Petroleum Division to Convene Energy Policy Event in Houston f...

Petroleum Division to Convene Energy Policy auffhrung in Houston f... Petroleum Division to Convene Energy Policy Event in Houston f... Petroleum Division to Convene Energy Policy Event in Houston for Early Career EngineersFeb. 10, 2017 Phil GrossweilerThe ASME Petroleum Division will hold a special discussion and networking event for early career engineers next week in Houston, Texas, featuring two ASME members who have offered their engineering expertise to help shape U.S. energy policy through the ASME Federal Government Fellowship Program. The meeting, Public Policy and the Energy Sector, will take place Thursday, Feb. 16, from 600 p.m. to 900 p.m. at the Dogwood-Midtown lounge.This unique public policy event will provide attendees with an overview of the ASME Washington Office and its activities, as well as highlight the accomplishments of ASME Congressional Fellows who work in the energy sector.One of the evenings guest speakers, former ASME Congressional Fellow Phil Grossweiler, served as a 2007 ASME Federal Fellow in the office of Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM). In this position, he advised Rep. Wilson on energy, science, natural resources and climate change issues and co-authored energy legislation later introduced by Rep. John Boehner (R-OH). Grossweiler began his career as an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard, which included engineering duties on ships stationed in the North Atlantic, Greenland and Russian Arctic regions. He later worked for 25 years at Exxon, where he welches assigned to Exxons production companies in the United States and Norway, as well as Exxons Upstream Research and Upstream Development companies. Grossweiler currently serves as principal consultant at MH Energy Services in Houston. Nol BakhtianThe events second guest speaker, Nol Bakhtian, Ph.D., is an energy advisor on issues related to energy, water and food. Dr. Bakhtian recently finished her term as the 2016 ASME Foundation Swanson Fellow, serving in the environment and energy division of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Her experience also includes overseeing coordination and strategy efforts as the inaugural Energy-Water Nexus lead for the Department of Energy, acting as technical advisor in the DOEs Wind and Water Power Technologies Office, preparing energy legislation in the U.S. Senate, and consulting on energy RD and investment for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).The program will also feature an overview of ASMEs Government Relations department by Melissa Carl, manager of public affairs for ASME at the ASME Washington Center. A member of the Washington Center staff for more than 15 years, Carls duties include supporting the ASME Industry Advisory Board and managing public-policy-related STEM workforce and bioengineering issues.Registration for the early career event in Houston is $10, which includes complimentary food and beverages. To sign up to attend the discussion, contact Javanni Kiezer, ASME Conferences and Events, (281) 810-5452 or by e-mail at kiezerjasme.org.

