Category: How To

Blog articles for recent graduates emphasizing how to get head and guides to help you as you start on your career journey.

Categories
How To

How many hours a day should you spend looking for a job?

When you’re out of work, your job is to look for new job opportunities. Therein lies success, in the seriousness and time you dedicate to achieving your goals. Looking for a job is a job. It’s that simple or, better, that complex, because in Colombia this task is not easy. However, it becomes more difficult if you do not concentrate and do not dedicate the hours of the day that this work deserves. The following tips will surely help you make your job search more effective.

How many hours a day should you spend looking for a job

Claudia Palacio, an expert in employability and personal branding, says that a person who is unemployed must dedicate at least six hours a day to their job search to be effective. If you are employed and want to change jobs, you must dedicate at least one hour a day from Monday to Friday and two hours each day of the weekend. 

“Looking for work when you’re unemployed is like you have a job. You must dedicate time and effort, “complements Ximena Morgan, manager of elempleo.com and, in the same way, agrees with Palacio: “if you have a job and you are bored or want something better, you must find spaces to do your searches at home or in comfortable places for you. An hour or two a day minimum is fine. The vital thing is to know how to move and be judicious and strategic in the task, “he says.

Palacio says that the job search does not stop any day, so on Sundays and holidays you should also look for a job. Every day is good to search, however, on Mondays and Tuesdays more vacancies are usually publishedand in these days they report a high number of searches and applications.

The job search does not stop until you sign a contract. If you give up, possibly someone else will take the lead in the selection processes and, finally, manage to get a job.

Also, “there are no specific hours to find a job, you can see the vacancy that fits your profile perfectly on Tuesday night or Friday first thing in the morning, however, if you are going to send a resume to a person because they referred you the email, or because you simply want them to know your resume, it is preferable that you send iton Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday during working hoursbetween 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.,” says Palacio.

To make those hours that you are going to dedicate daily effective, it is important that you establish a routine and fulfill what you have proposed. Then, according to Palacio, a search strategy must be determined, which includes portals, contacts and companies. For his part, Morgan opens the panorama toalso participate in social networks.

When talking about specific portals, it is advisable to identify the keywords, salaries, positions, sector to which you want to apply and make filters toget the ideal job.

“As far as contacts are concerned, you haveto know that you should call each of the people you know and are located at work, tell them about your situation, about what you want, what you are looking for and update them regarding your resume. Finally, make a list of the companies in which you want to work and in addition to sending your resume through internal portals, send your resume to the person who can probably be your boss, “concludes Palacio.

Best methodology to look for work

The first thing, according to Claudia Palacio, an expert in employability and personal branding, is to really understand how the market works and adapt the professional profile to the demands before starting the job search. “Train yourself in issues related to employability, creating a better resume and training for successful interviews. Also maintain a leading attitude, it is not enough just to send your resume to different vacancies, it is necessary that you remain proactive and show motivation to continue belonging to the world of work, accepting new positions and different challenges. “

Categories
How To

How many Colombians have the savings habit and between what ages are they?

Fincomercio, the savings and credit cooperative, did a study to find out how disciplined Colombians are when it comes to saving. One of the main findings of this x-ray is that it established the average daily savings of a Colombian who earns a minimum wage. The figure is $1,000 pesos, which they mostly save in coins, reaching a total of $30,000 pesos per month.

How many Colombians have the savings habit and between what ages are they

When consulting men and women who earn the minimum wage, they showed what is the number 1 reason to save, the survey reveals two main reasons, to achieve the initial payment for the purchase of a home and to have a reserve to solve unforeseen events.

A detailed review of the figures allows us to see differences in the savings percentages when comparing men and women. In the case of the female gender, those who save the most, with 52%, are those over 55 years old, followed with 26% by the group between 35 and 54 years old, then with 15% those between 18 and 34 years old and, finally, 7% for those from 0 to 17.

As for men, the percentages reveal that, in the group over 55 years of age, they outnumber women, since the percentage rises to 43%. In the segment of 35 to 54 years old, 28% of them save, while in the range of 18 to 34 years old only 18% do so, and finally with 11% those who are between 0 to 17 years old.

In households of strata 1, 2 and 3, Colombians resort to CDATs with an opening average of $300,000 pesos per month.

The 4 cities with the highest level of savings are Bogotá, Cali, Medellín and Barranquilla in all strata, from 1 to 6.

“The results of this x-ray on savings reiterate the importance of something we have been working on and that is to have products and services connected to the real budget of Colombians and to be absolutely flexible in the starting amounts so that we can really help the largest number of people, for this reason, our savings accounts for adults and children are opened with only $30,000 pesos per month and the investment products that are highly desired by pensioners and independent workers, such as CDAT’S, are available from $300,000 pesos,” he explains. Gloria Gutiérrez, Commercial Deputy Manager of Fincomercio.

