“I just lost my job. I am getting married at the end of the month, and I did not expect it to happen to me. How could they fire me before my wedding? I am at a loss,” said my friend. Pain filled the room.
Disbelief oozed from her words. Her emotions were wrapped around the questions of “Why me?” “Why now?” “Why no warning?”
I smiled, and commented, “This is life. The days of guaranteed employment are gone.” When she asked me for some advice, my comments were:
Take Care of Yourself. Use this time to do something for you. Read a book. Take a class. Start a new hobby. Go out to dinner with friends. Look forward not back. Do not let a job define you.
Network. Network. Network. The best jobs are never advertised. Spend your time networking. Reach out to everyone that you know on Linkedin. Do not be embarrassed that you were fired. It happens to the best of people. Ask the people close to you to assess your skills and recommend jobs.
Do Your Own Assessment. Go to a coffee shop. Make a list of what you like and do not like at work. Then evaluate your last job against the list. Then design what you would like your new position to look like. As you interview, keep refining the work.
Focus. Work Hard to Get a New Job. Use self-discipline. Don’t wallow in self-pity. Get up every morning and make yourself a cup of coffee and get to work looking for a new position. Call friends and old colleagues and ask them for advice. Set yourself a quota for outbound calls and networking emails.
Let Go of the Anger. Harboring anger takes energy. Let it go. Look at a job transition as a gift. Embrace it as a passage to a better place.
Build Interviewing Skills. Interviewing is about active listening. Listen to what is not being said and build poise and skill to answer tough questions. Practice.
This is what I shared this morning. I am getting more and more of these calls. I thought that I would share it. I hope that it helps you.
Level descriptors, as the nomenclature suggests, provide a description of each of the ten levels on the
National Qualifications Framework (NQF). The purpose of such description is to assist a writer of standards
or qualifications in designing a qualification by allocating a level to a unit standard or a qualification, and to
formulate outcomes and criteria for assessment that could clearly indicate the level of knowledge of a
learner required to successfully achieve the unit standard or qualification.
NQF LEVEL BAND QUALIFICATION TYPE
HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING
10 • Post-doctoral research degrees • Doctorates
9 • Masters degrees
8 • Professional 4-year Bachelor’s degrees• Bachelor Honours degrees
7 • Bachelor’s degrees • Advanced diplomas • (3rd year level)
6 • Diplomas • Advanced Certificates • (1st and 2nd year level)
FURTHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING
5 • Higher certificates • Foundation modules
GENERAL EDUCATION & TRAINING
1-4 • National certificates
In line with the level descriptors, qualifications and unit standards are registered at the specified level of the NQF with a number of credits allocated to it. This means that a learner could accumulate credits for successful completed unit standards towards a qualification making learning more flexible to meet learner needs.
If additional information is required about the new NQF levels, please visit Level descriptors (July 2004) included in the official documentation on the following website:
NOTIONAL LEARNING HOURS
‘Notional learning hours’ are the estimated learning time taken by the ‘average’ student to achieve the
specified learning outcomes of the course-unit or programme. They are therefore not a precise measure but
provide students with an indication of the amount of study and degree of commitment expected. Notional
learning time includes teaching contact time (lectures, seminars, tutorials, laboratory practicals, workshops,
fieldwork etc.), time spent on preparing and carrying out formative and summative assessments (written
coursework, oral presentations, exams etc.) and time spent on private study, whether in term-time or the vacations.
Notional Learning Time:
The number of hours, which it is expected a learner (at a particular level) will spend, on average, to achieve
the specified learning outcomes at that level. It includes all learning relevant to achievement of the learning
outcomes e.g. directed study, essential practical work, project work, private study and assessment.
Credit
Credit provides a means of quantifying learning outcomes achievable in notional learning hours at a given level.
• One credit is awarded for 10 notional hours of successful learning activity.
• Notwithstanding the link between credit and notional learning time, the emphasis of assessment
should be upon learning achieved and not time served.
• Credit is awarded for the achievement of specified learning outcomes. No additional credit can be
awarded for achievement above the threshold level (although such achievement can be
recognised through the award of marks or grades).
Notional learning time
Taught or contact time will vary according to the mode of delivery, but notional learning time will not. All
learning relevant to the learning outcomes should be considered when notional learning time is being
estimated. Consideration should also be given to the level at which the learning is being offered.
Notional learning time is not equivalent to the actual time that any particular learner needs to spend in order
to achieve the learning outcomes. The real time will vary according to the individual’s capability, degree of
prior experiential or other learning and the mode of learning, for example, in the case of work based learning
the actual time spent in the workplace may greatly exceed the notional time required to achieve the
specified learning outcomes. Any prior skill or knowledge required of the learner should not be included in
an estimate of notional learning time.