How to Be Well-Liked and Popular at Work - The Muse

How to Be Well-Liked and Popular at Work - The MuseHow to Be Well-Liked and Popular at WorkIf youre looking for advice on how to deal with a terrible co-worker- one whos arrogant, nosy, rude, or otherwise awful to work with- theres plenty of advice out there for you (just look here, here, and here). But how do you make sure that annoying co-worker isnt you? That youre not the one making your teammates work harder, butting into everyones business, and, in general, annoying your team in every way possible?Its easy Simply become everyones favorite co-worker instead.If you can follow these basic tips, youll wont only keep your name off the worst co-worker ever list- youll earn yourself a spot among the absolute favorites.1. Do What You Say Youre Going to DoNothing will endear you to your co-workers quicker than establishing a reputation of follow-through. By doing what you say youre going to do- whether that means completing an assignment ahead of the deadline, emailing the client you sa id you would, or creating the report you promised to generate- your team will quickly learn they can count on you and that you value helping the entire team succeed.(And as a bonus, theyll likely be more willing to put forth the effort to help you out, too.)2. Give Positive Feedback- and Not Just When You Want SomethingEveryone likes to hear theyre doing a good job. Too often, however, employees leave it up to the boss to dole out that praise to their teammates- or only use it as a complimentary precursor to a request (e.g., Hey, you did a great job on that PowerPoint. By the way, can you cover my client meeting this afternoon?).Instead, be generous with your positive feedback. Let a teammate know you enjoyed the blog she wrote, or comment that a co-workers presentation was engaging and upbeat. Dont lay it on so thick that your team questions the authenticity of your sentiments- simply be genuine. When you recognize a job well done, follow these tips and speak up3. Treat Others Time Like Your OwnWhen youre on a tight deadline, you want to be able to work without interruption. And at the end of the workday, youd like to be able to leave the office at a decent hour without getting pulled into a last-minute request. In short, you want others to respect your time- so in turn, you should respect theirs.That means completing your portion of the assignment with ample time for your co-worker to do his or hers, showing up for meetings on time, limiting the urgent requests to true emergencies, and responding to emails and messages within a reasonable time frame. Your teammates will immediately recognize- and appreciate- that you dont take them and their time for granted.4. Dont Add to the StressEmail is at the center of almost every job these days, and simply getting through the massive influx of messages each day is stressful enough. So, your co-workers certainly wont appreciate it if youre flooding their inboxes with emails that are so vague or rambling that they requ ire a string of follow-ups to figure out what, exactly, youre trying to say. To make sure your emails are concise and provide appropriate context for the message, brush up on these 23 unwritten email rules.5. Own Up to Your MistakesNo one wants to get in trouble at work, but theres something much more admirable about someone who can gracefully admit to his or her mistakes than someone who continually tries to reisepass the buck. It may seem counterintuitive, but by stepping up and saying, That was my fault, and Im going to fix it, rather than, It wouldnt have been an issue if Robert did his job, youll gain the respect of your team- especially if you follow through and do fix it (and then figure out how to avoid that mistake in the future). 6. Know When to Back OffChatting with your co-workers is a normal part of office life. Who doesnt like to spend Monday morning chatting about what everyone did over the weekend? Actually, the answer is not everyone. If you want to stay in your co- workers good graces, learn to be observant enough to notice when a colleague wants to get down to work, rather than grit his or her teeth through your next rambling story about what happened at happy hour last night. Is your co-worker nodding silently while reaching for her earbuds? Turning his body back to his computer and away from you? Responding with a tight-lipped Mmmhmm? Take the cue and save your stories for another time or colleague. 7. Get InvolvedOf course, knowing when to hold back the chatter doesnt mean you cant be involved in the lives of your co-workers. In fact, you absolutely should. You dont have to be best friends with everyone on your team, but you can build some of the strongest bonds by developing personal relationships with your teammates. So go out to an occasional lunch with them, meet them for happy hour, or accept their follow request and interact with them on Twitter. Share a little bit of your personal life, and ask questions about your co-workers lives. Demonstrating that you care about your teammates beyond their ability to set up an Excel formula will earn you friends and loyalty.In the end, it comes down to common sense. Be respectful, hard-working, and fun to be around, and youll easily earn favorite status among your team. And if all else fails, bring donuts. Everyone loves the co-worker who brings donuts. Photo of happy co-workers courtesy of Shutterstock.

