What’s the best way to say goodbye to work colleagues?

There are many options, but not all are particularly clever.

1 Say nothing. Don’t even worry about tidying your workspace or desk. Just make for the exit, leaving the keys dangling from the key hole. Enjoy the moment as you run out punching the air  – as you probably won’t be invited back.

2 Say something. Tell your boss he’s a jerk and you hated every minute of working with him. This way you will be shown the door, so don’t worry about speeches or the state of your desk.

3 Say something. Better still say something appropriate and positive in your good bye note/ email / speech.

4 Do something and say something. If the employer wants to shower gifts on you, treat you to a meal with your colleagues or opens a tab in your favourite bar or club, dive in. What could possibly go wrong? That is unless you get wasted and say something offensive and let yourself down…

5 Do something and say something. Continue to do your job with integrity until the fat lady sings. Ensure your computer is clean of anything unbecoming, that anyone taking over your role has clear understanding of how you managed to do what you do including helpful notes and contacts etc.

Then, write an email that tells everyone how much you will miss them etc then make for the bar with your pals. You could then be subject to nice things being said about you and may get some sort of gift to mark the big day. If not, no worries, remember you didn’t leave in order to get plaudits. You left for other reasons. hopefully a better role somewhere else… Once you are sure the boss is settling the bill, relax. The next ones on him… and your goodbye conversations will be that more personal rather than formal.

6 Saying bye to every colleague personally with bear hugs and kisses is a great idea, but this is not always possible and there can be tears. Lots of them. Especially in an organisation of over 1000 staff. A courteous leaving email sent from your desk is another option and a tad more practical.

7 Top of my list and the one I’m quite likely to use myself in just under a weeks time  (Thank you God!) is the following message which communicates clearly the intention and with a limited use of words… It’s “I’m outta here!”

Hopefully you will settle on the best way to say your goodbyes, and remain in touch with those who made a positive difference to you… Good luck   🙂

Time for me to move on…

Just over a week ago I handed my notice in.

Phew, I said it. and it’s true. And it was so straight forward, my carefully researched and brief written notice was signed, scanned and emailed to the two bosses with the original entrusted to the Finance and HR guy. For his records of course.

I used email for the simple reason that neither guys were in the office and I wanted to get the message delivered pronto. I soon had responses which confirmed receipt of the message and wished me well.

Within three hours from beginning of my interview I had received the good news of a successful interview and the actual offer. Perfect timing, It really couldn’t have been any better than that. After 2.5 years looking too…

Mrs W was delighted. I was well chuffed too!

Handing ones notice in is an odd experience. What ever the reason for handing it in there’s a sense of power (albeit breifly) and the control is with you… For me it was a brief moment of exhilaration followed by relief, then joy. Joy is my overriding emotion now, a week later.

Looking back there was no moment of hesitation, no regrets or soul searching wondering if I have made the right decision. Neither was there an attractive counter offer from my current employer desperate to keep me at a highly inflated salary! My new employer had kept their word and sent across the contract of employment which was, duly studied, signed and returned within a matter of hours.

Game on

Prayer for a job

Dear God
I thank you for your love and care, and ask that you might help me in my search for a job (new job).

Frankly, I’m at the end of my tether with this job search lark and could do with a positive result soon. I know you can open doors where there are none so guess I’m after a miracle!

Please would you guide me when I write and submit job applications and when given opportunities at an interview. Help me to give a good and fair account of myself. I am not in the business of showing off, I just want to land an honest job where I might be fulfilled and be fairly paid.

Meanwhile, please give me patience to deal with the uncertainty of it all.

Amen.

A more formal prayer for a job / new job

Lord God
Thank you for everlasting love. I acknowledge, Lord, that Your love for me is deeper that the ocean and bigger than the biggest need in my heart.

All my longings and dreams I lay before you and I commit myself as well as my need for a new job into Your loving hands.

