Ten ways to deal with a difficult colleague

A sad fact of modern, open, collaborative workplaces is that there is nearly always someone in the midst who doesn’t want to be there – and they’re not afraid to show it.

While you and the rest of your team are actively making the world a better place, or at the very least making a ton of money for your bosses, there may be someone determined to undermine the group, offering nothing but negativity and passive aggression in lieu of useful input. Some may even be bullies, beating down others in an attempt to gain more prestige and respect.

Dealing with the problem person is of paramount importance; if they’re allowed to operate unopposed for too long they can undermine both your team’s productivity and your own self esteem. But fear not, there are a number of ways that you can defuse or avoid the problems put in your path by difficult colleagues – we’ve chucked ten of the most effective into an easy to digest list below:

1.) Share the load

A weight shared is a weight lessened; if you seek advice from a colleague they may well be able to help you deal with the difficult colleague in question. They may have been through something similar in the past, or they may just be more experienced in general. If you’re very lucky, they may have dealt with the problem colleague in the past, and have their own set of tricks for dealing with them. If you don’t ask you’ll never know!

2) Deal with them head on

Make an effort to reach out to a difficult colleague; if they’re finding it hard to communicate, it may be necessary to help them over that hurdle for the good of you, your team, and your company as whole. This doesn’t need to be achieved through a montage with an 80’s rock soundtrack, but it probably can’t hurt.

3) Rally the troops

Sometimes it’s important to remember that you can’t deal with every problem yourself, so seek support from your other team members when dealing with a difficult colleague directly. It might be useful for the problem person to see that you’re not the only person who doesn’t appreciate their conduct, or it may just be useful to have the moral support. Leave the flaming torches and pitchforks at your desk though, this should be a show of solidarity, not force.

4) Confront bullies

If one colleague, or a group of colleagues, keep shooting you down, or are going too far in competing for the attention of your boss or line manager, you need to deal with it as soon as possible. Of course, we don’t mean you should go full Rambo; your career is going to be even further on the rocks if you’re in a prison cell for the next conference call.

No, all you need to do is sit down with the problem party or parties, and explain, in an unemotional way, exactly what they’re doing. Force them to deal with the negative effect they’re actions are having on your work and the work of the team as a whole, and hopefully they’ll change their ways.

5) Bond with them during a team building exercise…

A team building exercise can be a great way to bond with colleagues, and this is no different with the difficult ones. Whether this means coaxing an uncommunicative co-worker out of their shell while solving a murder mystery, forcing an arrogant team-mate to cooperate in a scavenger hunt, or showing a domineering bully that the rest of your team can make useful contributions by performing well in an orchestral performance… the possibilities are endless!

6) …Alternatively, crush them during a team building exercise

Sure, it says teambuilding in the name, but if you need to deal with a problem colleague who has rebuffed any attempt at reconciliation or positive interaction, maybe it’s time to take them down a notch. Demonstrate your superiority by out-thinking them during a trivia night, lead your team to victory over theirs in a cooking competition, or out-muscle them in a series of competitive tribal competitions! Show them who’s boss, even if they are your boss.

7) Know your enemy

While perhaps not the most moral piece of advice that you’ll read all day, there’s a good chance that the obnoxious behaviour of a problem colleague may be at least part of how they’ve got to the position they’re at today. In the real world, turning to the dark side isn’t a slippery slope to ultimate damnation; sometimes everyone needs to be a little bit more sociopathic.

So pay attention to how the difficult colleague acts, how they get their way, how they grease the wheels of power, and try to apply some of the more practical bits of reprehensible behaviour to your working day. Nice guys finish last and all that.

8) Get on with it

If other efforts have failed, and moving away from the issues isn’t possible, you may just have to grin and bear it. It may be possible to minimise exposure to the disruptive co-worker without seriously changing your working routine and you can remove yourself from any optional workplace or extracurricular activities which will involve prolonged contact with them. It’s not like you wanted to spend any time with them anyway, right?

9) Don’t break under the pressure

Don’t allow the behaviour of disruptive or abusive colleagues effect your conduct or work ethic; if you do, you’ll be letting them win. You know that you’re the best person for your job, and you know that their negativity or abuse is just their way of dragging you down. Rise above it!

10) Make sure that you’re not the problem!

If you’re feeling a tad uncomfortable as you’re reading this, it’s always possible that you might be the epicentre of the negativity in your workplace. If you feel that you’re being unfairly treated, or picked on by individual colleagues or your entire team, it’s worth double checking your actions before you question those of others.

