Alexandra Levits Water Cooler Wisdom What Sets High Performers Apart

Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom What Sets High Performers Apart Were you born to succeed? Not necessarily. As it turns out, even if you’re mid-career and feel you’ve never shined in school or work, you can completely transform your ability to contribute. I recently had the opportunity to meet David Sturt, author of the book Great Work: How to Make a Difference People Love. As he describes in his piece for Forbes, last year Sturt’s firm the O.C. Tanner Institute conducted a fascinating study on high performance work. The organization studied 1.7 million people across all industries, positions, and pay-grades and illustrated that high-performance is less an outcome of traits, but more an outcome of activity. What sets high performers apart isn’t a set of innate traits like perseverance, ambition, or intelligence, although those certainly help. Rather, high performers simply do things differently at work. O.C. Tanner found five specific activities high performers do to drive better results. These are: Ask the right questions Instead of adopting prevailing assumptions, high-performers pause and ask provoking questions that open up new lines of thinking. These questions include: “Why does this take so long?” “Why can’t we…” “What if we could…” See how things work High performers look at business and work in ways others haven’t. They always want to understand what’s working and what isn’t â€" and why. High performers enjoy taking a creation apart, searching for clues, and teasing out value. For the full post, please see Intuits Fast Track blog.

What Does Love Have To Do With Workplace Productivity - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

What Does Love Have To Do With Workplace Productivity - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Ill never forget my first marketing class in graduate school. My professor asked the class for the definition of marketing and we all attempted to give astute answers. I recall confidently answering with one of the most well-known, conventional definitions for marketing described as the four Ps (product, price, promotion and place) and was quickly knocked down for a more concise one: Love your customers. Admittedly, of all the lessons I learned in my MBA program, loving your customer is the one that has stuck with me most. Its wisdom is in its simplicity. It may sound corny, but loving  the source of your business and those who help make it happen is a secret to many businesses success. When you treat your employees and your customers with respect and make them a priority, they tend to reciprocate by being loyal and committed to your business. The most loving partner puts his loved ones needs first, speaks and thinks highly of that person, values her opinions, actively seeks out her approval and in every respect is extremely loyal. To quote my professor, Without your customers you have  no business so you need to know everything about them and consider all their needs as you would in a loving relationship. The most important thing in making your business successful is to fill the needs of your customers and care about their feedback.  A business is essentially reaching out to build relationships with its customers and the process is ongoing. Once a customer feels theyve been neglected, ignored or even worse, mistreated, you may hurt the loyalty youve built and could risk losing the relationship altogether.  Business owners and managers need to stay abreast of their customers’ outlook and never take their loyal customers for granted.  Nurturing relationships with your customers is a crucial part of growing a successful business. Maintaining loyal customers by loving them also holds true for maintaining loyal employees. If you want to improve productivity and increase employee retention, get your employees to love you!  Yes, I said love you. Love in the sense that they are dedicated to your cause and mission, thinking of how they can pitch in so they earn your respect, and desirous of spending time at their workplace. Glassdoors recent study, A Guide to Retaining Employees: The CLIMB Method, found that: Employees want to climb the corporate ladder in order to gain greater success, and employers should help. They suggested these five easy steps in what they call the CLIMB method so that new heights of performance and value are achieved. Challenge Loyalty Investment Measurement Building 1. Challenge.  One of the top reasons employees quit  is due to dissatisfaction with their job duties. If the employee starts a job that is different from  that which was described during the interview process, or if a long-time employee becomes dissatisfied because they are not busy, the end result can mean leaving the company. One of the easiest and least used tactics is delegation. As a leader, it is often faster and more efficient to handle something yourself. This behavior is the worst option, though, especially when you have an employee who needs and wants greater challenges. By taking time to teach and demonstrate what you need from the employee, you are building a challenging work environment for the employee to show their skills. Research shows that Millenials crave job enrichment. Offering employees more learning opportunities will decrease the likelihood of losing them to another firm who offers more stimulating work and job enrichment. 