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Tag: Work from Home Jobs

  • How to Manage Remote Teams?

    Virtual teams are becoming more and more common across the globe — from virtual assistants at small businesses to teams within big companies such as IBM to digital start-ups with fully remote teams. The benefits are clear. According to Global Workplace Analytics, remote teams increase employee productivity, satisfaction levels, and can save a company more than $10,000 annually. That’s not including the benefit of tapping into a global talent pool.

    Team
    Team

    As it becomes more common for companies to utilize remote workers, these businesses are discovering an influx of unique and new challenges related to managing virtual teams. As with any business, there are definitely hurdles to overcome.

    Benefits of Hiring a Remote Team

    Access to the best employees

    Top talent doesn’t always just come knocking on your door. Significant effort is always required to build a world-class team. Of course, you have to carefully consider candidates during the hiring process. This often involves creating a team member persona, or in the case of a remote hire, a “remote persona” (just like you create buyer personas for your customers).

    You should look for people who meet your criteria in the following areas:

    • Company values
    • Discipline
    • Focus
    • Work/life balance
    • Decision-making skills, etc.
    Criteria for Hiring
    Criteria for Hiring

    One of the benefits of hiring remotely is that it gives you more options than limiting yourself to local employees. If you choose to broaden your horizons and decide to hire remote workers, you will be able to find excellent team members anywhere in the world. The A-players that you hire around the globe will surely help your company grow.

    Also read:

    Employees with flexible hours are happier

    The fact is, employees who are allowed to set flexible schedules are happier than those who have to live under the rule of the clock. They tend to have fewer family conflicts than their colleagues who work at the office.

    Flexible work hours
    Flexible work hours

    Moreover, employees who work from home say managing balance between work and family is much easier for them. Not surprisingly, the happier your employees are, the more productive you can expect them to be, which leads to faster company growth and good company moral.

    Low employee turnover

    According to 2017 research, 32% of people would quit their job as they are not allowed to work remotely. Many companies take this fact into account as losing an employee and hiring a new one involves significant expenses. As a result, smart companies embrace the remote work policy to keep their employees’ turnover rate low.

    Low overhead

    Having a team of remote workers allows you to lower your overhead by cutting office expenses. Recent calculations show that companies would save more than $500 billion a year on office rent, utilities and turnover if they chose remote work schedule. Instead of spending money on maintaining your office, you will be able to invest it in your business.

    Relevant read:

    Challenges of managing a remote team and how to overcome them

    Communication problems

    If you want to foresee and fix one issue from this list, choose communication. It’s the cause of almost every other management issue. Managers provide direction at every step of a project or business initiative, so they need to be extremely good at communicating the strategy and understanding what’s happening within a team. Communication is the key to success for most teams. It’s critical to gather input from all members and to know what each person is working on.

    Communication in remote teams
    Communication in remote teams

    When teams work remotely, it isn’t always easy to foster open communication. Traditional email marketing often seems like a formal tool that doesn’t enable quick conversations. Efficient, effective communication is the cornerstone of any functioning group, and it is especially crucial for remote teams. Coordinating virtual team members can be challenging, and communication can be a big stumbling block for many companies trying to successfully navigate remote hires.

    Potential solutions

    1. Make use of communication-based technological tools. Instant messaging, chat, and other two-way communication channels make sharing problems and potential solutions easier than ever.
    2. Keep these channels open, and consistently monitor them throughout the day. If an employee has a problem, idea, or thought that needs to be shared, you should be as responsive and available to a remote employee as you would to any on-site worker.
    3. Use project management software such as Hubstaff Tasks. Having one central tool for organizing projects and tasks ensures that everyone who needs to be in the loop stays that way. You can assign tasks to team members, add comments, outline the project steps in a checklist, and more.
    4. Generally, it’s a good idea to try and clarify as much as possible about the role: what’s expected, which KPIs to measure, resources that are available and so on. It’s very important to clarify these things with your virtual employees, as they have no other medium to find out such details.
    5. Finally, a more practical yet potentially time-consuming suggestion is to check for understanding after each meeting. Before you end, make sure everyone knows what their next steps are, then check if these matches and if the interpretations are aligned. This is very important in remote teams where you’re relying on emails, chat, and calls. Usually, you’re managing all of them combined. Important details can easily get overseen, skipped or misinterpreted.

    Scheduling difficulties

    Working with a remote team offers the potential for increased productivity, but managers must also overcome some virtual-related inefficiencies. For example, one of the most difficult challenges is managing workers across several time zones.

    Scheduling difficulties
    Scheduling difficulties

    First, there are tools you can use online to help make scheduling a call, video conference, or meeting with remote teams easier. From a simple online poll that lists selected dates and times that team members can choose to calendaring apps and a variety of websites and free hosts that assess participant availability, there are ways that make the process of scheduling a meeting less stressful. It also helps if team members’ schedules are flexible, since some time zones don’t line up well with traditional working hours.

    Potential Solutions

    1. Whenever all employees are meeting (via phone, teleconference, or video conference), find a time that falls within everyone’s workday. This might mean first thing for some and end of the day for others.
    2. If the time difference really makes coordinating schedules impossible, get creative. For example, record meetings for employees who can’t attend live. This way, they can view and/or hear what happened.
    3. Collect feedback regarding meetings via e-mail. This gives everyone the opportunity to chime in; even those who couldn’t attend while it was actually happening.
    4. Use email to document big and important announcements such as process changes, company directives, and other important announcements that don’t require a meeting, but are nonetheless important.
    5. Use scheduling software that allows you to schedule shifts for each team member and get alerts if they haven’t started tracking time during that window. You’ll also get email alerts if a shift is abandoned or there are missed shifts altogether, ensuring that teams are working when they say they will and avoiding downtime for your business.