The two segments that save the most are the employees to solve unforeseen family problems and the self-employed, to grow their businesses.

Finally, the Fincomercio experts reveal the arguments offered by those who still do not save. The main ones are:

1. “I have low income and cannot save” 

2. “I think that to save I must have a large amount of money” 

3. “Since I don’t have money left over, I can’t save”  

4. “Saving requires a lot of sacrifice and effort”

5. “Why save if I don’t have clear goals”

Categories
How To

How is the settlement for a worker who earns full salary

The comprehensive minimum wage in force for 2021 is $11,810,838, equivalent to 10 minimum wages. If there is something that interests a worker is his liquidation, either because he resigns or because he is fired with or without just cause. However, some They have doubts about what should be paid, for example, to those who earn a full salary.

How is the settlement for a worker who earns full salary

The comprehensive minimum wage for 2021 in Colombia is $ 11,810,838, a figure that corresponds to the sum of 10 monthly minimum wages, plus a 30% benefit load equivalent to three minimum wages, according to Law 50 of 1990 and Article 132 of the Substantive Labor Code (CST).

It is valid to clarify that the above sum is the minimum to be considered full salary, however, between employer and employee can agree – without problem – a salary with a higher amount of income.

The comprehensive salary is a form of remuneration that includes social benefits.

Jorge Alberto Hernández, a specialist in Human Management at the Universidad Piloto de Colombia, says it is important to keep in mind that the integral salary must always be agreed in writing.

A worker who has this type of salary is entitled to enjoy 15 working days of rest for each year worked. And, in the same way, the company must liquidate your vacation.

“When you have an employment contract, whether for an indefinite term or a fixed term, but with a full minimum wage, at the time of resigning or being retired with just cause, within your settlement the worker must only be paid the days that have not paid him from his last working month and, if he has, the proportional to the vacations to which he is entitled, “, Hernández clarifies.

In short, if you earn a full salary, your settlement is like this: if you are dismissed for just cause or if you resign, you will be paid the days of the month that have not been paid and the corresponding to the vacation days you have pending to take.

For the settlement with compensation, the entire comprehensive minimum wage is taken as a basis.

If you are retired without just cause, according to article 64 of the CST, modified by article 28 of Law 789 of 2002, you must be compensated with 20 days of salary for the first year worked, and with 15 days of salary for each year you have worked subsequent to the first -or proportional to what you have worked-, plus the pending holidays and the days of the month that you have not been paid. All of the above is done on the full comprehensive minimum wage.

Categories
How To

How do you know if you are being recharged?

One of the most recurrent signs is to take work for the house or fulfill tasks during extra-work hours. Sometimes it can be difficult for you to identify that you are being overloaded, and this happens because since the contract was signed, the functions that as a worker you had to fulfill, for example, were not made clear. And in the absence of determined and delimited tasks, your boss can take advantage and put more work on your own.

How do you know if you are being recharged

Tony Hastings, assistant manager of the British Council’s Teaching Centre, says that work overload can be identified if the worker does not have enough day to complete all the pending tasks.

In addition, Hastings tells what are the signs that will help you identify if you are overloaded with tasks in your job: get irritable and moody during work hours, feel that work never ends or have little time to rest.

“If a person has an overload of work, it is normal for them to start forgetting some things. Most feel out of energy or live fatigued by work overload,” says Hastings.

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A JOB? REGISTER YOUR RESUME HERE AND APPLY

Similarly, Lina Paola Quintero Giraldo, a doctor, says thatthe stress and anxiety generated by work overloadcan have physical and mental repercussions on the worker. For example, headaches, muscle spasms, decreased activity of the immune system (low defenses), gastritis, irritable bowel syndrome and, in the long term, deterioration of cardiovascular health.

It is important that each person works in a planned and organized manner and is committed to delivering their projects with reasonable and achievable dates. The boss must be aware of this, who cannot abuse his position to delegate tasks without pause.

Despite the above, it can happen that you feel overloaded because you are not planning your workdays in the best way and, for that reason, you lose a lot of time in the work schedule. Analyze and, if necessary, correct.

ou may also notice work overloadwhen you have many more tasks than your coworkers (peers). In these situations, “it is important to talk to the immediate boss to find a way to reorganize the work team so that each person really does what corresponds to him in a fair and organized way,” adds Hastings.

It will always be best to make things clear from the beginning, from the moment the contract is signed. The boss must clearly capture and express the functions that the worker will perform. This will avoid future discrepancies.