Ngeblog Tanpa Resiko Kehilangan Kerja

Di era serba internet seperti saat ini, rasanya blog sudah jadi gaya hidup sehari-hari. Sama halnya dengan situs jejaring social lainnya seperti Facebook atau Twitter, blog dimiliki hampir semua internet savvy di luar sana. Mungkin juga termasuk Anda. Diperkirakan bahwa di Indonesia sendiri di tahun 2009 jumlah blogger akan mencapai angka 1 juta. Jumlah ini tidak mengherankan mengingat banyaknya alternatif layanan hosting dan web based tool gratis dan relatif mudah dikuasai sehingga dalam hitungan menit saja blog Anda sudah bisa diluncurkan untuk publik. Beberapa layanan gratis yang popular digunakan antara lain Blogger, Wordpress dan Multiply.



Blog yang merupakan singkatan dari weblog, digandrungi oleh banyak orang karena merupakan media yang memungkinkan pemiliknya untuk menuliskan topik kesukaan mereka untuk kemudian di-publish di dunia maya dengan singkat, tanpa proses panjang seperti halnya mengirim tulisan ke media cetak. Blog juga cara lain untuk berkomunikasi. Kerabat dan teman bisa mengetahui kabar terbaru pemilik blog hanya dengan membaca entry yang ditulisnya, bahkan memberikan komentar.



Banyak orang mengklaim bahwa blogging jadi hobi bahkan sudah jadi kebutuhan mereka. Di blog mereka bisa menuliskan pikiran mereka, menerima feedback dari pembaca, menambah jejaring dan teman, bahkan menciptakan sebuah komunitas khusus untuk blog. Munculnya layanan microblogging tidak membuat aktifitas ini kehilangan penggemar, justru malah membuat blogging semakin kuat karena bisa dijadikan tool yang turut bisa mempromosikan blog seseorang.



Kebanyakan pemilik blog adalah perseorangan yang menulis topik apa saja yang menarik bagi mereka. Namun saat ini semakin banyak perusahaan mengelola blog untuk berbagai kepentingan seperti promosi, branding, menciptakan image bahkan riset dan pooling untuk mengetahui keadaan pasar dan konsumen.



Kalau blogging sudah jadi keseharian Anda, ingatlah bahwa kegiatan yang menyenangkan, therapeutic bahkan menghasilkan ini juga memiliki resiko yang bisa membahayakan karir dan pekerjaan Anda. Jika Anda sudah lama bermain-main didunia blog, tentunya Anda ingat dengan Heather B. Armstrong yang kehilangan pekerjaannya sebagai web designer atau Ellen Simonetti yang dipecat dari sebuah maskapai penerbangan gara-gara blognya.



Beberapa tips yang bisa mencegah agar hal-hal buruk tidak timbul karena blog Anda adalah sebagai berikut :

• Jangan mempermalukan pihak lain maupun diri sendiri dengan menuliskan hal-hal yang bisa membuat Anda menyesal nantinya. Walaupun intensi Anda adalah mencurahkan isi hati, etika tetap wajib dijaga. Internet adalah dunia yang sangat luas dan semakin gampang diakses. Bukan tidak mungkin boss atau rekan kerja Anda bisa menemukan blog dan membaca hal memalukan tersebut. Jika Anda ingin kebebasan penuh dalam menulis, Anda bisa mencoba fitur protected entry yang ada di Wordpress atau fitur yang memungkinkan Anda untuk memilah pembaca seperti yang ada di Multiply dan Blogspot atau bahkan memberlakukan total proteksi terhadap blog.
• Jangan 'ngeblog' di kantor. Dengan mudah browsing history Anda bisa diketahui pihak manajemen. Hal ini bisa menuntun mereka ke online journal Anda yg bukan tidak mungkin pernah berisi keluh kesah Anda tentang kantor. Seperti pengalaman Anda saat sang boss mencuri ide Anda atau saat Anda kesal karena ditegur atas kesalahan yang tidak Anda lakukan.
• Jangan pamerkan identitas Anda seluruhnya. Gunakan nama lain atau inisial. Hati-hatilah dengan foto Anda, orang lain atau property kantor yang dipajang diblog. Selain berkaitan dengan copy right, Anda tidak akan tahu jika ada yang memanfaatkan foto-foto tersebut untuk kepentingan pribadi orang lain.
• Hindari untuk dengan gamblang mencantumkan identitas professional Anda seperti jabatan atau posisi, nama perusahaan dan alamat tempat Anda bekerja, bahkan jenis industri pekerjaan Anda. Playing safe is better jika Anda masih ingin memiliki pekerjaan Anda.
• Bijaksanalah dalam menulis hal-hal yang berkaitan dengan pekerjaan. Jangan membeberkan rahasia perusahaan, nama klien, konflik dalam perusahaan serta hal-hal lainnya yang tidak seharusnya diketahui umum, apalagi kompetitor.

