Professional Networking Tips for Facebook - Your Career Intel

Professional Networking Tips for facebook inc - Your Career IntelSocial media continually offers groundbreaking opportunities for amplified connectivity, and leveraging the right platform is key to your success in our digital age. facebook inc, among the frontrunners on todays social networking platforms, has traditionally been viewed as a personal network for sharing daily updates, engagement announcements and vacation photos with friends and family. With a reach that is far greater than LinkedIn, the social networking powerhouse can be one of the most dynamic tools for professionalsif used correctly.Since Facebooks scope is far more extensive than other social media platforms, it has the potential to be more effective than LinkedIn in building stronger professional relationships. In moving from a solely business association to that of a personal connection, a deeper personal relationship has the opportunity to mature in the greater sense of social networking. With smart use, Facebo ok proves a viable networking tool for job seekers and seasoned professionals. It is important, however, to remain cognizant of the diverse audiences you are reaching. Maintaining personal privacy while networking with both friends and business contacts may seem daunting, but the below tips will help you leverage the platform to your advantage.Tips for effectively leveraging Facebook for professional networking opportunitiesManage your privacy settings The key to effectively managing your Facebook activity is to keep your personal and professional feeds separated. You can easily achieve this balance by updating your privacy settings to reflect the information that is visible to viewers of your profile. When polishing your profile, know that the privacy of status updates already published cannot be modified. You will therefore need to delete posts or photos you arent comfortable sharing with a network that extends beyond your inner circle of friends.Clean up your image Despite heig htened privacy settings, ensure that your profile image is professional and reflects the industry in which you work. Marketing careers and creative roles allow more freedom, while accounting and financial professionals are better suited to photos more conservative in nature.Create interest lists You now have the ability to create custom lists and specify the content that users in each list can access. Effectively manage these groups by adding appropriate contacts to each list, whether they are friends, family members or potential networking connections. In the same way, adjust your profile settings by selecting who can see particular details of your profile page. For example, photos from a recent family vacation should be kept private and shared with friends and family. On the other hand, updates from an industry conference you attended would be information worthy to share with professional contacts, serving as the beginning of a conversation.Post relevant content Share content th at is relevant to your industry, career search or professional field. Your top scores on Candy Crush and latest acreage acquisition on Farmville provide little to no value for industry leaders. Limit the number of photos you post and disable widgets that send unnecessary and automated requests to connections, such as Causes, Gifts and Birthday Calendar.Be a connector There are people on your Facebook friends list who could benefit from being connected to each other. Recognize the opportunities to introduce connections and be willing to reach out and initiate the interaction. The overreaching goal of your networking efforts should be to forge stronger relationships that deliver results for both parties.Do you cross the social media airwaves between personal and professional networking? If you have leveraged Facebook for business purposes, I would like to hear how you have found success in optimizing your profile and making these connections.