Lord God, I ask that you might fulfil the desire of my heart and bless the work of my hands so that I may find work that is fulfilling and meets the financial needs of our family. I have stood and sat before you many times before in petition and in thanks for the way you have miraculously provided for us. Once again I come, completely trusting in you and your ways at this time. I am certain that you can make a way through the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. I am confident also that you can open a way where there seems to be no way! And indeed an opportunity where there is no current opening

Lord, as I continue in my job search and as I persevere prayerfully and wholehearedly through various selection procedures and interviews, I pray that your Your mighty hand might rest upon me and grant me Your grace and mercies in the eyes of all interviewers and would-be employers. Please perfect everything that concerns me and grant me your wisdom and knowledge and put the right words into my mouth for all interviews and into written words when completing application forms..

I acknowledge that my ways are not Your ways, neither are my thoughts Your thoughts. Your ways and Your thoughts are higher than the heavens above and you alone have a perfect plan for my future and that of my family.

May your will be done.  Amen.

From Proverbs Chapter 30

This scripture was pointed out to me today by my lovely wife, as I had been feeling wobbly in regard to our families financial situation. I should have known better of course as I’ve been extolling the virtues of prayer, leaning on and trusting God for His provision. We have not gone without as a family and tomorrow is another day… The following has helped play it’s part in getting me to re-focus…. All I need is enough, and enough is always enough, if it wasn’t, what else would it be after all?

⁷ “Two things I ask of you, Lord;
do not refuse me before I die:
⁸ Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.

Causes of stress at work, and some ideas to help you cope…

Here are some of the more typical causes of stress in the workplace:

• Bullying or harassment
• Feeling powerless and uninvolved in determining one’s own responsibilities
• Continuous unreasonable performance demands
• Lack of effective communication and conflict resolution
• Lack of job security
• Long working hours
• Excessive time away from home and family
• Office politics and conflict among staff
• A feeling that one’s reward is not commensurate with one’s responsibility
• Working hours, responsibilities and pressures disrupting life-balance (diet, exercise, sleep and rest, play, family-time, etc)

I’m sure we can identify with some of the above if we’re feeling a tad stressed about the workplace…. For me, there are 5 shown above which are causing me ‘concern’. If you feel similarly, it might be worth considering the following to help you cope better.

Humour
Humour is one of the greatest and quickest devices for reducing stress – where I work my colleauges and I have lots of stories to help get us through the day. Often based on our daily observations of other people or the apparent chaos around us.
Humour gets the brain thinking and working in a different way – therefore it distracts even momentarily. When a bit of harmless banter starts in the office, join in, it could be a laugh!

Take a hike!
Yes, actually leave the building. Go for a short quick really brisk walk outside – This might be a 10 minute around the block or to the shops and back…but do it.
You might not feel you have the time, (we can all make excuses) but your wellbeing is worth it! So make time! Taking a break will get fresh air in your lungs and a change of scene will help de-stress you as you change your surroundings

Drink some water
Most of us don’t drink enough water – and I mean, WATER – NOT tea, coffee, fizzy or ‘sports’ drinks, fruit juice or those awful expensive caffeine drinks.
All of our organs, including the brain, are strongly dependent on water to function properly. That’s how it is!
If you starve your body of water you will function below your best – and get stressed.
Most people need 4-8 glasses of water a day, so you get a bottle or cup of the stuff now and keep it on your desk…
A by-product of this (surprise surprise) is the need to take a wee… This itself gives you a bit of a break and a bit of exercise now and then, which also reduces stress.
If you are drinking enough water, your urine will be clear or near clear – if it’s yellow/ orange you are not taking enough water.
You do not need to buy expensive bottled water. Tap water is fine.

There.
That’s a start… I’m sure there are many other things to try. Let me know how you get on….

Fulfilled or Frustrated?

‘In due season he will honour you with every blessing.’ Psalm 37:34

I understand that there is usually a gap between a dream and the achievement of that dream. The question worth considering is whether it is a fulfillment gap or a frustration gap – for you and I!

I know I suffer the frustration gap – where I recognise that I am unhappy while i’m in it. Especially at work. The consequence is that most days I’m frustrated instead of fulfilled, and the dream (as such) stifles me while I seek to move forward toward the dream.

The difference, or gap between dream and fulfillment is a dip, which  represents the adversity we face, the learning curve,  and the hard work we must be willing to invest between conception and realisation.

