Consultancy Center - Berkovitsa, 1 Atanas Kyurkchiev Str., Block "Kom", floor 0
Mrs. Lyudmila Filipova, director of the Consultancy center
Work time:
during the winter period (1st November to 31st March) Monday - Friday from 16:00 to 18:00
during the summer period (from 1st April to 31st October) Monday - Friday from 17:00 until 19:00
Phone: +359 890943741
e-mail: berkpro.robg@abv.bg
Consultancy Center - Craiova, 21 Jiețului Street,
in the building of the Library of Dolj County "Alexandru and Aristia Amman"
Mr. Lucian Dindirica - Director of the Consultancy Center
Work time:
Monday - Friday from 08:00 to 16:00
27.03.2025
HOW TO DEAL WITH A COLLEAGUE CRITIC
"Colleague Filipov tried very hard, but..." You know that this is how colleague Ivanova will start her speech after you present to the boss and the team the proposal on how to work on a new project. Not that he has anything against you specifically. She is like that - from the eternal critics.
Ivanova enters the list of types of nasty colleagues, which also includes the mean, the envious, the gossipers and the like. But critics are first and foremost unpleasant people who can be very useful if you use them correctly.
Instructions for use
In it, the first thing is to change your point of view. Ivanova is a good professional. She participates in the team and has an interest in the success of the task you will all be working on. Assume that by criticizing, he wants to contribute to your proposal, not (only) demean it and shine in front of the boss at your expense. Therefore, you should not come into conflict with her. You need to turn the confrontation she starts into a productive one.
Knowing Ivanova to be a critic, prepare yourself mentally that she will definitely speak out. Once you have this expectation, you will not go into "battle mode", i.e. retort sharply and scold yourself. You will patiently listen to her, thinking that she wants to present a different point of view. And you will try to learn something new, extract something valuable to enrich and improve what you offer.
So would the boss who assigned you to develop the proposal, present it to the team and discuss it. But when you voluntarily show yourself open to hear criticism and take what is useful, you are undoubtedly an excellent professional, able to cooperate with colleagues. You do not consider yourself overcompetent, you are not offended by remarks, you are not stubborn about yours, you are ready to change.
Demonstration of curiosity
In fact, why not be ready? People have different views. Your colleague's understanding may seem incomprehensible or wrong at first, but it is unintelligent to dismiss it just because it doesn't match yours. On the contrary, try to procrastinate with questions. Ask them kindly, carefully, showing a genuine desire to learn why she thinks the way she does and what exactly she's suggesting.
Communication specialists advise that you definitely create this attitude - that you will demonstrate a good-natured curiosity towards the critic Ivanova, instead of making her out to be a slanderer and a fool who nags for the sake of sport.
Gently ask her "How did you get to this position", "What do you think we should do", "What specifically do you suggest". Approach constructively, create an opportunity, ask her to express herself in substance. In this way, it will be known if there really is another point of view and another solution. If not, the critic herself will fall into the trap.
Even if you are completely sure that Ivanova will point out completely irrelevant things or nag, arm yourself with patience. Then it's even more important not to lose your temper and argue with her. Let her expose herself, your boss will probably cut her off. Or at least it will become clear to everyone how devoid of content her criticism is.
It is usually very difficult to hold back when someone is nagging and devaluing one's work. But promise yourself that you will do exactly the same with Ivanova, because in this way you will use her obsession with criticism to your advantage.
Think of confronting her as wrestling with the machines at the gym. You will sweat there, but it is good for your health and beauty. Here, too, you will sweat from efforts - to get something valuable from the criticism or not to quarrel with the petty nagging Ivanova, but this is beneficial for your career.
By the way, if your colleague is a good professional and always criticizes, but with the intention of improving the team's work and achieving greater success, use this in advance. Consult with her even before you present your proposal to the boss and others. Ivanova will be flattered, because critics like to ask them for their opinion.
The Franklin effect
Earns and the so-called Franklin effect. You can read about it in detail, but in short - ask the hostile person for a favor in order to change your attitude and his attitude. It is deeply rooted in the mind that a person helps his family, his friends, people with whom he has similar views. If you want a favor from this person, then he falls into one of these categories. If he does you a favor, then for him you also fall into one of these categories.