How to Conduct a Long Distance Job Search - Jobscan Blog

How to Conduct a Long Distance Job Search - Jobscan BlogPosted on February 8, 2016October 23, 2018 by Satinder Haer The world has seen an increasing shift towards globalization. The market for job seekers however, appears to have been left behind during this shift. The time when a college graduate would find a company and platzsettle in for 20+ years is gone. With the shift towards globalization, it comes as no surprise that employees want to change jobsand drehortsfrequently. Despite how increasingly common it is for job seekers to be in search of a role in a location different than their current one, the process is often very frustrating and complicated.If youre looking to re-locate and hoping to find a job in your new location before you arrive, consider ansicht helpful tips on how to conduct your long distance job search.Before You Begin Your Job SearchLearn about the city nothing is worse than launching a full scale job search in the city of your dreams, only to realize your dre ams were not founded in reality. Take the time to research the area that you are interested in relocating to you may discover that youre not a fan of the weather, culture, vibe, besucherzahlen or any number of other geographically dependent factors.Develop a relocation budget its important to know how much your move will cost, both so that you can prepare and to determine whether or not youll need to negotiate a relocation budget. Many employers do not offer relocation packages to candidates so putting together a rough estimate of how much youll need to cover the cost of moving your furniture, transporting your family, any lease termination fees you may occur if youre breaking a contract early, future move-in costs (including the deposit and the first months rent), and the potential cost of vacancy if you plan to rent out your current home.Create a timeline having a clear understanding of your timeline for moving can help you determine when to begin job searching and scheduling visi ts. If your move is pre-determined by a spouse or partners job, youll likely have a firm date by which you have to move. Plan to begin job searching at least 3 months before that date. If your move is contingent upon finding a job, begin searching as soon as youve tied up any loose ends that would prevent you from moving if you landed a job within the new couple of weeks.Determine job opportunities certain locations lend themselves better to jobs in a specific field or industry. If youre looking for a tech job, youre more likely to have success in Seattle or San Francisco than you are in Memphis. Do a couple of quick searches to see the volume of positions that match your skill set in your desired location. If the volume is thin, you may have to expand your search to nearby areas or reconsider your location choice.Make a list of target employers another way to approach a job search, especially early on in your career when youre not locked into a niche, is to target companies youd li ke to work for, rather than seek out specific roles. If youre just looking for roles within a broad category, such as Marketing or Legal, begin compiling a list of the major companies and employers located in your future city. This way you can check all the company websites frequently and scan for any open roles within your desired department(s).During Your Job SearchGet creative with your address one of the major hurdles to job searching long distance is the lack of a local address. Employers will usually prioritize a local candidate over a relocation candidate if their skill sets and experience are similar. Most will even use their applicant tracking system (ATS) to automatically screen out candidates with non-local zip codes. Luckily there are several ways to address thisLeave your address off your resume altogether. If youre submitting resumes electronically or posting them on job boards, you can usually get away with only listing a phone number and email address. Your resume is more likely to slip through the ATS filters without a zip code at all than one from a different state.Borrow a local friend or relatives address to list on your resume. While its a little dishonest to list an address where you dont actually reside, listing a local address can often get you in the door and begin a conversation. In the initial phone screen, the recruiter or hiring manager may confirm that you live in the area or ask if youve recently relocated (since most people include the location of their previous jobs on their resume). In these cases, honesty is usually the best policy. The hope is that once the employer is interested in hiring you, discovering youre a relocation candidate will not deter them from continuing the interview process.Put a votum at the top of your resume that states your intent to relocate to City, State. The appearance of the city and state name may help you appear in ATS searches run by the recruiter or hiring manager, and will help make your inten tion to move clear. If youre moving because your partner needs to relocate for a job to that area, it can be helpful to clearly state in your intention statement that your family will be moving to City, State on Date and youre looking for positions in that area.Look at career pages on local colleges/universities while these resources are usually designed for graduating students, they can be a great starting point. Even if the jobs listed are not a good fit for your skill set or are too junior, you can get an idea of which companies exist in the area and launch your search on those company websites. You may even be able to get a name and phone number for a contact person within the company and use it to get your resume in front of a recruiter or hiring manager.Network, network, network as with any job search, networking is critical. While networking is harder from afar, technology makes it possible. Use Linkedin to research and find individuals within your network that currently live and work in the area where you want to move. Use individuals in your existing network to get an introduction to 2nd and 3rd degree connections that dont already know but want to connect with. If you will be in the area where youre looking to move, set up coffee meetings in advance of your trip with any individuals who are willing to speak with you about the local job scene.If youre able to connect with any hiring managers within companies that you are interested in, ask for an informal interview the next time youre in town. Use it as an opportunity to introduce yourself and learn more the company. In the event that a future opportunity opens up within the company, youll be one step ahead of your competition before you even submit your resume.Put your resume online put your address on job boards and indicate clearly on your profile that youre looking for jobs in the City, State where you are moving. Recruiters often use job boards to source candidates having your resume up on job bo ards allows recruiters to contact you if youre a good fit for a position.Long distance job searching can be tiring and stressful, however, the end result is often an exciting new job opportunity. Taking the time to research and conduct a through job search, even from afar, can help minimize the stress and increase your odds of success.Facebook Commentswpdevar_comment_1 span,wpdevar_comment_1 iframewidth100% important

