How to deal with that bossy coworker who acts like your supervisor

How to deal with that bossy coworker who abroll-container-transport-system like your supervisorinHow to deal with that bossy coworker who acts like your supervisorKnow-it-all coworkers are one thing, but ones who act like theyre your actual manager (when theyre not) are a completely different beast. Heres how to keep them from controlling your workday.Dont run away - act with compassionThis isnt impossible.In this video, Kathi Elster and Katzu sichine Crowley of K Squared Enterprises answer someones question about a bossy secretary who thinks she runs the office, and what they can do in response.Its tempting to think that you can shut her down, and relieve her of her delusions. Come on, you cant do that. Anyone who gives themselves that kind of self-importance usually feels really shaky inside. So self-awareness is gonna come to this secretary when shes ready to grow. Your best bet is to feel sorry for her. Your compassion will ease her need to be so self-important. I know this is n ot what you wanted to hear, but your anger is only fueling her desire to act out.Say it to their faceSara McCord, a freelance writer and editor, writes about this in The Muse, recommending that you speak up in the moment.After talking about a hypothetical scenario where your colleague assumes control and gives you a boring assignment (and youre annoyed by it), and that she may not realize how you or others on the team feel, McCord explains about the best way to proceedSo, step one is speaking up. She may not realize how aggressiveHeres what were going to do sounds.Practice saying things like, I have an idea for a different approach and Id like to take a more active role in the direction of this project. How about if Maybe shell do a decent job at sharing leadership roles, its just that no one had previously expressed interest. Your first step is to give her a chance to do just that.Remember, they may not always have it out for youPeter Barron Stark is a coach, author, speaker cons ultant, co-creator of The Managers Toolkit and President of Peter Barron Stark Companies.He writes on the organizations website about experience coaching top managers with a difficult relationship, and that when working with difficult colleagues, you should assume positive intent.We dont think that people get up in the morning and say, Im going to be a real controlling, arrogant jerk today at work. We do believe that despite appearances, people try to do their best. Some people have baggage they cart with them. Some appear insensitive and are oblivious to the impact they have on others. Others seem to work in a world of their own and make decisions in a void. Accept people for who they are, and assume that they have positive intent, despite their approach. If you can look deeper and try to understand your counterparts perspectives, youll almost always realize that they are doing what they believe to be best. From there, it is easier to figure out ways to work collaboratively to achi eve common goals.Get your actual boss on boardLolly Daskal, speaker, consultant, coach, author and President and CEO of Lead From Within, writes in Inc. that you should seek additional support.Enlist the help of your supervisor or a human resources manager if your colleagues behavior is interfering with your work. Ask other coworkers who are frustrated with the control freak to support you if your manager resists taking action.

What it Takes to Land Healthcare Admin Jobs

What it Takes to Land Healthcare Admin JobsWhat it Takes to Land Healthcare Admin JobsThe healthcare industry is hot, hot, hot right now and it can be a great area of focus for administrative professionals. Learn what a recruiter in the healthcare sector has to say about making the move from traditional administrative roles to healthcare admin jobs.With strong job growth and rising salaries, its no wonder many administrative professionals are curious about what the administrative healthcare field has to offer. So, what does it take to land healthcare admin jobs?We spoke with Allan J. Gregory, vice president and healthcare practice manager for Central New Jersey with Robert Half (OfficeTeams parent company), to get answers to some of the fruchtwein common questions people have about working in the healthcare sector in administrative positions. Heres what he had to sayQ What advice would you give to an administrative professional looking to break into the healthcare industry? Allan I w ould strongly suggest the professional team with an experienced healthcare staffing agency, so the candidate can best utilize the recruiters relationships in the marketplace to secure potential interviews. Recruiters will be able to open doors for new healthcare industry professionals that otherwise would be difficult to open.Q Is previous healthcare experience often requested by clients?Allan Yes, in most cases it is. For traditional front desk medical office positions, the requirements will be less stringent than those required for coding positions, for example. There certainly will be cases in which a candidate with only a healthcare externship experience will be considered for the front desk, but not generally for a coding position.Q In what ways is the work different for administrative professionals in the healthcare sector than in more traditional business settings?Allan The healthcare administrative professional often will be tasked with learning and understanding the nuances of medical insurance. They will be asked to perform insurance verifications and pre-authorizations as part of their daily job duties. Also, healthcare administrative professionals will generally be asked to work on specialized medical software packages, such as Nextgen, eClinicalWorks and Medisoft, whereas traditional office employees will spend most of their computer time using MS Word, Excel and Outlook.Q How is it the same?Allan Professional demeanor, appearance, the ability to multitask and a customer tafelgeschirr orientation are of paramount importance in both healthcare and non-healthcare jobs.Q What qualities and skills do clients most commonly ask for in administrative healthcare candidates?Allan They want knowledge of EMR (electronic medical records) systems, the ability to handle a high volume of incoming patients and phone calls, and experience within the same specialty area (i.e., a cardiology practice will seek a candidate who has previously worked in a cardiology off ice).Check out our current listings for healthcare admin jobsADMINISTRATIVE HEALTHCARE JOB LISTINGSQ What type of education is sought after by employers?AllanFor the administrative healthcare professional, specialized healthcare administrative coursework is preferred, but not necessarily required. For those seeking medical coding positions, Certified Professional Coder (CPC) or Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) are highly desired and valued.Q What positions are in greatest demand?Allan Medical receptionist, medical front desk coordinator and medical secretary, along with medical coders.Q What trends are you seeing in the healthcare industry that will affect hiring demand this year?Allan The ACA (Affordable Care Act) has given access to many individuals who may otherwise not have visited a doctors office or hospital. Due to this increase, healthcare administrative staff requirements have also increased, along with the workload that follows this increase in patient visits.Q What do yo u enjoy most about working with candidates and clients in the administrative healthcare field?Allan The administrative healthcare field is full of wonderful, caring individuals who have chosen this field to help and assist others. You will find the employees and managers tend to be friendly and welcoming.This post has been updated to reflect more current information.

