Skills empower people to easily find their targeted jobs or dream jobs. It provides you with a tool so that you can trade your services into a monthly pay and allowance that we call salary. We define skills as the ability to do something in order to accomplish a specific goal. Enhancing skills is crucial when you want to advance in a job and career. Use your free time to study new skills or review existing competencies. For example, if you’re a graphic artist with an intermediate knowledge in Adobe Photoshop and GIMP, you could watch video tutorials and read ebooks. You can practice the program while watching the tutorial. If you’re working full time, your free time could be the free hours before or after the shift, and weekends. If you’re working as a freelancer, your free time is longer and could be 4 to 6 hours before or after the freelance work.   Study through distance learning schools Distance learning schools or adult learning schools comprise a division of some major public universities of the Philippines. They might use web-based modules, tests, media, and physical tests for academic programs that need lab work and field practice. International MOOCs/ Distance Learning Schools Description Asian Institute for Distance Education There’s a fee for admission and courses Benguet State University  A 100 Php fee for admission and $25 for foreign nationals. CAP College Foundation   Central Luzon State University Digital Learning Environment   Polytechnic University of the Philippines - Open University System There’s a fee (100 Php per unit). They offer undergraduate and graduate programs. For reference, visit here. University of Northern Philippines Open University There’s a tuition fee for courses such as Education, Nursing, Public Admin, Social Work and Criminology. University of the Philippines Open University There’s a fee for admission and courses. Physical appearance could be required for field practice and laboratory work. Visayas State University VSU offers distance education in agriculture University of Northern Philippines UNP offers an MA in Education, Nursing, Public Administration, Social Work and Bachelor of Science in Criminology Study through MOOCs MOOCs or Massive Open Online Courses are websites that offer free or paid short, long and diploma courses. You begin by signing up and choosing a course. These MOOCs could be completely free, partially free, and free training but with a paid diploma. The pros of using online courses are that they provide you with flexible means of online education by using only a laptop and an internet, you can study and earn certificates/diplomas without commuting to a physical school. International MOOCs/ Distance Learning Schools Type Alison Free training/Paid certificates edX Free training/ paid certificates GCFLearnFree.org Totally free training and free certificates. They rely on volunteers, donations and support from organizations. Openuniversity.edu Free training and badge Coursera.org Paid training and certificate Udacity Free for 200 courses but without a certificate.  Nanodegrees are paid. Udemy Paid training and certificate Khan academy Free training Saylor Academy/ Saylor.org Free training and free certificates. They have also a donation page. Attend seminars, classes and workshops Seminars, classes, and workshops are usually short-termed courses that are either free (totally free and partially free) or paid. If paid, the fees could cover food and drinks, modules and trainers fee. Workshops are timebound and they only exist on a specified date. Each of these seminars is either conducted by training companies or by government agencies such as TESDA. Earning a certificate from these seminars and workshops can expand your skills, experiences and they look great for resumes too. They comprise the following themes or categories: Category  Participating organizations and source Name of event Carpentry Tesdacourse.com Carpentry or Furniture making Crafts craftmnl.com Basic leather crafting, candle making, cardholder making Graphic design Tesdacourse.com Inventivemedia.com Graphics theory and graphic software usage. Food production sweetsuccess.ph Making of bread, doughnut, essential oil, macaron Hospitality and Tourism  Galastarsculinary.com coffeeschoolasia.com Certificate in Basic Culinary arts Events Management Services NC II Health redcross.org.ph Basic life support and first aid training Information technology Zuitt.co Upsitf.org Arduino training, web development, graphic design Money matters Learntotrade.com.ph financial-planning-manila.com Forex trading Financial advice Test reviews Britishcouncil.ph IELTS Practice and learn with a tomato timer Getting good at skills doesn’t happen overnight or the following day. If you’re learning Japanese and expect to be fluent after 3 months, then you’ll be setting up for failure or procrastination. Your body uses hormones (dopamine) that provide focus and drive, unfortunately, it’s limited, and when it runs out, you can lose motivation and will. One of the best ways to avoid procrastination is to use a Pomodoro technique which is also a time management method. Pomodoro is an Italian word for tomato.