Travel Should Employers Foot the bill Upfront

Travel Should Employers Foot the bill Upfront Tis the season for turkey, garland, football andtravel? Well, of course. Between Thanksgiving and New Years Eve, millions of people will be traveling for the holidays. And the same is true for the geschftsleben world, holiday season or not. With any type of travel, whether for business or pleasure, there are associated costs. Plane tickets, hotels, rental cars, foodthe list can go on and on. And while associated costs may mirror one another for both business and personal travels, one area differs drasticallywho is footing the bill.herbeie me out Unless youve just received a very generous, all-inclusive vacation package as a gift, fruchtwein people have to pay for their personal travels upfront and out of their own pockets.Yet, in many instances, when a worker is required to travel for business, he or shenot the employermust foot the bill upfront and th en wait to be reimbursed by his or her employer. This is especially true for workers who dont frequently travel and/or dont have set spending accounts at their disposal.So, for a personal trip I must use my own funds and for a work-related trip I must also pay out of pocket. You may be thinking, Well youll get the money back once youre reimbursed, but this wait period is precisely my point of this article.When it comes to requiring employees to travel, should employers foot the bill upfront? Should a worker be required to use his/her funds to cover a business trip and then wait for his/her company to reimburse the individual? Or if a company wants its worker to travel, should it set aside funds to cover all expenses upfront?These questions came about after a discussion with a family member who recently had a required multi-city business trip approaching. She was required to fly into one city for a meeting, drive two hours to another city for a meeting, drive one more hour to a third city for a final meeting and then fly home. Her company required her to cover all expenses (including the rental car) and it would reimburse her afterward. Between gas, food, hotels and flights, its obvious to see that this wasnt going to be an inexpensive trip. But, should workers have to use their personal money now even if its going to be returned later?A study showed that 66 percent of U.S. business travelers have extended a business trip for a personal vacation and many employees required to travel for work treat their business trips like mini vacations.Even if this is the casea worker using business trips for his/her pleasure as welldoes it mean its justified for a company to require its workers to use their personal money to fund a work trip?Think about it Many Americans are barely holding on in these tough economic times with a vast majority freelancing, working part-time and taking on extra jobs just to make ends meet. It may be a huge inconveniencemonetarilyfor a worker t o have to give up a chunk of his/her funds to cover a business trip, especially if the trip was thrown at him/her suddenly and/or the required travel is around an already busy and monetarily draining season like the upcoming holidays. Now the worker has sacrificed his/her personal funds for the tripmoney their household(s) most assuredly needsand has to wait for HR to reimburse them. And we all know how quick HR can be when it comes to reimbursement.Im not sure if companies consider a workers financial stateand the fact that they dont even know what their workers financial states arewhen they say, Hey, you need to cover XYZ travelling expenses and well pay you back. What if a worker simply doesnt have enough money to cover the required trip? Or really cannot wait for X amount of days or weeks to be reimbursed? Although companies can tell workers I owe you bills and life expenses dont understand the phrase.Is requiring an employee to cover business travel expenses and then wait to be reimbursed a good business practice? Why or why not? Share your business travel experiences below