    Must read:

    Tracking work and productivity

    Do you know how much work your remote team accomplishes and at what rate? For many managers, the answer to these questions is unclear. It’s hard to know if someone is being underutilized or is not pulling their own weight without an understanding of their productivity. For this reason, remote managers need to establish ways to track productivity for all employees. This can include setting up metrics for how much work is expected to be completed each day. This might look like:

    • Creating and maintaining a company blog.
    • Scheduling 20 social media posts per hour.
    • Making 150 cold calls per shift.
    Tracking work and productivity
    Tracking work and productivity

    The KPI metrics you choose to evaluate the productivity of remote employees should also be the same criteria used for in-office employees. This ensures that there are clear expectations in place, regardless of how and where your team works.

    Potential solutions

    1. For customer-facing team members in remote agencies, have a system in place to ensure open channels of communication between you, the customer, and the employee. If a customer doesn’t feel a remote employee is meeting expectations or hitting necessary benchmarks, you, as the manager, need to know this as soon as possible.
    2. When you manage remote workers, you have a lot less insight into how work is getting done. Employees must know what’s expected of them at all times, including if you’re concerned about hours logged or if you’re simply interested in the end product (regardless of time spent).
    3. Even remote teams can implement some rules about how work is done. Some virtual companies insist on employees working from an office or offer to pay for a coworking space if the employee chooses to work from one. This works well to provide a distraction-free work environment.
    4. To avoid problems, it’s helpful to have a quantitative way to evaluate a remote worker’s contributions. This way, if you’re in any way unhappy with the work, you can explain exactly why. This will make it clearer for the worker, and it helps get that employee up to speed about expectations as quickly as possible.
    5. Utilize employee productivity software to get the best sense of what your remote team is up to during the workday. Depending on the system you use, this platform could even provide intermittent screenshots to show you exactly which projects are being worked on, and what the status is. This tool provides invaluable data to you, and it encourages remote employees to stay active and engaged in company priorities.

    Building trust

    Building trust is difficult for remote managers and team members. Managers worry that workers aren’t completing work, while workers have a range of concerns, including whether they’ll be paid on time. Being transparent can help to build trust for all parties. You can help build trust by being transparent about: Working hours, Project expectations, Pay rate, Payment timelines, and Status updates on projects

    In terms of expectations, be honest about the workload you expect to have for your contractors. Many B2B marketing companies tell freelancers they can expect the amount of work to increase substantially over the coming months, even when this isn’t the case. These kinds of statements might be well intentioned, but it may lead some freelancers to believe they’ve been strung along. They may even have negotiated for a lower rate because of the volume and then feel duped when it doesn’t pan out.

    Potential solutions

    1. Employees need feedback often in order to correct problems early on and become satisfied, top performers in their role. Be sure that all managers are giving frequent feedback to address any issues, blockers or challenges people are facing. This will help the managers to develop trust with the team members and give them the flexibility needed to make virtual teams work.
    2. Put a premium on video conferences. Seeing each other’s faces is the next best thing to meeting in person.
    3. Trust your employees, but also utilize time-tracking software. It keeps everyone accountable and can help team members feel confident in the hours they put in.

    Must read:

    The Solution?

    So how can SaaS leaders and companies effectively support and manage employees who aren’t in an office? There is the REMOTE formula to help. Resources, Engagement, Motivation, Objectives, Trust and Expectations are what you need to remember when working with, or developing a team remotely.

    REMOTE formula
    REMOTE formula
    • Resources: Get the right tools. There’s an abundance of online collaboration resources which, in some cases, are specifically designed to ease the struggles of remote working.
    • Engagement: Engage with your remote workers on a daily basis as you would do if they were based in an office. You must eradicate all feelings of isolation. Communication is key and setting out clear goals and outcomes is important to achieving success.
    • Motivation: This is exactly the same as in an office environment. You don’t want your team soft pedalling and giving just a small percentage of their full potential. Motivating your team to achieve tasks they may have never done before will better utilize their just discovered skillset, improve productivity and maximize effort.
    • Objectives: SaaS team leaders should focus on setting direction via goals, not activity. Try not to be overly concerned with details, and when goal achievement confidence is low, know when and how to jump in and find a way to support the area that’s a challenge.
    • Trust: This is a biggie. You must trust your remote workforce. It starts with whether you’re a high trust company or a low trust company. A high trust organization would have their fair share of multipliers. The company shows empathy, collaboration and recognizes their employees as people who are achieving great things. A low trust organization tends to express toxic cultures and would have diminishers amongst the teams. Most of the time formality takes over friendliness.
    • Expectations: By introducing a remote working culture you’re leaving your employee more control of their working structure. Expectations of them and the work they produce for the company needs to be made extremely clear.

    Conclusion

    The debate of remote working is one that will continue to develop. The purpose of this long post is to aid SaaS companies when making a decision to grow and scale, but a work from home culture is not for every organization. Despite the fact that creating and managing a remote team is not easy, it’s definitely worth trying if you have the tools to be successful. So, let’s create your remote team now. Please tell us your views in the comments section below.

  • These Brands Are Generating Massive Revenue During The Coronavirus Outbreak

    Coronavirus has now spread to more than 157 countries all over the world and has been declared a pandemic. The number of coronavirus cases have crossed more than 3 million globally. In India, more than 30,000 cases have been registered with 1000+ fatalities. The coronavirus outbreak or COVID-19 has affected various sectors and industries, and many companies have taken the initiative to contain the spread of the pandemic.

    Apple shut down its stores in China and other nearby countries for implementing safety measures. The world’s second-biggest fashion retailer H&M has also closed stores Germany and the United States, the biggest markets. It also shuttered stores in Canada, Portugal, and Belgium. In India, the aviation and railway sectors are severely strained under the pandemic with revenues plummeting to record lows. Many airlines in India are unable to generate revenue in spite of lowering ticket prices.

    At the same time, the Indian railways has cancelled more than 70 trains for precaution and due to low occupancy. The consequent losses are mind-numbing and severe enough to cause heart attacks. The tourism industry worldwide has taken a severe hit. Many food chains and restaurants are struggling to sustain themselves as people are avoiding going out until and unless it’s an emergency. Not only this, several start-ups are bearing the brunt of the lockdown which is in place. In all, the economy has come to a halt and everything else to a standstill.