Maybe office sentiment is that you’re doing too little, or flying too high. Perhaps, while you’re feeling isolated, everyone else feels like you’re not making enough of an effort to join in. Regardless, you don’t need to change who you are to deal with this issue, you just need to make more of an effort around your colleagues to collaborate and integrate.

This article was written by team building and corporate events company Bluehatgroup.co.uk.

All fun and sun in Ibiza: How to a land a working holiday job in the clubbing capital of the Mediterranean

Every year, thousands of travellers descend on party haven Ibiza with a mind to fund their summer fun with a seasonal job.

The advantages of working on the Spanish island are obvious – the weather’s a dream, there’s miles of beach close at hand and the nightlife is legendary.

Salary and perks can vary wildly, however. We’ve taken a look at the top jobs in the Med, and found out how you could land them.

Best for… a good salary
Holiday reps are the elite in Ibiza when it comes to salary. Employees earn roughly £400 per week to start, and housing and meals are often included.

However, the work isn’t easy, and the hours can often be long.“People often think that reps go out and party all the time, but they have to work really hard,” says Sarah Anderson, spokeswoman for travel company Thomas Cook.

“Honestly, our reps have to be on hand 24/7.” 

Still, the job comes with lots of perks that make it worthwhile – namely, it’s a good career booster, and it comes with a ready-made social sphere of other travel-savvy twentysomethings.

 For holiday rep jobs, the time to apply is now (many agencies stop accepting applications after March). Previous experience in the customer service industry is helpful.

Anderson says that applicants must have a minimum of five GSCE grades A to C or equivalent. Visit Thomas Cook’s recruitment site, areyouthomascook.net, for more information.


Best for… seeing gigs

Though they often pay enough to get by (about £300 per week), bar and club jobs make up for the modest salaries with free drinks and club passes.

These jobs are among the most competitive, however, and timing is essential. Nathan Viva, the owner of Viva Ibiza Hotel and Bar (nathanviva.com), says the best way to find bar work is to hit Ibiza in the first week of May, find a local and start chatting up the staff.

“If someone comes into my bar, starts chatting with me and gets a rapport going, it’s more likely I’m going to give them a job,” Viva admits.

“If you just walk in and give me a CV and walk out, it’s going to go straight in the waste basket. It’s a waste of paper and a waste of time.” 

Surprisingly, Viva notes anyone coming out late in the season can walk into a bartending job.“Come mid-August, there will be openings in almost every bar in town,” he says.

“Most people come out for May or June to get a job, spend all their money, and go home, or are students and have to go back. Just before the season ends, there’s a mass exodus.

Come August every bar in town will have a ‘help wanted’ sign.”

Gemma Charters, the events and brand manager for beach club Ocean Beach Ibiza, tips that workers’ hangouts are great places to find openings.“Lots of employees hang out at the Ship Inn,” she says.

Best for… good salesmen

PR is the easiest work to find in Ibiza, say our experts.

It often involves handing out flyers or selling tickets for clubs and bars.

The pay can be terrible, or brilliant – it all depends on the sales skills of the person doing it. 

“A good PR can earn £800 a week –  that’s not normal, but it’s certainly possible,” says Viva, adding that it’s not a job for the overly sensitive.

“You really have to have the gift of the gab and be thick-skinned to be good at it. If you can’t close the deal, and don’t like being told to fuck off 20 times a day; if you’re just average, I’d say don’t even bother.”

For anyone thinking of staying on in Ibiza, PR can also be a great way to network.

Charters got her break flyering for local events. She explains: “The pay was pretty poor, but it was a great way to meet people. With a little hard work and determination, I was able to move up.”

PR work is also the best bet for those who aren’t from countries in the European Union.

Some jobs require employees to get an NIE, or tax ID number, which is only available for citizens in the EU.  

Landing a job 
The interview: The application process in Ibiza is, if anything, more competitive than in the UK.
As a result, it’s important to approach an interview with the same level of professionalism.

Do research on the company before you show up. 

The attitude: Employers in Ibiza are accustomed to slackers who think they can party their way through a job. Demonstrate that you’re serious and hard-working, and you’ll be ahead of the game.

Make friends: Buddy up with a worker and you can get the inside track on openings. Like anywhere, networking works a treat in Ibiza

This article is taken from the TNT Archives

Tweetness and like: how to get a job in social media

Fancy getting a job in social media? We chat to the experts to find out how you can stand out from the crowd

Spending all day on Facebook may seem like a pretty cool job, but there’s much more to working in social media. It’s a modern career, involving improving company profiles online, interacting with customers, and engaging a community – and it’s incredibly fast-paced and reactionary.

