Have you ever wondered how introverted or extroverted your work style is? This short quiz will help you understand whether your writing personality tends toward introversion or extroversion.
What kind of writing personality do you have? What parts of writing are easy or challenging for you? Share your stories in the comments.
Whether you’re the friend that everyone calls when they have a grammar question or you’re just a big English language geek, you love reading about and talking about language online. When writing mistakes happen online, however, language and grammar can get pretty divisive—quickly. We all have a tendency to chime in, but not all of us are as productive as others. Find out how much of a grammar troll you are in our short, fun quiz.
What kind of writing personality do you have? What parts of writing are easy or challenging for you? Share your stories in the comments.
Difficult people can quickly turn your dream job into a nightmare if you let them. However, your happiness and productivity are worth the fight. Let’s consider the best ways to deal with challenging personalities.
In “Man in the Mirror,” a song recorded by Michael Jackson, the lyrics provide an effective formula for improving your environment: “Take a look at yourself, and then make a change.” Self-examination might reveal that you are overreacting to a situation. For example, perhaps you don’t appreciate a particular coworker who gives harsh criticism. Stop for a moment and consider: what are the person’s motives? Instead of assuming she’s trying to bring you down, why not assume she’s trying to make you the best you can be? Adjusting your attitude can help you to see the bright side of irritating behavior.
The song continues: “It’s gonna feel real good.” Scientific evidence supports the claim. Emotional intelligence includes having empathy and good social skills. In 2013, a study published in Psychological Science found that people with high emotional intelligence made wise decisions. A 2008 study revealed that positive work interactions correlated with good health, a factor associated with few sick days and thus higher productivity. What author William Arthur Ward said was true: “When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves.”
You can’t expect anyone to read your mind. Often, problems arise when one person misunderstands the humor or intentions of another. You need to give your colleague the opportunity to make things right.
Approach your colleague and explain why his behavior offends you. Plan your words. Strive for the most palatable way to voice your complaint. You might role-play first with an objective party. Ask a friend to monitor your tone, your words, and your body language. When you speak to the difficult person in real life, carefully choose a time and place. (For instance, avoid addressing issues in the middle of stressful projects.) Find a neutral place (i.e., not your office) where you can discuss the matter privately.
Bill Eddy, President of High Conflict Institute, suggests the following formula: Express regret that you have to address the behavior. Explain how you plan to help the person. Give examples of how you want them to act and how new practices would be beneficial to both parties. Let’s look at an example scenario. Think about your workplace challenge and how you can adapt the script to deal with it.
You: . . ., I’m sorry that I have to bring this up, but the way you . . . makes me feel . . . On my end, I will . . . However, if in the future, you could . . . If you do, the process of . . . will work much more smoothly than it does now.
You approached the employee about how his or her behavior. If there is no change or the situation worsens, what can you do?
Ignore the Bad Behavior
Just like young bullies, difficult adults may seek attention with bad behavior. To show them that you are unaffected, you can deflect insults by laughing along with their jokes or making a neutral retort as if you didn’t understand their rude intentions. Then, change the subject. Once they fail to get the attention they crave from you, they may move on to a new target.
Nasty colleague: I heard Benjamin took vacation leave because he was embarrassed about losing the Denman account.
You: The beach is a restful environment. I can’t wait for my next vacation.
Avoid the Person
If it’s possible without damaging your ability to work, limit the interaction you have with the difficult person. Withdraw from shared voluntary duties and choose projects and committees that don’t include him or her.
Involve the Superiors
Involving the superiors is the second-to-last resort. In the best case scenario, the boss can straighten out the issue for you. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Sometimes, the situation becomes worse because the colleague resents you for getting him or her in trouble. Or, you might find that the boss sides with the culprit.
Find a New Job
The real last resort is quitting your job. You can either transfer to a different department within the same company or break ties altogether. You’ll have to weigh the cost of this decision. Is the problem significant enough to merit such drastic action? Will you enjoy another kind of work? Will you easily find another position? And if you do, how will you handle it if there are challenging people at the new workplace?
What are the best ways of dealing with difficult people at work? Will you confront the problem directly by approaching the person to talk about their behavior? Will you let a supervisor know and let them handle the problem? Or will you flee to greener pastures by finding a new job? If you weigh the pros and cons of each strategy carefully, you’ll likely find a solution that works for you.
We’ve talked about the best ways to end an email; now let’s talk about beginnings.
You might wonder whether it’s really necessary to put much thought into how you begin your emails and other correspondence. If you’ve ever ignored a letter because it began with “To Whom It May Concern,” groaned because your name was misspelled, or wondered if the sender was human or canine because their greeting was so overly enthusiastic, then you know that getting your email salutation right is a big deal. In job search emails, for example, using the wrong greeting could make you seem less competent and even cost you an interview.
Here are the six best ways to begin an email, followed by six you should avoid at all costs.