    On the other hand, the coronavirus outbreak is aiding several countries. The Chinese government gradually shut down public services, schools and several manufacturing plants since the mid of January, giving other countries an opportunity to step up their game in segments like manufacturing . China is the largest consumer and supplier of many products in the world which include spare parts, chemical, toys, lighting, base metals, oil, etc. Many countries, including the US and European Union, import these goods from China.

    Economic superpowers and behemoths are now reaching out to other countries to fulfill increasing demand. India is one such country which has seen a surge in exports in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. Due to China’s temporary lockdown, the chemical sector will be amongst the biggest beneficiaries alongside other sectors like textiles, ceramics, sanitary ware, homeware, and engineering goods.

    These companies will benefit tremendously during the pandemic

    Although the novel coronavirus outbreak is crashing global markets and affecting everything from air travel and the film industry to local businesses, some companies will benefit from this situation. These include firms that sell deep-cleaning products, remote services like Peloton, Zoho, video conferencing tools like Zoom, and Purell, a popular hand sanitizer brand.

    According to a report, sellers of some lesser-known products also view the coronavirus as a unique business opportunity. These companies sell gadgets like air purifiers, robots, and even products like spit-shielding hats that help in combating the virus.

    Now, some of these vendors are actively promoting the link between their products and Covid-19. The result is strong brand value, publicity, and booming business. Not only this, the demand for face masks has increased significantly since governments, medical experts, and doctors are advocating the use of face masks to protect oneself from getting exposed to the virus.

    Hand Sanitizers
    Sale of Hand Sanitizers has seen a Boom like Never Before

    With people more worried about infection and germs, they are running towards disinfectant products such as hand sanitizers, hand wash, cleaning wipes, etc. People are turning to brands like Purell, Lysol, Clorox, Lifebuoy, and Dettol like never before. Consumer demand for hand sanitizers has grown by 1,400 percent from December to January.

    The demand is so high that Walmart stores, retailers, and pharmacies are short on stock, e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart are also low on supply, and products are being sold at more than double their market rates. In fact, the black market for sanitizers, disinfectant wipes, gloves, masks, and PPEs is crazy! Manufacturers aren’t shying away from making the most out of the shortage of supplies. Meanwhile, even small firms selling such products are making considerable profits. It’s hard to believe but the shares of Clorox and other drug makers were on the rise in late February despite the economic slowdown.

    Also Read: 6 Must Follow Tips to Work from Home During the Covid19 Outbreak

    Phone and video conference software

    Even technology companies are reaping massive benefits in these trying times. Many phone and video conference software and tools are in high demand because organizations have chosen to implement work from home across offices and geographies. Famous work from home software & tools include:
    Webex – Web conferencing and video conferencing tool.
    Zoom – Team video conference tool.
    Skype – Online video calling tool.
    Slack – Team Communication and collaboration app.
    Zoho – Web-based business tools.
    GSuite  – Emailing and team communication applications.

    There are several other chatting & conference platforms in the fray as well. Due to massive demand, these companies are providing additional features at lower prices. Since a large number of companies are relying on these tools at the moment, this is a golden window for the providers of these tools and software to capitalize on the demand and stand out in the market.

    Online Streaming Platforms
    During Lockdown, traffic on Online Streaming platform will see Growth

    To no one’s surprise, the demand and traffic on many online streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, HBO Max, Hulu, etc. have blown through the roof. With strict lockdown measures in place and nothing to pass time, these streaming platforms have become a necessity. Without them, spending the day becomes arduous!

    Conclusion

    Every coin has two sides and the coronavirus outbreak is no exception. While a number of organizations and companies are reeling from decline in revenues and market value, others are profiting big time and witnessing a windfall hitherto unseen.

  • 6 Must Follow Tips to Work from Home During the Coronavirus Outbreak

    The COVID-19 pandemic has changed every aspect of work and life. Coronavirus spread during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic led many organizations to recommend their staff to work from home full-time; now also being known as WFH, for their safety. As more and more companies implement work-from-home policies due to the spread of COVID-19, employees are now asked for trying to be just as productive without the normal routines and resources that they get in the offices while working. While working from home sounds like a luxury, in theory, it’s certainly no vacation and being productive is not very easy.

    But to get the same productivity from work from home, some specific strategies & Goals need to be implemented. Every job is different and the amount of work one can achieve will vary between career types, employers and internal policies, but there are some key strategies to working from home when it comes to getting your tasks done efficiently. Working remotely or the practice of working for an extended period outside the formal office environment is growing steadily in popularity by using various digital tools from Web conferencing, e-mail to mobile collaboration applications and virtual event platforms to connect people and make sure the work-from-home is possible without any difficulty. “Some of the best strategies & Goals to make yourself productive without distractions are”.

    Create a dedicated Work Space
    Make sure you have Strong Internet access
    Stay Connected with colleagues
    Get used to Video Calls
    Make use of Google Docs and Sheets
    Prepare for Distractions

    Create a Dedicated Workspace

    As an employee, one needs to create a dedicated work area at home even if it is temporary during this Coronavirus outbreak situation. It can be a separate room or a space at home where you can’t get distracted. Although it’s convenient to stay in bed or on your sofa but to get in that work mode, it is always better to create a dedicated workspace. A separate workspace is healthy as well as keeping to your regular work routine, even though you are not in the office. If you don’t have a desk, one can use the dining room table which can make you feel like you’re at the office. This helps you focus on your work, avoid distractions, and maintain a work-life balance at home.

    Creating a Dedicated Workspace

    Make sure you have Strong Internet access

    Internet access is the most important thing for getting your tasks done at home. When you work at home, having a strong internet connection will be most advised as most of the work or tasks assigned to you will be over the internet. Wifi/Data Card/Hot Spot is used for better network connectivity. Having a robust internet connection is required for video conferencing and chatting will make you an active participant and also helps in finishing your tasks without difficulty.