2. Loyalty. One thing you may have heard is that human resources took the “human” out of work relationships. While I don’t believe this is true, what is true is that employment laws that have been written and passed over the last forty years sometimes make people fearful of how much they can share at work. This often creates leaders who are cold and impersonal with their staff. One of the best ways to engage a staff member is to show your human side. Be sincere and honest as you share information with them. Additionally, provide feedback and recognition in a way that is meaningful to that individual. By being more personal with your staff, you will build the loyal relationship that is needed to increase the odds the employee will stay with your company. 3. Investment.  Does your company invest  in your employees? Do you provide training for all employees? Do you enhance their benefit options or lead the competition in providing matching funds for 401K plans? A key way to retain your talented employees is by showing that you are willing to give time and money to build their skills or personal wealth. 4. Measurement.  H.R. analytics  is top of mind for many HR professionals and business leaders today. Why? HR holds all the data on employees, and yet it is one of the hardest to obtain data due to lack of analytic tools. Whether it’s performance feedback, employee opinions, medical benefit usage or other data-based questions, employers need a way to collect this data in a timely and efficient manner if they are ever going to be able to analyze and use the results. As an employer, you need to do all you can to provide experiences that are not only based on measurement, but also provide opportunities so that people can  be  measured. 5. Building.  This may be the single most important step in retaining your top employees. Building is the way you not only look at their performance and value today, but it’s also the way you demonstrate your commitment to growing the team so that the existing superstar has opportunities to lead in the future. Many employers fail to recognize that it pays to develop strategies for retaining top talent as  they invest a huge amount of time and resources recruiting employees. That seems to be the consensus according to a new survey by the  American Management Association. They surveyed nearly 1,000 companies and discovered that most arent concerned about losing their employees. Heres what they found: Many employees have expressed their intention to seek a new position. How do you regard such sentiments? 69 percent:  Its nothing new for employees to keep an eye out for new opportunities, and I dont regard the present situation as something unusual.   24 percent:  This is a growing mind-set among our employees, and I expect many to seek a new job as soon as theyre able.   7 percent:  This has become a prevalent attitude among our employees and an urgent issue our organization needs to address.   In your opinion, how urgent does your senior management regard the potential or actual turnover situation? 9 percent: Very urgent 30 percent: Somewhat urgent 39 percent: Not so urgent 22 percent: Not at all urgent The problem is, if you ignore the turnover situation, it will become urgent, and then you will be severely limited in who you can hire. Harvard Business Review examines how to motivate people and discovered that while we pay lip-service to the idea that people may have non-financial motivation for their work â€" acknowledgement, appreciation, pride in accomplishment, enjoyment and so on â€" we spend all our time working out how to  incentivize  our workforce with financial rewards. Charalambos Vlachoutsicos says, “In my experience  by far the best way to motivate your employees is to find ways that they can take pride in their skills and their knowledge. When you do this, you very quickly discover that people stop being passive followers and start to share their insights and ideas. Instead of being loyal to their pay checks they become loyal to the company.” Taking an interest in your employees (by showing you are willing to give time and money to build their personal wealth) pays off in terms of building loyal employees who feel valued and therefore dont want to leave thereby reducing turnover. Great managers recognize that its their job to motivate their employees. They understand that the best way to lead, motivate and coach is to build a relationship with them. Communication is a powerful tool that leadership can use to create an environment that generates motivation. Fostering a strong relationship with employees parallels require that both parties believe that the others opinion matters, they have  mutual respect, and are committed to assisting the other person achieve success.  