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Etiket Bisnis Pebisnis Korea dan Jepang

careers, Jobs Indonesia, Indonesia Vacancy

Adakah beberapa dari Anda yang bekerja di perusahaan asing? Atau setidaknya selalu bertemu dengan orang asing untuk urusan bisnis dan pekerjaan? Jika ya, Anda pasti tahu betul bahwa berhadapan dengan orang asing yang berbeda kebudayaan memiliki tantangan tersendiri. Bukan hanya soal bahasa dan cara berkomunikasi yang terkadang menjadi kendala, tapi juga soal kebiasaan, adat, dan tingkah laku yang harus selalu disesuaikan. Mungkin Anda pernah mengalami kejadian unik atau memalukan berkaitan dengan cross-cultural business ini, misalnya Anda lupa tidak membungkuk ketika menyapa bos besar dari Jepang atau selalu kerepotan memenuhi permintaan atasan dari Korea yang ingin segala sesuatunya selesai dengan cepat.

Dalam menjalankan bisnis, setiap negara ternyata memiliki cara yang berbeda-beda yang dipengaruhi oleh kebudayaan yang dianutnya. Untuk bisa menjalin bisnis dengan rekan asing, terkadang Anda harus menyesuaikan diri dengan cara mereka. Bukan berarti mengubah budaya perusahaan dan kehilangan jati diri, tetapi mengetahui dan memahami etiket-etiket bisnis yang berlaku serta menerapkannya tatkala bertemu dengan orang asing sesuai dengan kebangsaannya.

Banyak panduan mengenai etiket bisnis internasional yang bisa dipelajari dan beberapa diantaranya adalah seperti dibawah ini:

Jepang.
Business card adalah hal terpenting yang harus Anda bawa ketika bertemu dengan pebisnis Jepang. Setelah Anda bertukar salam (baik dengan cara membungkuk atau berjabat tangan), berikan kartu Anda dengan cara yang sopan, yaitu memegang dengan kedua tangan. Jangan pernah melipat, mencoret-coret, memainkan, apalagi meninggalkan kartu yang Anda terima, sebab Anda akan dianggap tidak menghargai sang pemberi kartu. Simpan kartu-kartu tersebut di tempat yang pantas dan perlakukan dengan hormat. Untuk busana, gaya konservatif dan formal adalah pilihan yang pas. Untuk wanita, sebaiknya menggunakan rok daripada celana panjang. Berhati-hatilah dengan hand gesture dan ekspresi wajah, sebab bisa menimbulkan salah interpretasi. Selalu datang setidaknya 10 menit sebelum waktu pertemuan, terutama jika Anda akan bertemu dengan para bos atau eksekutif senior. Orang Jepang terkenal tepat waktu, jadi buatlah agenda rapat yang tepat waktu pula. Ketika rapat pebisnis Jepang akan mencatat apa-apa saja yang terjadi dalam rapat, maka tidak ada hal yang luput atau terlewatkan.