    Strong Internet access

    Stay Connected with colleagues

    Staying connected with colleagues is very important for a professional. It helps you evaluate your work, perform well in your tasks and also social skills. If you work on a team, it is essential to keep in touch with the other team members. For this purpose, there are many platforms like WhatsApp, Slack so that people get updates for the quick task. One can also stay connected with team members with the help of email communications. Any queries, inputs must be discussed with the other teammates. Messaging programs like Slack is a good idea to set up regular check-ins via phone or video conferencing like Skype, FaceTime, or Zoom.

    Get used to Video Calls

    Working from home means a lot more video calls. On the tech front, video calls can make a remote workday feel more connected. Video calls are crucial as teams like to see each other when they collaborate for a better understanding of each other’s perspectives. For this, you need a good webcam and headset to have a comfortable and quality experience. Using your built-in webcam and basic headphones should work well enough but if you want to upgrade the experience, investing in a webcam or headset is a good idea if the worker’s base computing device does not have one. In some organizations, 720P is the minimum acceptable resolution for quality results, for which one may need to get a webcam. A high-quality headset or headphones with a mic are a must for phone or web conferencing. Apart from this, using appropriate software for web or video conferencing is important. There are many software available for connecting people on video conferencing like Skype, FaceTime, Zoom, Microsoft Teams Webex, Zoho & so on. Accounts are free for the basic plan in Zoom if your company does not already have a corporate one. Zoom is packed with features and is fast with clear audio and video.  Now, these companies are making many features free and lifting the limitations to cope with coronavirus outbreaks.

    Make use of Google Docs and Sheets

    Google docs and Sheets are used to interact & update the status or progress of the assigned task. It is advisable to use Google Docs and Sheets to keep the records and store the data. Google Docs and Sheets let teams collaborate making monitoring tasks easier and evaluating the progress without any confusion. There is one more tool named Zapier which is a web service having many features like voice typing which increases productivity and also makes the work easy.

    Prepare for Distractions

    Needless to say, working at home comes with the high possibility of distractions. Working from home is never as same as working in offices. You must realise that at home we can’t always be as productive as we are in the office with the family being at home.

    Conclusion

    The Covid-19 pandemic has changed our perspective towards many things. Work-from-home is one of them. Work-from-home can be possible and very effective if you make an effort to make yourself productive by creating your own goals and strategies. Following a strict routine and improving your skills every day can make you a better professional.

  • Companies are Asking their Employees to Work from Home due to CoronaVirus

    Since Coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China, the coronavirus has spread in many countries all over the world. As the number of infections and deaths from the coronavirus i.e. COVID-19 rise drastically, many governments, schools, and companies around the world are taking more drastic measures to restrain the virus’s spread. At this time, coronavirus has more than 118,000 cases and 4,290 deaths worldwide.

    As the number of infections and deaths from the novel coronavirus are still increasing day by day, people are advised to avoid public presence, social gatherings, etc. At present, India has over 60 confirmed cases of coronavirus with employees in IT companies affected and 9.41 Lakh people have been screened at airports. Similarly, there are at least 1,267 cases of the coronavirus with more than 29 deaths in the United States.

    Many major companies like Google, Microsoft, Apple & so on are also making sure that their employees do not get affected and stay safe during this outbreak. Google has advised all its employees in Europe, the Middle East and Africa to work from home starting March 12th, expanding a recommendation sent on March 10 to North America-based employees to work from home until at least April 10th.

    On Sunday, Apple CEO Tim Cook encouraged employees at several of its global offices to work remotely “if your job allows” from March 9th to 13th. And by the end of last week, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, and many other tech companies asked their employees in the Bay Area and Seattle to work from home. Moreover, Google also confirmed that it would give its hourly workers their regular pay if they had to miss work due to coronavirus. The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention is urging Americans to ask their schools and workplaces about contingency plans, like working from home, in case they have to shut down over coronavirus. Companies from Wuhan to Silicon Valley have changed how and where they do business as the virus spreads on.

    Due to drastic spread of coronavirus lately, many Indian corporations & startups are asking their employees to work from home. This includes Flipkart, Snapdeal, Swiggy, Paytm, Uber & Wipro and so on. Nithin Kamath, founder of stock broking startup Zerodha, stated that the entire team of 1,200 has been asked to work from home. Similarly, other Bengaluru-based startups like fintech startup Instamojo, edtech platform Unacademy, Byju’s, Bounce and  Meesho have asked their employees to strictly work from home to avoid any risk. E-commerce companies like Flipkart, Snapdeal, Paytm & also Swiggy are encouraging their employees to work from home by using technologies like videoconferencing to interact with their clients and colleagues. Also ride-hailing companies like Ola & Uber are asking their employees to work remotely especially if one is feeling unwell. Moreover, IT industries like Wipro & Tech Mahindra are taking necessary precautions by keeping employees,who travel overseas for their projects, in quarantine. Telecom major Reliance Jio Infocomm & Coal India have given their employees choice to work from home without any biometric attendance.

    Companies adopting work from home due to corona
    Companies adopting work from home due to Corona

    Many companies are looking for solutions to enable their employees work from home without compromising the efficiency of work. For this, they are adopting various technologies & software.
    The Chennai-based office suite provider Zoho also made the announcement that it also implemented a work from home policy for its own employees. The company states that over 8000 employees across more than 10 countries will be working from safety of their homes until the virus is brought under control. Zoho uses Remotely toolkit to run their remote operations. Zoho Corp CEO Sridhar Vembu has been running the company from a remote farm near Tenkasi, a town in southern Tamil Nadu with the help of Remotely — the company’s virtual collaboration and productivity platform. Now, Zoho is also offering the same tools to its business partners and clients for free temporarily. Zoho Remotely includes a selection of apps in advanced software suite which will enable communication and collaboration between colleagues and customers.

    Similarly, the networking giant Cisco is offering its remote collaboration tool Webex for free under 90-day licences to businesses who are not its customers. Cisco’s SVP and GM, Sri Srinivasan said that they would also be helping existing customers meet their rapidly changing needs as they enable a much larger number of remote workers by expanding their usage at no additional cost. He further revealed that that after the Covid-19 virus, traffic on the Webex backbone connecting China-based Webex users to their global workplaces has increased as much as 22 times.