Communication provides information, makes employees feel important and recognized, and provides the glue that binds a workforce with their leadership and their organization. Communicate with transparency, authenticity, and clarity. Whether you have a scheduled morning meeting each day, make office rounds in the afternoon, or take your team to lunch, make it a priority to make time to talk to each and every member of your team on a regular basis. You may be busy, but, the truth of the matter is that you really cant afford not to,” Gordon recommends. The most successful coaches and best motivators  are those who develop meaningful relationships with their employees. Love for your work is obviously not the same as love in a romantic relationship but there are some parallels: A loyal employee is concerned with the businesss reputation and strives to spread good news about the firm. He shows appreciation for what the firm does for him and lets others know about his positive experiences there so the word often gets back to his manager.  The loyal employee works at enhancing the corporate culture, spends his energy seeking ways to better the business and is discreet in how he criticizes the firm. His main objective for criticism is to improve the firm and therefore he does it privately and strategically. Its the opposite of a one night stand The firm who loves  their employees will provide training and mentorship for new hires and enrichment for those who stay with the firm.  Hiring managers invest their own time in building a good rapport with their new hires and treat them with dignity. They recognize that to get to their sweet spot, where theyll be motivated to go above and beyond the call of duty, they need to consider their employees needs and find ways to accommodate them. Companies who both love their customers and who love their employees are ones who are most likely to be successful and cultivate an atmosphere of creativity, collaboration, innovation and progressiveness.  Heres twenty examples of companies that excel in the love quotient and who serve as models to all business owners! Glassdoor just released its ranking of the 50 best companies to work for in 2013.  20 of these companies are tech companies, including Apple, Google, and Facebook. Glassdoor compiled a bunch of quotes from employees at these firms, explaining why they love working where they work so much. 1. Facebook reaches about a seventh of the worlds population and gives every employee a chance to make a difference Company Rating: 4.7 CEO approval: Mark Zuckerberg, 99% Employee Feedback: “The companys leadership truly believes in Facebooks mission to make the world more open and connected. Teams are small and have a lot of autonomy, and its amazing to see how much of a difference a single person can make at this place.” â€" Facebook Product Manager (Menlo Park, CA) “Everyone there has an opportunity to make an impact. Company moves very fast and prides itself on running lean. This means autonomy and opportunity for almost every employee.” â€" Facebook Sales Director (Menlo Park, CA) “This is the best place in the world to be. Environment is all about engineers. Benefits, management, direction, culture all very very positive items about the company.” â€" Facebook Manager, IT (Menlo Park, CA) 2. Riverbed Technology specializes in networks and networked applications Company Rating: 4.5 CEO Approval:  Jeremy Kennelly, 96% Employee Feedback: “The company is evolving and growing with a cohesive story while capturing market opportunities. Working with a bunch of smart people in an open and collaborative environment is thoroughly challenging, stimulating and enjoyable.” â€" Riverbed Technology Technical Staff Member (Cambridge, MA) “Management maintains the agility and sense of community from when Riverbed was a start-up even as it grows into a billion dollar business.” â€" Riverbed Technology Senior QA Engineer (Sunnyvale, CA) “Exciting place to work with a great culture. Its great to see so many smart people pulling in one direction to get the job done.” â€" Riverbed Technology Product Marketing Director (New York, NY 3. Google received its highest employee satisfaction ranking ever and has tons of great perks. Company Rating: 4.3 CEO Approval:    Larry Page, 94% Employee Feedback:   “Lots of perks and great work life balance! Google really cares about their employees and their products and it shows. Its great to be a part of such amazing innovation, and having the opportunity to work with such great minds.” â€" Google Site Reliability Engineer (San Francisco, CA) “Google is very generous to its employees. Everyday it provides healthy and free food, drinks and snacks. There are lots of recreation and events inside Google. Employees satisfaction rate is also very high.” â€" Google Software Engineer (Mountain View, CA) “The people, the culture, and the constant innovation makes coming to work everyday a fun routine.” â€" Google Account Executive (Chicago, IL) 4. National Instruments has employee perks like on-site cafeterias and fitness centers Company Rating: 4.2 CEO Approval:    James Truchard, 0% Employee Feedback:   “They put their employees