Work-Life Balance by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Alpha Stock Images from Picpedia.org Career starters or jobseekers will likely associate good jobs with high a salary. While a good salary is ideal, other aspects of the job are overlooked. When you work 24/7, you’ve to consider these other things:    Career growth Career growth refers to appraisals, promotions, and salary increases that can improve the employee’s life and career trajectory. A healthy career growth won’t you in the same position after a year or more. For example, if you can’t get promotions from the dishwasher to cook even after showing your skills and effort, it’s worth leaving that company for good and going for the next opportunity.       Flexibility Flexibility means the ability of employers and employees to adapt to changes. Employers can offer a flexible working environment involving: Work from home  Condensed work schedule with additional working days on top of the regular weekend day-offs. Employees can demonstrate flexibility to their companies by: Learning new software or skills that can improve work efficiency and reduce hiring expenses. Offering to help a colleague to finish a deadline. Offering to cover the colleague’s duties while he or she is ill or on holiday Postponing a planned work to respond to an urgent task   Health Health is wealth. You can’t have your goals if your body is on the verge of shutting down due to serious health issues. As an employer, you can promote health through the following: If you’re running catering services for employees, give them healthy foods and drinks. If you have in-house employees and you’ve got a budget, you can offer them to use your mini-gym with a treadmill and weights.    Employees can maintain their health through: Working with enough break time. Eating healthy meals.    Liking what you do You can be more efficient or productive when you like what you’re doing. If it’s the opposite, you can find yourself hating waking up and rushing to go home with a Bundy clock. Reasons vary why employees may grow tired or bored by what they’re doing - reasons include - working in a toxic environment and toxic person.   Safety The safety of your environment can affect your peace of mind and prospects of how you can succeed in your life. Some industries, companies, and professions have more risks than others. If you believe that you can find a better job and pay than your current work, you should start finding a new job.  Employers in construction, fire safety, and smelting industries can improve safety through: Mandatory use of safety suits Weekly or monthly safety meetings Employing safety inspectors     Employees can reduce the risks they face by: Reviewing safety rules and procedures. Wearing safety suits Studying safety courses  Workers in the information industry (content writers, graphic designers and programmers) are also at risk of developing unhealthy habits and illnesses. Setting for 8 hours or more a day, and eating unhealthy foods can increase belly fat. Without exercise, you have no way of burning fats in your body. Excessive fat can lead to heart disease and other serious medical conditions.    Recreation  The saying “all work with no play makes Jack a dull boy” means that a person will become bored and eventually tired without time off. A person’s motivation plummets within seconds of exhaustion and boredom. Employers can improve work and life balance by: Allowing more time off without affecting productivity Conducting parties with special food and games Promoting extracurricular activities such as visiting nature sites and vacations   Challenges and boredom Challenges refer to varying levels of stress (low and high). They also pertain to changing deadlines, methods to finish the task, learning, and rewards. Boredom points to the repetitive activities that can numb your body and mind. It’s likely that if your job has few or no challenges and all boredom, you’ve less chance to move up the career ladder. For employers, to reduce boredom and repetition, Promote and encourage learning among employees. Provide learning opportunities. Provide a safe and learning-conducive environment For employees, to reduce boredom: Collaborate with others Set new challenges and goals Get a normal sleep Take a vacation Modify your workspace

Ethical Hacker Photo credited to Sebastiaan Ter Burg. Licensed under Creative Commons   Creativity refers to the ability and tendency to generate alternatives, ideas, and possibilities useful for communicating, entertaining, and problem-solving. Some jobs are already known or popular in the creative industry, such as graphic artist and web developer. But some creative jobs are less known or less frequent. Here are these jobs:   Audio or Sound editor Audio editors or sound editors assemble and select sounds for motion pictures, television programs, and video games.  Here,  you may use software such as Adobe Audition, Ableton Live, Audacity, ACID Pro, and other audio editing software.  You may work for radio and TV news, live sports games, and theatrical art studios.  You’ll be expected to know audio software tools and post-production methods and meet deadlines. Also, you must know how to use audio mixer devices that are professional and sophisticated tools with a bunch of displays, switches, controls, and lights).   