In theory, great managers should be like mentors to all members of their team, counselling and supporting staff as part of their ongoing responsibilities as an inspiring and passionate leader.

In reality, though, great managers are extremely scarce, commonly lacking any thread of passion due to being consistently stressed and time-poor.

However, some do possess the necessary skills and competence whereby mentoring comes naturally or at the very least, has been practiced enough to integrate into their daily routine.

A true mentor, however, must have relevant credibility including qualifications, skills and experience in order to gain and maintain such a position.

Of course, good mentoring is much more than teaching and offering support. It takes a certain type of communicator who is professionally minded, guiding one with detail and focus, yet with a human enough approach to inspire and motivate on a personal level.

Mentoring is often tailored to be appropriate to particular individuals rather than a more blanket fashion which might be applied to a group. Imparting information is straightforward enough, but developing a comfort level, two-way understanding and connection is where good mentoring shines.

The best kind of mentor will ask questions and encourage their pupil to do the same. They will provide regular feedback and take the time to constructively unpack areas of concern or uncertainty.

A good mentor considers their pupil an investment, whereby they have a duty of care and personal and professional stake in the outcome of the mentorship. If the pupil isn’t grasping something adequately, a good mentor will persist until he or she does. This might materialise by changing tactic or explaining in more detail and using varied examples, or simply with continued practice.

Good mentors are patient, thorough and passionate in their practice. They should understand that each pupil is different and will possess his or her own finesse rather than being a clone of the mentor.

An exceptional mentor will understand that, occasionally, they themselves might learn new approaches and ideas from their own pupils and should embrace rather than resist where appropriate, for even the best mentors are still open to continually learning.

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If you’re of the mindset that brown nosing the boss and elbowing your colleagues out of the way is the right technique in obtaining that sought after promotion, you might like to rethink your strategy.

Transparency in the workplace generally holds far more weight than game playing and sly moves, so, aside from quality work and good time management, the key to heading on up is open, respectful and positive communication and behaviour.

Actions definitely speak louder than words when it comes to being noticed for promotion. If you’re spending much of your time boasting about how well you’re doing or how bad someone else is doing, chances are you’re being noticed for the wrong reasons, while someone else is busy achieving results.

Noticeable effort and improvement are often among the strongest elements on an employer’s checklist. A competitive edge certainly isn’t a bad thing, and it’s fine to possess that drive for success, but it should never be dirty or at the expense of others. In other words, keep on wanting and striving, but always play fair.

The fundamentals certainly never go amiss either, so don’t hold back from putting in extra hours and getting ahead of your workload so you can ask for additional tasks or assignments or to help others in some way. Just don’t ever let your motivation be for ego-based attention or to show your colleagues up. It’s usually fairly obvious when that’s the case and it’s not an appealing impression.

If you can somehow manage the balance between remaining on top of your own jobs while willing to also help your teammates with an overall calm, diplomatic and friendly disposition, you’re certain to be heading in the right direction for promotion.

Asking the right questions and always keeping interested and engaged will add to the right mix, as will punctuality and willingness to participate in all things save for workplace gossip and disrespectful behaviour.

It can also pay to politely let upper management know, if appropriate, that you are interested in certain internal opportunities which may arise, so that you’re placed on their radar when it comes to staff planning.

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In the workforce, skills and qualifications alone are not necessarily enough to excel. Self confidence is imperative in maximising those skills and driving yourself and your work into the foreground for the greatest exposure and results.

For some, self confidence is inherent and comes easily. For many others, however, it is an elusive quality which seems far from reach.

Shyness, self-consciousness, low self-esteem and anxiety are rife these days, and very often in the workplace. All is not lost, however, as there are several helpful techniques.

Building self confidence is essentially facing fear. It’s initially tough and feels scary, but with practice it lessens, and more confidence emerges.

Practice is, therefore, the definitive keyword. If you lack confidence in speaking with colleagues, for example, then start engaging with them more and more frequently. You might hate how it first feels, and those fears will emerge, but they will lessen if you push through it and keep going.

Find any reason you can to be social or make contact with your co-workers and run with it in spite of your trepidation. These peers form an important part of your experience within the company, so building confidence among them will contribute to building your confidence at work overall.

If meetings and presentations are your weakness, carry your social practices into this area as well and rather than being the wallflower, be the opposite. Engage and interact. Pretend you feel bold and courageous as if it were a performance. Some find it helpful to pretend they are someone else. The idea is you learn how to convey self confidence and after lots of practice, it becomes your own useable skill.

If your job requires you to interact with clients or customers, focus on the service or product you are offering rather than yourself. If you ensure you know your service or product inside out, then you are simply a conduit for imparting the information. Remind yourself that it is not about you, and focus on the client’s needs. By practising this focus technique, your delivery will become stronger and less self-conscious.

If you are applying for jobs, some self confidence is necessary to convey competence, edge and tenacity. It is, of course, normal to feel nervous during a job interview so most employers will make some allowance for that.

One technique for quashing those nerves is preparation. If you thoroughly research the position and the organisation, you will go in armed with knowledge, and that fuels self confidence. Going in blindly with uncertainty only fuels the nerves. Practising answers to potential questions is another way to feel prepared.

It is also helpful to remember not to waffle during an interview, which nerves can encourage. Listen carefully to the questions and be clear and direct in your responses. Don’t veer off in random directions but do engage with interest and enthusiasm.