Interview Questions for Todays Recruiting Landscape

Interview Questions for Todays Recruiting LandscapeInterview Questions for Todays Recruiting LandscapeInterview Questions for Todays Recruiting Landscape DeZubeTodays recruiting environment has heaped unique and new challenges on the plates of human resource professionals and small business owners alike, particularly during the interview process.A flattened management hierarchy has increased the need for employees with the soft skills to self-manage and to work well on teams.Add to that high unemployment, which has made work history gemeinsame agrarpolitiks commonplace.And the increased popularity of social media tempts some employers to examine candidates social media history - a practice that can potentially lead to employment discrimination charges.Recruiting the right candidate depends on knowing how to interview and to ask questions about these three current issues.These interview tipscan help your success in the current recruiting environmentSoft-Skills AssessmentsWhen conduct ing an interview for soft skills, the best predictor of soft skills is information about how the person did in a previous job, says Jone Pearce, director of the Center for Global Leadership in The Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine.Choose a prior project or task mentioned on the applicants resume and delve into the details by asking these behavioral interview questionsWhat went well? What was most rewarding? Does the candidate take credit for the success of the project or mention co-workers efforts?What didnt go well? What was frustrating? Candidates with poor soft skills will blame others for failure.How did you go about getting the project approved? Who did you approach, and how did you get that done? Does the candidate seek buy-in for new projects or go forward without permission and seek forgiveness later?How were decisions made? Is the candidates answer point toa team player or a lone wolf?As the candidate answers these interview questions, s creen for four characteristics that objectively indicate a job candidates social skillsSelf-awareness of how actions affect co-workersSensitivity to the needs and feelings of othersSocial intelligence and ability to influence co-workersSelf-control, particularly when under deadline pressureWork History Gaps Given the condition of the overall economy, its no longer uncommon to see job applicants with work history gaps.Knowing how to interview to uncover whether that work history gap was created by a poor economy or poor job performance is key.Try these interviewing tipsStart with a broad-based interview question I see you left your last position six months ago what have you been doing in between?Follow up with a request for a reference Is there someone I can call at that company who can talk about what you did there and your experiences?When doing reference checking,start by asking a couple of reference checking questions that open the door for the reference to say something nice abo ut the candidate.Can you remember one of the best things the candidate did? What was the nature of their job? Then, ask the same questions you already asked the job seeker.If the person is pausing a lot, ask who else you can call, says Pearce. If they know someone is bad, theyll refer you to someone with a big mouth who will talk.Body Language CluesKnowing how to interview often comes down to trusting what the job seeker says about their work history.Unless you hook candidates up to a polygraph, you cant determine whether the applicant is lying about their work history, but you can look for nonverbal clues that indicate distress, says Joe Navarro, author of What Every BODY is Saying An Ex-FBI werbers Guide to Speed Reading People.If you ask a tough interview question - Would your last employer give you a recommendation, or would they never take you back? - the job seeker may be uncomfortable because they had a terrible boss, or because they were a terrible employee.Navarro offers these interview body languageclues to watch forDoes the candidate grab their jewelry, rub their neck or touch their collar? If you see that, there are issues, Navarro says. If someones eyelids come down and remain low, theyre bothered by the question. When the lips disappear, lip biting, lip compression, thats indicative of some sort of stress.Another sign to watch for prospective employees who are confident about gaps in their work history may put their chin forward when they answer tough interview questions.Interview Questions about Social MediaAs social media use has exploded, the temptation to use social media history as part of the hiring hintergrund check has increased.Resist the temptation - unless the job requires social media skills and your company has established social media recruiting guidelines.Lori K. Long, associate professor and faculty fellow at the Center for Innovation and Growth at Baldwin-Wallace College, Berea, Ohio says her best interviewing tip is thisDont look at Facebook. If you explore Facebook, youre getting access to information about candidates that you dont want to know from a legal hiring perspective, she says. If people have pictures of church activities and children that can creep into your decision-making.There are few court opinions on the use of social media history in recruiting, and you dont want your company to be the test case in this area, she warns.There are other valid, more legally safe selection tools out there.Long has two other social media history interviewing tips.First, use professional social media such as Twitter and BeKnown to verify resume information and to recruit new hires.And second, use it to network. Its also a good way to know if theres someone in your organization who knows someone who knows the candidate to see if you can get any background information.Legal Disclaimer None of the information provided herein constitutes legal advice on behalf of Monster.