Education/Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in communications, broadcasting, or audiovisual technology Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Sound Design or Audio Production Understanding and skills in Audio editing software such as Adobe Audition, Ableton Live, Audacity, ACID Pro, and other audio editing software. Understanding of digital recording formats, music composition, music theory, and marketing music   Tasks: Create and compile soundtracks Control and edit sound through the multi-track audio editor Keep up with music trends from different genres. Edit music and sound effects according to company standards.   Salary: 530, 299 PHP per year (Philippines) Salary Range: 389, 659 PHP to 657, 242 PHP per year. Source: Salary Expert   Body Painter (human body painter) Body painters or body painting artists are just like canvas artists but their painting medium is the human skin. Like a tattoo artist, you’ll turn a skin or whole human body into a masterpiece depicting abstract, techno, or nature themes. You won’t be using permanent ink but water-based and non-toxic paints.   Usually, you’ll work as a freelancer but at other times as a member of a creative group. The venues of your working environment include corporate events, fairs, and birthday parties. Education/Qualifications: Degree in Fine arts or graphic design Skills and knowledge in different types of paint suited for the human body   Tasks:  Perform body painting sessions Make sure that the host is comfortable Take care of body painting equipment and paints and ensure they are organised and stored properly. Get appropriate payments from customers   Salary: It may range from a few hundred to thousands of dollars depending on location, skill, and work needed.    Feng shui consultant/Feng Shui Interior Designer  Feng shui pertains to the Chinese thought system of rules and laws that govern spatial arrangements. These arrangements can affect the flow of energy and luck. If you’re familiar with Chinese culture, you might have already encountered or heard of Feng shui. Now, a feng shui consultant is an expert on this. You’ll advise and recommend the proper positions of doors, windows, beds, stairs, and anything inside and outside a house or building.  For example, you may inspect an interior and recommend to your customers to remove a bedroom facing the door since this is considered a Shar (Sha chi or Negative Energy). A Shar such as a bedroom opposite the doorway can bring negative energy or bad luck since it resembles the direction of carrying the dead out of the window. Another Shar is a house near or within the cemetery. Feng Shui experts consider cemeteries as places of Yin energy (Negative and Female energy) and recommend houses should be at least 5 miles away from burial sites. Being a Feng Shui expert can enhance your career prospects when you’re already in the related fields of architecture, interior and landscape design. On the other hand, a positive feng shui brings Yang (Positive or Luck energy) or male energy. Examples of Yang include - a patterned rug on the floor, a clutter-free environment, and a naturally lighted room. Usually, you’ll work as a consultant or as a part of a consulting company. Your clients could be a real estate companies, private persons, building, or residential owners. Being a consultant, you might not have a fixed salary structure, as this may depend on your expertise. Your goal is to enhance your clients’ living space with harmonious arrangements of things in line with feng shui practices and principles.   Education/Qualification:   Certification in Feng Shui from an accredited trade organisation. Program for Fengshui Architecture Program for Fengshui Interior Design & Landscape Feng Shui Online Courses   Note: For more feng shui training, visit these sites Digitaldefynd.com Masterhanzcua.com   More sources: Easy-fengshui.com Duties: Check indoor and outdoor designs for compliance with feng shui practices. Make onsite evaluations. Recommend changes if there are Shars identified.   Salary: In the Philippines, the fees depend on the size of the property and the consultant’s experience. A feng shui advisor may charge from a hundred to thousands of pesos per hour, per session or per property. In the USA, the range is from $591 to $1534 (Home Advisor)     Fragrance chemist/Perfumer If you love being around a room full of essential oils, analysing devices and other fragrant chemicals, this job is for you. You research and make fragrances for cleaning products, food, manufacturing, pesticide and perfume. You may get samples and concentrates such as lavender, rose, sandalwood, agar-agar, musk and other synthetic or natural scents. These fragrances can help mask the chemical smell of a product or add just add fragrance.   Education and Qualifications: Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. Degree in Cosmetic Science Training in Chemicals and Aromatics Strong sense of smell   Duties: Analyse chemical raw materials or additives  Evaluate finished products Knowledge of gas chromatography Perform chemical and physical tests Ensure the production process conforms to quality control and safety standards   Salary: 213, 048 PHP average salary per year  Source: Economic Research Institute and Salaryexpert   Ethical Hacker The term “Hacker” is often associated with malicious intent but, did you know you can be a hacker without landing in legal trouble? If you like to tinker ins and outs of software security or enter the IT security career, this job is for you. When you hack ethically, you test the software’s vulnerability to criminal hackers. You may work for banks, government agencies, software companies, and web development companies.   Educational/Training Background: Computer engineering Software engineering Bachelor's degree in information technology Duties:  Help a software development company or organisation overcome security risks and prevent malicious hacking attacks.  