So ask Ivanova for a favor to change her attitude. If she tells herself in advance her objections to your proposal and you comply with any of them, she will feel respected. And either she won't criticize you, or her pathos will be far less.
26.03.2025
IN WHICH CASES ARE WE ENTITLED TO UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT?
According to Art. 54c of the Social Security Code, cash benefits for unemployment are paid monthly in the month following the one for which they are due, for a period determined according to the duration of the insurance period during which the persons were insured for unemployment, for the time after 31 December 2001, as follows: up to 3 years of work experience - 4 months; from 3 years and 1 day to 7 years – 6 months; from 7 years and 1 day to 11 years – 8 months; from 11 years and 1 day to 15 years – 10 months; over 15 years – 12 months.
According to Art. 67 of the Labor Code, the employment contract can be concluded: 1. for an indefinite period; 2. as a fixed-term employment contract. In Art. 70, para. 1 of the Labor Code provides that the final employment acceptance of the worker or employee may be preceded by a contract with a trial period of up to 6 months. The main purpose of the trial period is the party in whose favor it is arranged to ensure that the work is suitable for the person concerned, that it is performed according to the conditions and requirements set by the employer. The employment contract can be concluded for an indefinite period of time or as a fixed-term employment contract. Until the trial period expires, the party in whose favor it was agreed may terminate the contract without notice - Article 71, Paragraph 1 of the Labor Code. After the trial period expires, the term of the contract remains in effect.
In Art. 54a of the Social Security Code stipulates that persons for whom insurance contributions have been paid or are due in the "Unemployment" fund for at least 12 months in the last 18 months before the termination of insurance and who:
20.03.2025
WRONG WITH YOUR INTERVIEWER'S NAME?! BIG FAIL. TRICKS TO REMEMBER
He mutters something as you shake hands. He tells you his name because you are meeting for the first time. It doesn't give you a business card to read it. You're kidding a bit about who exactly you're dealing with. And it is important for you to convince him of something, to make a deal.
Then don't be shy about asking him for his name, apologizing that you didn't hear him well. You have a better chance of succeeding in your intentions if you repeat it often. If you get it wrong, you torpedo the meeting.
Most people like to hear their name. Psychologists explain why - for each person, it is the most essential connection with their identity and individuality. By repeating it, you shorten the distance. You stop being two strangers, you build closeness. You make the impression of an attentive, kind, even warm-hearted person who can be trusted.
Do not hesitate to address your interlocutor by name often, this trick has been proven to work, advise communication experts.
However, there is an exception where you should refrain - the person has a strange last name that you suspect he does not like. For example, Gazibarov. In such a case, you can artistically suggest that you talk to each other in small names.
It is very important to pronounce the name correctly. You should not only remember it when the person introduces himself, but also pay attention to where he puts the emphasis. At the same time, it is not necessary for the name to be unfamiliar and complicated - a mistake is allowed even with Todorov.
Don't be afraid to ask how the name is pronounced when someone hands you a business card in Latin and you're not sure how to read it.
The second problem is how to remember the name.
"People's names are not a priority for our minds," the scientists point out. for us or is friendly. And the name is not essential to this judgment."
It is precisely for this reason that it is customary for business people to exchange business cards on a first meeting. When your interlocutor is alone, put it in front of you and quietly look at it. When meeting with several people, arrange the cards in the order in which the people are sitting across from you.
When giving a verbal introduction, it will be easier to remember the name if you repeat it while looking the person in the eye. Saying it out loud has been proven to help you remember it. And when you look the person in the eyes, you naturally connect a name and a face.
If the name is hard to pronounce, repeat it slowly. This will allow the interlocutor to correct you to say it correctly. You won't look stupid. You will give the person the impression that you care if you know their name. He will feel respected.
Experts advise you to practice if you are one of those who have a hard time remembering names.
You can create a system. The most basic is to imagine something related to the name. Boyadzhiev, Hlebarov, Kovachev, Tsvetanov are blessed. For Ivanov, Georgiev, Dimitrov and many other common names, build associations. For example, Radev as the president, Ivanov as the neighbors' family, Petrunova as your colleague, etc.
Some people say seemingly illogical things when meeting: "Emilia? That's my niece's name." In this way, the person articulates out loud the association he is building in his mind to remember the name. It also shares something personal and throws another bridge to intimacy.