7 principles to develop toughness and build the life you want

7 principles to develop toughness and build the life you want7 principles to develop toughness and build the life you wantDont wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles, and less than perfect conditions. So what? Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident, and more and more successful.? - Mark Victor HansenAt our core, all of us are looking to develop and grow in the four components of wellness mental, emotional, physical and spiritual. Each component impacts the other, which means they have an voneinander abhngig relationship. Each day, as we make strides and build upon our core, we get stronger, more confident and smarter. We get TOUGHER.There are a lot of different definitions out there about what tough means. Far too often, it is given a negative conelendation. Toughness is defined as, strong and durable not easily broken or cut c apable of great endurance sturdy. Think about that - capable of great endurance. Strong and durable. Arent those qualities youre looking for as you develop into the woman or man you desire to be?Mentally, we hope to become resolute, committed and confident in our approach to everyday living. Emotionally, while its always good to be vulnerable and kind, its equally as important to be courageous, faithful and hopeful in the face of fear. Spiritually, getting in touch with what makes us who we are isnt easy. It takes time. It takes perseverance and endurance through challenging personal battles.And physically, its important to develop our muscles and take good care of the vessel that enables us to navigate this journey called life. People who take excellent care of themselves are tough - theyre able to withstand lifes nicks, scrapes, bumps and bruises. They power through adversity and failures and on to victories.Ive spent a lot of time coaching and working with high-achievers and to p-performing teams. Ive led them in an effort to help develop the soft skills, emotional intelligence, identify strengths and weaknesses and enable them to breakthrough and build upon both successes and failures. Ive found that tough people arent born that way - they start out as a proverbial slab of marble and are sculpted into a refined, powerful work of art.Life isnt easy, but you never quit. Never. I may not have been the best, but I can always give my best. Thats how you demonstrate toughness. - Jay BilasA fantastic book was written on the topic by Jay Bilas, a former college and pro basketball player and current analyst. The eponymous title, Toughness, explores the ways in which we can all grow, develop and become tougher to succeed. I decided to extract the most value I could from his book and my experience in coaching high-performers, and synthesized it here for you to understand.I think youll find behauptung 7 principles will change your life and are applicable to every o ne of us. I paraphrased some of Bilas points and illustrate how we can develop toughness and live life on our terms.1. Work so hard that you have to restThe worlds most successful people preach about the value of meditation and getting a proper nights sleep. We all have to rest. ur rest and daily reset should come after weve challenged ourselves and given every ounce of ourselves to working for our daily goals. Give your absolute best to every task in front of you. And give your best to your parents, husbands, wives and children, too.Maximize your output in all of your opportunities and relationships.2. Finish what youve startedOne of the most common threads in why some people dont feel fulfilled in their personal and professional lives is very simple they get started on something and fail to finish. Think about it - whats the point in that? The defining characteristic of every high achiever is that they finish what theyve started. They either accomplish a task, reach a goal, or ab andon course for a wiser, better alternative.3. Focus with determination on the task at handMulti-tasking, while very appealing, DOESNT WORK. Dont believe me? Take this from the Cleveland ClinicThe neuroscience is clear We are wired to be mono-taskers. One study found that just 2.5 percent of people are able to multitask effectively. And when the rest of us attempt to do two complex activities simultaneously, it is simply an illusion.Youre growing and getting tougher when you focus with every ounce of concentration on what youre doing in that moment.4. Encourage yourself and encourage others who work with youThis is straight out of the Dale Carnegie (of How to Win Friends and Influence People fame) playbook Encourage the people around you, celebrate their wins and congratulate them on their success. But guess what? Do the same thing for yourself Positive thought encouragement enables us to power through adversity and challenging tasks, leading us to triumph and victory. When you are genuinely self-motivated and encouraging to others, you are a person that will keep moving forward. And everyone wants to be around that person.Failing doesnt make you a failure. Failing makes you a competitor. Every competitor fails. If you lay it on the line, you will come up short at times. Failure is a part of competing, and embracing that fact is an important component of toughness. Tough people fail, but tough people are not failures. The only failures are those who give up, or give in. - Jay Bilas5. Be alert to change in your life - and change all around youAs John F. Kennedy once said, Change is the law of life, and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future. Change is unavoidable. Its always coming for us, seeking us out whether we run, hide or embrace it. So be alert. Be alert to new opportunities. Be alert to ways you can build upon your successes, and likewise how to learn from your defeats.6. Take responsibility - own your words and ac tionsYou want a surefire way to fail? Blame other people for your words and actions. Make excuses and refuse to take ownership. Deny responsibility and pass the buck to someone else. Those are the marks of a person that no one wants to work with. And if youre seeking self-employment or entrepreneurship, you would be wise to correct this before you begin any prospective venture.It starts with you. You will make tremendous strides in life, endure when others falter and continue growing when you accept responsibility in good times and bad. Forge ahead with a winners mindset. Winners are tough and always accountable for what they say and do.7. Have one fixed objective - get better every dayIf youre struggling to determine what your passion, purpose, mission, definition of success or goals are, please let me remind you to start with this very simple objective Get better every day. You have the time. Read one chapter in a book to learn a new skill. Jump rope for 10 minutes to increase yo ur cardiovascular fitness. Spend 10 minutes in mindfulness meditation that allows you to think clearly about whats most important in your life.Write a small journal entry about your feelings, what moves you and what inspires you. All of these things take a little amount of time. All of them can be accomplished with minimal investment. And all of them will begin forming the compounding effect of helping you to improve and get better each day. Toughness is a prized quality among the most happy and successful people. Go on, youre a lot tougher than you think.You Can Do ThisJoin my newsletterandcheck out my book,The Value of You. This will give youinspirationto start planning for success on your journey.Thisarticlefirst appeared on Medium.