Again, the more interview practice you get, the more self confident you will become.

The term social media has, understandably, lead many to believe that its sole function and purpose is socialising.

What many don’t fully appreciate is the likes of Facebook, Twitter and particularly LinkedIn can be very effectively utilised to network, make important job contacts and discover job listings and opportunities.

LinkedIn is not simply a site to upload your CV for your current connections to peruse. It is an intricate networking hub where you can search companies of interest while discovering who works where and who does what. In turn, you’re able to introduce yourself to these employers with a view to being considered for future opportunities.

One great aspect to LinkedIn is it will tell you if your current connections have any relationship to the organisation’s you’ve got your eye on. If so, it means you can ask your connection for a formal introduction, which LinkedIn is geared to help generate.

A formal introduction from someone who knows you, and knows them, is many times more effective than going in blindly. And LinkedIn is there to help you unearth these connections which you would otherwise not likely realise you had.

Moreover, with your resume and work history already neatly packaged as part of your profile, LinkedIn contacts don’t have to ask or search for your credentials. It’s made easy for them and for you, and there are even industry specific forums where you can chat and make connections that way.

Additionally, Twitter is more useful for job networking than some might think. By pro-actively following companies and establishments in your realm of interest, you increase your chances of hearing about opportunities which may be announced as public tweets.

You are also able to compose your own tweets informing your followers that you’re in the job market and looking to make contacts. Twitter is very direct and to the point, and others may even help you in re-tweeting your original posts for further saturation.

Meanwhile, Facebook, while being the most truly predominantly ‘social’ of the three sites, still presents opportunities to job network.

A status update advising you are job hunting in a particular area, for example, can alert a connection who knows somebody who knows somebody else working for a business offering the perfect opportunity.

It’s quite often our casual acquaintances or very distant connections who are our most valuable when it comes to networking, as they present potential entry into whole other worlds of which we are not part of. So never dismiss even the most remote of connections, as they could be your next ticket to the right opportunity.

Fairfax Media announced the joint venture in Australia with leading international job search engine Adzuna in January 2014. Adzuna is now Fairfax’s primary online job listings brand in Australia.

In October 2014 Fairfax Media transitioned its MyCareer online jobs board to Adzuna (www.adzuna.com.au), a leading international job search engine.

Following on from this merge we are proud to announce the transition of Jobs.com.au to Adzuna.

From May 2015, the job search and alert functionality provided at Jobs.com.au will be migrated to Adzuna.

Adzuna is a job search engine which makes it easier to find the right job for you. Adzuna searches thousands of websites and brings together hundreds of thousands of ads so you can find them all in one place. Adzuna provides a consolidated and comprehensive view of Australian job listings, powerful and targeted search, as well as real-time employment market data and social job hunting tools. It is a compelling alternative for recruiters and job seekers and is an innovative step forward in the evolution of the Australian recruitment and job search market.

We look forward to you finding your next job on www.adzuna.com.au

Your career is a lifelong journey. It’s something much bigger than just the industry you work in, or the current job you hold. 

Your career is a series of work, life and learning experiences that you undertake. It’s the journey that helps you to reach important life goals.

However, all too often we make career decisions that are short sighted and based purely on emotion; you don’t like your boss, you’re busy competing against others for that next promotion or you don’t get on with one of your colleagues.

What may seem like a little decision now could have bigger consequences to your career pathway in the long run.

Here are 5 career mistakes to avoid:

1.    Choosing a career for money rather than job satisfaction

Don’t make the mistake of measuring your success on how much you earn.

You spend a lot of time at work and so it’s really important that you like what you do.  Look to pursue a career that matches your skills and passions, and evaluate what you personally want from a career. Make sure you consider the bigger picture and don’t focus solely on the here and now.

2.    Avoiding challenges and making mistakes

One of the worst things you can do in your career is to avoid a challenge. Sure it’s daunting, sure you might feel nervous or a little uncomfortable to start with, but putting yourself in challenging situations enables you to learn and grow as an individual.

Everyone makes mistakes; it’s how you learn from them that really matter.

3.    Not investing in yourself

At the end of the day you are the boss of your own career, and the only person that’s really accountable for your success at work is yourself.

In today’s market place you must work hard to stand out from the crowd. While hard work and passion will help you progress, enhancing your skills and knowledge by investing in training or qualifications will help to move your career in the right direction.

While investing in your career may cost you time and money now, it can bring career rewards in the long run.

4.    Waiting for something to happen

Today’s workplace is competitive and more often than not you have to be proactive in going after what you want.

If you wait around for the right moment to ask for a raise, to step up and take on more responsibility, or to do that extra training – you could miss out on opportunities.

Once you’ve taken the plunge and been assertive, you’ll feel more confident in going after other things you want out of your career.

5.    Not maintaining a healthy work life balance

“I’m really glad I spent all those evenings working late, and so little time hanging out with my friends and family”, said no one, ever.

According to The Australia Institute think tank, the balance between life and work is deteriorating for 4 out of 10 people, with Australians donating $110 billion in free labour every year.

If you are in the habit of working late and weekends then make a start by addressing your work life balance by:

• Creating an exercise plan you stick to
• Scheduling in dinner dates with friends and family
• Remembering your passions and making time for them every month

Avoid these 5 mistakes and you will progress in a career that you are passionate about, and enjoy a balanced and healthy life.