life hacks Archives | Page 6 of 28

Why I Failed At My Previous Job Interviews

I can vividly recall the rush of emotions that I felt upon receiving a pleasant message from an esteemed insurance company. At the crack of dawn, the HR department of the international company emailed me to meet up for an interview. I immediately agreed to a job interview at Raffles Place.

This was not my first rodeo, but I was overly excited. I had been dreaming about becoming a party of this company for the longest time. Unbeknownst to me, being overeager was a part of my downfall. You will come to that conclusion later on.

On the day of my interview, I solely entered a spacious room. The recruiter came in and handed me with two Psychological tests. With my background in Psychology and human behavior, you may think that these tests are easy to accomplish. I knew how to answer in a manner that is both genuine and acceptable. However, I was too excited that my mind blacked out she stated the instructions. The tangible gravity of the reality overwhelmed my spirit! She had to repeat the instructions again because I committed several errors. The situation was embarrassing! I compensated by extending our chatter. The excessive conversations made me seem desperate. Needless to say, I did not land the coveted job.

Although the recruiter did not mention the reasons why I got rejected, most of our application rejections are due to basic issues. This is why you must avoid these certain mistakes: being overeager, including documentation errors, and not caring about personal appearance.

The scenario that I shared above is a prime example of the negative consequences that can spring from being too eager and excited. Much like speed dating, a candidate that seems too desperate is a major turnoff. Constantly calling or emailing for updates is a waste of the recruiter’s time. Remain calm and wait patiently for a call back.

Secondly, most people commit typographical errors in printed and written documents. Even professionals cannot escape this wrongful pit!

While I was scanning through my old emails, I noticed that I misspelled a couple of simple words (e.g., “the” became “teh”) in an old application. This happened long before I started to make a living out of writing articles. However, its value holds true until today. The materials that you submitted signify an impression. This is why you must give a substantial amount of time to proofread or revise everything. For handwritten forms, do not forget to do the “i’s” and cross the “t’s”. Pay attention to details!

Lastly, you must dress to impress. Let us face it! We live in a relatively superficial world where physical appearance plays a huge part in our interactions. A recent study even highlighted that tall people get paid more. Look professional during an interview by dressing appropriately. Show that you respect the position that you are vying for by properly grooming yourself. Add a tad of moderate make-up if needed.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

We all learn from our personal experiences and job interviews are no different!

Sources: 1 & 2

6 Budget-Friendly Ways To Achieve Gorgeous And Healthy Hair

Since your crowning glory is an asset, you must take good care of your beloved hair. Homemade and natural remedies have abundant benefits to nourish your scalp and roots. Instead of forking out over S$10,000 for hair transplant, consider restoring the health of your locks by following these inexpensive tips:

1. CREATE A BENEFICIAL HAIR MASK

Aside from trimming your belly fat, avocado has a myriad of benefits for your locks. You will not believe what this impressive fruit can offer! Let us start with the fact that it is a rich source of vitamins, proteins amino acids. This is why it is able to soothe your scalp, add moisture, restore shine, and nurture strong growth.

Enjoy all these by combining one avocado, a tablespoon of coconut oil, two eggs, and a tablespoon of honey. Apply this mixture to your hair. Let it settle for 20 minutes before you rinse it.

2. MASSAGE YOUR MANE

A quick homemade remedy for dry and damaged hair only takes one ingredient – butter. Raid your kitchen to get a relatively small amount of butter. Massage this generously to your dry hair and cover everything with a shower cap. Do this for 30 minutes. Then, rinse all the butter out by using shampoo.

3. LET IT ALL DOWN

You deserve to have a meaningful rest after months of back-to-back deadlines and major projects. The same idea goes for your hair. It needs every break it can possibly get. Simple things such as wearing your hair down or fixing it loosely can make a difference. Elastic bands can put stress on your hair roots and shaft. This is why you must not sleep with any hair accessories.

4. ABSORB THE ONION’S JUICE

Onion has a high concentration of sulfur, which helps hair growth by increasing collagen production. Use the onion’s juice to control hair fall. Start by chopping the onion well and squeeze out its juice. Massage the mixture to your scalp and let it sit for 15 minutes. When the time is up, rinse your hair with mild shampoo.

