3 Surefire Strategies to Get a Promotion at Work

Posted on July 2, 2018July 2, 2018 by Edna Crane

If you’re ready to get a promotion at work, it’s time to start working—for real. If you’ve been in the same position for a while, you’re probably working on autopilot, doing the same tasks in the same way without really challenging yourself. You have to break the cycle if you want a promotion.

To break out of a repetitive (and probably boring) work cycle, you have to light a fire under yourself and start making changes. Here’s what to do:

Upgrade Your Skills

Being in the same position for more than a few years can lead to stagnation in your professional development. If you’re looking for a place to start your plan to get a promotion at work, start by finding ways to improve your skills.

The internet is full of professional development opportunities. You can take webinars, training courses, or full-on post-graduate certificates that will improve your skillset and help you land the promotion you want. If you are worried about going to college while working, almost every college has online options now. You should be able to study in the evenings, online and by utilizing apps for team collaboration.

Prove Your Worth to Get a Promotion at Work

Most businesses would rather promote internally than hire an outsider to take on leadership roles, so if you’re looking to get a promotion where you already work, it’s easier than you think. Start by talking to your immediate supervisor about your career goals. Tell her that you love what you do, but you think you’re ready for more responsibility. Work with her to find new ways of taking on more responsibility in your current role while waiting for a promotion vacancy.

Look for ways to make yourself indispensable in your current position. Here are a few ideas:

Take on challenging projects no one else wants to tackle.
Anticipate your supervisor’s needs and prepare ahead of time. For example, if you know your boss needs a report on Friday, make sure she has it on Thursday.
Speak up and offer new ideas in meetings.
Offer to plan an event.
Volunteer to handle a tough client, then do it with so much grace that the tough client tells your boss how wonderful you are.

By making yourself seemingly irreplaceable, your employer will not take too kindly to the fact you may be looking for better opportunities elsewhere. It is not unheard of for companies to create positions solely to accommodate a highly valued member of staff.

Apply to the Competition

If you’ve tried everything and you simply aren’t getting a promotion at your current job, then it’s time to start looking elsewhere. Start by researching your current company’s competition. Find out what positions they are filling, and craft your resume and cover letter to fit those positions.

Turn on your recruiter alert on LinkedIN and make sure your profile is up to date. Start posting relevant articles about your industry, too. Make yourself look like the expert that everyone wants to hire.

When you are ready to apply for jobs, remember that you need to alter your cover letter and resume for every job you apply. Employers can spot a generic template from ten miles away.

One mistake we’re hearing a lot lately is applicants are making small, silly errors that result in immediate “no’s” from hiring managers, like misspelling the company’s name or leaving the name of the last company to which you applied listed on a cover letter. Addressing the wrong hiring manager is a big one, too. Do your research, and double-check your materials every time.

Ensure that you actually fit the person specification in the job description and, while it’s important to sell yourself, don’t venture into the world of stretched truths. If the job is asking for at least a decade managing multi-million dollar budgets, don’t try to list you experience managing your sorority’s entertainment fund as a qualification.

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Getting a promotion at work isn’t as hard as you think. Get yourself noticed, upgrade your skill set, and let people know that you are looking for new challenges. Increase your network on LinkedIN, and craft your image as an expert in your field. You can do this!

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Hiring an Accountant Can Save Your Small Business Money

Posted on July 2, 2018April 24, 2020 by Edna Crane

One thing that many small business owners and even freelancers who just earn a little on the side worry about is whether or not to hire an accountant. Some avoid it all together and try to manage their accounts themselves. Others avoid accountants until the week before their tax return is due, only to find that they’ve made a huge mess of their finances up until this point and their accountant has an enormous task trying to sort things out and avoid a costly fine.

Some business owners hire an accountant straight away, have regular meetings and know that their accounts are in great shape all year around. These people have less financial worries and have no sense of impending doom when it’s time to file their taxes. Still other business owners aren’t quite sure whether an accountant is worth the money or not.

Well, in truth, unless you’ve studied an NEC Online and have some formal accounting training yourself, which could save you an absolute fortune and be well worth the investment, hiring an accountant is one of the easiest ways to save money. Yes, there’s a cost, but hiring a professional accountant could save you thousands every year. Here are just a few of the ways an accountant could save you money.

Accountants Help you Avoid Fines

The first and most important way that an accountant saves you money is by ensuring that you avoid what can be hefty fines. If you miss the deadline to fill your tax return, miss payment due dates or file incorrectly, you can face penalties and find yourself in trouble with the tax office.

This might seem simple, but these dates aren’t always the same. Filing online has a different deadline than filing by post. There are varying payment dates, and sometimes, getting it right is much harder than you think—especially if you haven’t done it before. Many people find themselves so stressed out when it comes to preparing their tax returns that they make silly mistakes and get themselves into trouble. Hiring an accountant can be cheaper than just one of these fines.

