Tag: career advice

Think of TIME as an asset

Would you say you value your time? If yes – in what terms?

Time is one thing we definitely cannot gain back, so how we choose to spend our time has direct repercussions on our personal and professional lives.

Every hour you spend in the office or working on a project has a monetary value as specified in your contract. Every hour you spend away from the office/project is time when you are not generating income. This allows for time to be categorised as follows:

  1. Business Hours, where (X hrs)(£Y/hr)=Salary
  2. Work-related Hours a.k.a overtime, work from home, commuting, etc.
  3. Free Personal Time – its value is not expressed financially but through your health, social life and personal development.

Business hours are clear so I will not elaborate on them. Work-related hours however,seem to create occasional confusion. Unless the company you work for compensates you for extra hours via contractual overtime pay or the opportunity to take equivalent time off, I encourage you to be mindful of the overtime you do. Every minute of it is time away from your family and friends, from your health and fitness regime, from learning new languages and skills. I myself am a bit of a workaholic and I’ve spent more extra hours in the office than I should have. With time I noticed that at least half of the overtime does not matter: there will be more work waiting for you the next morning; none of the tasks are a matter of life and death, leading to the financial collapse of the company; the dedication of extra hours does not constitute a factor for promotion or an outstanding work ethic award; and some of the tasks can be completed from the comfort of your own home. Hence, I have been working on filtering through my tasks in order to minimise overtime as much as possible. I advise you to do the same.

Now commuting has to be my favourite aspect of business-related time. Although it is a work related activity, it is rarely reimbursed by employers, and so the longer you commute, the longer your time is poorly invested. Living further away from work may save some money on rent, BUT your travel expenses are bound to increase and fill the gap. Spending more time on buses and trains than you spend in your own home is eventually detrimental. My commute is 15 minutes, (35 mins if I walk). Rent in the area is higher than if I were to move out to Zone 3 or 4. However, any money I save will go directly on my Oyster card and my travel time will increase by 30 minutes at least. The relocation would not be profitable and so I’m resolved on staying in the area.

This finally brings me to the Personal aspect of time. How you choose to spend your free time is up to you. I spend mine reading, walking, resting, writing articles, doing house chores, talking to family and friends, working on my project management qualification. Although free time does not generate financial profits, its social, emotional, and psychological value is very important. What you do/think/learn in your spare time eventually makes you a better person and a better professional. If you are contemplating a career move, it is time you can dedicate to your research and presentations, to ensuring you are the best candidate you can be for the role you’re going after.

Cut the fruitless activities, meetings, conversations and interactions from your life and spend the time saved on improving your skillset and thinking about your future goals. Not all calls, texts and emails are worth answering, not all tasks are worth losing sleep over.

Time is an asset. Invest it wisely.

The Handshake

I was planning to leave this one for later, but as I embark on yet another journey to find a receptionist I come to realise that it cannot wait.

To all young professionals, graduates and job-seekers out there:  Learn how to shake hands! I am not even talking about firm vs weak handshakes (and I hate weak handshakes with a passion); I am talking about the general principle behind them.

It is mind-boggling to me that independent, educated adults, many of whom with various years of work experience, do not understand the relevance of introductions and first impressions. Presentation is a big part of the game.

Endless numbers of career coaching pages advise on how to prepare for an interview, what to wear, what questions to ask, how to follow up after. Those pages are out there for a reason. Read them.

If you come in for an interview, barely introducing yourself and mumbling, and I have to prompt you for a handshake expectantly, well that is STRIKE 1… and we haven’t even spoken yet.

In most cases, I am not that fussed about your outfit, and I am not even that worried about you being here 15 minutes before the scheduled interview time (I’m well aware that this is London and TfL can be a pain), but I do care about how you act once you arrive and after we are done talking. The handshake is the opening and closing scene of your personal presentation. The one at the beginning says “Hello, I am pleased to be here! I am ready to discuss my credentials with you!“;  the one in the end says “Thank you for your time! I’m looking forward to being a part of your team!“.  This is regardless of how you feel your interview went! You must open, perform and close on a confident note. There is a thing called interview etiquette, however I will talk about it in another post.

You want me to want you to work here, you are the one who should be thanking the interviewer for their time, not the other way around. You can sell your resume in a 100 different ways, but learning how to sell yourself and your character is just as important.

Keep that in mind next time you go in for an interview.