Themed Office Party Ideas People Actually Enjoy

Themed Office Party Ideas People Actually Enjoy Office parties can build the unity of your team and improve employee satisfaction. During routine workdays, workers only interact on a business level, so they often only learn how to work together. In an informal, casual setting, however, coworkers get to know each other better and bond on a personal level. You don’t need to look far to find an excuse to show an office party. Holiday parties, of course, make perfect sense, but you can also have a party to recognize birthdays, employee anniversaries, or the completion of a project. Below are some fun-themed office parties that will enhance team spirit within your organization. A Taste of Italy Schedule an evening get-together for your coworkers that features fantastic dining, fun entertainment and lots of stories and laughs over food and drinks. Use your imagination to add some Italian intrigue to the event. You can, for example, create invitations printed in Italian. Hang maps of Italy around the party area and use the colors of the Italian flag to decorate the tables and place settings. Create a high-energy atmosphere with plenty of olives and flowers available for your employees to enjoy. Learn some greetings in the Italian language to give your party additional ambience. Offer your employees a buffet that includes several of the various daring regional tastes of Italy. To help avoid confusion, label all the food, so no one gets surprised with undesired tastes or allergic reactions. Lead activities such as Italian folk dancing or charades to give all your employees a chance to have fun and interact. Office Movie Marathon Movie nights can get your team together to share their favorite titles, snacks and games. Have a movie streaming service such as Netflix ready to go, and chose several titles from the vast selection of movies. Add to the fun by having participants dress up as their favorite movie stars and characters. Consider organizing your movie night by a particular theme or genre, so everyone can get into an appropriate state of mind as they prepare for the event. After, or in between the movies, host games and activities for your team. Try movie trivia quizzes and charades based on the same theme as the movie night. For food, furnish a buffet with wings, pizzas, salads, hamburgers and hotdogs, so everyone can find something to enjoy. Don’t forget the popcorn and soda. The Luau Party Known by many as a Hawaiian festivity, the idea of a luau brings feelings of excitement and adventure. Although Hawaii has a warmer climate than many other areas of the world, you don’t have to limit your luau to the summer. In fact, you can use a luau theme to break through the seasonal malaise that often comes with winter by reminding everyone of the joys that await them during the spring and summer months. Encourage your employees to dress appropriately for their luau, including the wearing of Hawaiian shirts, skirts and flip flops. As employees arrive for the festivities, pass out flower necklaces (lei’s) and speak some simple Hawaiian words such as “Aloha!” You can even assign everyone a Hawaiian name and distribute matching name tags. Decorate the office with tropical colors and provide a Hawaiian food buffet, entertainment and games. Bringing Back The 80s Parties with retro themes stir nostalgia in the hearts and minds of seasoned employees and spark the intrigue of the new. Dust off some of the 80’s hits and you can revel in the fashions, dances, and customs of yesteryear. The neon colors, miniskirts and mullets will draw laughter and recollections that will serve as the foundation of many stories and conversations. As you encourage your coworkers to get into the character of the 80’s, don’t forget to decorate the office in colors from the same decade. Also, have your staff members bring 80’s photos of themselves to stir fond memories and spark conversations. After serving finger food, your team can engage in fun activities such as exchanging memories from the 80s, fashion contests, guessing names from old photos and robot dancing to make the party memorable. A Friday Night Whodunnit Increase the thrill of your party by scheduling an old-fashioned “whodunit” evening. Create a murder mystery where everyone plays a role. Assign new identities to your co-workers in advance, so that they can dress in character to make the evening fun. Plant clues around the office and have participants work in teams to solve the mystery. Have a special prize on hand to award the employees who first identify the murderer. Give your murder-mystery night a different twist by assigning someone as the detective and sending that person out of the room. Next, have someone volunteer to be the murderer who has a good chance at fooling the detective. After allowing the detective back into the room, start the event. The killer can wink at people to “kill” them as the detective pursues the case. The detective’s goal is to identify the murderer before everyone in the group is dead. Armed with the above fun-themed office parties, schedule an event now for your office. Let everyone contribute ideas and feedback for the event, so you can involve as many people as possible. By giving your coworkers a chance to interact on a personal level, you will increase the bonds among them and have employees who are happier and more engaged than you ever thought was possible. About the author: Jill Phillips  is a freelance writer from Buffalo, NY. She is an aspiring entrepreneur and tech enthusiast, who loves to share her insight on various topics. When she is not writing, Jill enjoys taking photos and hiking with her dog.  