But if you’re already active on social sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn, you’re halfway there.

Jobs come in all guises, from the exciting to the mundane. A couple in the former category include a social media guru for a Californian wine company, which paid $10,000 a month and included free accommodation among hundreds of wineries.

There was also ‘The Best Job In The World’ – a cunning marketing campaign by Tourism Queensland, which employed British man Ben Southall for six months, paid him AU$150,000 and arranged for him to travel, blog and tweet. Not all vacancies are mind-blowing, though.

You could find yourself working in a strategist role, as a community manager, in marketing or as a blogger.

Your potential employer will be looking for your presence on social media – so if your application says you’re active on Twitter, make sure you are.

Andrew Grill, CEO of Kred, a site which measures online influence, says: “When I look to employ people in social media, I only use social media to find them. 

“If they are not using it and can’t be easily found, then I’m not interested.”

Grill, who grew up in Adelaide, but now lives in London, is an engineer by trade. He’s has been active online “since before it was even called ‘social media’”, starting a website in 1994.

“When recruiting, I also look for a broad and growing social footprint that proves they get social; attention to detail – social media runs at such a frantic pace, but you also need to know how be precise in your responses and messaging; and an inquisitive mind – the ability to go beyond the tweet and see what makes a person tick.”

Read the full interview with Andrew here

Setting the tone

When promoting a brand online, it’s important to find a tone that speaks to your audience – there’s no point adopting a cheeky persona if you’re responding to NHS complaints on Twitter, for example.

One brand that has got it right is the Facebook page for Tourism Australia, simply called ‘Australia’.

The page only needs to post an image, before hundreds of thousands of users start to interact.

Jesse Desjardins, Social Media & Advocacy Manager, says: “Keep it simple and do it well; don’t try to make it too complicated.”

Nora Maki, 34, the social media executive for VisitEngland, agrees.

“I want to make sure our social media channels as helpful as possible for visitors looking to explore England. We try to include varied amount of information, to ensure there is something for everyone,” she says.

Maki, from Finland, but who now lives in London, worked in B2B and tech PR before getting involved in social media. She now sources content, posts on Facebook and Twitter, as well as organises activities and campaigns.

“For anyone looking to get into social media, attention to detail is a must, as is great organisational skills,” she says.

“You need curiosity and a thirst for knowledge, as it’s about spotting stories which might be working for your brand and talk about them. And you must have great social skills – it’s all about being social!”

Read the full interview with Nora here

What you need

Although there are no standard industry qualifications for social media, recruiters will expect you to be able to prove your worth, to be able to demonstrate how each of the different social media sites work.
And you can expect a starting salary of about £20,000 a year for a full-time role.
Grill says: “Simply put – to get into a role in social media you need to be doing it and be confortable with the platforms, jargon and tools involved.”

Where to look

The most obvious place to look for jobs in social media is on social media.
Follow brands you would most like to work for on Twitter and Facebook and interact with them – that way, you’ll be one of the first to see if there’s a vacancy.


Websites

bubble-jobs.co.uknma.co.uksocialmediaexaminer.com<span 1.6em;”=””>, which offer creative and media jobs, as well as loads of digital roles.

Make sure you join relevant groups on LinkedIn and update your profile to include your social media presence. Follow companies such as social media site Mashable.

This is an article taken from the TNT Archives.

Working in the UK: How to get a job in radio – tips and advice

Have you ever flicked on your favourite radio station, listened to the DJs chatting away and thought you’d be able to do a better job?

And even if you don’t have the confidence to get on the mic, what about being part of a team producing a show?

The bad news is that with increasing syndication in the world of radio – celebrities presenting shows, which are sold to or aired on other stations – there are fewer chances of rising through the ranks. (This is how Chris Moyles, Zane Lowe and Scott Mills started their careers.) 

However, this means the emphasis is on you to be creative and get noticed if you want to work on national radio. And don’t let that rule out local and hospital radio stations, which, although not as glamorous sounding as the big brands, can offer you experience.

Here, we talk to two experts about their career paths.

Martyn Lee, presenter/ producer, Absolute Radio network

Lee is on air every day, plying his trade behind the mic or bringing together the music, features and interviews.

But he’s earned his unique position (most people are either presenters or producers), having a more unconventional introduction to radio. 

He says: “I wrote to my local station when I was 16 but got rejected. I called the programme manager to ask again but she didn’t have any jobs. So I travelled to the station and sat in reception until the boss came downstairs. Luckily I ended up with a job rather than a restraining order.”