first. When other employers lay off in droves, NI hangs on, relying on cash they have consistently put away for the inevitable economic recession.” â€" National Instruments Digital Hardware Engineer (Austin, TX) “NI provides great feedback to employees in a systematic way so you know that you are doing your job correctly or if you need to improve in any way. Parties and happy hours in the office are common place and it is very easy to become great friends with your coworkers here.” â€" National Instruments Software Engineer (Austin, TX) “A youthful company with large growth and opportunities in a city that is good to start a career in. The vision of the company is unique and the upper management understands the need to invest in people (especially RD).” â€" National Instruments Staff Systems Engineer (Austin, TX) 5. LinkedIn fosters a work-hard, play-hard culture Company Rating:  4.1 CEO Approval:  Jeff Weiner, 91% Employee Feedback:   “The growth has been crazy and things are fast and loose as we figure out new space and continue to execute. I love working with so many people who are also working their dream job. You can feel it when you come to work each day.” â€" LinkedIn Employee  (Mountain View, CA) “Great people. Work hard/play hard culture. People care about each other. Nice facilities, free food.”  â€"LinkedIn Human Resources  (Mountain View, CA) 6. Rackspace management really cares about its employees and offers great perks like an on-site water slide Company Rating:  4.1 CEO Approval:  A. Lanham Napier, 98% Employee Feedback:   “Engaging, employee-centric, tech paradise full of energy and taking customer-focused leading edge technology to new places.” â€" Rackspace Product Manager III (San Antonio, TX) “Its a real joy to work with people that share your passion for service in conjunction with a love for technology. Its by far the best place Ive ever worked.” â€" Rackspace Manager (San Antonio, TX) 7. Akamai fosters a competitive culture and surrounds its employees with the best talent Company Rating:  4.1 CEO Approval:  Paul Sagan, 91% Employee Feedback:   “People, Management, Technology, and Customers that you cannot beat combined with good pay for performance, work place flexibility, and driven culture for those who like to compete and win.” â€" Akamai Employee (Cambridge, MA) “Its great seeing a company putting so much effort into getting the best talent. The people here are insanely smart, and the product set gives the company unique leverage to be successful.” â€" Akamai Senior Solutions Engineer (location n/a) 8. Workday employees know how to have fun and produce great enterprise tools Company Rating:  4.0 CEO Approval:  Aneel Bhusri, N/A Employee Feedback:   “Workday is a company full of smart and dedicated people that work their butts off. I love coming to work and being around professionals that are willing to help each other and listen to each other.” â€" Workday, Inc. Principal Consultant (Pleasanton, CA) “Great resources, great people, great culture, and free bagels! There are lots of things to do with Workday, both at and outside of work. We have fun, and we produce. Thats the way it should be.” â€" Workday, Inc. Associate Software Engineer (Pleasanton, CA) 9. Salesforce pays its employees incredibly well Company Rating:  4.0 CEO Approval:  Marc Benioff, 96% Employee Feedback:   “Great compensation, energy and culture. Integrated philanthropy from day one of your job and most managers and teams encourage it throughout your career at the company. Always innovative and usually a safe space to take risks and be creative.” â€" Salesforce.com Employee (San Francisco, CA) “Great compensation, lots of mobility win the company, great coaches among sales leadership. Market leading products and relentless pace of innovation that addresses problems customers didnt even know they had.” â€" Salesforce.com Account Executive (San Francisco, CA) . Citrix Systems provides lots of opportunities for growth within the company Company Rating:  4.0 CEO Approval:  Mark Templeton, 96% Employee Feedback:   “The career opportunities are excellent. Citrix promotes from within the company this means that managers know and understand employees.” “Very flexible and good work ethic, the people here are super friendly and they actually care about their employees.” 11. Orbitz Worldwide encourages its employees to do the right thing Company Rating:  4.0 CEO Approval:  Barney Harford, 87% Employee Feedback:   “Fast paced environment full of A players. Employees get lots of opportunities to innovate. Its the best hybrid of technology company and startup with a strong culture of doing the right thing.” â€" Orbitz Worldwide Enterprise Architect (Chicago, IL) “Orbitz seems to do a lot of promoting from within, so theres a lot of opportunity to grow and advance on both your team and in other departments in the company. Hard work is rewarded.” â€" Orbitz Technology Recruiter (Chicago, IL) 12. Mitre fosters a collaborative work environment Company Rating:  4.0 CEO Approval:  Alfred Grasso, 84% Employee Feedback:   “Very smart people, employees work together as opposed to competing