CATEGORY | Thrive At Work

Underpaid Project Manager - How To Get A Raise Or Promotion
Career Planning

Underpaid Project Manager? Here’s How I Got A 43% Raise In 24 Months

Let’s be honest. Even if we love project management, we still want to get paid. Not only that, but we want to be paid what we’re worth. While many of us manage projects – even difficult, challenging ones – our salary does not always line up with our skill level. Some of us grind away at our job for years on end while feeling like we should be getting more. Despite growing immensely in skill and experience, we simply don’t ever seem to get that big raise or jump up the ladder like we think we deserve. It can be frustrating to work at an organization for while, having far surpassed the skill-level we had when hired, only to find out a new-hire for a similar position is making a heck of a lot more money right off the bat. What gives? If you’re an underpaid Project Manager looking to get a raise, then stick around. In this article, I’ll be talking about how I got a 43% increase in pay over a 24 month period and what I did to get there!

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Are You Experiencing Anxiety About Going To Work Everyday? Read This!
Workplace Experiences

Are You Experiencing Anxiety About Going To Work Everyday? Read This!

If you wake up with a pit in your stomach every workday, you aren’t alone. According to ADAA, nearly one in five adults suffer from anxiety. That’s 20% of the adult population in America! With so many people experiencing anxiety every day, it’s no wonder it manifests itself in our work lives. How could it not? While anxiety as a whole must be treated and tended to, there are a few things you should keep in mind when it comes to workplace stress. If you’re experiencing anxiety about going to work everyday, check out our list of thoughts to consider – you may find that your anxiety at work deflates easier than you thought! Let’s dive in.

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How Long Should I Stay At My Entry Level Job?
Career Planning

How Long Should I Stay At My Entry Level Job? A Few Things To Ponder

We all start somewhere. Our entry level jobs are often our gateway into our respective industries. They’re an experience that will forever mark your humble beginnings; memories that will last your whole career. That’s if we’re lucky. Entry level jobs can also be a crap experience! Whether it be the pay, potential or environment, we find ourselves questioning our career choices. Regardless of which situation resonates with you, it’s a question nearly all new employees ask themselves: “How long should I stay at my entry level job?”. In this article, we’re going to try and help you answer that question!

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Signs Of A Positive Work Environment - Our Top 10 Indicators To Look For
Career Planning

Signs Of A Positive Work Environment: Our Top 10 Indicators To Look For

Nobody like to work in a negative, crappy environment. Not only is it not enjoyable in the slightest, but it’s difficult to excel, stay motivated and envision a future there. According to statistics, only 12% of workers leave their jobs for more money (via Forbes) – the majority leave due to some level of unhappiness in their present jobs. You may recall an article we wrote in the past titled “What Are The Signs Of A Toxic Work Environment?”. Today we’re talking about the antithesis of this – in this article, we’re exploring our top 10 signs of a positive work environment and what to look out for.

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Going To The Office On The Weekend - 5 Situations When It's Beneficial
Project Management

Going To The Office On The Weekend: 5 Situations When It’s Beneficial

Let’s be real here – nobody wants to work on the weekends. Weekends are supposed to be the time where you spend time on anything BUT work. Most of us don’t even want to think about work during the weekend, let alone go to the dreaded office. In modern times, though, we’re juggling more and more on a daily basis. Our personal and work lives are merging more than ever. Most of us work more on average than we did in the past, too! In this article, we’re discussing going to the office on the weekend, and 5 situations when it’s beneficial. Let’s dive in.

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10 Email Sins At Work To Avoid At All Costs! Do These Sound Familiar?
Project Manager Soft Skills

Email Etiquette In The Workplace: 10 Email Sins To Avoid At All Costs!

Emails are thoroughly engrained in the work culture of our modern society. On average, Americans spend several hours of their day on work-related email activities! That’s an incredible amount of time when you consider that email barely existed at work 25 years ago. Make no mistake – email is incredibly useful. The rate at which information is exchanged is unreal. With this great power comes great responsibility, though. Many people wield the power of email with reckless abandon, wreaking havoc in its’ path. In all seriousness, we’re talking about 10 email sins at work to avoid at all costs! Do any of these sound familiar?

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Working At A Large Company Vs. Small Company - The Pros & Cons
Career Planning

Working At A Large Company Vs. Small Company: The Pros & Cons

Companies come in all shapes and sizes. Plenty of businesses click on year after year with just a couple of employees, maybe only one! Meanwhile, giant corporations can employ hundreds of thousands of people – that’s like employing a couple hundred small towns. As you can imagine, the employees working at small businesses have a vastly different experience than ones working at a huge corporation. In this article, we’ll be discussing the pros & cons of working at a large company vs. a small company. Let’s get into it!

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A Project Manager's First Day On The Job: Focus On These 3 Essentials
Project Management

A Project Manager’s First Day On The Job: Focus On These 3 Essentials

The first day on the job can be nerve-wracking for a Project Manager at any skill level. Working in a new environment comes with all sorts of challenges that we get hit with simultaneously. Between new coworkers, a different workplace culture and an impression to make, it’s easy to become overwhelmed when we start at a new job – let alone taking on our new project! That’s a whole other conversation, which we’ll have in this article. Today, we write about a Project Manager’s first day on the job, and the three essential things they should focus on first!

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What Qualities To Look For In A Boss? The Things My Favorite Boss Did
Career Planning

What Qualities To Look For In A Boss? The Things My Favorite Boss Did

I find myself thinking about a lot of the negatives associated with project management and the workplace, even without meaning to. Delays, problems, issues, disputes, claims, manipulative people, standing up for yourself at work and other similar topics are what many of my articles are written about. There’s validity behind all of these topics for sure, but there’s a lot of good we can discuss at work, too – in project management and beyond. How you feel at work often comes down to who your coworkers are. The most important coworker of them all, though, is your boss. I imagine that there’s very few people who love their job but can’t stand their bosses. Today, we are exploring the question of “What are the qualities to look for in a good boss?”. I will answer by examining my favorite boss and the seven qualities he possessed!

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Project Management

Managing Older Employees As A Younger Manager: Realities To Consider

As you become a manager in any industry, it’s inevitable that you’ll have to manage employees older than yourself. This is true for the vast majority of managers out there today. In many cases, people get promoted to a management position in their 30s or even in their 20s. The majority of their coworkers might be older than the manager in these instances! While managing an employee older than you requires a specific approach, it’s completely doable. In this article, we’re talking about managing older employees as a younger manager, along with some realities that go along with doing so.

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