5 Pro Tips for Finding a Remote Job

5 Pro Tips for Finding a Remote Job5 Pro Tips for Finding a Remote Job Theres nothing like waking up each morning knowing you dont have to compete with traffic, fight people on public transportation or even rush to get dressed. My last position was as a Mobile UX Architect, and in that position, I was able to work from home 100 percent of the time. Thats right - every day I worked from home, eight hours a day. Every morning, I went to the gym, cooked breakfast and chatted on the phone with my retired mother before starting my work shift. I had never been so calm in my life - a stark contrast from when I was traveling 90 minutes to work each way in my previous role.When I resigned from that job, I vowed to myself that I would only search for and consider remote jobs . Luckily, as an informationtechnology professional , it was easy to find remote job options. AsI began my search, I developed my own remote job search formula. This helped me not only maximize myopti ons, but also helped me save more money - when you work from home, you skip out on so many hidden work expenses like gas, eating out for lunch and dry cleaning for formal clothing.Sound like a dream? You too can find remote work if you search dailyutilizing these six key components.The key to finding a high-paying remote position is identifying which job titles and cutting-edge skills you need to have in order to work remotely. Professions like information technology (IT), engineering, healthcare, customer service , project management and recruiting can often be done remotely. But keep in mind that fruchtwein high-paying remote jobs also require you to know how to use webinar technologies, online database systems and document repositories.As I searched for a remote job, I discovered many companies use different terms to describe remote working. I took note of this and began to use all of the following terms in my searches remote, work from home, virtual, telecommute and par tial remote . When you search by these keywords individually, youll find all types of positions that may fall under the remote work umbrella - much more than if you were to just search one term. Most of the time, only one of these keywords will appear in the job title, for example, Project Manager (Remote) or Project Manager (Telecommute). Once you identify the right keywords, its time to pair them with relevant jobs. In my search, I wanted to narrow my results to roles like Project Manager, Product Manager, Senior Consultant and Product Owner, so I tried variations like Remote Project Manager, Telecommute Senior Consultant and Work From Home Product Manager. I also paired these keywords with relevant skills, like Remote Agile, Telecommute WordPress and Work From Home Sharepoint.By default, most job sites use your location to narrow down the available jobs by your city, state and/or zip code.But when you search for remote jobs, you should double check to make sure that this fiel d is either blank orchanged to Remote . This way, youll widen your search criteria and receive more relevant results. After all, most companies wont require you to live in the same state or country as the companys headquarters.Most popular job sites, including Glassdoor, allow you to create job alerts , which notify you of new job openings based on a specific job title, salary or location. These alerts might come in the form of a daily or weekly email, or a mobile app notification. When I actively looked for a remote job, I created an alert for each remote keyword listed earlier and each job title I was interested in - for example, Remote Project Manager, Telecommute Agile, Work From Home, etc.Thousands of companies hire large numbers of remote workers. Amazon , Dell , GitHub , IBM and Humana are just a few of the many popular private sector companies who offer remote information technology, healthcare or customer service opportunities. In my search, I also discovered, app lied to and interviewed with companies I had never heard of that loved to hire remote professionals. The appeal of work-life balance helped me stay open-minded to both small and large organizations.The key to career happiness is finding what works for you. Personally, I find Im happy working in my pajamas and having the freedom to get things done at home for my family. It may take a while, but dont give up on finding a remote position. If you dedicate a couple of hours a day to searching for and applying to opportunities, you might justbe enjoying your new remote lifein no time.