Korea.
Sama halnya dengan Jepang, pebisnis Korea juga menganggap business card sebagai hal yang penting dalam urusan bisnis, jadi pastikan Anda selalu membawanya. Dalam suatu pertemuan, jarang sekali Anda memperkenalkan diri langsung kepada lawan bicara, biasanya orang ketiga yang akan memperkenalkan Anda. Jika Anda lebih junior, maka Anda harus membungkuk terhadap lawan bicara yg lebih senior/posisinya lebih tinggi. Korea sangat menjunjung tinggi senioritas dan hubungan atasan dan bawahan. Sebagai bentuk penghormatan, biasanya mereka menyapa lawan bicara dengan nama jabatan/profesi/titelnya kemudian dikuti oleh nama keluarga, misalnya: Direktur Kim, Manajer Choi, atau Supervisor Lee. Atau jika Anda tidak yakin, panggil saja dengan sebutan international, misalnya Mr. Kim atau Ms/Mrs Lee. Orang Korea biasanya mengadakan pertemuan bisnis yang dibarengi dengan jamuan atau minum (beralkohol), Anda bisa mengggunakan alasan keyakinan dan kesehatan untuk menolak secara halus tawaran tersebut.

Dua negara ini merupakan negara Asia teratas yang berinvestasi di Indonesia setelah Cina. Mendekati pasar bebas, akan semakin banyak orang-orang asing yang masuk ke Indonesia untuk mendirikan bisnis. Hubungan kerjasama pun mau tidak mau akan semakin sering terjalin. Diperlukan pengetahuan yang luas dan kepekaan yang cukup tinggi terhadap kebiasaan dan kebudayaan negara yang akan menjadi rekan bisnis Anda. Oleh karena itu, pelajarilah lebih jauh etika-etika bisnis yang berlaku secara internasional agar pendekatan dan jalinan bisnis Anda dengan orang asing bisa berjalan dengan lancar.

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Working Smart: The Importance of Being on Time

By Elizabeth Hanink


Time — as my father-in-law (and Benjamin Franklin) used to say — is money. The follow up, of course, is that we have no right to anyone else’s money; so quit wasting your employer’s by being late. You may think that’s an unnecessary reminder, but, interestingly enough, not all employees recognize when they are late.


Take, for instance, the employee that punches in on time but then ever so comfortably settles in. First comes the stashing of personal items. Then comes the requisite cup of coffee, a quick bathroom break, and don’t forget the greetings that are necessary all around. By the time real work starts, a good 10 to 15 minutes are gone. There are no specific statistics, but do the math. Multiply by five days a week, times several, even tens, of employees, and you are talking a hefty hunk of change.


Then there are the folks who are late in the ordinary fashion: late for arrival, late for meetings and on it goes. The strange thing is that the events that cause people to be tardy are sooo predictable: lost keys, heavy traffic, dawdling kids. In short, people are usually late for preventable reasons. If they were organized, disciplined and competent, what difference would misplaced keys make? A second set would be nearby. Basing the time you need to get to work on the best of all possible worlds is foolhardy.


Vince Lombardi has my vote on punctuality: “If you are 15 minutes early, you’re late.” If you want someone with more authority than a football coach, how about Louis XVIII’s line: “Punctuality is the privilege of kings.”

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Working Smart: Balancing Work and School

By Elizabeth Hanink

Are you realizing that more skills will pay more bills? If so, you might be taking a short brush-up or certificate course, or you might be diligently pursuing a license. Maybe you work part time while you earn your college degree. In any case, balancing work and school is a true challenge, especially if you add family responsibilities.

Start by realizing that you can’t do everything. Some things need to go. Begin with the optional. Limit socializing to one night a week. Forego TV or surfing the Internet (or whatever you do for leisure) until there’s a school break. Exercise should be the last activity you cut back on, unless your training requires a serious daily commitment. Even so, this isn’t the year for a marathon. Do two after you graduate.

Be careful of volunteer commitments. Yes, they are worthwhile; but unless you can strictly limit your time, it is easy to overdo this category just because it is so necessary.

Realism in your schoolwork also helps. Exceptions exist, but for the most part no one needs to make straight A’s. At this point in your life, maybe a B and your sanity are sufficient. Likewise with your job commitment. You do owe your employer your best for the time you are paid, but ease up on overtime and other “extras” that until now were easy to do.

People rarely regret their education. They often look back and regret not trying a little harder to get more.

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How Sharp Are Your People Skills at Work? Take This 5-minute Quiz

By Kathy Simmons

The ability to interact with your boss and co-workers can make or break your career. Studies have shown that IQ takes second position to emotional intelligence in determining outstanding job performance and long-term success. Now, more than ever, you need to pay attention to your people skills to be hired, kept and promoted.