When the last name is difficult to remember, you can introduce the person as a friend (it doesn't have to be true) and ask to be called by their first name. However, consider whether the situation allows for such intimacy.
And you will be pleased when the interlocutor calls you by name. To make it easier, when introducing yourself, introduce yourself slowly and clearly. Don't count on him remembering your name, even if you've met before. Better to repeat your name yourself. Otherwise, you put him in the awkward situation of asking you and pretending that he didn't remember you because he has a bad memory or because he didn't think you were important. This is a false start for the conversation.
19.03.2025
HOW NOT TO ALLOW ANYONE TO ANNOY YOU AT WORK
You will have more success in your work and you will live happier if you get used to the thought that from time to time your boss criticizes you, makes you notes, annoys you, you get into some contradictions with colleagues and partners. Scientists are inevitable to get used to the thought that negative emotions are inevitable. They explain that the secret of spiritual peace is in accepting negative events and feelings as an integral part of everyday life.
Researchers have found that by the sample method and the age error, people naturally reach this conclusion. They become more patient, less angry and suffer shorter when they meet a bad attitude. It is usually said that they are wise.
These results once again confirm a study involving 340 people between the ages of 21 to 73 years. Everyone had to answer questions related to the way they feel every day and the extent to which they accept their emotions. Analysis of the answers shows that the ability to accept increases over the years, and the power of negative emotions decreases.
You do not have to wait to grow old to learn to welcome more peaceful insult, anger, sadness, guilt. The earlier you have to accept these emotions, the easier it will be to control them and will not be left to their destructive power. You will be cooler, you will make more correct decisions, your behavior will be more pre-remedied and adequate to situations.
This means, instead of rejecting negative feelings, to get used to that they exist. Do not deny what you are experiencing, as bad as it sounds, however nice you are to admit to yourself - hatred of the boss, contempt for an incompetent colleague, annoyance from work, etc. The goal is to change your relationship with a negative feeling, psychologists explain. In this way, you engage in the negative emotion, but you can also overcome it more easily.
Scientists specify how acceptance works and why it is useful. It reduces the affect by two connected processes.
The first is that you give yourself the opportunity to admit, name and understand your negative emotions. With this, you encourage compassion for yourself, and hence psychological and behavioral flexibility.
The second process is that acceptance decreases the "preference" of negative feelings and so -called. Metamines. This is what the effects of the type "angry I am angry" are called. They do not help to deal with the initial negative emotions, but deepen them.
Although intricately interpreted by scientists, the psychological effects of admission are generally a clear life. Everyone knows that anger is a bad advisor. Everyone was nervously nervous, and then he said "well, why should I have so much."
However, many people fail to follow the behavior of acceptance, because engaging in negative emotions initially enhances their subjective experience and suffering. In an acute situation, they most often act in one of the two opposite ways: either throwing out - anger, eating out, grilling, crining, or suppressing a negative feeling.
Both ways are equally unproductive in terms of social relations and health, psychologists explain. Acceptance is actually a reaction, with the right one that can replace much more effectively, the outburst and the suppression.
Let's say your boss made a note because you are late for work. You feel offended - muttering for half an hour today, and forgets that yesterday you had to stay 2 hours after working hours to do an emergency task. This injustice is angry with you. You are affected, you say something immense to the boss, or just in mind you "come up" for a few hours. What do you get? Or complicated relationships with the chief because of his angry reaction. Or you are torturing and working for a few hours less efficiently.
Acceptance means to name your feelings: you are offended and angry. This will strengthen your suffering. But it is also a kind of expression of emotions and at the same time you will experience compassion for yourself. This reaction will help you experience more negative feelings.
However, you should not fall into self -pity, but to show flexibility - to quickly get rid of insult and anger. What will you achieve by suffering from insult? Haring yourself, the boss of this will happen to him.
To give the will to your anger before the boss will not lead to anything good.
An important part of accepting negative emotions is not to condemn, not to try to "return it" to the one who has caused them to you. At least not right now.
In the case of the remark about the delay, your boss is as straight as you are wrong. If there is a working time, it must be observed and part of its obligations is to keep track of it. Well, not only the beginning but also its end must be observed. Instead of being angry, you think about what your long -term behavior should be - is it worth making extra effort, working with this manager and in this company.
