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Four Ways to Be a Great Employee Many people in the workforce and go to a job every day face similar problems. These problems include problems such as being a good employee, getting that raise at the end of evaluation period, keeping the job and many more. There are many things that you can do to ensure that you do not get fired or you get the raise that you deserve. Perhaps you just want to learn how to become a model employee. This article will discuss four ways to be a great employee. To be a great employee, your boss first of all wants to see results and good work. If you love your job, giving results, turning projects in on time, mastering difficult assignments is most likely a breeze. But if you are working to make a living and this job is not your dream job, you still need to deliver good work. Often times to be able to deliver your work on time and meet deadlines, it is important to be very organized and efficient. Many employees lack the efficiency needed to do their job right. If your job is a desk job, it might help if you just go ahead and clean up your desk, organize information and get a clear idea of which materials are stored where. A messy desk will leave you searching for the information needed to fulfill your assignment. This takes valuable time out of your schedule, time lost you cannot afford to loose. Another very important way to be a great employee is to be on time and not leave early. Employers like to see their employees arrive at time or just a little bit early, so they know that their employees are ready to start a good days of work when they finally put away their coat and get their coffee. Many of people come in and easily take 15 minutes before really are getting started with work. Employers see this time as a down time of yours and showing your employer that you do care about your work by showing up on time and if needed staying longer, is very much appreciated. If you are almost finished with your assignment, but it is time to go, do not get up, put your jacket on and wait the few minutes left for clocking out. Finish your work then finish your customer call or whatever necessary and then you can leave work. Sleep. Yes, sleep means going to bed early enough to get the necessary rest for your body. A well-rested mind and body makes a great difference. If you are lacking sleep or you are tired at work, you are more likely to make mistakes and forget things. Work is not the place to relax and sleep, but so many of the employees come tired. In some jobs mistakes can be fatal or ruin products worth hundreds and thousands dollars to the company. Another good reason to be rested well is that work will flow easier. You are a nicer person and your happy attitude at work will be recognized by others and is sometimes infectious and can help motivate others. Number four on the list to being a great employee is dressing appropriately. Whether your office has a dress code or not, if you work in an office, wear office appropriate clothing out of respect to your boss, colleagues and customers. Many offices have established dress codes because their employees come with the ripped jeans or dirty shorts while customers could potentially show up at any minute. Nothing makes a worse first impression on a customer than the cloths you wear.

Short Trips: Articles are Great Ways to Enter the Writing Market (writing articles) Not everyone who loves to write is destined to become a writer. Most people define a writer as a person who makes a living from their writing. Writers are committed to a career of difficulty and very hard work. Not that every other job doesn’t include work, but writers make up a group of individuals who are less recognized for their contributions. Certainly there are famous writers who are appreciated for their efforts, but they do not represent the majority of those who take up a pen for their livelihood. If you love to write, but you’re not sure about taking the leap into becoming a writer, there may be a perfect option for you to use your skills. Writing articles is a writing job that can be taken up to whatever degree you would like to do so. Types of Articles to Write Because articles are such short pieces, each one can only cover the smallest piece of information that the world contains. Depth and length are limited by each other and so writing articles allows you to focus on just about anything you’d like. If the articles cannot cover the scope of material that you’d like to cover, you can write more. Articles come in all kinds of packages. They are written for magazines. A magazine will always have a general topic that it strives to cover. Within the broad topic though, there are thousands of possibilities for the creation of articles. Newspapers are more directed towards current events rather than interesting tidbits or random information, but they also must buy articles in order to be printed each and every day. There is also the possibility of writing articles for the internet. In that genre, the topics expand exponentially as time goes on. The opportunities are out there, so how do you start writing articles? Getting Hired for the Work To get hired to write articles you mostly need the ability to market your writing skills. There are many, many good writers in the world. To get hired to write, you must be better than good. You must be able to use your words to describe, explain and convince. You must let an editor know why you are the right writer for a particular job. If you can write effectively enough in your resume and cover letter, an editor will know immediately that you have the skills and abilities to write equally convincing and interesting articles. If you are interested in continuing in the process of writing articles, you must know how to construct great content into a great finished product. Writing Great Articles If you can allow your curiosity to drive you, you will never run out of the ability to create great articles. The first rule in writing articles is to be ever ready to learn something new. You never know when you’ll need that piece of information to back up your writing. The idea for writing articles is only half of the battle though. You also have to actually do the engaging writing. This is where you pull out all of your literary tools. Write with enthusiasm so that your reader will be enthusiastic. Write with variety and slight complexity so that your reader will not be bored. Add a little bit of suspense as you are writing articles so that every reader will keep going until the end. Writing articles can be a career, but it doesn’t have to be. The beautiful thing about article writing is the short term nature of each project. You will move from one topic to the next as you continue to learn and expand your writing abilities. Writing articles can take you from your front yard to across the world in as short of trip as you need it to be. If you are considering the possibilities available to you in a writing job, investigate the possibilities of article writing. If you are a writer, you’ll love the work.

A Top Notch Cover Letter Can Get your Foot in the Door If you have ever looked for a job, then you know that it is tough out there. Competition is always fierce, especially for those “dream job” type of positions – great company, great benefits, and great pay. If you want your resume to rise to the top of the pile in the Human Resources department and you want to get that call for an interview, then you need something to make your resume stand out from the rest. The best way to draw attention to everything you have to offer is to have a cover letter that jumps right off the page and grabs the attention of the reader. The cover letter is your first chance to make an impression, so make sure your cover letter makes you the one potential hire that is definitely going to be getting a call. Before you can get into the content of your cover letter, you have to cover your basics. You should never, ever have a “form” cover letter that you use with every resume you send. Tailor your cover letter specifically to each individual employer, mentioning their company and the position for which you want to be considered. Address the letter to the correct person – if you’re not sure who will be doing the hiring, call the company and ask. Don’t assume you can address your letter to the HR department and have that be close enough. Taking the time to write a personal cover letter to each company lets your potential employer know you pay attention to detail right off the bat. Of course, you should also make sure that your cover letter is grammatically correct and free of typos. A sloppy cover letter is a one way ticket to the trash can for your resume. Once you have your basics in order, you can turn your attention to what you are actually going to write in the cover letter. Your cover letter is your sales pitch to the company; you need to let them know why they should bet on your when they hire for the position. One great way to sell yourself is to show off how much you already know about the company. Let them know why you want to work there by specifically mentioning projects the company has been involved in that you admire or talking about the position of the company within the field. As you show off how much you know about the company, draw attention to the ways you can actively help the company grow and succeed by drawing parallels between your experience and their work. After you have shown that you have done your homework and know about the company, go into some detail about the unique aspects of your work history. Draw attention to any special achievements or awards and any educational background you have that makes you a good candidate for the job. Remember, your resume will be attached to the cover letter, so you don’t have to go into great detail. Just pick out the highlights that will make the reader want to turn the page and delve into your resume. How you close your cover letter makes as much difference has how you open it. State again exactly what job you want to be considered for, and suggest that you come in for an interview. You can also suggest a few dates and time for an interview to show that you are eager to move on to the next step. You should also give a time and date that you will call to follow up on your resume. A pleasant closing and your signature seal the deal on your winning cover letter.