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9 Essential Working From Home Tips

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Did you start working remotely for the first time this past year? Working from home is different than working from the office, so how do you adjust your schedule and your style? You have the verbal support from your employer, but have they equipped you to be successful? Employees and employers must adjust the use of technology, process and culture to enable remote teams to be successful. You need to learn how to communicate with your manager and team virtually, set boundaries at home and ensure your company offers the right tools to be successful working remotely. I’ve worked remotely for the past 5 years and worked from home for the past 3 years. Here are my tips for working from home.

Working Remotely From Home Workplace Setup

One working from home tip is to have a good workplace setup. Since you’ll be working and living in the same place you need to set boundaries. If you work from wherever in your house it’s harder to set these boundaries. Having a dedicated place where you’ll work from home everyday will help set these boundaries.

Have a Designated Working From Home Area

By having a designated area to work from home, you’ll help establish boundaries between work and home. This will help in a few ways. A set place to work from home will keep all of your work materials in one place. Mentally, you’ll also feel like you’re at work as you’ve physically moved from the places you relax in your house to a place where you do work.

It’s also very easy to not stop working when you’re working remotely from home. Previously, when you had to commute back home you could see the office emptying out and knew when to drive home to avoid traffic. When you work from home though the same end to the day doesn’t exist. Especially if you work in a global company you’ll receive emails around the clock. Having a designated working from home area will help end the day. Once you leave that area, you can feel like you’ve left work.

Buy Materials and Equipment You Need to Be Successful

At your former office, what did you have available to be more successful? You’ll want to have the same things in your at home office when you’re working remotely. If you had a dual monitor, get a dual monitor setup at home. Same with a printer, any organizers and office supplies.

To be successful remotely, there may be additional equipment you need to invest in. For example, your meetings with coworkers will now be on the phone or video. Do you have internet speed that supports that? What about a video camera and headset?

If you work for a large company, ask if they will cover part of the cost of setting up your new workspace. Don’t forget, it’s saving them money too by not paying for your cubicle / office and the utilities associated with that office space.

See Also: Save Money By Leveraging Corporate Benefits

Invest in a Comfortable Chair

It’s easy to stay in one spot all day so make sure you get a comfortable chair. An ergonomic chair will be optimized for both comfort and work. A good ergonomic chair may cost up to $1,500 new but remember you’ll be sitting in this chair every working day. If you want to save money once you find a chair you like look on Craigslist, Offer Up, LetGo and other second hand sites to find that same chair used.

How to Work Remotely From Home And Not Go Stir Crazy

Skipping the commute to work is great until you realize you can literally be stuck at home until you need to run an errand or see a friend. It is possible to not leave your house for days. Make sure you get yourself out of the house. Sometimes this is going to get a coffee even when you can make it at home. You can also decide to work from a coffee shop or other location for a few hours or few days a week.

If you prefer to work from home the entire time, look to get out of the house before or after you start work. This could include joining a gym nearby, or having hobbies that are outside the house. It’s important when you work from home to find a community where you can interact with other people outside of the house.

While you’re at home working, force yourself to get up and move around. It’s easy to start working at 8AM and before you know it it’s 5PM. Setting reminders in your calendar to get up and move around or blocking time in your calendar for a walk will help you get up and move.

How to Work From Home And Not Get Lonely

It’s nice not to have to commute but you also don’t get to run into coworkers and have passing conversations when you are working remotely. When you start working remote, it’s important to find other ways to interact with people face to face.

It’s easy to get lonely when you’re not running into co-workers in the office. Sometimes the uninterrupted time is nice as you’re able to get more work done. Other times it just feels lonely. In normal times, there are plenty of ways to overcome this. Don’t assume seeing no one for days on end is normal for when you’re working from home.

The first option is to find other people to socialize with face to face. Can you meet people for lunch? Do you have customers or other coworkers in the area? Plan a coffee break. Join a gym nearby and go to the gym every day before or after work or during a lunch break.

The second option is to establish strong connections with other remote coworkers virtually. Are you on a conference call and can hear there is a side conversation in the room you can hardly hear? You can have side conversations remotely as well through Slack, text or another instant messaging tool with other remote coworkers. Get to learn about your coworkers virtually and identify what you have in common. Easy connections include if they’ve ever lived where you do now or vice versa, same college, kids that are similar ages or interest in the same professional sports.