Counter Offer
It is a natural instinct to resist change and avoid disruption and your present employer will be no exception.
If you’re doing a good job, he will want to keep you and will attempt to do so with a counter offer. Even though you have accepted a new job elsewhere, he/she will try to convince you that you have made a mistake.
These counteroffers can be made in numerous of ways:
1) “We have plans for you that have been scheduled for implementation the first of next month. I guess it’s my fault for telling you.”
2) “I want to let you in on some confidential information. There is reorganisation developing that will mean a significant promotion you within six months.”
3) “We’ll match your new offer. This raise was supposed to go into effect the first of next quarter anyway, but because of your financial record, we’ll start it on the first of the month.”
4) The President and Vice President want to have dinner with you.
Reasons Companies extend a Counter Offer ?
Department morale suffers when people leave.
Employee resignations do not look good on a manager’s record.
It is cheaper to give you a raise than it would be to recruit a new employee.
The project you were working on will suffer delays because of your departure.
Companies want to have low turnover rate.
Companies do not want sensitive or confidential information going to a competitor.
Companies do not want skilled professionals going to competitors.
What happens when You accept a counter offer ? What is the implications of a Counter Offer
A counter offer can be very flattering, sometimes causing you emotions to obscure your objective decision to leave your present employer. There is also the natural feeling of “buyer’s remorse” – that vague apprehension of change that subtly urges you to reconsider your decision.
When confronted with a counter offer, ask yourself these questions:
I made a decision to leave because I felt another environment better fill my career needs. If I stay, will the situation at my company really improve just because I said I was quitting?
If I decide to stay, will my loyalty be suspect and affect my chance for advancement in the future?
If my loyalty is in question, will I be an early layoff when business slows down?
They are offering me a raise to stay. Is it just my annual review coming early?
The raise they offered to keep me is above their guidelines for this job. Does that mean they are “buying time” until they can find a replacement within their regular salary bracket?
In the final analysis, I got this counteroffer because I resigned, do I have to threaten to quit every time I want to advance with my company in the future?
Aside from money, your original reasons for leaving your job will still be present after accepting a counter offer.
The money extended to you in the counter offer often comes out of your next raise or bonus. Companies usually have strict guidelines about salary increases and promotions.
You will not be considered a loyal employee from here on out, therefore, you will never be included in the inner circle.
When promotion time cones around, managers remember who was loyal and who was not.
If the company hits rough waters, you will be the first to be let go.
You had to threaten to leave in order to receive the rewards and career path you have earned.
“(There’s) no such thing as a stupid question” is a popular phrase that has had a long history. It suggests that the quest for knowledge includes failure, and that just because one person may know less than others they should not be afraid to ask rather than pretend they already know. In many cases multiple people may not know but are too afraid to ask the “stupid question”; the one who asks the question may in fact be doing a service to those around them.” (copied from Wikipedia)
❇In life, start asking questions of the right person to get your answer. Go to the source to get your answer and #ASK them.
• ❇ASK the recruitment agent the questions you have to get clarity.
• ❇ASK you prospective employer the questions you need to get have answered to get clarity.
• ❇READ the documentation you are given an ASK the person who gave it to you to give you clarity.
• ❇ASK #Google your question and go and search for the information. #READand understand, READ and research to get valuable and legit answers.
• ❇ASK your #legal questions of the right source e.g. Legal Aid, or CCMA or Legal Talk SA.
• ❇ASK the professionals e.g. if you want an answer on how to fix your car you are going to go to a mechanic, not a chef!
❇You are NOT stupid for asking the questions. It is OK to not understand something, but it is NOT OK to walk away confused and unclear and then go and ask questions of others who actually really cannot answer your question or give you the right advice. It I your life, your job, your career, your opportunity – do not let it pass by because you did not ask and question in order to clearly understand. Now that is being “stupid”, and you are not stupid.
Excerpts obtained from Wikipedia on “There are no stupid questions”:
• Carl Sagan, in his work The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark said: “There are naive questions, tedious questions, ill-phrased questions, questions put after inadequate self-criticism. But every question is a cry to understand the world. There is no such thing as a dumb question”. (copied from Wikipedia)
• “……. if you ask a question it makes you look stupid for 5 minutes – but if you don’t ask – you stay stupid for fifty years, so always ask questions in your life”. (copied from Wikipedia)
• A 1970 Dear Abby column in The Milwaukee Sentinel said: “There is no such thing as a stupid question if it’s sincere. Better to ask and risk appearing stupid than to continue on your ignorant way and make a stupid mistake. (copied from Wikipedia) #Adminrosebud#Tips#Interview
Virtually every office has one: that employee who is the go-to contact and seems to know everything and everyone. The office can’t run without her. No one wants to think about what would happen if he ever left.