against one another, valuable work, excellent work/life balance, great benefits.” â€" MITRE Lead Communications Engineer (McLean, VA) “MITRE has an extremely collegial atmosphere, where most employees are eager to help others. Education is highly touted and reimbursement is nearly unparalleled in this field.” â€" MITRE Senior International Tech Analyst (McLean, VA) 13. Agilent Technologies encourages both professional and personal development Company Rating:  3.9 CEO Approval:  Bill Sullivan, 76% Employee Feedback:   “Excellent benefits, a pension plan (!), tremendous work/life balance, and generally very skilled and dedicated colleagues.” â€" Agilent Technologies Business Process Analyst (Wilmington, DE) “Professional and personal development are highly encouraged for all employees, even if beyond the scope of your current job function.” â€" Agilent Technologies Firmware Development Engineer (Santa Rose, CA) 14. Intel provides lots of support for its employees  Company Rating:  3.9 CEO Approval:  Paul Otellini, 90% Employee Feedback:   “Education and job support is very important at Intel, which is refreshing. People are always hard working and willing to support someone who has questions or new ideas.” â€" Intel Corporation Safety Engineer (Hillsboro, OR) “Great work life Balance. Lots of Freedom to challenge yourself” â€" Intel Corporation Business Analyst (Folsom, CA) 15. Red Hat makes its employees feel like theyre making an impact Company Rating:  3.9 CEO Approval:  Jim Whitehurst Employee Feedback:   “You get to work with the brightest people in the IT industry. Pay is not bad and you get to work with fantastic open source software.” â€" Red Hat IT Consultant (Phoenix, AZ) “I feel like Im making an impact in the industry, and that my contributions are visible at an individual level.” â€" Red Hat Senior Software Engineer (location, n/a) ?16. Apple gives it employees great products to work on Company Rating:  3.9 CEO Approval:  Tim Cook, 93% Employee Feedback:   “Really great products to work on, exciting opportunities and smart interesting people to work with. There is a strong culture of focusing on the end-user experience and not irrationally obsessing with features/technology.” â€" Apple Software Engineer (Cupertino, CA) “The work you do changes the world. Love it or hate it, people know about your work. Thats more than most can dream for.” â€" Apple Software Engineer IV (Cupertino, CA) 17. MathWorks gives its employees opportunities for professional growth Company Rating:  3.9 CEO Approval:  Jack Little, 82% Employee Feedback:   “Company core values are demonstrated everyday, its not just words on the webpage. One reason I joined was the opportunity for professional growth, not only do they have courses, but the management and employees are knowledgeable and are great examples and mentors for the skills taught.” â€" MathWorks Manager (Natick, MA) “The company has had the same CEO since it was founded in 1984. Jack is building the company for the future and he is someone you want to work for.” â€" MathWorks Marketing Manager (Natick, MA) 18. Qualcomm pays its employees well and co-workers feel like family members  Company Rating:  3.9 CEO Approval:  Paul Jacobs, 94% Employee Feedback:   LIVELY is the word. Your work is well respected. Open door policy helps you to network to everyone in the office. Family like atmosphere. Many new interesting events help you keep energized with work.” â€" Qualcomm Applications Engineer (San Diego, CA) “Great benefits, competitive pay, good people, and a unique company structure and culture that sets things apart from other companies of similar size.” â€" Qualcomm Software Engineer (San Diego, CA) 19. SAP rewards its employees for taking initiative Company Rating:  3.9 CEO Approval:  Bill McDermott and Jim Hagemann Snabe, 0% Employee Feedback:   “The communication is a big factor that works for SAP. Teams can collaborate globally and get projects accomplished.” â€" SAP Sales Support Associate (Newton Square, PA) “There is always opportunity to learn at SAP. I also loved the fact that SAP values and rewards initiative. You can make anything you want out of your time there.” â€" SAP Knowledge Management Employee (Newton Square, PA) 20. Eaton empowers its employees by supporting them wholeheartedly “Management takes care of the employees.” â€" Eaton Leadership Development Program (Cleveland, OH) “This is a great opportunity to really make a difference. I feel empowered and supported by management to make positive changes. The company takes its culture and values seriously. We do business right!” â€" Eaton Product Planning (Cleveland, OH) Author: Beth  is Founder and President of Get Hired, LLC.   She advises students on how to bridge the gap from school to career.  Beth is the co-author of  From Diploma to Dream Job: Five Overlooked Steps to a Successful Career.  Her coaching assists students and career changers to successfully match their needs, interests, passions, skills, and personal goals with the needs of a sustainable industry in a sustainable location.  She is a resource for print and online media and offers workshops for University Career Service Departments, Executive Recruiters, Outplacement Services, College Guidance Counselors and College Alumni Associations. See website for more details about Beth’s services  www.fromdiploma2dreamjob.com.  Beth’s Webinar was sponsored by George Washington University’s Career Services Dept. for their worldwide alumni association:  Leverage Your College Diploma.  You can follow Beth on twitter @BethKuhel

