How to guides

Active Listening Skills – 4 Tips to Practice

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Developing active listening skills is essential to improving your communication skills. How often do you find yourself zoning out or thinking about what to say next during a conversation, instead of listening? If you are anything like me, then the answer is probably everyday, even if it’s just for a few seconds. ...  read more

Don’t be a Perfectionist

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“What’s your biggest weakness?”  This is a question often asked in an interview.  One of the most common answers given is “I am a perfectionist.”  You may think yourself clever when you provide that answer, as it’s often thought of as a good, subtle way to talk about another strength of yours in the guise of a weakness.  Comments that follow may include “I work too hard, and may obsess about details…” ...  read more

How to Turn Down a Job Offer – 5 Tips and An Example

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“How to turn down a job offer” may seem like a strange topic to discuss given our current job market.  However, to succeed like an executive means there will be times when you will get more than one job offer at the same time, even in today’s economy.  In that case, it’s important to know how to turn down a job offer gracefully. ...  read more

How To Stop Worrying – 5 Tips

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How to stop worrying is an important soft skill to learn if you want to reduce stress and if you want to be the most effective at work and in life.  Everyone worries including me

  • “Does my client respect my work?
  • “How secure is my job? Will they extend my contract when it ends in October?”
  • “Will my 4 year old get a good enough education if she attended public school in San Francisco? Will she get into a good school?”

These are just a few of my worries today.  Worrying is a natural human emotion and everyone experience it.  So it is ok to worry.  What matters is how long you spend worrying in a day?  A few minutes is normal.  Prolonged worrying (for hours and days) is counterproductive and detrimental to your well being.  Nothing really gets solved or prevented from pro-longed worrying.  All you are doing when you are worried all the time is wasting time and freaking yourself out in the process. ...  read more

Reduce Stress Now – 7 Practical Tips

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I want to share 7 tips that will help you reduce stress at work now.  Job-related stress is common for many people, but it can be quite counter-productive, can lead to unhappiness at work, and can be detrimental to your health.

The fact that you are reading this post means you want to reduce stress and are aware of the consequences of stress for your work and well-being.  This is good news, as managing stress has to start with awareness. ...  read more