Four Tips for Job-Hunting Over Age 50

Four Tips for Job-Hunting Over Age 50Four Tips for Job-Hunting Over Age 50Job searching when youre over 50 can be tough, but a lot of the same rules that apply to younger job seekers also apply to job seekers with more experience. Your age and experience are an asset, not a hindrance to finding a job. Read on to see how you can jumpstart your job search. Use LinkedIn to get in touch with your networkOlder folks have one advantage over young people just getting out of college, and thats their network. Nothing beats having a connection already working at a company youre interested in who can forward your resume to HR or the hiring manager of a role. LinkedIn is beneficial because it shows your connections at a company or someone in your network who can introduce you to someone working there.Clean up your digital presence One of the first things many hiring managers do is Google the potential candidate. Your digital presence is just important as your paper resume. Make aya your online p ersona is what you want your potential employer to see. At the very minimum, you should have a LinkedIn profile with all of your relevant work experiences and recommendations from former colleagues. An extra step that will show youre tech-savvy and knowledgeable of industry trends is creating a Twitter account and tweet relevant articles and insights. Refresh your resumeTake time to review your resume and make sure the format isnt outdated. Replace an objective statement with an executive summary and choose a modern layout to highlight your experience. Also, shorten your resume to highlight your most recent relevant experience and skills. A good rule of thumb is to only include your achievements from the last ten years. Stay positiveIts important to remember that no matter how perfect your resume is, or how well-spoken you were at your interview, sometimes the job just doesnt work out. It happens to everyone, and you should take each job interview as part of a learning process. If y oure feeling stressed about your search, try one of these tips. If you use your experience and long-time contacts to your advantage, job search over 50 can be easier than for your younger counterpart. Get started as soon as possible so youre less likely to have to explain any job gaps. Show that youre tech-savvy, bring the best version of yourself to every interview, and youll be back in the workforce in no time.

Unanswered Problems With How to Put Internship on Resume Exposed

Unanswered Problems With How to Put Internship on Resume Exposed Work experience does not need to be listed chronologically. Students should incorporate the topics that are related to the internship and that is going to assist the employer understand how you are going to perform at their organization. Employers are interested in your latest qualifications and wish to find youve been successful after higher school. Most employers arent expecting you to get extensive experience because an internship is normally the very first experience students have in their area. What Is So Fascinating About How to Put Internship on Resume? Your internship experience ought to go right at the very top of your resume, beneath your title, as well as the remainder of your work experience. Adding your internship experience doesnt need to be daunting in actuality, we put together a quick 15-minute to-do list so you can update your resume very quickly. Just remember to double-check whether adding s ocial media to your parteicular resume is acceptable for the job My resume doesnt require a makeover, it should be restarted from scratch, and thats a great thing Top How to Put Internship on Resume Choices Alongside thethree main sections to include in a resume, it is a good idea to tailor your resume to your private profile with the addition of different subheadings where you are able to develop the appropriate details. Keep in mind, the resume shouldnt exceed 1 page. You can readily find the common format online. In truth, it could be appropriate to incorporate a mora prominent core competencies section at the peak of your resume with thorough descriptions of certain skills if theyre absolutely central to success in the desired position. In reality, there are particular jobs in which its important to set a skill section at or close to the top of the resume. After the skills section its possible to mention the experiences youve had in the business. Since you will probabl y have little if any expert experience, dont hesitate to fill your education section with a plethora of information.Generally, last two degrees ought to be sufficient. No matter what you do, dont place your internships at the base of your resume or in the Education section. Most students hit a wall when it regards the expert experience section since they just dont have relevant work experience. The Demise of How to Put Internship on Resume In any event, you will need to appraise your experience during the internship. When youve completed an educational program, the all-natural next step is to finish an internship that can help you hone the skills you got in school, and to find some real-world experience that could let you land work. You might start to remove internships from your resume when you start to create enough work experience in your area. A highly effective internship resume objective is necessary to stand out as the suitable internship candidate. Because most intern s dont have a good deal of specialist job experience to list on their resumes, the internships will bear a whole lot more weight. As you just spent a whole summer working hard, youre want to make sure that your internship stands out. Internships also a fantastic add-on to your resume. See the included Internship resume for a complete example. In both conditions, theres an excellent chance your internships is going to be the experience that sets you apart from the crowd. The title might also be given as volunteer activities, college pursuits or simply extracurricular pursuits. If it is time to proofing, we suggest that you rally up your teachers, family members and friends. You should stick out from the remaining portion of the competition. For part-time work, its important to keep a couple of things in mind. Possessing the capacity to communicate in rolle is crucial, but having the capacity to communicate via technology is a developing hot commodity in the current workpla ce. The absolute most important thing to keep in mind is to make yourself marketable. Now that you know what things to put on your resume, lets at a few matters you should leave off if you prefer to acquire interviews. Make certain your resume contains everything the employer should be convinced that youre a fantastic match for the position. The best method to capitalize on the advantages of the internship program is to apply to companies in precisely the same industry. Whilst you write your summary for your resume, attempt to think of what you want them to discuss with you, and what exactly you desire an opportunity to discuss. Its important to enable the employer know your skills are a valuable accession to the organization. But What About How to Put Internship on Resume? Skills One line under the work title and business name, list a number of the activities which you did while at the internship. If, for example, youve only held one job. however, it is not pertinent to what you need to do next, you still need to keep it. In them, youll locate a number of work in the chemistry industry which can help you tailor your own resume according to a particular position youre seeking. As an example, perhaps you are asking for work in a dynamic, collaborative work atmosphere. The most essential part of an internship resume is making sure the abilities and experience you do have, though you might be very early in your career, are ideal for the job which you need to do. In case it demonstrates you have the necessary skills and experience for work, it is going to offer you a huge benefit. You ought to have a great communication abilities and technical skills also. Quite a few abilities and all-inclusive knowledge readily support a number of professional undertakings.