In all but the most formal settings, this email greeting is the clear winner. It’s simple, friendly, and direct. If you want a slightly more formal tone, consider replacing hi with hello.
Although dear can come across as stuffy, it’s appropriate for formal emails. Use it when you’re addressing a person in a position of respect (e.g., Dear Lieutenant Smith) and in formal business missives such as a résumé cover letter.
Dear Ms. Roberts:
If the recipient’s gender is unknown, or their name is the least bit ambiguous, use a full name instead:
Dear Terry Jones:
Avoid honorifics that imply marital status such as “Mrs.” Use “Ms.” instead.
There are a couple of useful alternatives when you don’t know your recipient’s name or you’re writing to a general email inbox, such as feedback@[company].com. Greetings is one of them. But we also like . . .
The advantage of Hi there is that it works well if you’re sending a mass email or using a mail merge feature with customized name fields. You can set up your fields like this:
Hi [Name],
That way, when you use “there” in the [Name] field, your recipient will see a non-specific greeting: “Hi there.”
This one bridges the gap between the breezy hi and the more formal dear. It’s used less often, though, so be aware that it might stand out, and don’t use it if you want your greeting to be unobtrusive.
If you’re addressing a group of people, this is the way to go. We prefer it to more abrupt greetings like “All,” or the too gender-specific “Gentlemen” or “Ladies.”
Don’t misspell your recipient’s name. Ever.
Double-check the spelling of the person’s name and either get it right or omit it and use a generic greeting like Hi there. Although a nonspecific greeting may come off as impersonal, a misspelled name is a red flag that says you’re careless.
Have you ever read and responded to a letter that greeted you with Dear Sir or Madam? We’re going to go ahead and guess you haven’t. Not only is this salutation stiff and formal, it shows that you couldn’t be bothered to look up a contact name and address someone specific.
The same sentiments that apply to Dear Sir or Madam apply here. If your letter opens with To Whom It May Concern, we’re probably going to assume it doesn’t concern us.
Reserve this one for your friends and close colleagues. Otherwise, hey is glaringly informal and can even come across as disrespectful. Have you ever felt warmly greeted by someone saying, “Hey, you!”?
If you’re a golden retriever, you might be able to get away with a greeting this exuberant. Otherwise, you’ll come across as trying too hard. Forget the cutesy greetings, or at least save them for the most informal correspondence between you and your close friends.
If you’ve done your research and discovered that your recipient’s name is Michael McTavish, don’t assume familiarity and shorten his name to Mike. However, if he signs his reply with Mike, it’s okay to address him that way in the future. In fact, he might find it a bit peculiar if you decide to stick with the more formal moniker.
You are battling toward the nexus in a 5v5-ranked game late on a Wednesday night. You have to work the next day and know you are not going to get enough sleep. But fear not! Your dedication to League of Legends is helping more than just your online rep. It’s helping you to be a better team player by teaching you these five valuable lessons in communicating under pressure.
If your team gets thrown a lot of projects each day at work, you have to quickly prioritize your tasks and assess how your team’s skills align. When you understand each other’s strengths and abilities, new challenges are easier for your team to tackle. In League of Legends, you get matched with random players in solo queue. You then have a couple of minutes to pull an all-star team together. In real life, as in League of Legends, you often have to work with what you are given. You don’t always get your first pick in a project, nor are all people easy to get along with. So you have to figure out how to help fill the gaps on your team without sacrificing your skills.
Getting ready for a team fight? Attack Baron? Clear enemy jungle? Kill Teemo? In the Summoner’s Rift, you are constantly aligning your team around the most immediate and impactful objectives. If one teammate is missing or not on board, it could cost you the fight or, worse, the game. In a fast-paced work environment, your team needs to work together effectively. Playing League of Legends has taught you to understand what your objective is and to be clear about what it will take to complete it.
You are working late on a project that’s due tomorrow. Your colleague realizes he made a mistake that will keep you in the office longer. Option 1: ignite a pillar of flaming anger in your conference room with a snarky “GG noob,” dividing your team and setting yourself up for an even longer night. Option 2: take the mistake into account and refocus your team around the objective. If LoL has taught you anything, it’s that not sweating the small stuff under pressure can make the difference between victory or defeat.
If you are trying to get out of the Bronze league, you have to know what it means to build an adc, stack mr, and go backdoor. Knowing the lingo saves time and makes you sound competent. In the office, you might Slack your colleague, “Hey Chad, what’s the ROI on the FB account for tomorrow’s Q1 meeting?” Just as in online gaming, every company has a list of acronyms they use around the office daily. Being able to speak that common language helps everyone get on the same page quickly.
Not all of your projects are going to be a success. You fail, and you learn. However, it’s important to know when to call it. League players understand that if a team has lost their top, mid, and bottom lane on the Rift, defeat is predictable and it’s time to call “gg.” You can beat your head against the wall and drag your team with you, hoping for something to change, or you can take your losses and analyze them so you know what to do differently in the next match.