Tips To Quickly Outdo Your Other Competitors

Tips To Quickly Outdo Your Other CompetitorsJK Resume Writing Services is not your ordinary resume service. You will be amazed to know that they will be the first company to screen your CV before they make any changes to it.What you do not know is that many people are not happy with their job and are therefore looking for a change of scene. But after they have put in a long and tiring day, they would realize that there is still something they can do to improve their job situation. So, what should they do?Let us see. Many people think that they would lose their jobs if they go back to their previous employer and ask for a secondment. Hence, they choose to seek employment with new companies, which are only few degrees away from their previous company.This would be a good use of a secondment, but one cannot expect the same salary. A lot of things have to be taken into consideration while searching for a secondment. After all, there are no time to waste and they need to be on their best behavior.The next problem with this situation is that there is a false sense of security. A new company may turn out to be a dead end and before you know it, your old job will be gone forever. So, what should you do?As long as you stick to the same company, you can find the most reliable and professional Resumes. A lot of things must be considered while using these services. The most important thing is that you should have an organized paper and pencil set. Besides, ensure that your resume is looking up to date and accurate.Resumes are made with a specific format and this cannot be compromised. If you do not make an effort to write an impressive resume, then you will be left without a job. By not making an effort, you will be remembered as one of those people who cannot write their own resume!If you think you have no time to update your resume, then do not worry as JK Resume Writing Services would be able to do all the editing and rewriting for you. They have a team of experts who w ill ensure that your resume would look the best and the latest version. So, for your resume, you do not have to worry anymore!

Does Your Personality Mesh with Your Career - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Does Your Personality Mesh with Your Career - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Personality Mesh with Your Career? Your personality is a key factor in finding happiness in your career. Unfortunately, when we make our initial career choices, we may ignore certain key traits or just focus on where we can make the most money. Kinetic Programmer I learned to program computers in high school in the early 1970s. Yes, they had computers back then! I decided to study computer science at the Northwestern University Technological Institute, which is now the McCormick School of Engineering. I loved to solve problems. I enjoyed writing programs in a variety of languages, even assembler code. I would often find myself writing programs for a couple of hours at a time. I graduated in 1978 and went to work for IBM. My job was to program the latest trendâ€"word processors. I was supposed to sit in my office for eight hours a day with a coding pad and write assembler code. This kind of code is directly translatable into computer instructions (it is very tedious to program and hardly anyone does it anymore). Once I was done writing a significant amount of code, I would sit at my desk and review it. Then my team would get together and perform code reviews. The problem with this is that I am a very high-energy guy. I cannot sit at a desk for more than an hour at a time. I am social. I like being around people. My personality was not suited to just sitting behind the desk and programming for hours at a time. I spent six years being miserable before I moved into a new role where I no longer wrote programs, but supported Computer Aided Design (CAD) systems. I got to work with people, solve problems, and often got to work with my hands. I was not genuinely happy until I moved into a training function where I taught the latest technologies developed at IBM. That transition took over ten long years. My personality with the need for high activity was in direct conflict with sitting at a desk for long hours as a computer programmer. My personality did not mesh with my career choice. Structured Anarchist I have a client who has been a finance guy in the non-profit sector for most of his career . He appears to be very structured and orderly. After graduating from college with a liberal arts degree, he became a non-profit executive director. He decided to get an MBA from a prestige business school because they had a non-profit track in their curriculum. When he started the program and was sitting with his adviser, he asked when he would get to take the non-profit courses. After a few perplexing questions his adviser said We should have removed those from the course catalog years ago. Despite this, he stuck it out and finished his MBA in Finance. He appears too structured and orderly, but he only works well when it is his structure. He is really good at creating order out of chaos, but once he finishes, he gets bored. He wants another problem to solve. He has been in one non-profit organization after another, fixing the problems, then getting bored and leaving. He is now building sales programs. He does not sell! He creates sales systems and then trains sales partners on how to implement them. He creates the structure and gets to interact with people to implement that structure. Not your typical finance guy. His personality told everyone that he was very orderly, but his need for very little outside structure caused people to place him in positions where there was already a lot of structure that he could not change. Therefore, he was often unhappy. It was only after he sought out a role that was compatible with his personality, rather waiting than being placed in a role, that he was happy. He became proactive and not reactive. The Challenge Just because you are good at something does not mean you will want to do it for a career. We are often pushed into career paths because we appear to have certain traits. I wrote previously a post titled Are You Your Authentic Self at Work. Just because we have certain talents does not mean you can apply them in the business world. Just ask artists and musicians about applying their talents in the business world. This is why it is important to try a career before you fully commit. Try before you buy! Marc Miller â€" Career Pivot Check out my book Repurpose Your Career â€" A Practical Guide for Baby Boomers Do not forget to follow me on Twitter or FaceBook