Plan What Your Day Looks Like

When you start working remotely your schedule will change. Understand how much time you’re saving with not commuting. If you used to commute 1.5 hours a day you don’t have to spend that entire time working extra hours.

Then, make a plan for how you will use that extra time. Do you now have time for those workouts you never had time for before? Can you finally get the recommended 7-8 hours of sleep? Spend more time with family? Spend those hours working? Go to the gym? Be intentional as to how you spend this “extra” time you just got back.

Last, set a time for when your workday ends. It’s very easy to not stop working when you’re already all set up. Even if you have to log back into work later at night this will help you get a break to be with family, eat dinner or have some time to yourself.

Team Dynamics When You Work Remotely

The dynamics you have with your team will likely change when you are working remotely. How different the dynamics are depend on your team. Are you the only person on the team who is remote? Is everyone on your team working remotely? Where is the rest of the team located?

The dynamics are very different if everyone is spread out verse if everyone is in one location. If you’re the only person working remotely you’ll be on the phone while everyone else is in a conference room together for meetings. Your coworkers will run into each other in the hallway and walk over to where your manager sits when they have a question. In group meetings they can mute the phone while there are side bar conversations, there can be multiple conversations going on at once and it’s so hard to hear you can’t participate in any of them. Having a career sponsor in these situations is important as they’ll help recommend you get put on key projects and be an advocate about your skill set.

If the entire team is spread out either all working remotely or all working in different locations the dynamics are different. When everyone is in different places, everyone will join a meeting on the phone and participate virtually. There are no situations where there are side conversations in the room you can’t quite hear.

Understand The Support Your Company Gives Remote Employees

Beyond the verbal support that you can work remotely, how will your company support you? What technology do they have to support a remote workplace? How easily can you log into the company network through the VPN? If you have a challenge with your company equipment like your laptop, how do you get support for it?

Getting the verbal OK to work remotely is only one part of the support. Ensure that you have the capabilities remotely to be able to access the company intranet, equipment required to do your job and more.

Even more importantly is communication between your team and the communication tools offered by your company. Slack, Zoom, WebEx, Skype and Microsoft teams are several enterprise communication tools that make working in a remote team easier. Struggling with working from home? Reach out to your mentor at work for advice.

Communicate Often and Through Multiple Channels

Sometimes it may feel like when you work remotely you’re out of sight and out of mind. That’s why communication is extra important when you work remotely. Be clear with your manager on progress made on your projects, when you’ll have a draft or final project ready, when you have spare cycles and when you have too much work to be successful.

When you’re working remotely how you communicate and how often you communicate is very important. Make sure to let your manager know weekly or bi-weekly what you’re working on during your 1×1. Give a high level overview of your projects, and then 1-2 areas where you need help or where there is potential risk. If you have free time offer to get involved in another project.

Don’t forget there are many ways to communicate. You can text, call, ping through Slack or Skype, email. Know when to use each communication tool. If it’s not urgent, or something needs to be sent to multiple people use email. If you need to talk to someone quickly, text them or IM them.

Is Working Remotely From Home Right for You?

If you’re bored in the office, you will also be bored working from home. Working from home isn’t for everyone. But, keep in mind there is working remotely from home and during a pandemic working remotely from home. A typical working remotely from home situation doesn’t include daycares and schools closed, gyms closed, restaurants closed etc. Usually, you can go on a walk, or leave to grab a coffee to help break up the day.

There are distractions both at home and in the office. If you are easily distracted in the office (water cooler, etc) there will be different ways for you to get distracted while at home (TV, laundry, etc). Sometimes it does require more discipline. For example, if you don’t have a deadline given to you, you should set your own deadline and communicate that deadline to your manager.If you’re excited about your job and/ or have a lot of work to do these are easy to overcome.

If you love connecting with people face to face it may be an adjustment to communicate with coworkers virtually. Working remotely isn’t for everyone, but sometimes being successful working remotely requires tweaks to your workplace setup, setting boundaries, how you communicate and what you communicate.

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10 Pieces of Career Advice for Young Professionals

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Entering the working world after graduating is intimidating and likely out of your comfort zone. As a young professional your resume is likely light, primarily filled with extracurricular activities, internships and summer jobs. You’ve adjusted to being a senior in college, part of the group that knows everyone and everything within your college bubble. In your new workplace, you’ll transition to the most junior person in the room and learning to adjust to the new culture. It’s tough, but with the right moves you can get quickly back on track to being recognized as knowledgeable and a leader within the team. No matter what industry you’re in, here are 10 pieces of career advice for young professionals to help you advance your career.