Maintain strict confidentiality and secrecy of company credentials and accounts. Solve problems and have technical skills in networking and cybersecurity.   Salary: 475, 000 PHP average salary per year Salary Range: 218, 400 PHP to 756, 000 PHP per year Source: Salaryexplorer.com   Dating Consultant/Dating Coach If attracting the opposite sex is as easy as learning the ABC, then most people have already their fiancés. Unfortunately, personalities are different, and not all have the skill or confidence to approach and attract a man or woman. As a dating consultant, you’ll help singles work out their strategies and guide them to find their soon-to-be boyfriend and girlfriend.   Education/Training Background: Note: There’s another term related to dating consultants called Pick Up Artist (PUA) that are associated with narcissists and sociopaths according to some dating sites and articles.   Education:  Experience in dating different people and possibly a background in Communication, Psychology, and Social Work. You may work as an independent consultant or a member of a dating consultancy service.    Duties:  Provide tips and advice person to person or in seminar venues. Guide clients on their dating Manage dating accounts Prepare dates for clients Monitor relationship status   Salary: $32, 000 per year average annual salary per year (USA) Source: Work.chron.com    Herbalist  Numerous medicines came from natural sources such as plants, animals, fungi, and microbes. But did you know herbs are one of the major sources of plant-based drugs? Herbs are medicinal plants are procured for their healing properties. Herbalists use plants for healing ailments. You won’t be a medical doctor in this field, though; you can be referred to as a medical herbalist.    Education/Qualifications: There’s no common certification program or educational degree for herbalists so you might earn your credentials by finishing:  Botany or plant science Evidence-based botanical research Nutrition Pharmacy and dispensing   You might join herbal trade organisations or get recognition from regulatory government agencies.    Tasks: Make herbal products such as herbal tinctures, elixirs, bitters, and medicinal hone. Makes infusions, tea blends, herbal tinctures, herb-infused oils and vinegar Manages herbal shops Perform quality control on herbal-infused products If you’ve writing skills, you could write and publish herbal blogs and books.   Salary: 328, 241 PHP - Average Salary per Year Salary Range: 243, 170 PHP to 404, 498 per year  Source: Salaryexpert.com  Disclaimer: The salary figures above constitute an estimate and may change because of the job market, and economic and technological trends.  

  Photo by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Pix4free Companies, such as in information and tech sector, that still allow work from home, remote, telecommuting, or hybrid setup have started requiring their employees to return to the office. Many employers are getting blowback. While management may argue productivity and socialization as few of the factors for this decision, the real benefits highlights the following advantages of work from home setup.   Save on Rent Renting (or leasing) makes the highest expenses for companies who don’t own office spaces. For example, office space on one of the towers located in the central business district might cost you tens to hundreds of thousands. Just imagine if you could just use those huge savings from rentals to the following:  Advertisement to improve your market reach Buy stocks Buy your own office space Employee skill development such as education and training Healthcare insurance for your employees Invest in another business Software for business Tools for productivity   Utilities Utilities comprise electricity, gas for heating, internet and water. All of these can cost you thousands of pesos if you compel or require employees to return to the office. Telecommuting means saying goodbye to monthly bills that can add to your stress. Remember you need one of your staff to process bills and that can take away precious effort, money, and time.   Cleaning Services Renting an office can add a cost — cleaning services. Since your staff occupies your office, you’ll need to keep the floor, ceiling, workstations, and windows clean. And that calls for janitorial or cleaning services. Now that’s another bill.   Diminished Business Travel Expenses Remote collaboration and virtual meetings can reduce the cost of business travel, including accommodation, airfare and dining expenses.   Improved Employee Retention Resigning employees can hamper your production. Although you can always hire another employee, remember that retraining a new staff doesn’t mean you can always get the same quality of service. On top of that, think about the cost and time of retraining new employees. Promoting work from home can help you retain talents who require more time with their family, and take care of their babies or ailing relatives.   Reduced Absenteeism Flexible schedules can give more time to your employees who have personal obligations that could demand taking days off. Returning employees from sick leave can bounce back to work easier compared to commuting employees.   Reduced Tardiness Traffic jams can hamper your staff’s ability to arrive on time. Even though you can adjust your time or wake up early, it’s very taxing and tiresome for you to deal with bumper to bumper traffic. By the time you and your staff arrive on-site, you’re already wasting precious time and energy. The solution to traffic? Make work from home a permanent work setup.    