    At the same time, other companies are relying upon video conferencing and chat software. During this outbreak, the demand for Microsoft, Google, and Zoom’s Video Conferencing Software has increased significantly all over the world. This demand is expected to increase even more as the number of cases rises. As the number of school closures and quarantines increases, video conferencing will become ever more & more important. According to reports, Microsoft’s Teams collaboration platform has seen a 500% increase in usage in China since end of January. This usage is increasing in the U.S. as well, with more employees working from home. While, Zoom CFO, Kelly Steckelberg has said publicly that its usage is up significantly from its 100 billion minutes run rate at the end of January. During the same time period, the company also saw four-five times as many users in Japan, South Korea and Singapore.

    Considering the risk and intensity of COVID-19, these companies are offering many services free of cost. All that demand has made the tech companies to make it easier and in some cases free to use their software. Microsoft announced that Teams is now free to anyone with an email address. Google said last week it’s offering access to its Hangouts Meet video conferencing service and all its G-Suite as well as to G Suite for Education collaboration platforms for free of cost. Even, Zoom has also lifted the 40-minute limit on meetings for its users in China. Now, it is being extended to schools and universities in the U.S. upon request. Slack, a messaging platform, already offers a free tier but the company is offering live Q&A and webinars free.

    In the middle of worldwide health and safety worries, the company and its team once again shows its agility and tenacity by offering free services. This is really good gesture in tech market.

  • How to Improve Your Freelancer Profile that Stands Out

    Searching for jobs can be tedious and direly frustrating at the same time. Yet, once you consider stepping into the shoes of a hiring manager instead, and think of scores and scores of profiles lying on your dashboard for a single job post, you know the stakes are high as is the level of competition. The bottom line here is, getting your job profile to stand out among a host of others and getting noticed by your potential client. So, how do you compete against a thousand others? This article deals with just that!

    With some great skillsets you must need a high-quality freelancer profile to compete in this competitive market. Here, we have listed some of the ways to improve your freelancer profile that stands out.

    Ways To Improve Freelancer Profile

    Ways to Improve Freelancer Profile
    Ways to Improve Freelancer Profile

    Keep It Visually Appealing

    As a freelancer, it is your online profile that gets noticed first, before you apply for any project. Now, you aim to not just to attract attention but hold it long enough for the client to take a genuine interest in you. The best way to achieve that is by putting some serious thought in the design department as well.

    Make sure you put up high-resolution images to showcase your work. Do include write-ups wherever needed and make sure to keep them short and simple; nobody likes to read long essays. Keep a formal, user-friendly layout and categorize your work samples well. Last but not least, put up a professional, front-centered display picture on your profile.

    Certification and Skills

    Your profile should mention a list of all the professionally certified courses you have undertaken to obtain either software expertise or gain specific knowledge. Also, do include your academic qualifications as well as any merit certificates or honours received for academic or technical excellence. Some jobs require specific academic expertise and that’s where your academic degrees come to your rescue.

    While at it, mention your professional skills and highlight your strengths without coming off as too boastful. And lastly, be honest with your profile, forgery is never accepted it only proves that you are good at lying.

    Promote

    Every successful freelancer, on some level or another, relies on self-promotion to get noticed and gain clients.

    • Think of an attractive title for your gig. You need to be specific and catchy at the same time. The title is, after all, one of the first things your client sees.
    • Make an introductory video that not only lets your employer know of what all skills you’re capable of but also tells a bit about yourself. It’s a known fact that a video can engage the audience in ways much better than rich text. Use that to your advantage by making short videos for each of your gigs.
    • Start promoting your profile on other online platforms, from your social media handles to your blog, so that people can reach you for your freelancing services better.

    Also read:

    Portfolio Check

    A great freelancer profile needs a great portfolio. After all, it is for your skills that your client is going to hire you. Attach your portfolio that is your work samples based on what content adds more value to your work genre and not to increase your work’s diversity. Make sure you not only concentrate on the work samples but also on the display layout.

    Add Experience and Achievements

    Your client needs to know if you carry any significant previous work experience similar to the assignment being offered. Your work experiences add credibility to your portfolio and increase your chances of bagging the job. If you have had participated somewhere, won awards, or were a scholarship student, mentioning it is worth the while to add significant value to your profile.

    Update Your Profile Frequently

    As a freelancer, you are constantly learning, improving and exploring new genres with each project. Of course, curating your profile, accordingly, from time to time, marks your progress, keeps your work folio updated with the latest trends and keeps you a notch higher in the professional market.

    Link Your Social Media Profiles
    Link Your Social Media Profiles

    If you have created your freelancing profile on the sites like Fiverr, UpWork then you also have to link your social media profiles there. So make sure your social media profiles are professional and updated. It would be great if you can post quality content and upload some of your sample works on your social media profiles.

    Even you will get many opportunities from social media too. Like on LinkedIn business professionals are looking for people with right and quality skillset. So here is a door to your freelancing career success.

    Also read:

    Stick to One Niche

    Don’t make your freelancing profile over-complicated make sure you are showing expertise in one niche only. Make your profile understandable so that people can connect with you easily. For example, if you are a Web Developer and you are creating a freelancing profile of yours. Don’t mention any other irrelevant skills that you have like Closing Sales, Data Entry etc. This way people will get confused and chances are they will ignore your profile.

    Set Your Price Properly

    Many freelancers especially those who are beginners done this mistake, they try to provide services at the cheapest price. If you believe in yourself and you think that you will provide quality service then make sure you are setting the right price. You can also take inspiration from other freelancer profiles.

    If you are creating a profile on Fiverr then mention all the services you will be providing for the specific gigs. There are many freelancing websites where you can mention your hourly charges, follow the same rule for those websites also.

    What Solutions You Can Provide?