Top questions you should ask in an interview in order to raise eyebrows

Top questions you should ask in an bewerbungsinterview in order to raise eyebrowsTop questions you should ask in an interview in order to raise eyebrowsJob interviews are laced with questions that give the interviewer the opportunity to get to know A) if you will be an astischset to the company and B) if you will fit into the company culture. As a prospective hire, use the interview as an opportunity for YOU to ask questions that will not only show how your character aligns with the company mission but, shows the interview kollektiv that you care about their long-term strategy and are already thinking of how you will align with it to ease the pain that keeps them up at night.Talent Acquisition specialists have as many as 80 or more resumes for each position and may not know enough about a specific role to understand your transferable skills. They must streamline the interview process of find top talent to forward to hiring managers and look for reasons to eliminate as many borderline candidates as possible. Mix speaking and listening 50/50. Your main goal is to put down all the red flags. Seek to interview with the actual hiring manager as often as possible.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreRed flags that interviewers use to eliminate candidatesDoesnt have the skills.Lacks experience.Cant adapt.Less preferred.No finesse. Flat rolleality. Not a leader.ArrogantWont stay long and will continue to look for another job.Wont fit in.Too passive. Wont motivate.Not a strategic thinker or problem solver.No executive presence.Will discredit me as the hiring manager.Will undermine me as the hiring manager.Top questions you ask on the interviewPick the ones that make the fruchtwein sense to you but ALWAYS include the last one.Could you describe the type of employee who fits well with the organization?How are the goals set for the department?How long was the last person i n this role and where are they now?What is your biggest challenge as a leader in your position? What keeps you up at night? (This will give you their pain that you want to help solve. Offer ways that you can ease that pain.) My goals is to work without a lot of oversight so you can go back to the work you need to do. Be the low maintenance problem solver. Offer details of what you would do to help. Be specificWhat can I do in this role to make your job (or the hiring managers job) easier?What is most important to you when considering a new member to your kollektiv?How would you describe the culture here? What is the companys management style?What characterizes the most successful people in this company?What significant changes has this company gone through in the last three years? What is the organizations plan for the next three years?What are the companys strengths and weaknesses compared to its competition?If I were in this position, whats the most important thing I could accompl ish within my first 90 days? (This is your opportunity to delineate your plan for the first 30-60 and 90 days. Be sure to be prepared to share this even if they do not ask. They will be impressed that you did your research.In my research, I have learned that your company values are ____. They dovetail with my personal values. (Give examples.)Describe your team in three words.What is your team doing that makes this open role exciting?Where do you see the person in this position in three years?What types of personalities mesh well with the team?What are your teams strengths? What are the opportunities or gaps within your team?How long have your employees worked for the company?(ALWAYS end with this question.) What stands out that would keep me from being the top candidate for this position? (This shows you have grit. This is where you hope they will state any concerns they have about you such as not having been employed in a while. You likely know what the concerns are so come prepare d with an answer.)Mary Lee Gannon, ACC, CAEis an executive coach and corporate CEO who helps busy leaders get off the treadmill to nowhere to be more effective, earn more, bemore calm and enjoyconnected relationships with the people who matter while it totenstill matters.Watch her FREE Master Class training on Three Things to Transform Your Life and Career Right Now atwww.MaryLeeGannon.com.Top questions you should ask in an interview in order to raise eyebrowsJob interviews are laced with questions that give the interviewer the opportunity to get to know A) if you will be an asset to the company and B) if you will fit into the company culture. As a prospective hire, use the interview as an opportunity for YOU to ask questions that will not only show how your character aligns with the company mission but, shows the interview team that you care about their long-term strategy and are already thinking of how you will align with it to ease the pain that keeps them up at night.Talent Acqu isition specialists have as many as 80 or more resumes for each position and may not know enough about a specific role to understand your transferable skills. They must streamline the interview process of find top talent to forward to hiring managers and look for reasons to eliminate as many borderline candidates as possible. Mix speaking and listening 50/50. Your main goal is to put down all the red flags. Seek to interview with the actual hiring manager as often as possible.Red flags that interviewers use to eliminate candidatesDoesnt have the skills.Lacks experience.Cant adapt.Less preferred.No finesse. Flat personality. Not a leader.ArrogantWont stay long and will continue to look for another job.Wont fit in.Too passive. Wont motivate.Not a strategic thinker or problem solver.No executive presence.Will discredit me as the hiring manager.Will undermine me as the hiring manager.Top questions you ask on the interviewPick the ones that make the most sense to you but ALWAYS include t he last one.Could you describe the type of employee who fits well with the organization?How are the goals set for the department?How long was the last person in this role and where are they now?What is your biggest challenge as a leader in your position? What keeps you up at night? (This will give you their pain that you want to help solve. Offer ways that you can ease that pain.) My goals is to work without a lot of oversight so you can go back to the work you need to do. Be the low maintenance problem solver. Offer details of what you would do to help. Be specificWhat can I do in this role to make your job (or the hiring managers job) easier?What is most important to you when considering a new member to your team?How would you describe the culture here? What is the companys management style?What characterizes the most successful people in this company?What significant changes has this company gone through in the last three years? What is the organizations plan for the next three y ears?What are the companys strengths and weaknesses compared to its competition?If I were in this position, whats the most important thing I could accomplish within my first 90 days? (This is your opportunity to delineate your plan for the first 30-60 and 90 days. Be sure to be prepared to share this even if they do not ask. They will be impressed that you did your research.In my research I have learned that your company values are ____. They dovetail with my personal values. (Give examples.)Describe your team in three words.What is your team doing that makes this open role exciting?Where do you see the person in this position in three years?What types of personalities mesh well with the team?What are your teams strengths?What are the opportunities or gaps within your team?How long have your employees worked for the company?(ALWAYS end with this question.) What stands out that would keep me from being the top candidate for this position? (This shows you have grit. This is where you hope they will state any concerns they have about you such as not having been employed in a while. You likely know what the concerns are so come prepared with an answer.)Mary Lee Gannon, ACC, CAEis an executive coach and corporate CEO who helps busy leaders get off the treadmill to nowhere to be more effective, earn more, bemore calm and enjoyconnected relationships with the people who matter while it still matters.Watch her FREE Master Class training on Three Things to Transform Your Life and Career Right Now atwww.MaryLeeGannon.com.