However, this is a matter of analysis that you only do after you have realized and accepted your negative emotions. Whether you are an account and how often you experience them in your work.
The productive behavior is to consider that they are an inevitable part of professional life, but also to put a measure beyond which their quantity should not pass because there is a threat to your health.
13.03.2025
7 TECHNIQUES TO CAPTURE UNKNOWN COLLEAGUES
You're so tired that you'd rather go home after work than go to that event your partner or competitor invited you to.
Make an effort and go, otherwise you will make a big mistake.
Even the cocktail is not entertainment, but part of your official duties. If it is a company you work with, they will write you a black mark for the absence, because they will consider it disrespectful.
Also, there is no doubt that communicating in an informal environment helps business. By meeting colleagues from a competing company and with other people in the industry, you will learn interesting things that will be useful for your career. You might hear that there's a job opening somewhere that's right for you, and you might consider a job change.
Many people do not like going to informal events, not because they do not appreciate their importance, but because communication does not come easily to them. This skill is learned and you will quickly become cute with simple tricks.
Most of them are very common, but you need to understand well how you should apply them to have the desired effect. And some are quite different from what your mother taught you were brought up to do.
The proper way to get together informally is to consistently appear welcoming, not sullen. When you see someone you know, don't immediately burst into a smile. Look the person in the eye for a second or two and then smile slowly. It's called "hearty", which means sincere, although your smile should reach another organ - the eyes.
This is the way for the person to understand that your smile is not some frozen grimace, not for everyone around, but meant for him. They call it those seconds of delay.
Staring, especially at a stranger and even more so from a woman to a man, is considered indecent. However, this is a daring technique to introduce a colleague at an event. He will notice your insistence, be interested, and probably talk to you himself. Surely he went with the same purpose - to communicate. If he doesn't, you approach, introduce yourself and strike up a conversation. This is not only permissible, but mandatory in such places. There is not much benefit in talking only to acquaintances and not making new contacts.
Specialists advise, for example, not to simply introduce yourself as "Georgi Vlaikov/Bilyana Antonova, financial manager at...", but to add something about the position and your company in order to arouse the curiosity of your interlocutor.
There is nothing to stop you from even saying "your admirer" at the end if you are really getting to know a person in the profession whom you admire. It is not a "dump", but a normal way of professional communication.
There are usually enough people experienced in communication who create groups around themselves even when they find themselves in a completely unfamiliar environment. Choose a company you want to join. Come closer and listen to what they are talking about. Wait for a line to latch on to and slip into the conversation gracefully. If you have found something relevant and intriguing to say, you will immediately engage in the most natural way among the interlocutors.
When you approach a colleague in this way, with whom you meet on your own initiative, you shower him with your positive aura and help yourself with difficult first lines, which are often too prosaic. They are, of course, important to strike up a conversation, but by showing joy you have already made 80% of the good impression to make contact.
It looks like adjusting to the interlocutor, and it is exactly that, but it is not indecent, but very useful, especially in the first moment of acquaintance.
In the second, absorb everything said and catch clues to his preferred topics. By talking about something he likes, you will become closer. Well, he might love it so much that he can't stop, and you'll have to listen mainly. But consider whether it's worth it and how to elegantly get out if it's not.
If you want to continue the conversation, but without actively participating in it - for example, not to tell anything about your plans or about your company, but it is important for you that the colleague from a competing company says as much as possible, do not shy away from parrot repetition. When your interlocutor falls silent a little, do not pick up the topic, but repeat his last words "So you've been working on this all day." That way you put the ball back in his court, then all you have to do is listen.
When you are in a larger company, recall stories that the person has told you or that you have witnessed and they can shine with them. He'll appreciate your gesture of making him the center of attention, and he'll be yours.
--- Slightly extravagant advice ---
Experts recommend that you make it easier to communicate at an informal gathering by making an effort to stand out from the crowd of other people who will be attending.
Wear something unusual that will get you noticed, will give people a reason to approach you and ask what it is. It could be an interesting badge/brooch, say.
Look around at other people - unusual things about them are also an opportunity to get to know each other. It's not rude. Since this trick is not unknown in business circles, this is probably why people excel at something.