Lee, based at the “pretty sweet” address of One Golden Square, Soho, works on Absolute Radio, Absolute 80s and Absolute Classic Rock, but says there’s something for all interests.

“There’s a reason nearly everyone in the country listens to radio,” he says. “Whatever you’re into – music, sport or culture – here’s somewhere you can get involved in radio and broadcast to like-minded people.”

And if you’re thinking a lack of qualifications might set you back, you’d be wrong. “The best people I’ve worked with have been the least qualified in the academic sense,” Lee says. “Be the most compelling person for the job… having had some sort or a life or experience is also really important.”

And be prepared to work for nothing in the beginning. “The salary starts at zero,” he says. “That’s what I did for a year just to get experience at a big radio station.”

If you do manage to get a foot in the door and make it to the interview stage, make sure you’re enthusiastic.

“It’s all about finding the ones who want to create something amazing that other people will love,” he says. “I never wanted people who would be out of the door at 5.30pm. It’s an attitude where people love the job and think about it 24/7 rather than just a way to pay the bills.”

Umberto Giannini, DJ

Giannini started in the music industry as a club DJ, playing house music nationwide before making guest appearances on Ministry of Sound Radio in 2003.

He was quickly offered his own Saturday night show, which ran for five years, boasting the highest audience figures on the station, before getting involved with SS Radio (ssradiouk.com/tuffandtwisted), one of the largest online radio stations.

“Day to day I juggle between pre-production of the show, working as an engineer for a TV post-production company in Soho and also working as a resident club DJ,” he says. 

Giannini backs Lee’s claim about qualifications, adding: “Being a great DJ isn’t about exams or what’s on your CV, it’s a combination of knowing your music inside out (to the point of passion), being able to present a good show verbally for your listeners and also pulling it all together so that your listeners feel that you’re playing a DJ set just for them.” To get noticed, use the internet. Giannini adds: “It’s a great tool to get yourself heard, so use it to showcase your talent.” 

Roles in radio 

Reporter; interviewer; researcher; script writer; presenter; journalist; producer; studio assistant; programme scheduler; audio engineer; editor; station manager; airtime sales; community training; volunteer support.

Looking for work

As well as recruitment websites, check out the radio stations where you want to work, as often they’ll advertise positions on their own site. To get a foot in the door, do work experience either after work or at the weekends.

Where to look

See bbc.co.uk/careers/homeradiocentre.orgradioinlondon.com

This article is taken from the TNT Archives.

How to smash a job interview in just eight minutes

Did you know that it takes just eight minutes before a judgment is made in an interview?

A study by AXA has revealed that it takes just eight minutes for a potential employer to make a positive or negative judgement in an interview.

The study of 2,000 people found eye contact to be the most important factor in an interview, even more important than knowledge of the relevant subject, which is second in the top five. The importance of smiling also shouldn’t be underestimated with almost one in three people saying it’s most important to make a good impression.

Swearing is considered the ultimate faux pas in an interview with almost half of employers saying that a candidate cursing would put them off offering them a job. Scruffy or dirty clothes and lack of knowledge came in second and third place in the list of bad impressions. And, ‘trendy’ interviewees beware – one in four employers say that tattoos and piercings would make them form a negative judgement.

Women who like to wear a full face of makeup should bear in mind that heavy makeup is a turn off for 13% of female interviewers, compared to 6% of male interviewers.

One in 50 men remove a wedding ring in the hope of making a better impression during an interview, something women never consider.

The top five things that go down well in an interview are eye contact, knowledge of the relevant subject, smart clothing, being articulate and smiling.

And the least five? Swearing, scruffy clothes, a lack of knowledge about the role, being unprepared and body odour. Heurgh!

Looking to build your wildlife photography portfolio? There’s a course for that…

If you’ve set your heart upon being a travel photographer but you need to get some experience under your belt, this is the course for you.

Jessop’s practical one day photography course offers budding photographers a chance to get up close and personal with nature’s giant cats, so when on safari, you can ensure you capture every moment with precision and take home memories to treasure.

This course, open to both photographers and wildlife lovers, allows you to get up close to a variety of cats, including snow leopards, amur leopards, pumas, servals and many more.

Throughout the day you will be guided by a Jessops Academy Tutor, assisting you to get the best from your camera by advising you on both technical and creative aspects of photography.

This course is open to all photography levels and all cameras and is the course for you if you have a passion for wildlife photography and a basic understanding of your camera. Jessops’ staff will be there to offer assistance and answer any questions on the animals themselves and photographic techniques required.

To find out more and to book, click here.