1. Get Promoted Quicker By Hustling At Your Job

Your lifetime earnings are decided in the first decade of your career. When you are a young professional you must make the first 10 years of your career count. Create a plan to double, triple or even quadruple your salary. Does that seem out of reach right now? Maybe, but you need to think big and set high goals. You’ll get farther setting high goals for yourself than if you set really achievable goals.

2. Make a 5 Year Plan

Technology changes quickly. Whether or not you work in the technology industry the changes to technology will impact your career. There are news articles about potential jobs that will be displaced by automation by 2030. It’s hard to know what the hottest jobs and best career paths will be 10-20 years down the line. Start mapping your career by making a 5 year plan. What skill sets do you want to acquire? What do you want to learn more about?

3. Advance Your Career Through Investing In Yourself

Don’t put yourself on the path where your job will be automated in the next 10 years. Always continue learning and acquiring additional skills. You’ve invested in yourself by attending college, but it doesn’t end there. There are other professional certifications and additional degrees that can significantly increase your earning potential. Investing in yourself in your 20s is easiest when you have fewer responsibilities. This can mean getting your MBA or another Masters degree, getting your CPA, CFA or PMP. It can also mean strengthening your soft skills such as communication skills and leadership skills.

Investing in yourself doesn’t have to cost money. If you work for a large corporation your team likely has money for training and internal training available. Some companies also offer LinkedIn Learning for free or you can subscribe for free for a month. Don’t hesitate to ask your manager about what training options you have available through your company, or what opportunities there are for external training / certifications. If the external training / certifications will help you in your current job your employer may be willing to partially or fully pay for it.

4. Expand Your Network At Your Company and In Your Industry To Unlock Career Opportunities

It’s important to surround yourself with people you admire. Find someone that has the job you want and learn from them. Surround yourself with people that you learn from, have positive attitudes and you enjoy being around.

Find advocates within your company. Many decisions will be made about your career when you aren’t in the room. Have people who are in that room that will advocate on your behalf. Don’t know who will be in the room? A likely place to start is the head of the division, their right hand, and their human resources business partner.

It’s equally as important to have a network outside your company. You are more likely to get a job through an employee referral and will have even greater odds if the person referring you is one of your sponsors. To build the network external to your company go through your Linked In contacts and see who you’re already connected with from school, neighbors, former coworkers, etc that work in the same industry as you. Then, reach out and ask to grab a coffee to catch up or ask to catch up on the phone. It’s best to periodically connect with your network and not wait until you need a favor.

It’s not just about what you know but who you know. How do you get put on the best projects? When you’re not happy with your job and want a change, can you pick up the phone and call someone who can help line up a job for you? You need to have both mentors and sponsors to give you advice and advocate on behalf of you.

Once you’ve assessed your current network, strategically network. This means now that you know what gaps you have in your current network, expand your network so that those gaps are filled. Starting with friends of friends or “2nd” connections on LinkedIn are the easiest places to start.

5. Advance Your Career Through Mentors and Sponsors

It’s important to have both mentors and sponsors in order to advance in your career. Mentors will help give you career advice when you don’t know how to navigate a situation and help guide you on topics you discuss. Think of a mentor like a coach. Many companies offer formal mentor programs that you can sign up to be a part of. Career advice is especially important for young professionals because the visibility you have so far is limited. Those with more experience or have greater visibility to the bigger picture can help you dream bigger.

Sponsors will advocate for you to be put on good projects, considered for new roles and for promotions. They will help push you in the right direction, put you in meetings to help you get executive visibility or expand your network. If they ever come to you about a job in their group, or with a referral to another job you know that person is one of your sponsors. The best piece of career advice for young professionals is to get a career sponsor early on.

See Also: Want to Advance Your Career? Get a Sponsor

6. Maintain Your Network

Young professionals spend time building their network. A key piece of career advice for young professionals is to maintain that network. Add connections on LinkedIn. Schedule coffees, lunches and drinks after work with current colleagues. Reach out to classmates that are in your industry often. It’s very easy to lose connections with classmates if you don’t live in the same area and as you get farther out from college. Check in with former colleagues from time to time as well. It takes a lot of effort to establish that sponsorship relationship. These are the connections you should work hardest at maintaining.