However, it is imperative that you keep your highlighter in moderation so that you don't look ridiculous.
12.03.2025
10 WAYS TO MANIPULATE ELEGANTLY
Convincing and getting what you want is an art. Some people seem to be born with this talent, others have to work hard to learn to be charismatic.
There are a few tricks that will make it easier for you to inspire trust in your interlocutors. They operate mainly on a subconscious level.
The first condition is that you yourself do not feel nervous during the conversation. So manipulate yourself.
In any meeting, the beginning is important. Therefore, you should make an effort to make it as pleasant as possible.
Sometimes you have to start a conversation in a public place.
During the conversation itself, you can help yourself with tricks.
06.03.2025
5 PHRASES YOU SHOULD NEVER SAY IN FRONT OF YOUR BOSS
In two employees with approximately the same abilities, knowledge, experience, who put in similar efforts and achieve approximately the same results, self-confidence often turns out to be a decisive factor for promotion. The reason is the impression they make on the boss when they get their assignment.
It's clear that he doesn't like his subordinates grumbling "Ah, that can't be done" or complaining to him about how overworked they are. Lack of enthusiasm is not a good certificate and does not lead to career advancement.
However, the boss is also influenced by the degree of self-confidence he sees in the employee. Because he knows very well that it matters how a person is set up at the very beginning - whether for success or for failure. If, before starting a project, he believes he can, he is much more likely to do it than if he thinks he won't do the job effectively.
Therefore, self-confident people advance faster in the profession and climb higher in the service hierarchy. One reason is that they don't let anything stop them and are driven to achieve their goals. And the other is that they pass this on to their boss. He begins to think of them as employees who can handle anything.
In other words, if you seem insecure, annoyed, and hesitant when given an assignment, you're already scoring a minus. You may do a great job, achieve greater success than the manager expects. But no wonder he thinks that it happened due to a good combination of circumstances, and not thanks to your abilities and efforts. Your colleague, who immediately demonstrated self-confidence, has already been imprinted in the head of the boss as a person who knows what to do.
Career development professionals who have spent years studying successful leaders and employees say that at least 5-6 phrases are completely foreign to them. Everyone exudes a negative mindset. Several of them are a direct sign of hesitancy. In others, a lack of enthusiasm is evident, and the external or internal resistance so hated by any superior.
"It won't happen" you have the right to say only if you are ready to ironically motivate yourself why it won't happen. Otherwise, the boss will rightly think of you as a pessimist who is probably too lazy to work.
A variety is "It's impossible". Are you sure? Difficulties are challenges that a self-confident person is not afraid of, but finds a way to overcome. Yes, some things are truly impossible. But your boss is not incompetent and is aware that the task can be done. You are giving him a doubly bad impression, because not only do you sound like a pessimist who is probably too lazy to work, but you also make him look like a fool who wants some chimeras.
"I can't do it" means admitting that you don't have the necessary knowledge and abilities. If so, make an effort to acquire them. Otherwise, the boss, having heard this phrase several times, will be quite right to think about the dismissal, and not about your promotion.
You can say it only if it is really about something very complicated and difficult, for which you are 100% convinced that you are not up to it. And in this case, however, it's better to say "I'm not sure I'll be able to do it, but I'll try and do my best."
Personal and career development experts advise building your self-confidence by starting to say to yourself "I can do it" often. Over time, you will believe that you are capable of achieving anything you ask for. If you need proof to brag, make a list of things you've mastered and overcome. There are probably examples in your life that you can overcome any challenge.
For the boss, the phrase "I don't know how" is harmful. If you don't know how, find out. Find someone who knows to help you. The employee who deserves promotion believes that he must constantly improve himself, seek new knowledge and skills, because they are the way to achieve more. And this is his commitment and ambition. There's no point in bothering your boss that you don't know how to complete the task.
However, this does not mean that he does not ask questions to clarify what he should do. Only a fool does not ask when he has not understood the goal or needs to specify details about the methods of achieving it, say. But the boss is not your governess to lead you by the hand. Do not reveal to him what you do not know. And if it happens to be clear to you, say "I don't know how, but I will figure it out". This is exactly what a person who believes in his powers does.