Getting Back into Work After Long-Term Unemployment 6 Tips - Career Sidekick

Getting Back into Work After Long-Term Unemployment 6 Tips - Career Sidekick Getting Back into Work After Long-Term Unemployment: 6 Tips Misc Tips / https://www.edenscott.com/blog With the unemployment rate at a super low 4 percent, many people who haven’t been able to find jobs are going back to work. If you’ve been unemployed for a long stretch of time, you too may be headed back into the workforce. And, if you’ve been out of work for a significant amount of time, you may be feeling a mix of emotions about this next step.It’s normal to feel a heady mix of relief and anxiety (as well as excitement and fear) when you’re heading back into a job after an extended period of unemployment. To soothe your nerves and allay your fears, we’ve come up with a list of 6 tips for easing your way back into a job.1. Adopt work-friendly habits in advanceOne of the perks of being unemployed is the ability to eat, sleep, and socialize whenever you feel like it. Once you have a job, however, you’ll have to adhere to a schedule, which can be a major shock to the system.To soften the blow, once you get your job offer, do your best to s tart getting back into a schedule that lines up with what your work schedule will be.Start eating regular meals, adjust your workout schedule, and start going to sleep and waking up at times that will line up with your new work schedule.2. Pare down your outside obligationsIf you’ve been unemployed for a really long time, your mind might be slightly blown by how tired you are in the first few weeks of your new job. Your body will be adjusting to a new schedule and your mind will be spinning with all of the new things you are learning.So, at least for a little while, take it easy on making plans during your workweek. Whenever possible, plan to pare down your weekday social activities to the bare minimum. Don’t underestimate how tiring it can be to get back into a routine. Remember it’s only temporary. Within a few weeks you’ll be on solid ground at work and will have more stamina for socializing.3. Be humbleOnce you begin your new job, remember that it’s okay to be the rook ie. Ease into your role in the beginning.Set realistic goals for yourself and don’t try to do it all or learn it all in your first week. Enthusiasm is a great quality at work but give yourself some time to be an observer of your colleagues and your environment so that you can learn the flow of things.4. Don’t be a know-it-allLong periods of unemployment can create insecurity in people and light a fire under them to burst through the door of a new job ready to prove themselves. But taking the place by storm might not be the best approach.Remember, you were hired because you have the right skill set. So instead of walking through the door, ready to start taking names and kicking butt, take a deep breath and give yourself permission to start slowly. Ask a lot of questions, and admit that you have a lot of learning to do. This will not only take some pressure off of you but being humble about your knowledge will put your coworkers at ease.5. Get to know your coworkersMaking a friend at work is a great way to begin to settle into a new job. For one, having someone who is available to answer questions large and small will help you feel a little less lost.From simple things like, “Where is the printer?” to more complicated questions like, “Which health plan did you choose?” a coworker will help you get oriented far faster than trying to muddle through alone.Also, if you’ve been out of the workforce for a while, you may already feel slightly out of place in your new job. Making friends with your teammates or colleagues will ensure you’ll have someone to have coffee or lunch with, which will alleviate the anxiety of being the new kid in the cafeteria with no one to sit with.6. Let your boss be the bossIf you have gone back to work in a different field, or have taken a less-senior role in your industry, you’ll have to adjust to your new circumstances. So, while you may have been at the top of the totem pole in your last job, someone else is chief now. It’s okay to share your experience but remember that you aren’t the boss anymore. Let your supervisor do his or her job without having a chip on your shoulder about your current job title.About this guest author:Since 2005,LiveCareerhas been developing tools that have helped over 10 million users build stronger resumes, write persuasive cover letters, and develop better interview skills. Land the job you want faster using ourfreeresume examples andresume templates, writing guides, andeasy-to-useresume builder.

Good luck to William and Kate!