6 Outrageous Job Perksand the Companies that Offer Them

6 Outrageous Job Perksand the Companies that Offer Them Take a second and pretend youre not in that cubicle. Pretend youre working for one of those insanely popular companies whose main goal in business seems to be to make their employees happy. Facebook, Google and Zappos are always in the punktlicht for their employer brand, but here are a few perks that you may not have heard of. Cisco Offers AcupunctureCiscos state of the art fitness center in San Jose, California has taken corporate gyms to a whole new level. Not only does the Ciscos LifeConnections Health Center offer acupuncture, this fitness center also offers primary health care and physical therapy. Their emphasis on a healthy work-life balance also includes top of the line telecommuting technologies that provide a stellar work-from-home experience.Boeing Offers 12 Paid HolidaysNot only do all employees get 12 paid holidays per year, the y also receive a winter recess that lasts between Christmas and New Years Day. It sounds like Boeing really understands the totally necessary business practice of encouraging employees to take time off. Some are catching on slower than others, but leaders in employee engagement see the benefits of cutting employees some slack.Johnson Johnson Offer a Concierge ServiceWhile this awesome perk isnt offered to every employee, it is offered to a whopping 12,000 of them. This concierge tafelgeschirr is meant to relieve the stress of everyday life and ensure that Johnson Johnson employees are enjoying an above average work-life experience. You name the chore, and this service can take care of it. They also offer childcare and paid sabbaticals.Microsoft Offers above Average Maternity and Paternity LeaveNew parents often struggle with taking time off of work, healing and balancing their new lifestyles. Microsoft isnt following suit with the rest of the major U.S. corporations by offering pa id leave for new parents. It is also the first major corporation to offer healthcare coverage for Applied Behavioral Analysis Therapy, which treats autism. Microsoft is actually doing something for its employees about two major concerns in America today.3M Offers Benefits to Same Sex CouplesGlobal innovation company 3Ms employees dont have to fight for their rights to a fitness center, pharmacy, programs to stop smoking, weight loss incentives, stress management programs and awesome benefits. They are also one of the only major corporations to offer benefits to same-sex couples in domestic partnerships.SAS Offers On-Site MassagesA small area of the 66,000 square-foot recreation and fitness center is dedicated to classic Swedish and orthopedic massages. After a large and healthy breakfast from the cafeteria, employees can grab a massage and then take a hike through the 300-acre Raleigh, NC campus.It takes a long time to get where these companies are on the Best Places to Work lists. These perks arent cheap and they certainly arent offered to so-so employees. Successful companies know that their success rests on the shoulders of their workforcethats why massages are so important