It is not good to answer the initial question "Will you succeed" with "Do I have any other choice". This is reconciliation. Even when he is forced to accept a task that is not interesting to him or that overwhelms him, a self-confident person does not show resignation to his boss. He explains what it will cost him to succeed, and thus makes it clear that he is ready to make certain sacrifices, for which he expects a corresponding reward.
And don't say to yourself "I have no other choice". For a good professional with self-confidence, there are always opportunities, you have to look for them. By telling yourself that there isn't, you limit your own thinking.
No matter how you phrase your "That's not fair" thought in front of your boss, you'll still be wrong. Yes, he gives you another task, and you've had enough. But if you think you can't do them all well and on time, explain exactly that and motivate yourself why. Otherwise, you are telling your boss that he is not a good manager and cannot distribute work fairly.
You have no use for this confrontation once you take the task. You're just making a bad impression right from the start. Finally, even if you do better than your co-worker who didn't complain, your boss will probably prefer him for a promotion.
------- And the errors of the self-confident -------
They are mainly of two types, and while you don't make a bad impression on your boss with them, they hurt yourself.
One type of mistake involves the complete conviction that "It's done this way." It feeds your self-confidence. But it is possible that this conviction will play a bad joke on you. The more open your mind is to other ways, the more easily you accept the new, the more chances of success you have. Otherwise, you get stuck in a routine, you get stuck.
If you very often think that you know exactly how things are done and don't even consider that there could be a different way, your self-confidence has reached a level where it is already hurting you.
The second type of mistake comes from being overconfident in front of the boss when he gives you a task and he thinks you will handle it easily. True, you score a plus at the very beginning. But if you overdo the dose of self-confidence, he gets the impression that you do everything without effort, that you don't have enough work, that he can burden you more and more.
It is dangerous to appear to magically pull successes like a magician pulls rabbits out of his hat. It's to your advantage that the boss thinks that, yes, nothing really can stand against you, but it's because you work hard for him.
So find a way to let him know that you face problems that you overcome, that you have to come up with new things, even stay after hours, to get everything done in the best possible way.
For this purpose, it is wise to consult with him from time to time and show him that success does not fall from the sky. This will remind him that you are an employee who gives his best and is worthy of a promotion - in salary or in the hierarchy.
05.03.2025
A SCIENTIFIC ALGORITHM IN 6 STEPS TO DEAL WITH ANXIETY AND SUCCEED IN YOUR CAREER
38% of people in the world find a cause for strong anxiety every day. He is recognized in a large-scale sociological study.
Very often concerns are about work - a difficult task, a competitive market, unpleasant colleagues, a damn chief. Sometimes it is a little thing, but as the anxiety is constant, it increases the level of stress and destroys health. Otherwise, in principle, there are people in the world who always live carelessly, and never has any anxiety.
For dangerous constant anxiety, the real reason is that many do not set an end to their suffering, eliminating the problem that is its source. They are not masochists - few are the ones who love their constant state of self-pity. Most people just don't know how to act.
Scientists at the Australian National University say they have developed an algorithm that allows a person to cope with any anxiety. And to benefit from it by solving the problem of its benefit.
Because the great weakness of carefree people is that they prefer to ignore problems. Thus, they do not live in constant suffering caused by chronic anxiety. But they are not happy, because their problems exist and prevent them from achieving the best.
The algorithm of Australian scientists seems relatively simple because it includes only six consecutive steps. At first, they are really not complicated.
The most difficult in the algorithm is step 5 - it includes the so -called. SWOT analysis, popular technique for strategic business management. The abbreviation comes from the English words Strengths - strengths, pluses, Weaknesses - disadvantages, Opportunities - opportunities, Threats - dangers. When you look at each of the possible actions, you will decide which to choose in step 6.
It will be easier for you if you divide one sheet vertically into two for the analysis of each possible action. In one column one below the other, record the pros and capabilities, and against the other - the disadvantages and dangers.
If you are thinking calmly from 1 to 6, you will probably deal with the problem that causes you anxiety. This will always encourage you to use this algorithm.
After the first success, be sure to write down did you help yourself and how. This way you will gain experience and gradually get used to automatically thinking how to eliminate your worries.
If you fail the first time, do not be discouraged. Try again. There is no worse than constant anxiety. It can only get better by learning to deal with it, using it for your development.