Meaningful Employee Recognition on a Budget

Meaningful Employee Recognition on a BudgetMeaningful Employee Recognition on a BudgetMeaningful Employee Recognition on a Budget Chinsky MatusonMeaningful employee recognition as a means of keeping employees engagedand focused has never been more important as during these tumultuous economic times.People are being asked to do more with less, work with the equipment on hand and be on-call evenings and weekends in case there is a spike in business.And while budgets are tight all around these days, that doesnt mean you cant afford to recognize your A-players, the employeeswho give their all. Here are some ways you can provide employee recognition on a budget.Think Outside the GiftboxIts been over 15 years, but I still recall the day the president of a small business that I worked for called me into his office to tell me how pleased he was with the job that I was doing. He then handed me two front row tickets to a traktement out concert of one of my favorite artists.I must have shared t his story with dozens of people, as this was a memorable gesture.Now imagine what would have happened had he chosen instead, to hand me a check for $250. I would have walked out of his office with a very different feeling and most likely would have started looking for a new job.What struck me most about this event was the effort the president took to get to know me and then track down tickets that were next to impossible to get. He sent me a message - I mattered.Think about what is important to your top performers, the people you are recognizing. It may take more effort on your part, but the results will be worth it.Give Credit Where Credit is DueIts nice to be recognized, especially when the recognition takes place in front of peers or important customers. Seek out opportunities to acknowledge an employees efforts in front of others.For example, if an employee has done extensive research to sort out a customer problem, be sure to let the customer know who was responsible for resol ving the issue. If possible, make sure the employee is in the room when you convey this information.Provide Employees with Growth OpportunitiesWhat better way to recognize superior employee performancethan to reward employees with opportunities for growth?There are a number of ways you can do this. Reimbursing employees for seminars and classes that will prepare them for more responsibility in your business will let them know they are valued.Putting those who are performing well on high profile projects is anotlageher way to signal to this person that they are a keeper. Encouraging employees to take an idea one step further lets them know you have confidence in their ability to innovate. And then, of course, you can promote an employee who has demonstrated they are ready for the next step.The Significance of Little ThingsThere are plenty of ways to recognize and reward employees for a job well done that will still leave money in the account to make payroll.A nice bouquet of flowers or two tickets to a baseball game is one of many low-cost ways you can praise someone for a job well done.As employees feel the squeeze of having paychecks not going as far as they used to, most will truly appreciate being taken to lunch by the boss or having lunched served to recognize team accomplishments.The Gift of TimeIn the old days, a gold watch signified a job well-done. These days, time off when needed is as highly-prized, as workers struggle to handle the demands of everyday life.Allow for flexible work arrangementsduring slow periods, give employees permission to leave early or come in late. Extend the lunch hour for an employee who has expressed the need to handle an important family matter during business hours, consider establishing Summer Fridays. These gestures of employee recognitiondemonstrate that you recognize they are doing their best to be fully present at work, even when things at home arent going according to plan.Day Away from the OfficeSmall businesses can afford to do things that big businesses cant. Who doesnt like an outing, especially when its a surprise? Hire a van service to escort your employees off the premises for the day. Ideas for mystery rides include a ride to the outlets (along with envelope for each employee packed with small bills) where you can set your employees loose, or a trip to a special exhibit. Or make plans to attend a matinee, where employees can tritt back and relax after the completion of a major milestone.Saying thank you for a job well done is something that is top of mind for business leaders who are interested in boosting enthusiasm and employee loyalty.Expensive gifts are great, but in the end it really is the thought that counts.2011 Human Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.Author BioRoberta Chinsky Matuson is the President of Human Resource Solutionsand author of the highly acclaimed book Suddenly in Charge Managing Up, Managing Down, Succeeding All Around, a Washington Post Top-5 Leadership pic k. Sign up to receive a complimentary subscription to Robertas monthly newsletter, HR Matters.