New Management Styles for a Recovering Economy

New Management Styles for a Recovering EconomyNew Management Styles for a Recovering EconomyNew Management Styles for a Recovering Economy RossheimExecutives, managers and staff of all career stages weathered the great recession of 2007-2009 in different ways. Managers, whether pressured by sagging sales or profit-hungry stockholders, have engaged in round after round of cost-cutting, adversely impacting many employees.But given an impressive accumulation of economic gains in the mid-2010s, its time for company veterans to take another look at how theyre managing people in a long-running recovering. Fifteen years into this not-so-new millennium, whats the key to cultivating productive employeesand a satisfied staff?While employers must learn to manage their Millennial employees, the needs of these maturing employees turn out not to be so different from other generations of workers.Its time to listen. Managers and executives who lack listening skillsand ignore their employees run the risk of losing them and the capital that their institutional knowledge represents.Ive worked with a big benefits company thats finding their employees are speaking up more, says Frank Faeth, principal at Faeth Executive Coaching. Because with the improved economy, they have more job opportunities.Says Joan Kuhl, founder of consulting firm Why Millennials Matter Managers can start with listening, in one-on-one talks, to find out an employees thoughts on the work, on what the business can be doing better. Its also important to huddle more, to bring the team together.Millennials matter, more and more. Both Gen Xer and Boomer executives need to recognize that, however different Millennial work attitudes may be toward work, they are the generation thats coming into power.Some older managers have a hugely dismissive attitude toward Millennials and all younger workers, says Kuhl. Managers need to know Millennials will become the largest segment of the workforce, so we have to help them be as productive as possible. We need to tell elder employees, Millennials success is important for your legacy. And to be heard, you have to understand how each generation best likes to receive information.Keep in mind that your various layers of your multigenerational workforce require a unique approach to career planning.Let Millennials work to their strong suit. While some Millennials may require some help filling a gap in their soft skills, many Gen Y employees bring many valuable perspectives to the office senior managers who fail to recognize and act on these insights are overlooking a competitive advantage.In a previous role at a traditional manufacturer, I asked some Millennials to redesign our office space, says Dan Hawkins, president of Summit Leadership Partners. They did, with a hotel set-up and desks and filing cabinets on wheels and productivity went up exponentially.Mentor new hires on company culture. A well-structured mentoringprogram can be a great way to build bri dges between company veterans and new hires who all experienced the recession in their own ways.Employees who have been with the company longer are a product of its culture, says Hawkins. But the new person wont have a true feel for the culture, and they may do things that are countercultural. Maybe in meetings a new employee will just throw out ideas until he discovers that the companys culture is to wait until youre asked to speak.Millennials are apt to welcome coaching on how to work with the companys culture whereas an old-schoolers cold shoulder could nudge the younger generation to cruise job postings over lunch.Nasty managers can hurt the workforce bottom line productivity. For managers who ran roughshod over hunkered-down staff during the financial crisis, its time for change in leadership style.Abrasive executives get found out, says Faeth. Employees will go to HR and say, You may not know this, but Joe is really abrasive. But there are not a lot of HR managers who have t he guts to say that this exec needs help unless the behavior is leading to lawsuits. Still, if youre being mistreated at work, youre unproductive.Disgruntled Millennials can be quick to quit. Boomers and Xers may also find that their younger reports are less averse to the risk of abrupt changes in their careers. Millennials are far less likely to put up with abrasive managers than Xers and Boomers, says Faeth. Its so important for Millennials to like what they do. They may not speak up theyre more likely than older workers to just leave.Managing diversity is a must. Multiple generations arent the only dimension of diversity that executives must face anew as the economy perks up. Companies say they want diversity and fresh thinking, but people not accustomed to that have a very difficult time, says Hawkins. The leaders role is to understand that people are not the same, whether the differences are generational or have to do with race or gender.