Being such a critical part of the team has a number of benefits, including a measure of job security. But those indispensable team members don’t get just that way through arbitrary means. If you want to join their ranks, here are seven ways to get there.
CHANNEL ELITE ATHLETES
Elite athletes are constantly trying to improve their performance. They fine-tune the details that allow them to compete at the highest level—and that practice holds some valuable lessons for people who are trying to become exceptional at their jobs, says Porter Braswell, cofounder and CEO of Jopwell, a technology platform that helps black, Latino, and Native American students and professionals unlock opportunities for career advancement.
“What I mean by that is not the ability to run fast, jump high, and all the other physical attributes that come with being an athlete. But more of the tactical, being a good teammate, communicating well, knowing how to work hard, being disciplined, being able to multitask—all the things that come with that athletic mind-set. Competing: That’s the mind-set one has to be in before I believe they can perform well,” Braswell says.
DO YOUR OWN REVIEW
You may get regular feedback and a performance review from your supervisor, but it’s also important to do your own regular review to ensure you’re on track with your own goals and expectations, says Carolyn Birsky, founder of Compass Maven, a Cambridge, Massachusetts, coaching firm. Keep track of your accomplishments, training, feedback, projects, and overall numbers related to your job. We often think we’ll remember all of these things, but it’s easy to forget pieces here and there, she says.
Then, periodically and honestly review your progress, set new goals, and look at what it’s going to take to get to your next milestone, she says. These self-checks can help you ensure you’re keeping on track with your own career development and shore up areas that may need improvement. This practice will also keep you ready for the next time you’re up for a promotion.
“One of the mistakes employees often make is forgetting to hold those all together in some sort of file. That can be some of your best leverage to put your case forward and say, ‘This is why I think should be promoted. This is what makes me really good at what I do,’” she says.
TRACK YOUR METRICS
As you set your new goals, look at the metrics that are going to matter and include them as part of your plan, Birsky says. Whether it’s bumping up a sales quota or improving efficiency or cost controls in your business unit by a certain margin, be sure to look for positive measures to which you can contribute and how you can be most productive in contributing to them. Companies value employees who are focused on finding ways to raise the performance bar.
DO AN ALIGNMENT CHECK
It’s also a good idea to ensure that the areas you’re prioritizing in your career and development are consistent with what the company values, says licensed therapist and career coach Jessica Sweet. You may have a sense of what’s important to the company, but it’s essential to actually be clear that your efforts are moving initiatives forward that the company cares about, she says.
“I would be looking at what the company’s goals are for 2018, and be looking at how my skills and experience align with those goals, and how I can set myself up on any projects that are going on, to add the most value to those upcoming projects,” she says.
SPEAK UP
When employees are afraid to show that they’re imperfect or they don’t know something, it gets in the way of their performance, Birsky says. Learning how to effectively communicate with your boss and team, including asking questions and ensuring that you fully understand assignment instructions and ask questions when you don’t is essential to ensuring you’re performing in the best possible way for your company.
Beyond that, ask for opportunities to get better. “Be vocal to your boss about the fact that you are open to learning. Ask for opportunities to collaborate with another team, or be vocal about your ideas, or you might see a training [you need to get better]. Make your case for it,” she says.
ACT LIKE YOU OWN THE PLACE
Ownership is essential to being invaluable, says Andy Chan, founder of Seattle-based career coaching center Prime Opt. Take ownership of your work—whether it’s a project assignment or even a simple spreadsheet. Think about it in terms of the bigger picture of the company and what its goals are. When you take full responsibility and apply strategic thinking to your work, you’re immediately supporting your supervisor and team in a new and more valuable way. “Every time, when it comes to you learning new skills, it actually opens up a conversation for you to ask for a raise or a promotion,” he says. So, think about what you can take ownership of in your work environment, and treat your work as if you own the company and are acting in its best interest.
MAKE YOUR BOSS LOOK GREAT
One of the most important things you can do to be indispensable to your boss is to help them excel, Braswell says. People value those who help them do their jobs better.
“Really get in the mind-set of the person you’re working for or alongside and really figure out, ‘What are they trying to achieve?’” he says. “Through having an understanding of what they’re trying to achieve and having the context, you can then say to them, ‘What can I be doing to help you achieve that goal?’” Once you know where you fit in and exactly the metrics on which you should be focused, you can rank or prioritize your efforts on those tasks and initiatives, he says.
❇In life, start asking questions of the right person to get your answer. Go to the source to get your answer and #ASK them.