Top mistakes people make at work that hurt their productivity

Top mistakes people make at work that hurt their productivityTop mistakes people make at work that hurt their productivityTheres one big mistake people make all the timeWorking too many hoursAs I report in Great at Workin a 2009 survey by Harvard Business School Professor Leslie Perlow and research associate Jessica Porter, 94% of the 1,000 professionals surveyed worked 50 hours or mora a week, and a staggering 50 percent of them said they worked more than 65 hours a week. In a study of high earners, management writer Sylvia Ann Hewlett found that a full 35 percent worked more than 60 hours a week, and 10 percent worked more than 80 hours a week.Working all of ansicht very long hours only makes sense if it leads to better performance. But as Ive experienced first-hand, it doesnt. Early in my career, when I worked at the Boston Consulting Group, I put in 60, 70, 80, 90-hour weeks in an effort to make my mark. One day, I confronted an uncomfortable truth A colleague of mine was getting better results than I was. Her analysis was crisper and more compelling. Yet one evening in the office, when I went to look for her, she wasnt there. I asked a guy sitting near her desk where she was, and he replied that shed gone home for the night. He explained that she never worked late. She worked from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. No nights. No weekends.This colleague was on to something. As my research has shown, performance doesnt increase in a linear fashion with hours worked. Consider this chart.I analyzed the relationship between weekly hours worked and performance among 5,000 managers and employees in my study. Working longer hours enhances performance, but only up to a point. If you work between 30 and 50 hours per week, adding more hours on the job lifts your performance. But once youre working between 50 and 65 hours per week, the benefit of adding additional hours drops off. And if youre working 65 hours or more, overall performance declines as you pile on the hours. (Note these are averages across jobs and industries. The actual numbers may be different in your job, but consider that the shape is similar).Other research has documented the same inverted U. Studying factory workers at a weaponry plant in Britain in 1914, Stanford economistJohn Pencavel found thatperformance topped out at 64 to 67 hours per week, beyond which it began to fall. Consider his chart shown below, and notice how similar it is to mine, even those these are very different data sets.Think about the profound implication of these findingsthe whole entire premise of the worlds work ethic- that harder work equates better results - is basically wrong.Yes, you need to workhard(about 50 hours per week in my dataset), but thats completely different from saying you need to workharderthan others to rise to the top.Whats the implication for all of us? Are you working the right number of hours in the week? Too many, or too few? You should actually determine a number in your mind the optimal aver age number of hours per week to work for me is ___ . Mine is 50. Then comes the most important question of all how can I spend those hours of work better? As the top performers in our study showed,its how they work - and not how much they work - that counted the most to boost job performance.Morten T. Hansenis a management professor at University of California, Berkeley. He is the author ofGreat At Work How Top Performers Achieve Less, Work Better and Achieve More.This column first appeared at Quora.