If you worry about employment gaps, it’s worth knowing that most interviewers, if not all, may see such details in your resume history. And that could happen if the hiring personnel is meticulous. Worrying about Employment gaps? Just be honest and you won’t lose an interview unlike when you try to hide something or lie. You could lose the battle in front of the selection committee, if you say - I just watched grumpy cat videos on youtube for months unless you are working as a freelance movie reviewer. Employment gaps refer to months or years when you don’t have full-time employment whether it’s inside the company office or your home. Different companies have their own policies about employment gaps. They may or may not treat career histories seriously. Some companies treat a non-office based (freelance job) different from the office-based (inhouse) job. Gaps can happen because of various reasons - job-hopping, lay-offs, recession, resignation, termination, and career shift.  Two types of employment gaps Long-term  Transitional This refers to major life changes such as: Personal health issues ​Caring for a family member (sibling, parent, aunt, uncle, grandparents) Serious illness This lasts from 1 month to 9 months. A person may have taken a short stint in freelance, part-time job, and training before transferring to another company. Why employment gaps may mean an unspoken career issue? They may be concerned that you’re hiding something that could hinder your job performance. Being idle for months and years is not an attractive trait to employers and their HR. They’ll assume that you forgot your skills or you’ll be lazy in their company. Should you worry too much about Employment gaps? Employment gaps are not things to be afraid of but are life details that you should take seriously before you fire your resumes to hundreds of recruiters and job boards. Employment gaps make up the normal part of the career cycle. No two people possess 100% identical career history. Some things are beyond your control such as the economy, the temperament of the interviewer, competition, job trends, industry changes, and nature. You’ll be on the safe side if you say thoughtfully or honestly and make up for the things you can control (interview preparedness, dress, resume, and learning). How do deal with employment gaps 1. Stay honest Assume that interviewers are meticulous or might soon find your employment gaps if they do background checks. If the interviewer asks you about the specific days and months, say it truthfully. 2. Offer one or some of these reasons Emphasize the positives of learning from the following activities during your gaps. Reasons for Long-term employment gaps Reasons for short-term employment gaps Professional and skills training Part-time and freelance jobs Business Serious medical or health issue Volunteering Part-time and freelance jobs Short-term medical & health issues ○   Professional and skills training - You could have enrolled in an online course or in a physical school. When you studied, you demonstrate that you want to improve your career, sharpen your skills and land in a good job - things that employers value and admire. ○   Earned through a part-time/freelance job - Freelance and part-time jobs are acceptable as they show that you earned an income despite not having an office full-time income. You might have been doing these non-full time jobs: proofreader, moderator, home-based writer, and artist. ○   Took care of a relative (parent, sibling) - You resigned because you took care of one of your sick family members.  ○   Started a business - You might have started a small family business such as a mini-grocery store, a sari-sari store, and e-commerce. ○   Medical or health issue - Medical issues such as type 1 diabetes and another life-threatening disease that demand withdrawal from a full-time job. ○   Volunteering - Joining groups such as Habitat for Humanity, an organization that builds houses for the homeless, is an excellent way to learn valuable skills and show that you took your time productively even it’s an unpaid one. You could also add activities in the church or a community organizing. 3.  Explain for the two types of the unemployment gap Long-term - You can tell about your major life events - you became a parent, cared for an ailing family member or went for medication because of a life-threatening disease.  Transitional - Your obvious answer to this is that you’re looking for work. Sometimes you’ll run into situations - you got fired, laid off, just graduated and resigned. Job hunting can be time-consuming and challenging.  4. Get creative and make your employment gap less obvious but be ready if the interviewer asks for further details. Note: Some job board blogs/articles recommend this method while others don’t. This could backfire if your answers aren’t congruent with the details of your resume. Use a functional resume - This type of resume highlights your experience and skills instead of your work history. It’s commonly used by job seekers who are changing their careers. In the above example, you started as a warehouse assistant in January 2015 and resigned on February 8, 2019. You started at another company on December 15, 2019. You can make your 9 months less obvious by not showing the exact dates.  Note: The above example only works when the exact dates of employment aren’t brought up by the interviewer. If the hiring personnel asks you for it, be prepared to answer honestly and accurately. Likewise, you have to give your exact date of employment in job application forms or job boards.  5. Include training, classes, and seminars  Training, classes, and seminars look great in a resume and they emphasize that you prepared for your future job. Such skill-building activities could be online courses or outdoor ones - paid or free. Upon completing your training, you can print certificates and training details and bring them as credentials in your interview. The bottom line Resume gaps aren’t a big liability unless you had a criminal history (and that’s another topic). The truth will set you free whether it’s bad or good. By telling what’s behind your employment gap, you say to them that you are an honest and vulnerable person. Hiring personnel and employers will appreciate people like you who are making efforts to improve their lives. Being a person working for his/her dream is an admirable character.

