Welcome to spokanevalleymarketing.com

Better Employees Avoid these Top Five Office Blunders Being a good employee can go a long way when it comes to the workplace and job advancement. When you are working in an office there are certain unspoken rules that you will want to follow. One of the biggest mistakes that one can make when they are working in an office is having romantic relationships with co-workers or their boss. This completely colors the work situation and can cause major problems in the workplace. Although office romances are common, they typically bring about some friction between the couple or the couple and others. The remedy for office romance issues is that usually one or both members of the romance leave the job. Being dishonest is an office blunder that can land you in the unemployment office. Stealing from your job, lying about reports being done and trying to cause conflict by lying to one co-worker about another are all very silly mistakes that employees make. It is not acceptable to borrow money from the float, even if you are intending to pay it back. Pretending like you have completed your work when it is only half done is not wise. Gossiping and stirring up rumors is also not a good idea. All of these things can make you the bosses’ number one most wanted to fire employee. Not following the dress code is another easy to remedy problem that many employees make. The reason why this is such a big deal is because it says that you do not care about your position enough to wear the right clothing. It also can land your boss in hot water if the director or head supervisor comes into the department. Not only will you be reprimanded for not having on proper uniform, your boss will be singled out for not making you comply with uniform standards. The too can make you very unpopular with the boss. Saying incredibly inappropriate things is also a blunder that can easily be avoided. Jokes and comments about the way that people look in their clothing can border on the line of harassment. In fact, just about anything can be proven to be harassment by a good lawyer. That is why it is best to keep jokes and opinions about others to you and you only. You could lose your job and find yourself in a lawsuit otherwise. The number one blunder than employees make on the job is having a bad attitude. People that are very negative bring down a crowd, not just themselves. That means that when the time comes to make cuts, the bad attitude person is the likely candidate. Removing a negative person from the workplace can bring up the morale of everyone else. Even very effective employees with bad attitude are often terminated simply because they bring down the mood and productivity of others. Be thankful that you have a job and keep a positive frame of mind. If you are not happy with your job, search for another one. In addition to these five blunders that better employees avoid, there are a few obvious ones. Being tardy is perhaps one of the most prevalent and easy to prevent blunders employees make. Being tardy on a regular basis is not acceptable. There is no reason to continuously be tardy for work. If you are getting stuck in traffic, leave earlier or take a different route. Being a good employee can take you a long way at work and in your personal life. It feels good to know that you are an effective person be it at work or elsewhere. Be kind to co-workers and go through your days with a positive mindset. With these tools in place you will be able to avoid blunders more effectively.

Learning How to Become a Writer in Three Steps (how to become a writer) Becoming a writer is hardly a simple feat. To become a writer a person must practice and work hard to become a writer. It can be said that many writers are writers, but few of them know how to become a writer. The label “writer” is just simply a label, it is all the hard work and determination of reaching that status that truly gives the writer that name, and makes them worthy of the title. There are three simple steps that any writing can take that will give the title of “writer,” while making them worthy of it. The first step to becoming a writer is to claim yourself as a writer. Many writers believe that they cannot be known as writers until they are published, but this is not true. Anyone who thinks of themselves as a writer, and writes on regular basis should title themselves as a writer. Many unpublished writers have the habit of saying they want to write, or saying that they write, instead of saying “I’m a writer. When learning how to become a writer, it is necessary for writers to realize that you don’t have to be published to be known as a writer. Although, it may seem ideal for introductions and make it easier for other to see you as a writer, being published does not make one a writer. Writers should see themselves as people who write, and not as people who write for a living. For most writers, being published is validation of their status as a writer and even a path to success, but there are many published writers who are not very successful, famous, or rich. However, being published is a great way to show your work to an audience, and gain recognition, no matter how big or small. On the path to becoming writing there are many who lose sight of the fact that they don’t stop writing once they are published, so it is not wise to only write to be published. There are many ways to claim yourself as a writer, and in this step to learning how to become a writer there are smaller steps that help you proclaim yourself as a writer. First, say the words aloud to yourself, and repeat them as many times as possible until they are believable to you and others around you. Next, find a specific place for your writing, which can be a room, section of a room, or a studio. It is also important to make the “writing space” as comfortable as possible, and to make it viable to your writing needs. Then, it is important to get the proper writing tools, such as pens, pencils, notebooks, and a computer that is used specifically for your writing. Aspiring writers can also find lessons on how to become a writer in style books, which should be kept as a writing tool also. It is also helpful to befriend other writers, and read their work and others as a writer and discuss passages of books or chapters with other writers. The second step to becoming a writer is to make time to write. When learning how to become a writer, novices will always be advised to make time for their writing. Many aspiring writers usually mess up on this step, and although they want to be writers they slack on how much they write, so many writers are left with unfinished works. It is important to set aside a particular time or day for writing and to stick to that schedule, because deviance from a writing schedule usually means unfinished work. The final step to becoming a writer is by far the simplest. To become a writer it is imperative that you write. Writing is the simplest step to becoming a writer and the most important step. When learning how to become a writer, you must take some time out and write.

The Ins and Outs of Free Writing Contests (free writing contests) Free writing contests are available by the thousands. They are virtually a dime a dozen on the Internet. No matter what your niche is in the writing community there is a free writing contests out there for you. How do you know which ones to enter and which ones are legitimate? That’s simple. You do what you do best-- research. While providing the story for the free writing contest will probably be the easy part, researching the thousands of available contests will be a daunting task. If this is un-chartered water for you, you have the start at the beginning. Finding what free writing contests are available. Grab a notebook or start a word document and list the contests that are available. Beside each contest name you will want to put what kind of writing they are looking for and when it needs to be done by. By doing this first you will be able to eliminate any that do not coincide with your writing niche or with your schedule. Now the free writing contest research begins. Finding out if a contest is worthwhile and legitimate is comparable to running a background check on a person. First check the contest website. Do they have all contact information available? Do they tell you what company is hosting the contest? If they are not, you will have likely found warning number one that it is a scam. So scratch those off your list or at least move them to the bottom until you can find out more information on them. Start asking around to colleagues and writers groups. Search the writing forums and the Internet scam sites. The Better Business Bureau is also a good place to look. Once you narrowed the free writing contests down to the legitimate ones, read the contest rules and regulations. Some contests require you signing over all rights to a story even if you don’t win. Are you willing to do this? Giving up rights to you writing is a lot easier to do when you are getting something in return. After you enter there is no going back, so make sure this is what you want to do. The final thing you need to look for is if the contest is just a cover up to get you to buy services or products. This does not necessarily mean they are a scam or don’t actually award winners. It simply means that they will try to entice you to use their critiquing services or offer you a book at a reduced fee that your work will be published in. Being published sounds like a great deal but is it a book that carries prestige that people are going to see? Many authors think that writing contests will launch their career into a successful endeavor. This is not the case, especially for free writing contests. Even winning the grand prize of a smaller known contest is not going to affect your literary journey. Even though they may not springboard your career, there are good reasons to join writing contests. You will get unbiased opinions and valuable feedback from the judges. If you make it into the higher rounds, editors could also see your writing. Ultimately whether you enter a free writing contest the choice is yours. Just ask you self if the time spent writing and researching the piece you choose to enter is worth writing for free in most cases. The critique and feedback may be the most worthwhile thing you receive from the contest. But then again the judges opinions are a dime a dozen just like the contests.