Good luck to William and Kate! Melissa is back from Italy right in time for the Royal Wedding. We stayed up all night, but at 2am, we went over to my neighbors house, because they have a huge TV. Melissa fell asleep. My neighbor, Kathy, stayed up with me. And it was so cozy to sit on the sofa in the early morning darkness watching the wedding unfold. Im fascinated by the royal family. I think it started when my mom woke me up at 3am to watch Diana get married. I woke up for Dianas funeral, and now, Im so happy to wake up to watch William marry Kate. I love the story of a commoner becoming royal. But what Im most fascinated with is the idea of work. How does a member of the royal family find work that matters? Charles floundered for most of his life because he was unable to figure out how to feel significant with his work. For the most part, Kate put any career aspirations she had on hold in order to follow William throughout the courtship. But when the relationship looked rocky, one of the first things she did was establish a career for herself. Being the future queen of England is, maybe, a job. Capturing the heart of the future king is surely a job. The Atlantic published results of a study at Boston University about the perils of huge wealth. In general, the very wealthy (those who have more than $10 million) are extremely anxious about money. And much of that anxiety is about work. Because for the super-rich, work is essentially volunteer. Psychologist Robert Kenny writes about the research: Work is what fills most peoples days, and it provides the context in which they interact with others. A life of worklessness, however financially comfortable, can easily become one of aimlessness, of estrangement from the world. The fact that most people imagine it would be paradise to never have to work does not make the experience any more pleasant in practice. Kate and William will have to build a life where they find purpose in work in spite of their wealth. The other cause of anxiety, according to the study, is love. Its hard to find real love when there is such a real possibility of someone falling in love with the money, not the person. So often we focus on money over love, like relocating away from the person we love in order to get a big increase in salary. But if you dont have that risk because money is not the issue, then what are the issues of love? The issues of love and work seem so stark and unfettered in the context of royalty. Its why I was glued to the television for hours, smiling in spite of no sleep. I want William and Kate to succeed, and I want to watch them. I think Ill learn something about crafting a life that matters.

The Advantages of Writing Short Films Using a CV Shake Software

The Advantages of Writing Short Films Using a CV Shake SoftwareWriting short films has become a lot easier and less expensive than it used to be with the advent of a new software application called CV Shake. The Cogill resume writer software has made it possible for one to turn their creative writing skills into cash by submitting their work on sites like craigslist, online film communities, and creating web series based on their written material. All of this is accomplished without the need for any additional equipment or writing experience. This all-in-one video and CV stand-alone application can make it very easy to earn money from your writing.How does the CV stand-alone application to accomplish this? One benefit is that it automates the process of screening and selecting content. It automatically matches your words with clips from video media such as video and audio podcasts and TV shows. It will even tag the video with certain keywords so that your content has an easier time o f being found by viewers on these types of sites.The CV Shake writers are given many tools to help them better use their film editing and video media editing skills. These tools include a variety of metadata fields such as titles, subtitles, and highlights. They can also be given the ability to edit and format their videos in different ways and a variety of formats.Once you submit your short film work, it will be posted on a database where it can be viewed by a wide variety of people without the need for any complicated file extension or complicated programming. The files that are posted on the site will be free of charge and there will be no charges for the bandwidth that is required to allow you to upload your work. The tool allows for you to post your work to a wide variety of media sites including Vimeo, YouTube, Craigs List, etc.CV Shake does a great job of matching the kind of footage that is needed to the kind of CV that you are submitting. You can be sure that your CV is goi ng to be viewed by more than just those who are interested in working in the film industry. This is because they get a lot of their information from this site and you are certainly going to be able to find plenty of work as far as content is concerned.Another benefit to CV Shake is that you can focus on writing what you know rather than worrying about making a film. The CV Shake writers have a lot of knowledge about the process that is involved in producing quality written media. You are going to want to do the work, so make sure that you do not let your mind wander.CV Shake also allows the writer to use a personal account where they can interact with other people. The system allows you to post your CV in groups, making it easy to find others who are also creating and uploading their own work to the website. This means that you can learn from the most experienced writers as well as get feedback on your CV and the type of videos that you are producing.Those looking to produce videos should try to use the CV Shake software to help them out. The software is easy to use and there is nothing complicated about it. For those looking to take advantage of a money-making opportunity, the software will give them a chance to get involved with the business without having to worry about having to buy a video camera or arrange to shoot something.

Job Search Tips for Multicultural Job Seekers

Job Search Tips for Multicultural Job Seekers I just returned from the National Resume Writers Association annual conference where I heard career professionals Murray Mann and Makini Harvey speak about multicultural recruiting. There is a great opportunity for multicultural candidates to embrace their diversity and showcase their differences to hiring managers in an effort to build a strong diversity brand and be found for current openings. Here are some of my key takeaways from the presentation.The Federal government requires companies to use diversity job boards to source multicultural candidates, so it makes sense to be there.More than 90% of companies with 10,000 employees or more are actively recruiting diversity candidates on campus.Displaying your multicultural identity on LinkedIn can make it easier for employers to find you. Consider using both a married and maiden name and keeping your real name as opposed to an abbreviated American name on your LinkedIn profile to highlight diversity.If all of your work experience has been outside the U.S. and you are seeking a U.S. position, be sure to state on your resume that you are authorized to work in the U.S.Be sure to include your name in your email address to leverage your diversity brand.Include information on diversity-centric professional associations you belong to on your resume.Hiring authorities are doing keyword searches on diversity fraternities so it makes sense to include these on your resume as well.Be sure to discuss minority affiliations in the cover letter to build your brand, show diversity, and leverage minority-based relationships.Check out Weddles Directory of Employment-Related Internet Sites to source diversity job boards; find diversity recruiters to make it past the red tape of huge company websites/career portals.Engage in an online diversity community such as A Mighty River, Asian Life, Disaboom, iHispano, IMDiversity, LGBT Career Link, Workforce 50, and W2WLink.