What Would You Differently if You Were in College Again - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

What Would You Differently if You Were in College Again - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career From time to time, I get asked certain questions that I think could benefit a larger audience. Many of my blog readers are still in college right now, so I figured today would be the perfect day to go through two questions, so you can think about them this weekend. If you, like me, are a college graduate, you might want to take this time to reminisce, laugh or give suggestions in this posts comment section that can benefit us. Question: Thinking back when you were in college what would you have done differently with the knowledge that you now have? The context of this question relates to career development, branding and getting a job upon college graduation. It has nothing to do with partying really hard, hooking up with girls/guys and alcohol abuse (not that we have done any of that ?? ). This is a tricky question because social media wasnt important or heavily used back then. I didnt know about it and I bet you didnt as well (I graduated Bentley University in 2006). I learned about social media in late 2006. I was a marketing major and did everything I possibly could to get a job back then, including holding (self-promotion alert!) 8 internships, 7 leadership positions on campus, my own consulting business and high academic honors. I didnt understand the significance of networking back then (I feel old) and as a result it took me much longer to find a job. For example, one of my friends has an uncle that is an executive at my company. The uncle made a single call and my friend had the job. I, on the other hand, went through 15 people, over three different positions, to get the job I wanted out of school. The entire process took me a total of 8 months. The smart thing I did was start applying for jobs early and as a result I started work a little more than one month after graduating. Lesson: Avoid networking in college at your own peril. A lot of the knowledge I have now, I had back then, minus some philosophies and social tools. I never called it personal branding back in college, but instead preached about marketing yourself. I think a lot of college students now are behind the times, which surprises a lot of people when I tell them that. Most college students dont know what LinkedIn is, nor how to properly leverage it to get a job. Since LinkedIn wasnt popular back then and Facebook was solely for college students, I had to figure out where to go to network with others. If I were to go back, I would have networked more with the people in my major classes, meaning the ones where you definitely have something in common with everyone else. Also, your teachers, parents, career counselors and friends are great resources. Ive mentioned the network strength pyramid twice before and its in my book. It emphasizes how your family will go out of their way to help you when youre in need of a job. As you move down the pyramid, there are more people (friends and then acquaintances), but fewer will help you out. Attending networking events and career fairs can help as well. I also submitted my resume to Careerbuilder.com, erecruiting.com and Monster.com, while searching through their databases for open positions. erecruiting was the best of the three because it connected me to pre-qualified positions, where the school had a relationship with the employer. I got a few leads off of Monster, such as Timberland and a few leads off of erecruiting, such as TJX. Im glad I didnt avoid these services, but I couldnt imagine claiming a great job through them. Lesson: The 80/20 rule of job hunting says to spend 80% of your time networking and 20% of your time on job boards. If I were to go back to freshman year, I would have made more friends in other dorms, instead of staying confined in my dorm because that limited my social circle (network). Also, I would have hoped to start pulling together a career plan freshman year, instead of just focusing on grades. I feel like I did the right thing joining a fraternity sophomore year because it enabled me to spend all of my energy on my career and none of it on figuring out my social situation. I think it really helped me that I did internships early in college because I was able to apply what I was doing inside the classroom to real life situations and visa versa. I also think that taking leadership positions as an undergrad was beneficial because it helped me get other positions as an upperclassman (I had a track record). Leadership positions are great because they are a sign to employer that you have that critical skill. Lesson: Get internships and take classes in your field simultaneously for cross-learning purposes.