    You are reading this article because you want to earn money from freelancing. You might be beginner also that’s why you are surfing on the internet. I have something to tell you, it’s not important how many skills you have or how professional you are. The most important thing is what solution you can provide to the market. What is the burning problem you can solve with the help of your skills? If you can answer this question not with words but with your action. Then you can earn money because people are looking for results, not for process.

    So, research about the trending tech and online marketing things and try to find the problems that people may face. If you can solve those problems then you are all set to get started.

    Also Read:

    Conclusion

    Creating and managing a good freelancer profile is not a tough job. But getting new clients and improving yourself and your profile is hard. There are many tools and technologies available which you can use to be updated. Try to learn new skills and keep updating your profile. Always remember those who are not learning and improving are bodies without soul.

    You will achieve all the success you are looking for but make sure you are consistent. Don’t take any negative feedback personally those are just indication to improve yourself. Keep patience and never give up because this is the transaction charge for success. Success is easy, you just have to work for that. All the best!!

  • How to Find a Perfect Job and Get Job Satisfaction

    Every year thousands of students graduate without a clue of how to find your perfect job, even though, only a desired job would provide satisfaction. Young students have no idea which path they should pursue to get the job they want and keep making bad decisions about their work-life choices.

    Do not be afraid anymore, this article is here to help. This is a list of points that need to be considered how to find your perfect job. Read on to find out:

    Job Hunting Should Be a Job

    Job hunting should become a full-time job.  Take time to format the resume, making it attractive and appealing. Make sure to have a proper schedule to attend to all these aspects. To find your perfect Job also, improve vocabulary and communication skills as that would make a positive difference and bring you nearer to achieving your goal.

    Social Media Groups - How to Stay Positive at Work
    Social Media Groups

    Make sure to be perfectly aware of all the aspects of the companies in the wish list and have regular updates by following the company’s social media profiles. Also, make use of LinkedIn to enhance job search and get connected to recruiters as some companies reach out to people in LinkedIn before you start to find your perfect Job.  Make a portfolio that stands out and upload it on social media networks that promote employment.

    Research about the Company

    Before applying for any job make sure to know about the company, the profile and the position being applied for. However, this is possible only through research. Also, take a look at the company profile, history and client’s feedback that will definitely help to get a clear idea of the company’s work ethics. Take out time and do a thorough research of the company to avoid any difficulties in the future.

    Research about the company
    Research about the company 

    Enhance Your Confidence

    Education and experience are not the only tools to build up confidence, practicing is necessary. Enhance your skills by doing internships and creating blogs to let the talent and skill sets be known to the world. Doing this would make it more probable for the desired company to hire you. Also, have a good reputation at the current workplace so that job opportunities may keep coming life long, as all companies desire individuals who can deliver exceptionally great results. Work hard to make yourself fit for the company. Good companies will hire the person who can easily adapt to their environment and is able to work in all kinds of conditions.

    Also Read: 10 Ways to Boost Self-Confidence

    Make Your Own Audition

    Take note of mistakes made in previous interviews and work on their improvement for the next time. However, if there are no opportunities, do not be disheartened. Research the company you wish to work for, pursue their website and blog for some useful hints and interview questions and make your own opportunity. Ask others about their interview experiences because it will help in getting an idea of what to expect.

    Also Read: Interview Questions and Answers for All Job Seekers

    Conclusion

    The Most important point to be considered is that monetary benefits are not as important as career growth. While you start to find your perfect job which will be satisfactory always focus on the factors that would help in career enhancement rather than the salary. If that work comes naturally to you, then there will not be any negative vibes and stress. Keeping the above points in mind along with this would always ensure success. Share your thoughts on the comments.

  • How to Get a Raise at Your Job?

    Do you think that you are working more for the price you are being paid? Do you see other people in your work stream getting more money than you? Well, then it might be a time to ask for raise. If you have been a good employee, chances are that you will Get a Raise in Your Job pretty quickly. But these are some tips to Get a Raise at Your Job.

    Have a strong case

    The biggest mistake you will do is to tell your boss that people in the other companies doing the same work as you are getting paid more than you. Believe me, you will not get a Raise in Your Job and also the boss might tell you to go work for these people only. Every company has a different pay standard. What you can do instead is that you can tell them about the work you are doing and that you have done. Tell them how you have been benefiting the company and how much work you are putting in. Just try not to sound arrogant. Arrogance will take you now hear. Also, you need to tell them what you plan to do I’m the future if you get this raise. How will your work become better and help the company? If they are still. My satisfied then you can look for other jobs paying you. Better.

    Research and know the exact number

    Research - How to get raise in your job
    Research – How to get raise in your job

    This might sound a little obvious but this is very important to Get a Raise in Your Job. Do not ask for an unrealistic amount of raise, this will not only get your request cancelled but will also make you look bad in front of your boss. So do some research and come out with the exact amount you want as a raise. Check your companies’ policies on giving raise. If your company has a policy of 5% then you might ask for 10% so that you have the space to negotiate. But increasing tip a whopping 50% would be totally wrong.

    Also Read: How to Boost Productivity

    Timing

    Timing matters a lot when putting a raise request. You need to find a suitable time to bring this up. If your company has had a loss period or the work pressure is extremely high, this is not the time to ask for a raise. If you do then you will get rejected. Ask for a raise when the time is right. After a review session or after a profitable quarter.

    Do not complain

    It’s a rat race outside and people are dying to get your job. So telling your boss that you have been doing so much work or you are handling two people’s jobs is going to tick him off. Also, do not complain about how things like you have not got a raise in a long time and you want it now. Complaining can stick your employer off and you might not get a raise.

    Also Read: 10 Ways to Boost Self-Confidence

    Don’t quote the number first

    This might sound a little weird but let me explain. If you quote the number first it might look rude. So let your employees tell you how much raise they want to give you. This number might even be bigger than you had quoted, so this might turn profitable to you. But generally, your boss will give you the lowest number possible and you can give him the highest number possible so you have the chance to negotiate.