Are you feeling vulnerable in your job search - Hire Imaging

Are you feeling vulnerable in your job search - Hire Imaging Many job seekers are afraid of making themselves vulnerable. When you are applying for positions, you make yourself vulnerable. You are vulnerable to rejection. Many job seekers are afraid of being rejected. They limit their contacts and confidants to a select few known well. Their search is also confined to applying to advertised openings whereâ€"rejected or not, they don’t feel as vulnerable because they’re clicking a button, blasting a resume and waiting with low expectations. What a waste of energy and time. I thought about three questions that are worth asking. Can you rethink vulnerability? The definition of vulnerability, being exposed; left open or capable of being hurt, is often considered a negative in our society where we like to fix or avoid vulnerability. It’s frequently seen as a sign of weakness. I recently listened to an interview with Dr. Brené Brown on National Public Radio. Dr. Brown is reviving the knowledge that our struggles make us who we are, and it is based on social scientific research she conducted first into shame and then into qualities that distinguish lives with a strong sense of worthiness.  She says that our culture is almost allergic to the term vulnerability, “although it’s really at the core, the heart, the center, of meaningful human experience.” Can vulnerability equal strength? Think about times in your life when you let yourself be vulnerable. What did you learn from that time? Did you grow from the experience? Did you become stronger? By showing all sides of yourself, did you create a greater connection to those around you? Dr. Brown equates vulnerability with courage. My client, Mary, told me she felt very vulnerable when she approached her employer for a promotion. My friend, Jill, said she felt vulnerable when she sent her son off to hockey tryouts with positive encouragement, knowing in her gut that he would not make the team. My client, Bob, has surrounded himself with vulnerability as he steps in to help people devastated by Hurricane Sandy. I agree with Dr. Brown’s premise that vulnerability is about the willingness to show up and be seen in our lives. And when we show up, those are the most powerful meaning-making moments of our lives. They’re not often comfortable. Contrarily, they often are not. They don’t always  yield the immediate results we think we want. But they define our strengths to move beyond fear, to push past real or perceived roadblocks. In fact, it’s about practicing to be uncomfortable. It was not comfortable for Oprah  when early in her career she was told she would never be on television. That was rejection at its purest. In her research, Dr. Brown asked people to ponder this: “Think of the last time you did something that you thought was really brave or the last time you saw someone do something really brave.” In her 11,000 pieces of data around the answers, she could not find one single example of courageâ€"moral, leadership, career, relationshipâ€"that was not completely born of vulnerability. Can you embrace your own vulnerability? What is the worst that will happen if you accept and even welcome your own vulnerability? What if you put yourself out there? You make those phone calls and actually interact with that LinkedIn group? Reach out  to others for help? Approach folks for informational interviews? Send your resume to those not hiring, because you feel you’d fit? Dig deep and honestly. Is it easy to buy into this myth of vulnerability being synonymous with weakness, frailty and gullibility? And is it an excuse not to do the things that although scary, may lead to greater confidence, strength of character and presented opportunities? Yes, you will most likely be rejected in the course of your job search. No doubt about that. But is vulnerability a bad word or state to be in? I would argue, no. It shows you are willing to try a different way to get a different result; go at things from a different angle. What better time than your job search? By making yourself vulnerable, you will open yourself up to a world of opportunities  that never was before accessible. You may find the perfect environment and people you are comfortable with. You may find a higher paying position. You may find your dream role. Vulnerability can in reality, be an advantage in your life and job search.   By the way, Mary got that promotion. Photo credit: sunshinecity