You might not benefit from putting “Diamond League Player” on your résumé, but you can be confident that League has taught you l33t team communication skills you can apply IRL. So, when you’re on your third cup of coffee and your boss asks you why you’re so tired, tell her that you stayed up late working on effective communication strategies. Or . . . maybe not. Just grab that caffeinated beverage and buckle up for the day!
No job candidate is perfect. Everyone has their flaws. Fortunately, employers aren’t looking for perfect people, just the right people.
Honesty is always the best policy during a job interview, but that doesn’t mean you have to put your weaknesses on display. Whether it’s your resume or your personal challenges that might raise red flags with a hiring manager, addressing your weaknesses and framing them in a positive way can help you avoid making excuses or sounding defensive.
Even if your resume is a little less than ideal, you can put a positive spin on some of the most common trouble spots employers are likely to question.
Lack of experience sets up a frustrating paradox—employers want to hire people with experience, but in order to gain that experience, you have to find an employer who’ll give a person without any a chance. What to do?
Remember that everybody starts somewhere, and hiring managers interview inexperienced candidates all the time. When you’re still growing in your career, there’s one positive quality you can emphasize to help you win over a potential employer—enthusiasm for learning. Show the employer that not only are you able to learn, but you’re excited by the possibilities.
RELATED: 4 Must-see Ways to Improve Your LinkedIn Profile
It’s not enough to say that you pick things up quickly, however. Everyone says that. Emphasize real-life examples of your ability to learn and adapt. If you’ve made a point to take extra classes, earn certifications, or even pursue new and interesting hobbies for the love of learning new things, take a moment to point them out. Ditto if you’re making a career change and you can point out skills from your previous job that show you’re quick on your feet.
Demonstrating that you’re a good cultural fit is also important. Skills can be trained, but finding the right personality match is much trickier for employers. Even the most qualified candidate isn’t likely to work out if she doesn’t fit in with the company’s overall vibe. If you’ve done your homework, you’ll have a good sense of the ideals the company embodies. Drawing attention to how well you’ll fit in can take the spotlight off your lack of experience.
Don’t kid yourself—hiring managers are going to notice those gaps on your resume, so you’ll need to address them.
Although honesty is the best policy, there are ways to turn things around so they don’t look so troublesome. If you struggled to find a new position after a layoff, for instance, you could say that you took your time trying to ensure that your next employer was a good fit. If you took a break to raise small children, care for a family member, or even broaden your horizons by traveling, don’t be afraid to say so. You’ll come off as more genuine and sympathetic than you would if you tried to sweep those things under the rug.
If you’re able to show that you did productive things with your downtime, such as taking classes or doing volunteer work, make sure you note them. It’s important to demonstrate that your resume gap was a period of personal and professional growth and not just a time when you allowed yourself to sleep in late and binge-watch Netflix in your pajamas all day.
In a Robert Half survey, HR managers said that having more than five jobs over a ten-year period is just too much job hopping. If you’ve made frequent job changes, be prepared to explain them.
Although moving between jobs every few years is more common these days, especially among younger workers, too many job hops in a short span of time can raise red flags. Are you never satisfied? Difficult to work with? Do you lack follow-through and commitment? The hiring manager will wonder, and it’s your responsibility to enlighten him.
Hiring managers are looking for reassurance that the company won’t go through the expense and effort of onboarding and training you only to have you leave in six months. Start by explaining why you made each career move, and be prepared to tell the hiring manager how it helped you advance your career. Be honest, but keep it positive. (Don’t say “I hated that job”, say “I felt I needed to move on to find a better fit for my skills”.) If you left because the job bored you, say that you were “looking for more of a challenge.”
Rather than getting defensive about your frequent job changes, focus instead on what you learned from each one. Be sure to play up the transferable skills you gained along the way.
Even if the interview process has revealed a few personal challenges—perhaps through the dreaded “What’s your greatest weakness” interview question—there are ways to spin them as positives.
Employers don’t want to hire people who nitpick every little thing and make life difficult. No one wants to work with that person. Instead, say that you’re thorough and you have high standards for yourself and your own work. It’s best to leave the word “perfectionist” out of your interview altogether, even if you identify yourself as one. The Muse explains why.
Shyness can be misconstrued as awkwardness or social ineptitude. Hopefully, through your interview, you’ve been able to demonstrate your ability to “people.” But, if you can’t help but let your shyness show, frame it as a “reflective nature.” Explain that you get very focused when you’re at work.
Sci-fi author Douglas Adams said, “I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” Unfortunately, hiring managers aren’t going to view missed deadlines as a positive. If you take a while to accomplish things, don’t lie and sell yourself as someone who’s always prompt. Instead, emphasize your attention to detail and your belief that each task deserves enough time to be done right.
Whatever you do, don’t make excuses for your weaknesses. A job interview isn’t a time to defend yourself, it’s a time to present yourself in a positive way that shows why you’re the best candidate. To get more job offers, make sure to focus on your potential.