If you see an article that someone in your network may find interesting, send it to them. Or, if you have heard that they have a major life event change (such as a promotion, having a child, kid going to college, kid graduating college, etc) reach out and congratulate them. Know their birthday, put it in your calendar and text them happy birthday. Time flies by. Even if it’s been a few years since you’ve connected it won’t feel as out of the blue as you think. Keeping in periodic touch with your network helps maintain your network and keep additional career opportunities open.

See Also: Advantages of Working for a Large Corporation as a Young Professional

7. Say Yes to Attending Workplace Events

It’s important to build relationships at work. When you are invited to team building activities or holiday parties, attend them. If you do travel frequently for work go out for the breakfasts and dinners with the team.

When leaders or peers are traveling into town try to grab a coffee with them or a drink. As you advance in an organization, it’s more likely you travel and have the opportunity to build relationships with the coworkers you travel with. When you’re starting out, unless you are a consultant, it’s unlikely you have this opportunity. You need to create these opportunities for yourself.

Even if you are an introvert, try your best to attend a few work events. Attending for 30 minutes to say a quick hi and mingle is better than not attending at all.

8. Attend Conferences

Conferences provide an excellent opportunity to network and improve your skills. Women’s leadership development conferences will help you network with other women, how to get through barriers in the workplace that affect women and improve soft skills like leadership skills.

Other conferences, like industry conferences, will help you stay on top of the latest industry trends and network with other people in your industry. These conferences provide an excellent way to expand your network into other companies in the industry that you may want to work at one day. These conferences will also help your business acumen in your current job.

Don’t wait to be extended an offer to attend a women’s conference or an industry conference. Research what conferences interest you, find out if your company already sponsors other coworkers to attend and ask your manager if you’d be able to attend. The closer to the conference the less of a chance they will say yes as tickets sometimes sell out the same day they go on sale. But, this will put it on your managers radar that you’re interested in attending and open up the possibility of you attending a conference sooner than later.

See Also: Want a High Salary? 10 Tips to Get a Job at a Tech Company

9. Dress For the Job You Want

If you want to be a VP, you do not need to dress like a VP from day 1. You do, however, need to dress professionally. Professionally doesn’t mean suit and tie, it depends on how people dress in your office. When you first enter the workforce or if you naturally look “young” it is easy to be mistaken for an intern. Don’t wear something where someone will walk by and think you look sloppy. Spending money on clothes can sometimes be frowned upon, but in the context of work it should really be looked at as an investment (within reason). If you don’t know what to wear, Corporette is a blog focused on professional wardrobes and there are plenty of ideas on Pinterest as well.

You can buy nice work outfits from TJ Maxx or buy second hand and look professional. If work gives you a laptop bag with your laptop use that for a bit while you’re getting on your feet. From there, take advantage of Black Friday shopping at the outlets for a nice black tote bag. You do not need to start day 1 (or even year 2) with a Tory Burch or Goyard tote bag.

10. Figure Out What Work You Don’t Enjoy

The first decade of your career is as much about figuring out what you don’t like as figuring out what you do like. Do you want to be a manager or individual contributor? What projects do you like and what projects do you hate? Where would you never want to live? You don’t have to have this all figured out. But, you do need to begin to get a better understanding of what brings you joy, and what doesn’t. The best way to do this is to continuously try new things and step out of your comfort zone.

Hopefully you can find passion in your work and your job isn’t just a paycheck. If you aren’t passionate about what you do learn what you don’t like and what are areas you do enjoy. This will help you identify your next career move that you’ll find more happiness in.

Understanding what you don’t enjoy will help narrow the list to help you find your true calling.

See Also: Smart Money Moves in Your 20s

Career Advice for Young Professionals Summary

Set yourself up for success with this career advice for young professionals. Start by hustling at your job and make a 5 year plan. Continue investing in your education and network, network, network. Find a few mentors and sponsors to help coach you and advocate for you. Dress for the job you want, not the job you have. Lastly, don’t forget to learn more about what you like and what you don’t like.

What career advice do you recommend for young professionals? What do you wish you knew when you were just starting your career?

