid work and
volunteer opportunities. Even
though they don’t pay, unpaid
work and volunteer oppor-
tunities can still enrich your
life and provide personal sat-
isfaction. Such opportunities
should not be overlooked.
• Practice open commu-
nication and proper conflict
management with colleagues.
Negative working environ-
ments can be stressful, leading
to dissatisfaction on the job.
Openly communicating with
colleagues and resolving con-
flicts in a proper, professional
way can foster a positive work-
ing environment, potentially
contributing to greater job sat-
isfaction.
Prioritizing occupational
wellness can help people live
happier, more fulfilling lives.
Support local businesses
Supporting local businesses has
some surprising benefits that can
greatly improve life for entrepreneurs
and the communities they call home.
Large corporations may find it im-
practical to open up shop in some
small towns, villages and rural areas,
feeling that the cost of opening and
maintaining the business might not
be justifiable with such a small poten-
tial customer base. In such instances,
small businesses offer an invaluable
service to their communities, provid-
ing readily accessible goods to resi-
dents might not be able to or simply
don’t want to drive long distances to
purchase items from the nearest retail
center.
Small businesses also provide em-
ployment opportunities to local res-
idents, which can be especially valu-
able in communities where jobs are
few and far between. Supporting small
businesses also can help make com-
munities safer and more stable.
When small businesses thrive, they
pay more in local taxes, and that in-
creased tax revenue is then used by lo-
cal governments to fund local schools,
police forces and fire departments.
Regency Florence is hiring for C.N.A.s!
Interested in getting into healthcare?
Sign-up today for our next FREE N.A
Certifi cation Classes!
Contact Cindy Bené to learn more at:
Ph: (541) 213-0714 or cbene@regency-pacifi c.com