In the words of John Hancock, “The greatest ability in business is to get along with others and influence their actions.”

Emotionally intelligent people have mastered the art of living in harmony with others. They respond appropriately when conflict arises, and seem to know the right thing to do regardless of the circumstances. Does this description fit you?

Measure how sharp your “soft” skills are by taking the following quiz:

1. A co-worker criticizes your idea in front of the boss. Which best describes your reaction?

a) Immediately remind the critic of his most recent flawed idea.

b) Say nothing. You'll vent with co-workers later.

c) Become angry and demand to know why the critic is being so non-supportive.

d) Thank the critic for his input, and promise to take the feedback under consideration.

2. Your boss is acting differently lately. She has been much less communicative and friendly. You would be most likely to…

a) Avoid her. Otherwise, you are likely to stay on her bad side.

b) Schedule a meeting and ask for her feedback on your work performance.

c) Assume she has personal problems and ask others if they are aware of details.

d) Begin working on your resume. You would rather quit than be fired.

3. You’ve just found out that you are the target of a nasty rumor at work. Which of the following best describes your response?

a) Do nothing. Rumors have a way of blowing over eventually.

b) Make it a point to find the source of the rumor and confront him or her aggressively.

c) Create a rumor about someone else to take the spotlight off yourself.

d) Become depressed and distracted.

4. A less-talented co-worker is promoted to a position you hoped for. How would you handle the disappointment?

a) Start looking for another job.

It’s obvious your talents are not appreciated where you are.

b) Resolve to make life difficult for the co-worker. She’ll earn that promotion!

c) Ask the hiring manager what areas you could focus on to be a stronger candidate in the future.

d) Pout, and hope someone notices your hurt feelings.

5. Your raise was much less than expected this year. How would you deal with the bad news?

a) Take a few extra sick days. That’s your way of evening the score.

b) Ask your co-workers how much they got. Then decide if yours was fair.

c) Go to your boss’s boss and express your disappointment.

d) Ask your boss what accomplishments would warrant a

re-evaluation in six months.

6. You discover that you made a huge mistake that will cost the company plenty of money. What is your solution?

a) Immediately bring it to your boss's attention and ask for advice on minimizing the damage.

b) Resign as quickly as possible.

c) Try to cover up the error as smoothly as possible — and hope nobody looks too carefully.

d) Blame others for their contribution. You won’t take the heat alone!

7. One of your co-workers regularly gossips about upper management. She seems to know quite a bit of information and it’s hard not to listen. You would be most likely to:

a) Listen eagerly, but never repeat what you hear.

b) Tell her in no uncertain terms what you think of her lack of loyalty.

c) Let your boss know she is gossiping.

d) Tell her you would rather talk about other things — then change the subject quickly.

BEST ANSWERS:

1. d, 2. b, 3. a, 4. c, 5. d, 6. a, 7. d

6-7 correct: Your soft skills are razor sharp! You consistently display maturity when it comes to coping with the inevitable conflicts and disappointments that arise at work.

4-5 correct: Most of the time your soft skills are sharp, but there are times you fall short of behaving professionally. Watch your tendencies to retaliate or take things personally.

3 or less correct: You have significant deficiencies in your soft skills. To raise your awareness in areas of emotional intelligence, start by reading any of the following books:

· Working With Emotional Intelligence, by Daniel Goleman

· People Skills, by Robert Bolton

· Be Your Own Executive Coach : Master High-Impact Communications Skills, by Peter Delisser

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Did You Know? Facts about Social Media

By Working World Staff

Google's corporate philosophy embodies such principles as “you can make money without doing evil” and “work should be a challenge and the challenge should be fun.”

SOCIAL MEDIA JOBS (that didn’t used to exist)

Online Talent Scout

Discovers talent online, matching up creators of obscure YouTube videos with the online divisions of traditional media companies and ad agencies.

Social Media Marketing Manager

Sets up and manages a company’s social networking and bookmarking sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Delicious; might write company blog.

Reputation Manager

Scours social media sites and addresses negative, inaccurate or damaging content about the company.