You've done it. You passed the interview. Providence has smiled down on you and a company that is even more desperate to recruit staff than you are for a job has decided to recruit you into their ranks. Now that you have the job your next big challenge will be to keep it. Probation periods are essential to both the company and the employee, as they allow both parties to decide whether they are fit for each other. This “trial” commonly endures somewhere in the range of a month to half a year  –  depending on the organization that you are in.  According to research, almost one in five new hired employees sees to fail their probationary period right after starting a job. However, there are ways to ensure that your position is secured within your new role well past the initial probationary period.  Be impressive You can only have one first impression. Do it well. Be cheerful and show enthusiasm. It is great to show positivity all over your face and body language, as it will determine your attitude towards the pressure and tasks that are given to you. At all times, it is important to remain positive and open to learning. It is smart to dress wisely, as well. This just shows that you are more than serious and you take and respect the job seriously. Also, pay attention to timekeeping. Arrive a little earlier, leave a little later than your normal obligated work hours. Stand out and make a good impression. Be quick on developing a solid reputation as someone who is reliable and can deliver positive and great results with firmness and quality of work. Be accountable Yes, you will make a mistake. You will definitely make mistakes. Accept it. As the new guy in the team, of course, there will be things that are new to you and will take time to familiarise yourself with. Don’t stress too much, your management and bosses will unlikely be mad at you when you made a mistake at the job and still is finding your footing. But you should not take this for granted and always take responsibility for any mishaps you do. Keep in mind that in this probationary period your bosses will take a very careful look at your overall performance. They will most likely notice those mistakes you will make and how you react upon those mistakes. So, be proactive and firm about being able to bounce back from those problems you have caused. Be professional Avoid being late or worse, being absent. Absence and tardiness are some of the everyday factors of why managers fail the potential candidate for the job. And these two are some of the most “no, no” red flags for employers. Of course, there will come a time that you will get sick, or may sometimes attend an important matter, or maybe even get unfortunate in commuting that will lead you to be late for work. Just be professional enough to take time and keep your bosses informed. Let them know how sorry you are and you understand that attendance does matter. For in this short period of time, every move you make will show what will you be doing for the rest of your time in that company. For them, what you do in your first months at work, will reflect on your attitude in the long run. So, always make a real effort to be on time.  Be initiative If you really want to leave a mark and be a great asset in the team, maintain a good level of communication with your colleagues. Have the initiative to approach them. Ask for advice and tips on how things work. Have the initiative to help and offer assistance. Have the initiative to seek opportunities for growth. Have the initiative to ask for feedback to have open communication with them.  Have the initiative to do new things that you think will benefit and provide positive reinforcements to your company. Don’t be afraid to ask for assistance or mentoring from them if you need it. Don’t be afraid and just take initiative. Be calm, cool and collected Be calm, cool, and collected because as much as you want to be the man for the job, trust me, they too want you to indeed be the man for the job.  And naturally, you will feel the pressure, pressure in a way that you need to watch carefully every move you make. And that one wrong move can contribute to your demise. But keep in mind that it is not just about you proving to your bosses that you are indeed the man for the job. The job needs to satisfy your desires and live up to your expectations, as well. And if let us say, it does not, you are more than free to politely leave the offer on the table. It is a two-way road. It is about you and your employer.  So, regardless of whether you are a beginner who has just gotten his job or someone who is in the brink of execution, the probation period is one way for both you and the organization to identify whether the job’s for you or not.