Why You Always End Up Hating Your New Job - The Muse

Why You Always End Up Hating Your New Job - The MuseWhy You Always End Up Hating Your New Job This is it, you tell yourself excitedly as you accept the offer. This is where youre meant to be. Your boss is going to be amazing, your work is going to be exhilarating, your future incredible- its all up from here. Until it isnt. You thought everything about this new gig was going to be perfect, but it turns out, you were so very wrong. Again.Just like your last job (and the one before that)- you thought it was going to be worlds apart from you were just doing, and maybe, for a brief second, it was- until it suddenly became terrible and unendurable, and you must face the fact that you made yet abedrngnisher mistake. If your track record leaves much to be desired, it might be to time to consider that you may be the problem, or at least part of it. If youre looking for perfection, your quest will be unending. The perfect boss, job, colleague, work environment just doesnt exist.Yes, ideally y ou will enjoy what you do, have friends at work, and mostly feel good about your employer. Just because things dont go as planned, it doesnt give you license to start the search all over again with the hopes that youll find something better. If you do that every time you disagree with or are disappointed with someone in your workplace, youll find yourself in a revolving door of jobs.Instead, if you want to maintain your sanity and advance your career, youve got to figure out how to weather challenges so that youre making the most of every position, and only moving on when its the right move for your career. After all, its easy to explain constant resume changes when theyre the result of a new opportunity. It can get really tricky to explain all those moves when the only motivation is your dissatisfaction. Here are some ideas to help you break out of this cycle1. Agree to DisagreeSometimes your boss will make a decision or request something from you that you dislike. If it isnt uneth ical or harmful, then its not worth quitting in a huff. Ask yourself how you can get something out of the situation thatll benefit you. Maybe youve been appointed to a committee youd rather not be part of. Will you meet at least one new person, and can you view that as beneficial? Maybe you got assigned a crap project while your colleagues got the enviable ones. What can you do to make the unappealing assignment better? If nothing else, can you handle it quickly and leave yourself time to focus on something you do like?If you find yourself in constant disagreement with your manager after a year or so, you might start putting out feelers for a new gig. Its still not worth doing something rash if things are otherwise fine. Better to buy yourself some time to sort things out and build your reputation.2. Manage PeopleColleagues making you crazy? Instead of running for the exit, set boundaries. This is an incredibly important soft skill to develop for your long-term career. Keep conversa tions short when youre busy. Close your door or block out time on your calendar to minimize time with problem colleagues. Politely decline invitations to spend extra time bonding outside of work. Keep your nose to the grindstone, turning out great results. Some of those obnoxious colleagues may find their way to different pastures if you can just wait it out. Why should you be the one to bolt?Meanwhile, look for new people in the organization you can connect with. Youve no doubt heard that employees with a work best friend are happier and perform better than those without. So look for someone that you click with- someone whose company you enjoy. That friendship may help you both be better and happier employees, in part because you can help one another maintain a sense of perspective with your workplace and save your energy- and resignation letter- for situations that actually warrant it.3. Build the Right RelationshipsSpeaking of relationships, its important that your relationship w ith that work BFF is a healthy one. If the only thing that brings you together is your toxic attitude toward everyone else, well, you may not be any better off than if you had no friends at work. Make sure your office buddies are supportive and encouraging and not constant complainers. While they dont have pretend to love everything about the company, they should have some positive things to say some of the time. Surrounding yourself with optimistic and positive people will help you avoid the work blues. Bear in mind, too, that the best and most supportive person will grate on your nerves or disappoint you eventually. Instead of washing your hands of him or her and marking one more hash mark in the I should quit this job column, try just taking a bit of a break from your friend. Use a few of the tactics from the previous section to stay busy and unavailable for a couple of days. During that time, remember that youve made a few mistakes in life, and your friend may get annoyed with y ou sometimes, too. Think about the things that make your friendship work. When youve calmed down and put things in perspective, then you can reconnect. Just make sure youre truly ready to move past the issue. Otherwise, your career path is destined to be a lonely one because perfect humans just dont exist. 4. Be PatientFor at least a minute. If your awesomeness isnt rewarded with a raise or promotion the minute you think it should be, make sure you understand whats typical and voreingestellt at your place of employment. Its possible you arent eligible for advancement until youve reached six months or a year. Also bear in mind that if youre going to ask for recognition of some type, youd better go into that meeting with evidence of your effectiveness or youll be branded as entitled, presumptuous, or just plain obnoxious. A better approach than worrying about a raise right out of the gate might be to tell yourself youre going to use your first year on the job to build. Learn everythin g you can about your role and department as well as the company. Go above and beyond on assignments. Build your relationships across various departments. Document as you go, and youll be in a good shape to request a raise after youve put in at least a year.Being miserable all day is no way to work. But its crucial to keep some perspective and to recognize when youre creating or at least contributing to your misery with unrealistic expectations of perfection and glory. Before you pack it in, ask yourself if its really the job thats a problem. Can you adjust your mindset and your habits to make life better? Sometimes, making a few small adjustments in your own behavior makes the rest of the world look very different. That healthier and more realistic outlook can put you back in the drivers seat of your career, making changes strategically instead of impulsively. And that one change- strategy versus impulsivity- can be the difference in your long-term career trajectory.