FACEBOOK EMPLOYEE PERKS

• Cost of breakfast, lunch and dinner for employees at the Palo Alto headquarters: Free
• Additional cost to invite friends to dine: $0
• “Baby cash” payment given to employees who become new parents: $4,000
• Annual daycare reimbursement for employees with kids under 5 years old: $3,000
• Reimbursement on monthly gym fees: 50 percent
• Number of annual sick days: Unlimited

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BlackBerry Messenger Jadi Platform Jejaring Sosial

Kompas

SAN FRANCISCO, KOMPAS.com - BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) yang merupakan salah satu fitur andalan BlackBerry selama ini hanya dapat dipakai sebagai instant messenger antarpengguna BlackBerry saja. Namun, ke depan, layanan BBM tak lagi eksklusif setelah Research In Motion (RIM) memutuskan untuk menjadikannya sebagai platform jejaring sosial.



"Para pengembang bisa mengambil aktivitas sosial di BBM dan memasukkannya ke dalam aplikasi buatannya yang dijual di App World," kata Mike Lazaridis, Chairman dan Co-CEO RIM dalam RIM Developer Conference di San Francisco, Senin (27/9/2010).


Lazaridis menekankan bahwa BBM akan diarahkan menjadi platform layanan jejaring sosial yang semakin luas. Misalnya diintegrasikan dalam aplikasi game sehingga pengguna BlackBerry dapat mengundang pengguna lainnya untuk bermain bersama dengan satu klik di aplikasi tersebut tanpa harus masuk ke layanan BBM.



Bagi para pengembang aplikasi akan disediakan application programming interface (API) agar dapat memanfaatkan akses ke layanan BBM. Namun, belum ada pengumuman resmi kapan BlackBerry Social SDK akan tersedia bagi para pengembang.



RIM mengkalaim saat ini ada 28 juta pengguna aktif BlackBerry Messenger di sleuruh dunia dan tumbuh 1,5 juta pengguna baru setiap bulan. Dengan menyediakan akses BBM ke dalam aplikasi, RIM telah menciptakan jejaring sosial mobile yang sangat besar.

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Great Resume Tips for Non-Writers

By Suzette Dean

Most often, even with the help of thousands of resume tips found on the internet and in books, writing a great resume can be a pain - especially for non-writers. While it's true that a resume is the advertising of yourself, it does not have to be written as a literary piece. A resume is just a simple statement of facts as to what you are capable of doing that will contribute to the growth of the company you're interested in joining. The first resume tip is to write the resume as straightforward as you can, highlighting your accomplishments and backing them up with numbers and concrete examples.

It is not right to think that a resume should be written in an artistic manner. The resume, being something that involves writing, is what intimidates those who have no inclination for prose. In the first place it's not compulsory that everything that you write in your resume is in complete sentence format. For the most part, bullet points will do. All resume tips say that your resume should be brief, concise and factual. You must also know that even for writers, it's often difficult to start any document, but once you have started it everything else will fall into place. Of course you start with writing your name, address and contact details at the upper left part of a plain white or ivory paper. If you have a unisex name such as Renee, Ali and Alex, don't forget to include the prefix mister or miss.

Now here are some resume tips for the content. Being a document that highlights your best professional assets, it's not a narration of your previous jobs, but of your accomplishments that are relevant to the job you are applying for. Limit the information that you will write down on your resume to that which is related to the job you are applying for. Relative to this, replace the phrase "tasks include" with "accomplishments were".

How about a resume tip on deciding whether to write your job experiences in a chronological or functional order? If you are just sticking to one field and have been upwardly-moving, chronological order will do. If your focus is your skills that are applicable from one field to the other, the functional order of work experience is better. If you are a fresh graduate, highlight your accomplishments from school, both formal and non-formal trainings and seminars that will contribute to your performance in your first job. Again, don't forget the resume tips on choosing only the relevant information, which also goes for your personal data.

You are not alone in your struggle to come up with a great resume that will make the employer want to interview and eventually, hire you. Above any other thing, it's your honesty, skills and determination that will sell you to the interviewer. Anything phony and fancy will show, so always strive for the truth in advertising yourself- and that's one of the best resume tips that you'll ever get.

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