Somewhere, someone’s dream is coming true. Is it your dream? What is your dream life look like? Have you ever thought about it? What is a success for you?  Success can mean different things to different people. For some, success might be financial achievements, perhaps becoming a millionaire. For some, it might mean accolades. For athletes, it may mean trophies, medals or placements like championships. For some, being successful might simply mean achieving a state of wellness, health or happiness. And whatever it means to you, always remember, that all of them have the same recipe, a recipe for success. SET GOALS You probably never met a successful person without a vision, or who don’t set goals. The chances of you finding what you want without a clear target to move forward, are right around zero. For your mind is like a GPS where you typed in the destination where you want to go, and it takes you there.  The number one reason people don’t get what they want is that they don’t know what they want. Thus we must define exactly what it is that we want. I say, Identify your “WHYs”, your reason for doing what you are doing right now.  TAKE RESPONSIBILITY Your success and failures in life are your responsibilities. If something doesn’t work out, you should not blame others or a situation. Instead, you must learn the lesson and move on quickly. It is believed that your energy should solely be focused on the present only.  Don’t make excuses as to why you aren’t where you should be. Everyone suffers setbacks. everyone has the opportunity to either blame others and situations OR to focus on moving on. Regardless of what has happened, you decide what you do now. Take what you can get and move on. HAVE SELF-DISCIPLINE  Discipline is one of the most essential traits of being a successful person, which with constant practice will have positive reinforcements to your future. It is said that it is much easier to have discipline if you have clear goals and a meaningful purpose. Something that is more important than meaningless distractions. WORK ON YOURSELF Always be obsessed with self-development. There will always be more room for improvement. This doesn’t mean you are never satisfied. it’s just that we as humans, it is in our nature to want to grow and learn new things.  Be open to learn new things and develop your mind. It can come from mentors, books, blogs, etc. Pretty much learning, like learn a lot of stuff about the things you want to improve on. As to what people say, “the more you learn the more you will earn, financially, intellectually, and spiritually.” READ Make reading as your common past time. In a world where people can’t sit for 2 minutes without becoming “bored”, or picking up phones to go on social media, be the person who loves to be alone in a quiet place, who read or listen to something that will benefit their mind, and their future.  And if you’re not a reader, try to listen to audiobooks. Gain new skills, new learnings, new strengths. MANAGE YOUR TIME Time management is essential. Others usually get stressed and overwhelmed when there are too many tasks to be done. Prioritize the most rewarding task first, and leave the unimportant ones to last. Plan in advance, like for days, weeks, months ahead, and know what needs to be done to complete the job and reach the goals. TAKE RISKS Know when to take risks in order to get where you need to go. The risk for the life that you want, or stay with the one you don’t want. Play to win, don’t play to lose.  Because oftentimes people are afraid to take risks because of fear of failure, but the greater failure would be that of regret of what could’ve been.  KEEP GOING Keep on going after suffering failures and setbacks. Those things are inevitable and are a NEED. Yes, FAILURE IS A NEED. Everyone will suffer failure and setbacks, and many of them might even lose everything. Most quit but you must never quit.  Keep going, as the greatest version of you will be formed through these adversities. Knowing that your success story is being written in every moment and decisions you make. FIND A WAY Find a way to win. Whatever life throws your way, you deal with it, smash it, dodge it, whatever it is your way, you must find a way to win — whatever it takes. It is the “whatever it takes” mentality. The confidence in knowing that whatever happens, you will give it your all and leave nothing on the table. FIND A WAY TO WIN! DO WHAT YOU LOVE In a particular saying, if you’re not doing what you love, then you can’t really claim yourself as a success. Earning tons of money while doing what you hate for the rest of your life no matter how great the compensations are, is not a successful living. It is torture. If you need to suffer doing something you don’t like in order to have a life that you love, do that. But never lose sight. Your life purpose. Your happiness. Do what you love every day, and you will never work a day in your life.  

Picture this, you just got a promotion and you are so proud of yourself because you have finally gotten what you’ve been working so hard for. But your co-workers don’t seem to be so proud of you, that they may be even talking about how you have favoritism or unfair advantage. Or maybe you’ve been in a situation where you were really happy about personal achievement, but you find that people around you are belittling it. Or you’re working at a motivation to make a positive outcome or change in your life only to have your “friends” dismiss it as being unimportant.  Well, it’s nice to think that people around us, all they want is to help us succeed, but there will be times that you will encounter a phenomenon that people call “crabs in a bucket mentality.”  So, the “crab mentality” goes like: If you put one crab in a bucket, it can claw its way up and out and return to the wild. But something interesting happens if you put a bunch of crabs in the same bucket together. So, if one of them tries to climb out, the rest will pull it back into the bucket. And if the crab tries to climb out a second time, they will actually gang up on that crab and start picking it apart so that it can’t proceed.  So, this means that none of the crabs can and will ever escape the bucket because they are all working against each other. So, the phrase that best describes this is “If I can’t have it, neither can you.” Well, in real life, we are not actually physically trying to break each other down as crabs do, but we as humans, try to break each other’s spirits down when we see someone else is on their way to success. So, whether we are aware of it or not, our method of thinking, our behaviors, our decision-making processes are greatly influenced by the people we spend the most time with.  This means that if you’re always around people who make poor life decisions in the things that you’re trying to improve. You are at risk of being pulled down by them. But, if you are able to build a different type of network when that emphasizes self-improvement, then there you will be more likely to achieve the success that you are seeking. In our lives, we will encounter many types of people as we grow older. Some of them will greatly affect how we look at the world. So as to what the motivational speaker, Jim Rohn once said: “You are the average of the five people that you spend your most time with.” And by that, it is vital that in order for us to overcome the “crab mentality” we must surround ourselves with positivity and with people that want nothing but the success of everyone. That goes to show how and why it is important to surround yourself with the right people if you truly want to live a positive life and grow as a person.