As a friendly reminder, do a patch test before using the onion as hair treatment.

5. WRAP YOUR DAMP HAIR

Do you know why some women keep their hair wrapped in a “towel bun“? Well, wrapping the wet hair in a cotton towel leads to the absorption of moisture. This act can help to protect the hair against further split ends.

6. BRUSH YOUR HAIR BEFORE SLEEPING

One of the best treats that you can bestow upon your hair is to brush it before you sleep. Opt for a natural-bristle brush or a wide-tooth comb. Run this through your hair from roots to tips. According to the Owner of Cambio Salon Mary Rascon, doing this will help to move your scalp’s natural oils through your hair.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

Sources: 1, 2, 3, & 4

How To Enjoy A Thrifty Relocation

Whether you are upgrading to a newlywed nest or downgrading to a cheaper work space, you are starting a fresh chapter in your life. You are leaving the past behind and looking forward to a brighter future ahead. Simply, this transition is exciting! However, I cannot deny the fact that moving day is stressful. This is why it is important that you employ cost efficient strategies to make your life easier.

Begin by devising a relocation plan. Invest a dollar or less in a handy notebook where you can visualize a timeline that leads up to your moving day. For instance, you may start labeling the boxes by week two. Organizing everything is important to prevent spending money purely for convenience.

The next thing that you must focus your energy on is packing the boxes by yourself. You may ask a little help from your kindhearted friends and family if you want. The bottom line is that this strategy saves a decent amount of cash. While packing your stuff, do not forget to label each box.

Let us be honest! There is nothing worse than the hassle of scavenging through a pile of mystery boxes. Sometimes, people would rather purchase new things instead of wasting time in searching for two or three items that they really need. Avoid unnecessary or impulsive buys by marking each box with a permanent marker and writing down what section of the flat it belongs to. Leave your valuables inside specific boxes that you can keep a close eye on. You may even go further categorizing each item in your notebook.

Image Credits: Book Glutton via Flickr Creative Commons

In the process of carefully putting everything in place, you will realize that there are some old investments that you do not mind leaving behind. These said investments are the items that you do not want to bring in your current residence. As long as these items are in mint condition, you can sell them on online marketplaces such as Carousell and Gumtree Singapore. Scam or spam messages are bound to flood you if you display your details in the open. So, set up an independent account just for this. Take down said account once you are finished moving. Selling your old stuff helps you to save money by shipping less and to earn more money on the side.

In the last couple of weeks before your moving day, you must narrow down your options to a single moving service. Make it a habit to get written or documented quotations from different moving services. I am not referring to the nuggets spoken by famous personalities. Instead, quotations refer to the prices offered by the companies. Show these written or documented quotations to the next company to persuade them into matching or lowering down the prices of their predecessors.

I hope that these tips can help you to enjoy a fuss-free moving day. If you can think of other ways to relocate in an affordable manner based on your personal experience, comment below and share your story. Your views are greatly appreciated! 🙂

Sources: 1, 2, & 3

Practical Ways To Stand Out As An Exceptional Employee

There is more to an exceptional employee than mere attention to detail and laser focus!

1. SOLVE PROBLEMS

You are happily employed at a small-scale advertising firm along with 8 employees. Your boss decided to gather all of you to discuss about the reinvention of your website. He asked your opinions about the potential problems that can occur with this shift. You raised a couple of issues including the lack of stock images. You immediately suggested to organize a cost-efficient photoshoot. Your boss was impressed!

As you can see, there is a fine line between highlighting and complaining about an issue. Pointing out the issue helps to get the attention of the people involved. However, it must not end there. You have to come up with realistic solutions to conquer the problems.

2. BE POSITIVE

In my experience, there is always that one employee who exudes a pessimistic mindset in the workplace. It can lead to lack of motivation and poor work etiquette. Negative thinking may also start to rub off on other employees and reduce the overall productivity. It is important to find ways to handle the pessimistic employees.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

It is impossible to live in a world where conflicts do not exist. Stressful days are bound to occur as you need to meet the deadlines and work on a strict budget. Despite the emergence of these days, it helps to remain positive. A resilient employee is able to stay optimistic about the future and encourage others to share the same mindset even during the most difficult circumstance.