Writing a General Objective For Resume

Writing a General Objective For ResumeWriting a general objective for resume is an excellent idea to write. The objective will answer many questions, one of which is who you are, what your experience is, what your knowledge is, and what your interest is. There are specific examples in the direction of 'Why I am a great candidate 'I am looking for a job 'If this is an opportunity where I can work from home, how can I get started?' Knowing the specific examples that may be asked of you as a result of your resume will help you formulate a good statement for it.You do not want to spend time and effort writing a complete statement for a statement of skills and knowledge. What you really need to do is find an outline that will give you enough information to show that you have the ability to perform the job with some work, but most importantly that you have the interest and the passion for the job. This is what an objective is all about.There are many steps you can take to simplify the proc ess and make it easier for your potential employer to find the specifics they are looking for. One of the first things you should do is ask yourself, what do I want out of this job? Before you start looking at your resume, ask yourself, what are my strong points? The focus here should be on what you can do for the company and how your skills would enhance the way they do business. The general purpose of a general objective for resume is to show the company what you could do to improve the quality of their service or to simply fulfill a specific need.Another approach you can take is to find a general objective for resume that is directly relevant to the position you are applying for. If you are applying for a position as a copywriter, for example, you can write a general objective for resume that says 'write for copywriters.' You can also search for phrases that would describe you as a writer and make it easy for the employer to find the specific details they are looking for.In addit ion to these techniques, it is also important to know that small print can also be extremely important. Small print includes the appropriate name of the person, the location you live, how long you have been employed by the company, and the work experience you have done. Your general objective for resume should include all of these details. If you do not, then the employer will not understand the content of your resume.Use specific examples of your work experience to answer the question of what you are capable of doing. You can search for this information by going to the company's website and asking. When you do this, you will notice that the general statement for resume also contains the exact same information. The reason you want this to be specific is because the specific examples may vary in length and detail from the general statements.Some tips for writing a general objective for resume include saying something like, 'I have had several offers for work as a secretary,' with you r specific examples being something like, 'been an assistant manager at a day care center,' 'worked as a bookkeeper and customer service representative,' or even 'worked as a night janitor.' The important thing to remember is that it is all about how you communicate your needs to the company. It is all about showing them your passion and your interests in the work you are able to do for them. Writing a general objective for resume is a great way to show what you can do for the company.Make a general objective for resume a part of your promotional campaign. You can use these examples to build up your knowledge, know how, and build rapport with the company. When used as part of a good marketing plan, it can be a great tool to help the company understand what you are looking for and how they can provide you with the job you want.

MSU Disorder The Grave Temptation to Make Stuff Up [Podcast] - Career Pivot

MSU Disorder The Grave Temptation to Make Stuff Up [Podcast] - Career Pivot Episode 8 â€" Marc gives case studies on how making things up, and panicking about them, is always worse than asking for the truth. In this episode, Marc shares the chapter, “Do You Suffer from MSU Disorder? The Grave Temptation to Make Stuff Up,” from his upcoming book, Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide to the Second Half of Life. Key Takeaways: [1:44] Bill writes for a major financial company. He said his dream job is to write for The Economist. How did he know? What did he know about the company? All he knew was the content they produced. He was making stuff up, to fill in the blanks of his knowledge. [3:30] Judith Glaser says, “The stories we make up have significant impact on our careers.” MSU can cause you to go after jobs that would make you miserable, or prevent you from pursuing a great job, out of fear. It can cause people to lose confidence in you, if you present as fact things you have just assumed to be true. Download Link | iTunes | Stitcher Radio|Google Podcast| Podbean | TuneIn | Overcast [4:28] It’s perfectly human to MSU, when the information is not there, but when it comes to your career, don’t do it! We cause ourselves pain by ‘awfulizing’ situations. [5:03] Rhoda, a former CEO, had applied for a job as a COO of a national association. She was excited about the job, and felt like the feeling was mutual. When she didn’t hear back, though, she looked at their website and saw something she misunderstood, and began to panic. Marc suggested she call the company. When she did, she got the facts. [6:13] Marcos was in a long negotiation with a prospective employer. Every question Marcos had took a long time to get resolution. Every time, his anxiety increased. He was in a panic. Marc encouraged him to call the recruiter (who had been absent with a very ill mother). Eventually Marcos did get the job. [7:24] Susan started a new job with a major drug company, and knocked the ball out of the park. They loved her. But when her division announced a 200 headcount reduction, she went into panic mode. One day later, she learned she was to lead a highly-prized project. She had ignored every sign that she was highly-valued. She just MSU. [8:17] Sally works from home. She meets with her boss to show him her activities, and he criticizes the list abusively. This has been their pattern for years. Marc suggested that the next time, she go without a list. Her boss had not asked for one. Although she MSU and became fearful beforehand, he took notes on her activities, without a problem. [10:48] Take a mental bookmark of all the times you have panicked about something, and it turned out you were wrong. Think back to all the times you have awfulized something. Someone didn’t call within a given window that you made up, and you assumed something terrible had happened, or was about to happen, that was false. [11:41] The best thing to do is to realize that you don’t know what’s happening. Make reasonable efforts to get answers, and breathe through the moment. You don’t know, and that’s OK. [12:08] Stop drop, and roll. Don’t panic. Mary has a boss who is rude on the phone. She let her boss’ call go to voicemail while she was in a meeting, then texted to see how she could help her. It was simply to let her know that her boss was on her way. [14:09] Manage communications. Nancy’s boss said she was not easy to work for. Nancy dreamed up awful situations that caused her to panic. She avoided her boss. Marc suggested having a weekly planning meeting. It turned out her boss was just moody. [16:48] Describe situations where you made stuff up. Write out the story you dreamed up. How did it compare to the facts? Have you tried to create a stop, drop, and roll process? I now find myself catching myself when I start to MSU! Mentioned in This Episode: CareerPivot.com CareerPivot.com/blog Contact Marc, and ask questions at: Careerpivot.com/contact-me Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide to the Second Half of Life, by Marc Miller, available in early 2017 Conversational Intelligence: How Great Leaders Build Trust and Get Extraordinary Results, by Judith E. Glaser Take a moment â€" go to iTunes, or any of the other sources for the is podcast, subscribe, and leave a review! Marc Miller Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons above. Like What You Read? Get Career Pivot Insights! Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast Do You Need Help With ...