They Set up Systems

Many new business owners or freelancers struggle to find an efficient way to keep track of their income. They don’t know what to record, they don’t know how to send invoices, and they don’t know what can and can’t be declared as a tax-deductible expense. Not having a clear system makes things a lot harder than they need to be. This can leave you confused, spending money that you don’t need to and losing even more.

An accountant doesn’t just send your tax return. They’ll also help you to set up systems and offer you advice on how to keep a better track of things, how to earn more, and how to manage your money better. Even if you just hire someone for a short term, they could help to save you a lot of money for the years to come.

Accountants Know Tax Deductions

Tax-deductible expenses are one of the most confusing things for new businesses. Many incorrectly believe that when they declare something as an expense, they get the money back. This isn’t the case. If you buy a computer for your business, you don’t get back what you spent. You just take the amount off your taxable income at the end of the year so that you pay less tax. Basically, if we say the tax is 20%, the saving means that you pay 20% less for all business purchases.

But, knowing what you can and cannot declare can be difficult. Not declaring enough can mean that you pay much more tax than you need to. Declaring things that you shouldn’t or not keeping your receipts or recording your expenses correctly can mean that you face a fine and find yourself in trouble.

An accountant will ensure that you declare everything that you can. This can include things like utilities, even if you work from home, entertaining, food and drink, internet costs, stationery, heating, charity donations, equipment and machinery, office supplies, travel costs, building repairs, insurance and almost anything else that is for your business. An accountant will be able to make sure you are getting it right and give you more information on what you can and can’t declare.

Your Time is Valuable

Remember, your time is money. All the hours that you spend recording income and expenses, filing your return and managing your money is time that you can’t spend earning money elsewhere. Hire an accountant to give yourself more free time to make money.

5 Jobs that Pay You to Travel

Posted on July 2, 2018June 19, 2019 by Edna Crane

If your dream is to travel for a living, you can find a variety of high-paying jobs that will fund your travel obsession. Most require some sort of college degree or certification, but with a little preparation, you can be making money and seeing the world in no time at all.

Here are five more careers for people who love to travel:

1. Long Haul Driver

If you love to drive and want to see thousands of miles of countryside each year, then you might enjoy a job as a long-haul driver. As a driver, you can either work as your own boss and pay a service to find you loads to haul, or you can work for a trucking company. You’ll need a CDL license and a passion for the open road.

With the advanced technology implemented in today’s cars and trucks, your job will be much easier than the past generation’s. With apps, you can find your way around, locate the best views, and find somewhere reputable to stop for the night. You can find nationwide truck driving jobs online.

2. Travel Nurse

If you want a career in health care, but you want to see the world outside of a hospital or doctor’s office, you might consider a career as a travel nurse. In this job, you accompany patients who need medical supervision to travel. This means you might jet halfway across the world, or take a cruise in the Caribbean—either way, you travel is paid!

You’ll need an RN, BSN, MSN, or NP, and likely a couple extra certifications to become a full-time travel nurse, but the experience is well worth the effort. Be sure to check out Lucy Atkinson’s 12 Essential Tips on Staying Safe While Traveling before embarking on your travel nursing adventure.

3. HR Consultant

If you become an HR consultant or recruiter in an industry with a gap in skilled workers, you can be paid a lot to travel the country (and maybe the world) recruiting potential candidates. You’ll visit universities and colleges, which are often in fantastic tourist areas. If you’re a foodie, this is a great job for you because colleges are often located near hip and trendy areas with awesome local restaurants.

You’ll need at least a bachelor’s degree in psychology, human resources, or business, and most high-powered HR Consultants have MBAs. More than anything, you’ll need to be very good with people!

4. Cruise Manager

If you dream of sailing the seven seas while making a lucrative salary, then a position as a cruise manager may be for you. You’ll need a travel and leisure hospitality management qualification to land the job, and then you’ll need experience in the hospitality industry—which you can also gain on a cruise ship.

There are all sorts of cruise managers, from managing housekeeping teams to hosting weddings and elaborate events. Whatever your hospitality passion, you can find a fun job on a cruise ship and see the world.

5. Hotel Inspector

If you love watching Hotel Impossible, and can see yourself staying in a different hotel every night, you might love a job as a hotel inspector. You will test out hotel amenities, judge the cleanliness of rooms, taste-test room service offerings, and put the staff’s service through their paces. You will create reports and offer hoteliers advice on how to make more money by improving their services.

A hotel inspector will need relevant experience and market knowledge. A degree in hospitality management and experience managing your own hotel will help you break into the industry.