    Also Read: A Complete Guide To Nail Your Dream Job Interview

    Do not make it personal

    Personal and professional life is set different for a reason. Do not bring in your personal problems like your home issues as the reason for getting a raise. The company is not responsible for how your family is brought up. So make your raise request on the basis of the reason, not sympathy. Also, it is never advisable to threaten your employer. Telling them that you will leave if you don’t get a raise is literally the worst thing you can do for your own career. Chances are that they would actually tell you to leave and find someone to replace you in no time. But you will have a bad review from the company and it might take you a lot of time to find a job. Something is better than nothing.

  • The 9 Most Popular Types of Freelancers

    A freelancer is a self-employed person who offers his or her services to clients, out of his or her own accord and independent of any superior authority or organisation. It is okay to have your head buzzing with random questions at this point. After all, it is quite a dare, to claim your own space in the market and put your best skills to test. But, as it goes, it is never a wrong time to learn something new, and creating something of your very own is worth the efforts, even if it was just a random try.

    According to gig economy statistics from 2018, 33% freelancers work in creative fields. According to their stats, 21% of all freelancers are in consulting/professional services. 17% are writers, journalists, and content service providers, 15% are in tech/web development and the left 14% of freelancers work in other fields.

    In this article, we deal with what are all the different ways, in which you can start freelancing in India. That is, the most popular types of freelancers in India. If you are new to this game and have been bitten by the freelancing bug too, take a look! With flexible work hours and great work, the job sure carries its perks.

    Different Types Of Freelancers

    Most Popular Types of Freelancers
    Most Popular Types of Freelancers

    The Independent Contractors

    One of the broadest categories here, an independent contractor, in literal terms, means an individual who works of his own free will and does not have a specific employer.

    As this is the case with all the freelancers, this category encapsulates all the categories mention below. Individual contractors include people working with several different clients, often multiple clients at once, either full time or part-time. The work is often undertaken on a per-project, per day or a contractual basis and the work variety is diverse.

    Part-Time Freelancers

    Call it one of the smartest or the most baulking types, but part-time freelancing provides an excellent opportunity to the individuals who are looking to explore new work genres or extra income without running the risk of having to quit their day job.

    Thus, these people have a steady job, which is their main earning source and a part-time freelance gig on the side, where they get to work independently. Also called the Moonlighting, part-time freelancing is a popular choice among quite many individuals, who want to develop their skills while maintaining a permanent earning source.

    Business Owners

    Look at this category as a cross between a freelancer and a small-time business owner. The conclusion? An individual who undertakes projects as a freelancer, but has employees. The freelancer pays his or her employees out of his earnings and thus, earns a livelihood.

    Business owners often prefer to work in the same niche and are experienced freelancers who know their jobs well and have over time, established themselves in the market (enough to employ other people). These dedicate long hours to their craft and often get projects through networking.

    Also read:

    The Experiential Freelancer

    One of the most curious of the types, these individuals are full-time freelancers who love what they do and strive harder and harder to learn and achieve more. They often undertake diverse projects and are constantly pushing their work boundaries by learning new things.

    Needless to say, this kind of curiosity demands to remain constantly updated with the latest developments in their work fields and experiential freelancers are masters of it. Of course, there is a reason why, these days, even hot-shot corporations want to hire the services of a freelancer.

    Diversified Workers

    Not exactly a freelancer but cutting, these individuals depend upon a variety of odd jobs for their income. They often don’t work within a particular sector but undertake a variety of part-time jobs, online freelance work, and short term projects to keep the house running.

    Virtual Assistants

    Virtual Assistant Statistics
    Virtual Assistant Statistics

    A Virtual Assistant is just like an Office Assistant but the difference is that a Virtual Assistant doesn’t work at an office or the place of the client instead they work from home or anywhere. The job of a Virtual Assistant includes various tasks such as content writing, replying emails, chat support etc. Think of it as you are working for someone as a personal assistant but from your place.

    The advantage of being a Virtual Assistant is that you get long-term projects here. And there are so many jobs available which you can do as a Virtual Assistant and the pay is also decent.

    Also read:

    Freelance Web Developer

    The name is self-explanatory here, a freelance web developer or a programmer is someone who builds websites and web applications. If you are a web developer or you know some of the programming languages like HTML, CSS and JavaScript then you can start working as a freelancer. The only thing is you have found out project specifically in your niche.

    Don’t worry! If you don’t know how HTML, CSS, JavaScript works. You can easily learn them online. There are so many courses available which you can take to learn the basics and that is enough to enter the freelancing world.

    Freelance Bookkeeper or Accountant

    Many businesses out there which don’t want to handle their bookkeeping part. As a freelance bookkeeper, you will handle their accounting part. If you know about how accounting works or if you have worked somewhere as an accountant then you just have to use those skills to work digitally.

    You can also learn these skills easily online. But you have to be expert in bookkeeping because people nowadays looking for professional services. So, if bookkeeping is something that you are passionate about go ahead and start earning.

    Graphic Designers

    A Graphic Designer is someone who conveys the message of any brand visually. In the field of Graphic Designing, you have to decide your speciality or the niche on which you are going to work. There are so many graphic designing works available such as logo designing, web designing, t-shirt mockup, banner designing and the list goes on.

    Once you have decided the niche on which you are going to work or target. Find out the other famous graphic designers and research about their work. If they are doing something different then you also have to do something more unique.

    Again if you are not a professional graphic designer then no one is going to hire. Just because as a graphic designer you create an image of the brand and no one wants to create an unprofessional image of a brand. So, before you start looking for projects build your portfolio first. Try to take inspirations from other graphic designers and do something more than them.

    Also, don’t forget about the pricing, you have to include pricing for each type of work you are going to do as a graphic designer. But don’t provide cheap service at the cheapest price. See what others are charging for the same work and if you think that you can also do the same go ahead and charge what you deserve.

    Also read:

    Conclusion

    So now you know the different types of freelancers out there, did you figure out which category you belong to? Or if you are a beginner, what method struck out as the best for your skills? Freelancing is a booming sector and the Indian market accommodates no less in recruiters than the freelancers. With its perks and challenges, what do you think of the present freelancing business? Let us know in the comment below.