Another seeeeeeeriously cool workplace - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Another seeeeeeeriously cool workplace - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog There are boring offfices, cool offices and offices that just take your breath away! In December we got a tour of dPOP in Detroit and what we saw there blew us away completely. This is hardly surprising dPOPs business is to design office spaces for their clients but still, this space was beyond awesome. Here are a few of the pics we took at one seeeeeeriously cool office. Why NOT have a space suit in your lobby? The office is in an old bank vault and the vault doors are still there. Inside the vault is this amazing meeting room. This meeting table spins like one of those playground carousels. Besides your desk, there are many other places to meet and work. Another vault door. Behind which is another meeting room. Theyve kept all the safe deposit boxes, many of which are still locked. These shelves contain objects found during the renovation, arranged by two local artists. This mural was chiseled into the concrete wall by an artist. Another meeting space. Not only is dPOPs own HQ cool, the spaces theyve designed for their clients are just amazing. You can see some of their work here. Im not going to claim that redecorating the office space is a surefire way to create a happy workplace. Ive seen some very unhappy workplaces, that had beautiful bright airy office spaces but completely toxic cultures. Ive also seen incredibly happy workplaces, whose offices look like crap. But I still think that office design matters. And on a more fundamental level, why does every workplace have to look the same? Why does every office or meeting room inside a company have to look the same? We know that our minds thrive on variety and I think you can let the office design reflect that. Your take What do you think of dPOPs office? How does the look compare to your office? What are some things you love about the design of your workplace? What are some things that just dont work? Related posts 10 seeeeeeeriously cool workplaces. 12 ways to pimp your office. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

When should you discuss your salary at a new job - Hallie Crawford

When should you discuss your salary at a new job Once  youve  had your job interview, when is a good time to negotiate salary? First of all you need to wait until you have a job offer, or until the salary conversations come up. Don’t just bring it up out of the blue. Once  youre given  an offer, or THEY bring up your salary requirements, then the discussion begins. This is the time to negotiate. Don’t wait to talk about it later. You can’t be afraid to negotiate for what you want unless the employer has said this is high as they can go, or you know they don’t negotiate about salary. Depending on the industry or situation, most hiring managers expect employees to negotiate for a higher salary in many cases. Here’s what you need do… Before you dive into the conversation, be sure you have done your research. You have to remember that compensation is not just about salary and flex-time. Some employers pay for daycare, education, benefits, vacation time, etc. For example, my career coaching client Margaret in Philadelphia asked for a higher salary. The company came up on the offer but  werent  able to match her request. So, she negotiated that she could work from home one day a week. When the conversation comes up, explain that you are excited about the opportunity and that you’d like to speak with them about their salary offer/compensation package. Just remember, it takes a balance between your needs and theirs. Career Coach P.S. How do you know if your resume is good?  Take this  Resume Quiz  to find out how to keep your resume out of the trash can.