3. TAKE INITIATIVE

On a different scenario, imagine that you are a contributing writer for a large-scale lifestyle website. The boss assigns your daily topics but, you are free to come up with your own ideas. Your interaction with the team made you realize that your boss is passionate about Golf. You decided to do your research about the distinct sport. You wrote an article about it and handed it to your boss on the next day. Furthermore, you included 3 more topics that focused on the current trends in Singapore. Your boss was shocked – in a good way!

Outstanding employees do not wait for the tasks to be assigned. If there is an urgent need, they act upon it appropriately. They are proactive in other areas including communication. Instead of responding to a selected few about a project, they keep the whole team in the loop.

4. ACCEPT CRITICISM

I witnessed a petty office brawl between two supervisors before. They came from divergent departments and each of them had a point. However, the other one was fueled with aggression and took things personally. A mediator had to break the tension between them. Obviously, you must deal with the same situation in a mature manner.

Exceptional employees are able to tolerate conflicts and take constructive criticisms. Instead of displacing the blame to other people, accept the idea that you need to make some changes.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

Committing a mistake is not a mark of a poor employee – failing to adapt is.

Sources: 1, 2, & 3

5 Must-Read Books About Retirement

A prosperous retirement is more than just attaining financial independence. It involves finding happiness and meaning in this fresh chapter of life as well as stretching your financial resources to aid your journey.

Here are the must-read publications if you are looking for ways to make the most of your remaining years:

1. “HOW TO MAKE YOUR MONEY LAST: THE INDISPENSABLE RETIREMENT GUIDE” BY JANE QUINN

But it here.

Are you at the library right now? Check out the self-help books and other resources about retirement. You will notice that most of these books focus mainly on how to invest your money to create a potent retirement fund. The author’s experience supported this. Quinn once said: “I found books and websites on how to invest but practically nothing on how to prudently parcel your money out. If you take too little from savings, you’re depriving yourself of some of the comforts that you worked for. If you take too much, you’ll go broke.”

You see, spending your money wisely is just as important as building a nest. Find a balance between these elements by reading this book. Written in plain terms, this book explains how you can stretch your money once you are in retirement.

2. “THE NEW RULES OF RETIREMENT: STRATEGIES FOR A SECURE FUTURE” BY ROBERT CARLSON

Buy it here.

For people who are far from the retiring age or who are in the earlier stages of retirement, this gem is perfect for you. It is dubbed to be a “global book” that seeks to help its readers to wrap their minds around the whole subject. It takes a realistic look at the diverse life patterns that are emerging in the retiring Baby Boomers in the recent years.

It includes chapters that educate you about managing your fund, avoiding scams, planning for long-term care, and more. These chapters are detailed and easy to read.

3. “HOW TO RETIRE HAPPY, WILD, AND FREE” BY ERNIE ZELINSKI

Buy it here.

What makes this book shine above the rest is its Canadian humor and its focus on the non-monetary aspects of retirement. It encourages its readers to improve their physical, spiritual, and emotional well-being. It puts heavy emphasis on how to live during retirement. This is why the contents of the book are not only practical but also relevant.

4. “THE RETIRING MIND: HOW TO MAKE THE PSYCHOLOGICAL TRANSITION TO RETIREMENT” BY ROBERT DELAMONTAGNE

Buy it here.

A Psychological transition to retirement entails dealing with the emotional stress that comes with this significant milestone. A substantial part of the book is dedicated to finding the reader’s inner being to create a fulfilling life and to enhance personal relationships. Dr. Delamontagne helps us to understand our personality types as it influences how we grow toward the next stage. These nuggets of knowledge are backed by his personal experiences.

5. “WHAT COLOR IS YOUR PARACHUTE? (FOR RETIREMENT: 2ND EDITION)” BY JOHN NELSON & RICHARD BOLLES

Buy it here.

Learn about the wide array of variables that are involved in retirement as this book provides you with useful guidelines on how to be healthy, happy, and successful. There are worksheets and exercises inside for hands-on or practical learning.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

Ultimately, the authors view retirement as a crucial stage in life and not just an event that occurs when you stop working.

Sources: 1 & 2

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