Sounds easy, but it’s not. Especially when the ‘dip’ you are in seems to be a road without end…

Here are some verses from the Bible which might help spur us on. ‘Don’t be impatient for the Lord (God) to act! Keep travelling steadily along his pathway and in due season he will honour you with every blessing.’ ‘Do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded…’ (Hebrews 10:35-36 NIV).

‘So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal’ (2 Corinthians 4:18 NIV).

God has promised us more than just the fulfilment of our dreams; He has promised joy in each step you take toward it.

I don’t feel particiularly joyful at present, I feel worn out, out of ‘ideas’ and lacking ‘job search stamina’.

Even so…. I won’t give up my efforts, so much at stake…

Recruitment Agents: They’re not all bad

Recruitment Agents do get a bad press.

Like other candidates who have ever felt let down, disappointed, annoyed, ignored, lied to etc by an agent I have some measure of sympathy as we all need a level of help, honesty and professionalism. The current job market is swamped with candidates wanting a job or job change and it is the Recruitment Agents skills and judgment (selling ability) which we should be able to draw upon in our ‘season of need’.

But not all criticsm is fair.

Some aggrieved individuals have even got into naming and shaming and posting online the names of the Agencies they would advise you and I to steer well clear of… Not sure that helps much.

Of course some of the larger Recruitment companies deal with the very large clients and there is a tendency for them to number crunch in order to get their ‘candidate’ statistics up to please their bosses, who seemingly only care how many interviews are happening and how many placements their staff are succeeding in.

I suspect that smaller companies will be well aware of the pitfalls and will (and should) be offering their candidates a better and more tailored service, by actually responding to emails, phone calls and listening to your actual needs. And acting on them. In this scenario we are also more likely to get proper advice and feedback from any interview.

Over the last few years I have met and spoken to a number of different consultants/ agents, and yes, I’ve been sold the dream, lied to,  left in limbo and ignored but I’ve also benefited from some of their wisdom and advice.

None of this is recruitment business is rocket science, all it needs is a bit of common sense, courtesy and good Communication! That is one of my biggest concerns.

It’s unfair to tarnish all Consultants in the same way as there will always be bad people in every industry (and that includes both Agents and candidates,). We, the job searcher still have to play our part too and be consistent and honest in our job searching. Bad experiences should not forgotten but learned from…

There are also some very good agencies around, who will give of their time, and take great pleasure in matching good applicants to good companies. Hopefully you and I will find the service and then the role we’ve been waiting for…

Frustrating it is at times, but we mustn’t give up!

Interview in a hurry…

Traffic was bad and it was raining. With 20 miutes to go I was stuck in traffic wondering if I should park up and hot foot it to the meeting place.

I spied an empty parking meter and started feeding it cash after a helpful Parking Attendant told me If I could wait until after 6pm parking would be somewhat cheaper. For me this was no real help, my interview was due at 6pm and I had precisely 6 mins if I was to arrive on time.

After changing my shirt and spraying something vaguely pleasant smelling in the rough direction of my armpits, I fed coins into the pay machine and ran. Thankfully in the right direction.

With 2 minutes to spare the guy on reception had phoned my interviewer and I could relax breifly. After a short pause it was up 21 flights of stairs for my meeting. (I jest). The lift delivered me to a security door on 21 and after pressing a big plastic button entered the lobby.

It was now after 6pm and I was soon joined by my interviewer who thrust some registration forms towards me. A few moments later while the ink was still drying the meeting was underway.

She was, how shall I say, efficient and not one for small talk, she was in a hurry. At least she had my CV with her, but as the discussion ensued it was little more than a prop…

By 6.35pm (I checked)  the appointment was over and I was descended the numerous floors at high speed, this time with another traveller. Within a further 5 minutes I was starting my car engine for the trip home. I felt strangely time warped?

Oh my, that was a swift interview, my shortest yet. Let’s hope the effort was worth it!

Trust in God – A quote

Only let it be trust in God, not in man, not in circumstances, not in any of your own exertions, but real trust in God, and you will be helped in your various necessities… Not in circumstances, not in natural prospects, not in former donors, but solely in God. This is just that which brings the blessing. If we say we trust in Him, but in reality do not, then God, taking us at our word, lets us see that we do not really confide in Him; and hence failure arises. On the other hand, if our trust in the Lord is real, help will surely come.

(George Muller)