Work and Love Quotes

“Work is love made visible.”

 Khalil Gibran

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”

Confucius

“Everyone has been made for some particular work, and the desire for that work has been put in every heart.”

Rumi

“Do what you love. When you love your work, you become the best worker in the world.”

Uri Geller

“Doing what you love is the cornerstone of having abundance in your life.”    

Wayne Dyer

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”     

Steve Jobs

“Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.”     

Aristotle

“The secret of joy in work is contained in one word – excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it. “   

Pearl S. Buck

“There comes a time when you ought to start doing what you want. Take a job that you love. You will jump out of bed in the morning.”

Warren Buffet

“Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.”

Ella Fitzgerald

“Paul and I, we never thought that we would make much money out of the thing. We just loved writing software.”

Bill Gates

 

“Never continue in a job you don’t enjoy. If you’re happy in what you’re doing, you’ll like yourself, you’ll have inner peace. And if you have that, along with physical health, you will have had more success than you could possibly have imagined.”

Johnny Carson

The people who make it to the top – whether they’re musicians, or great chefs, or corporate honchos – are addicted to their calling … [they] are the ones who’d be doing whatever it is they love, even if they weren’t being paid.”

Quincy Jones

“If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, go out and sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures. Sweep streets like Handel and Beethoven composed music. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say, here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

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Salary Negotiation: Do It!

Only 55% of people negotiate salary following an offer while 70% of senior managers expect some negotiation.  Candidates are leaving money on the table!  These are survey results from the Robert Half staffing firm released on February 13, 2019, and include 2800 workers and 2800 senior managers. Complete survey: http://rh-us.mediaroom.com/2019-02-13-Survey-55-Percent-Of-Workers-Negotiated-Pay-With-Last-Job-Offer

Women are typically the big losers in the salary negotiation game with only 45% reporting they tried to negotiate pay in their last job offer as compared to 67% of men. Younger job seekers (ages 18-34) are more likely to negotiate than older workers (55+) at the rate of 65% versus 38%.

Workers in coastal metro areas are more likely to negotiate with Miami, San Diego, San Francisco, and New York City topping the list of negotiators in the 70% range.  At the bottom were slightly more Midwest cities of Minneapolis, Cleveland, and my hometown of Pittsburgh, whose job seekers only negotiated 42% of the time.

Negotiation Tips:

  • Challenge your FEAR: It’s highly unlikely an employer will rescind your offer if negotiation is respectful. The worst response may be “I’m sorry, there isn’t any flexibility in our budget.”
  • Do your research: Use resources like Salary.com, Glassdoor.com, and PayScale.com for data on salary ranges, including by location and industry. Supplement this with networking.
  • Delay initial discussion: Don’t mention your salary expectation first during interviews. Sidestep it with “I expect your salary would be competitive with the industry.” or ask “What is the position budgeted for.”
  • Ask for time: If you are caught off guard by a verbal offer, thank the employer and ask for time to think about it stating you may be back in touch with a couple of questions. You can ask for time even after the final offer, reminding the employer that it is a big decision that you, of course, want to consider thoughtfully.
  • Go a bit higher: Ask for at least a few thousand more than your ideal number so you can land on a comfortable number after the employer’s likely counter offer.
  • The ask after the offer: Begin on a positive note, demonstrate research, and highlight a strength. “I’m very excited about the offer and I think we could see during the interviews that we are a good fit.  Based on my market research, your $xxxxx offer is at/below the median for this position, and I’m wondering if there is flexibility for a salary of $xxxxx?  With my background/experience of ________, I’m confident I will be a quick and valuable contributor. “ Stay positive and upbeat.
  • Allow silence: After you make your ask, stop talking and wait for a response.
  • Prepare another ask: If the employer counters about budget or Human Resources policies, consider following up with, “I understand. I’m wondering if there is anyone you could follow-up with to ask about flexibility?”
  • Compensation is more than salary: You may negotiate for vacation, professional development, remote working options, or equipment.  Prioritize what is most important. If you don’t get something, it may give you leverage for something else.
  • End on the positive: Thank the employer for their consideration. Regardless of where things stand, restate your appreciation of the offer, and also your interest in joining the organization if that is so.
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Gratitude Meditations and Humor

Perhaps you have some gratitude prayers from your own religious tradition. If not or you are more secular in philosophy, here are a couple to consider for a daily practice from the Robert Emmon book, Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier.

From Garrison Keillor, Prairie Home Companion
Thank you, Lord for giving me the wherewithal not to fix a half-pound cheeseburger right now and to eat a stalk of celery instead. Thank you for the wonderful son and the amazing daughter and the smart sexy wife and grandkids…Thank you for the odd delight of being sixty, part of which is the sheer relief of not being fifty. I could go on and on…List your blessings and you will walk through those gates of thanksgiving and into the fields of joy.

Native American tradition
We thank Great Spirit for the resources that made this food possible;
we thank the Earth Mother for producing it,
and we thank all those who labored to bring it to us.
May the Wholesomeness of the food before us,
bring out the Wholeness of the Spirit within us.

Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddhist teacher
Waking up this morning, I see the blue sky.
I join my hands in thanks
for the many wonders of life;
for having twenty-four brand-new hours before me.

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Five Levels of RESPECT

When I was asked to do a full day training on business etiquette and professionalism, I knew I needed to find more meaningful motivation than the hundreds of guidelines and “rules.” My inspiration came in the middle of the night from Aretha Franklin: R-E-S-P-E-C-T. That is what etiquette means to me! As part of my training I highlight 5 Levels of Respect:

Self – Taking time to learn business etiquette and demonstrate professionalism shows respect for you. Shooting from the hip is not allowing you the best opportunity to shine. Sometimes we don’t know what we don’t know.

Customer or Client – This is the level of respect most people think of and try to honor since it is the core of business. If one isn’t respectful to customers or clients, there are usually consequences. People like to do business with those they like and respect.

Coworkers – Treating coworkers with respect not only makes the culture more pleasant, but more productive. Yet with the tension of every day interactions, politics, and pressure, this may be the most challenging level to stay at a high level of respect.

Company/Agency – What an employee says and does reflects on the company and its reputation. This is a responsibility for employees to recognize and for employers to address.

Profession – To the outside public, even in a non-work setting, what you do has an impact on how others view your profession. You may be the only person someone will meet in your line of work and generalizations may be made. You may not care to think of this impact, but it may occur just the same.

Here is another thing RESPECT means to me:

R  emember

E  tiquette

S  o

P  eople

E  njoy

C  aring

T  eamwork

Copyright 2018, Karen Litzinger, Pittsburgh, PA. Litzinger Career Consulting, Pittsburgh, PA.  May be shared digitally with this by-line and live link to www.KarensCareerCoaching.com.

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