  • How to Overcome 8 Most Common Challenges as a Freelancer

    When talking of the freelancing scenario in the country, it is widely estimated that by the year 2025, the ‘freelancers’ market of India will grow to a whopping $20-30 billion. Nearly 23% of these Indian freelancers have annual earnings of ₹60 lakh and lie under the age of 40.

    With the rise of the entrepreneurship culture in India, freelancing is more popular than ever. The best paying freelancing jobs in India are Web Development, Graphic Designing, Social Media Specialist, Accountant, Digital Marketing, and Content Writing. Contrary to the common beliefs, the freelancing business is not all about perks, the challenges form an ample share of this work culture.

    Most Common Challenges Faced By a Freelancer and How to Overcome Them

    ways to overcome challenges faced by freelancer
    Ways to overcome challenges faced by the freelancer

    Managing Time
    plan
    Finding work
    Not Getting Paid for Work
    Working alone
    Creative Block
    Completing Works Before Deadlines
    Procrastination or De-motivation
    No Consistent Work

    Managing Time

    One of the major challenges one faces as a freelancer is time management. As the line between private time and working hours gets blurred, the subject becomes quite a complicated issue. Flexible working hours were one of the major reasons that made you consider freelancing. But once your work starts getting affected by  ‘flexibility’, it is not a perk anymore.

    How to manage your time effectively?

    Time can be effectively managed by having a proper plan of the day to day activities. Effective planning is considered the most important aspect of time management.

    plan

    How to plan your tasks for efficiency?

    Constantly updating your calendar with your work assignments, keeping track of how much time you spent on every task, setting per day goals, and working with time reports will help you stay ahead in the game. The best part? You don’t even have to do all of that manually. Freelancing tools like Freedom, Tomato Timer, RescueTime, and Freework enable you to do just that with a click of a button.

    Finding Work

    If you have already had your first brush with freelancing, you know what a major challenge can this be. As more and more freelancers join the workforce, the competition gets only tougher each day. Nobody wants to end up with months of unemployment and rejection.

    How to find more work projects as a freelancer?

    There are a large number of online platforms out there that enable service providers and recruiters to come together and benefit from each other. Content mart, Truelancer, Freelancer, Upwork, and Fiverr are some of such popular services, catering to this purpose. Building your brand, keeping an attractive portfolio, Connecting with more people and Active networking helps you increase your probability of finding work.

    Not Getting Paid for Work

    Being a freelancer also means not getting paid sometimes. As you gain experience you eventually learn to protect yourself from non-paying clients. But in the interim, you might even find yourself running after your client to pay you for what you deserve.

    How to overcome Notorious Clients?

    Insist your employer on making a contract before you offer your confirmation and start working on the project. Or better yet, make the process easier for your client and make one yourself, and get your client’s approval. There are several tools like Bonsai, Termsfeed, and Freelancy that help you with the legal issues and generate a contract on your own. In the absence of any job securities, contracts protect your interests as a freelancer

    working alone

    working alone
    Working alone

    Surprised!? It might have been one of the major reasons why you had quit your job. Turns out it doesn’t hurt to have a team, behind your back, who support you when an assignment is becoming too hard and keep updating you with their feedback as you progress. Unless your profits are great, you can’t even hire an assistant and once you accept an assignment, there is no backing out. You are all alone in this.

    How not be lonely as a freelancer?

    Find a freelancer community where you can interact and learn from the experiences of many more of your kind. Platforms like these help you build networks and help you find a support system, wherein you can share your doubts and discuss your problems openly. Taking regular breaks from work and turning to your friends and family for some ‘out’ time helps.

    Creative Block

    One of the major challenges you face as a freelancer is getting stuck in a creative block, this not only hampers your learning but also makes things monotonous.

    How to overcome Creative Block?

    Keep updating your style sense with new trends. Try looking for inspiration in new places and give your old style a break. You can even start with some intense brainstorming sessions instead of directly coming to work. The bottom line is, don’t hesitate to explore new genres and styles, even if they lie out of your comfort zone.

    Completing Works Before Deadlines

    This is also a part of time management. Becoming a freelancer might be easy, getting work also might be easy. But you have to learn to set deadlines. Often, the client will ask to complete a task immediately or give you work to complete within a short period. This is a common challenge that many freelancers face.

    How to complete projects on time?

    Do not hurry while planning the task. Making decisions based on assumptions should be avoided. Taking time to plan the work deadline is a good idea. If any client wants service in urgency then try communicating with them. Tell them why you need that specific time to complete and that the quality of work will suffer if you do it in urgency.

    Procrastination or De-motivation

    You can’t be self-motivated every time and this is a common problem in every profession whether you are doing a job or working as a freelancer. Even sometimes you may feel unwell and postpone your work. Taking a break is not a problem but if you want to become a successful freelancer then you have to work hard without any break.

    How to overcome De-motivation?

    Plan every day and Setting long-term goals can be difficult to accomplish results in de-motivation, so divide your goals and set targets daily. If you feel demotivated anytime, check the good feedbacks which you have received from your clients and also don’t forget to reward yourself for every goal you achieve.

    No Consistent Work

    Freelancers face this problem so often. Sometimes they get a load of work but the next month there is little work or even no job. In India, the competition among freelancers is very high, but to survive this race you have to find a way.

    How to overcome the Inconsistency?

    Don’t depend on the clients you are working for. Research other online platforms searching for work. Getting work constantly is very difficult, so creating your profile on websites like Fiverr, People Per Hour, etc, and doing something different with your gig which makes you stand out might help you to make money consistently.

    Conclusion

    Challenges are everywhere no matter what career field you choose but this is the right time when you should start freelancing and build your own business. We are living in a digital era where we have all the resources and opportunities we need to grow and bring the best out of ourselves. There are also many freelancing communities out there from where you can get the support you need to grow your freelancing business. As when you work with a team you can overcome challenges easily and can bring your freelancing career to another level.