Image credited to Lars_Nissen from Pixabay Reaching other lands, and countries, experiencing other climates and earning more than you could in your native country are one of the best things to happen in life.  If you’re contemplating working abroad, this guide can help you decide.    Why should I decide carefully before going abroad? Learning the hows of ifs working abroad helps you mitigate the risks. Maximize your earning potential  Find the right opportunities Avoid illegal recruitment   You can get most of the benefits of working abroad if: The salary offer is more than twice the job offered locally. For most Filipinos, a minimum of 50, 000 PHP worth of salary abroad is desirable. Your role, industry, or profession has opportunities abroad that pay well. You can’t find decent-paying work locally. You love to reach famous landmarks and other countries. You love to experience other climates (four seasons versus tropical and subtropical). You’re planning to immigrate to other countries.   It might not be Ok to work abroad if:   You can find a job with similar offers, approximates or greater than the salary offered abroad. You’re going to study at local colleges or universities for career improvements. Studying abroad is expensive and may conflict with your working schedule. There’s no one to take care of your children (if you’re a parent) unless you and your spouse are living abroad and can afford to sponsor your sons and daughters. There’s a travel ban due to war, pandemic and political causes in a destination country unless you can find alternative countries.  No one will take care of your loved ones (spouse, children, parents, and relatives) and you can find a job locally. You can’t handle the emotional impact of leaving your loved ones.

Whether you're stepping into the job market as a recent graduate or transitioning careers midway, securing the ideal job requires a robust strategy coupled with effective tools. To help you succeed, here are some resources that can kick-start your journey towards finding the perfect role. Business Cards Business cards, digital or physical, can help you connect with your network or find a lead person who can recommend you for a job. Such business cards should contain your name, expertise and contacts (phone, mobile and email). You can have someone make a business card for you or better you can make your own.  With specialized business card design tools, as well as comprehensive productivity applications that offer same feature at your disposal, you can effortlessly create professional business cards tailored to your unique brand identity. Google Sheet Monitor your job applications, interviews, and progress effectively by utilizing a well-structured spreadsheet. Google Sheets serves as an invaluable tool for maintaining a real-time, cloud-based tracker, eliminating the need for constant document opening, closing, and saving. You can effortlessly log essential information such as the date, company name, and application status. It can further aid job seekers by allowing the easy sharing of your tracker with career counselors or mentors, facilitating comments and feedback for improvement Job Board Job board refers to a specialized site for displaying and storing job advertisements. Here you can view the job title, expiration date, skills and experiences required, salary, location and company name. The site also includes a search filter to narrow down your search. You can sign-up, build your profile or upload your resume. One of the simple and easy to use job boards are Oh! Jobs.ph and Oh! Jobs.jp. Mock Interview preparation programs These apps can help you practice a mock or trial interview as you would in an actual interview. Mock interviews boost your confidence and prepare for the real thing. interview warmup Mockrabbit Pramp Map Apps If you’re new or unfamiliar with the place of the company’s office and interview site, chances are you’ll need a reliable map. Some of the best map apps include: Google Map Waze Here We Go Maps.Me Social Bookmarking Sites Saving an article or webpage can help you get to research and bookmark sites relevant or helpful to your job effort. Social Bookmarking sites let you post a URL and save them on an easy to access a website.  Examples include: Facebook Flipboard Medium Pocket Pinterest Tumblr