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Feeling Lost In Your Career? How to Find A Mentor & Get Advice To Get Back On Track

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You need a mentor at work to advance your career. Early in your career it’s even more important to have a mentor as you will encounter new situations and need advice on how to navigate them. For example, what do you do when you’re offered increased responsibilities within your team but no raise or promotion with it? What if you get a new manager and like the company but now want to switch teams? Having a mentor during these times will give you many advantages. A career mentor will give you advice and help you navigate situations so that you can advance your career. Here are tips on how to find a good mentor.

What Is A Career Mentor

A career mentor is someone who gives advice to a less experienced person, known as their mentee. They give time and sometimes suggest additional resources to help someone with their professional or personal life and goals. Mentors do not have to be at the same company but they should have general expertise relevant to whom they mentor.

Sometimes mentor and sponsor are used interchangeably, but are they the same? No. Sponsors and mentors play key but different roles when it comes to advancing your career. It’s important to get a sponsor in addition to having a mentor in order to advance your career. Stanford created a quick table that easily shows the differences between mentors and sponsors.

Understanding the Role of a Mentor

So, what does a mentor do? A mentor gives advice to their mentee. Usually, a mentor and a mentee will agree on what cadence they will meet. It may be an hour or 30 minutes once a month or bi-weekly. It’s up to a mentee to come prepared to the meeting. Otherwise, how will the mentor know what advice is needed? As the mentee, identify what you want help with (situations to navigate, career paths, a certain area you want to work on). The mentor then gives advice on this topic. The best mentors have navigated similar situations in the past and have tools to help you better understand the situation.

How Do You Get A Career Mentor

Relationships with a mentor can happen organically or inorganically. The most natural ones tend to develop organically, so how do you put yourself in a situation for this to happen?

Look At Your Professional Network To Identify A Mentor

First, assess your current network to identify a mentor. Who can be a mentor? Not all mentors need to be level(s) above you, but they do have to offer something you do not have. Usually this is expertise but they can also be a very well connected person or someone that is in the room when strategic decisions are being made. A good mentor can also be in a line of business or profession that you may want to get into in the future. Are there people in your network today that meet any of the above? If not, who do you know today that has those connections and can make an introduction?

Ask Your Manager To Assign You A Mentor

You can also reach out to your manager and express interest in getting a mentor. Your manager can then reach out to their network to help make it happen or help you get involved in any formal programs offered by your company. In order for an arranged mentorship relationship to be most successful share why you are interested in having a mentor and what you’re looking for in a mentor. Share something in particular you’d like to work on such as transitioning from an individual contributor to a manager, or if you’d like to work on a particular skill set for your current job. This will help your manager identify a better mentor for you and the mentorship will more likely be successful.

See Also: Advantages of Working for a Large Company as a Young Professional

How Do You Know if Someone is Your Mentor

Mentor relationships can start out formal and informal. In formal mentor relationships, you will have arranged your own mentor or assigned a mentor as part of a formal program. This program is usually run by your company but can be run by other professional organizations you are involved with outside of work. Mentor programs depend on how the organization implemented them. In some, they are very open and flexible and others will have specific topics and goals and a specific timeframe for the relationship.

Formal mentors can also be formed with a mentor or mentee specifically requesting a formal relationship. Either the mentor or mentee can reach out to the other and request to mentor the person or ask to be mentored. In formal relationships, expectations should be set in terms of what the mentee expects and what the mentor expects so that it’s not a waste of anyones time.

In informal mentor relationships you may never define that someone is a mentor / mentee. A mentor may observe a behavior and pull the mentee aside to give advice on how to improve in the future. A mentee may be at a crossroads for a career decision and requests advice from someone they trust.

See Also: 10 Pieces of Career Advice for Young Professionals

How to Ensure A Mentorship Is Successful

It’s a must for the mentor and mentee to agree on the rules of engagement – what you expect from each other and how often you should meet. Both people must trust each other and maintain confidentiality. What is said in your meetings does not leave those meetings.

No matter the origin or formality, it’s important for the mentee to set the meeting agenda. If your mentor suggests a book to read or an exercise to complete, do it and come back with what you learned during the next meeting. Here are more tips on a successful mentorship relationship.

Don’t forget, your mentor is volunteering their time to help you. While they likely don’t expect anything in return, it’s always good to show your appreciation. Remember to thank them for their time and consider getting them a gift once a year as a thank you. Here are a few gift ideas for mentors to show your appreciation.

Have you had a career mentor? What success did you see with your mentor relationship? What recommendations do you have for someone just starting a mentor relationship?