7 secrets top athletes can teach you about being the best at anything

7 secrets top athletes can teach you about being the best at anything7 secrets top athletes can teach you about being the best at anythingWed all like to be better at what is fruchtwein important to us.Top athletes know the secrets to constant improvement but most of us dont hang out with gold medalists or top coachesand were leid familiar with the sports research. So I called a guy who is.David Epstein is the author of the New York Times bestsellerThe Sports Gene Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance.Its an excellent read whether youre a sports fan or elend and covers a lot of the science on how we can get better at anything.In this post youll learnThe one korrekt thattop students and top athletesboth useto get better.The thing babies can teach us aboutlearning.Howbeing difficult to deal with can boost your learning ability.The qualityall prodigies have in common.The question that accelerates learning.How to leverage your unique abilities to be your best.And a lot mora.Lets get to it.Dont Let Anyone Say You Dont Have TalentYou get told you dont have natural talent at something. Or youre notlage smart enough. Not fast enough. Soyou get discouraged and quit.But new research is showing some abilities dont make themselves visible until challenges get hard enough.Heres DavidOnce things get hard enough, people abflug to be differentiated andsee some skills that theyprobably didnt even know they had.Those skills were only activated once they got into the right spot and the challenges got difficult.Theres a new factor in sports research called trainability. Some people may not have natural talent but they may be highly trainable.They start out below average but improvefar faster. When we measurethese people on day one they get told they dont have it. But after a few weeks or months theyre blowing away the so-called naturals. The lesson? Hang in there.(For mora on what the most successful people do that makes them great, clickhere.)So talents not as big an issue as you may have thought. But where should you focus your energy?What Do You Rage To Master?What doprodigies have in common? Ellen Winner at Boston College calls it the rage to master. Its aninsatiable desire to get better at something specific.Heres DavidI love some of the work done by Ellen Winner at Boston College on prodigies. She coined this term rage to master. Its the obsessive desire to improve at something.We think of prodigies as little miracle kids. And yeah, when you look at tests of working memory they score off the charts. But thats theonlymetricthey all have in common.So they dont have completely alien super-brains.A huge part of why theyre so good is they found the thing they had natural talent for and relentlessly applied themselves. And thats something we can all do.Heres DavidReal prodigies basically all score in the 99.9th percentile of working memory but after that they score really, really differently. It suggests that while they have some horsepowe r, they also have individualized unique strengths that have made them good for what they do. They arent just interchangeable. They gravitated toward unique strengths that they have.(To learn how you can go from dreaming to doing, clickhere.)So you know what youre passionate about and youre working hard. Whats the best way to get started? Youll be surprisedDont Follow Instructions. Learn Like A Baby.When did you learn the most and learn the fastest? Theres no debate its when you were a baby.You didnt get clear instructions from anybody on anything and yet you learned some of the most complex things in the world, like walking and talking.This process (implicit learning) isnt just for babies. Were often too focused on executing very specific steps and so we dont take the time to fumble aroundandmake mistakeslike when we were kids.As adults we think we dont have time for it but its one of the reasons we dont learn as well as when we were little.Heres DavidAllowing implicit learning earl y in whatever were learning, whether its chess, whether its looking at market patterns, whatever it is, is very important. You dont wanttoo much explicit coaching early on. You want to learn like a baby. Babies are immersed and theyre given immediate feedback and they have to strive and try.Only later do you formally teach them things like grammar.And its not just speculation. Research with young surgeons is showingthe power of learning like a baby.Heres DavidOn the first try those given explicit instructions were better, but very very quickly the ones who started with more implicit-style learningsurpassed them insurgical speed and accuracy.(To learn about grit and resilience from a Navy SEAL, clickhere.)Whats the main question you should be asking yourself when trying to improve?Ask Whats Most Important Here?InThe Sports Gene,David tells the story of what happened whentop baseball batters went up against a female softball pitcher.She struck every single one of them out.How did she do it?Because the old advice of keep your eye on the ball is dead wrong. In fact, its impossible - a baseball moves too fast. Its not about reaction time. Its about the subtle cues a batter sees in a pitchers body before they throw the ball.But baseball batters arent used to how softball pitchers move. They get all the cues wrong and strike out.If you dont know what theimportant part of what youre trying to learn is then youre like a batter trying to keep their eye on the ball. Youre focused on improving thewrong thing.Heres DavidThe hallmark of expertise is figuring out what information is important. And in many cases, these are things that are implicitly learned that the performer themselves would not be able to tell you. They will tell you something that causes their success and in many cases theyll be wrong. Weve had to do some pretty complicated studies to figure out what it is they actually do.(To learn how to find the best mentor for you, clickhere.)If youre smart, youre get ting help with whatever youre trying to get better at.Whats the best way to deal with your teacher? Its probably not what youd expectBe A Pain In The AssTheGroningen talent studies have been following kids in the classroom and in a variety of sports for 15 years now.What do the ones who go on to get the best grades or become pro athletes have in common?They didnt merely do what they were told. They questioned coaches and teachers. They pushed back. They asked if this was the right activity for them to be doing.Heres DavidThekids that outdid their peers in the classroom and the kids that went on to become pros in a variety of sports had behavioral traits in common.The kids who went to the top in soccer, for example, they displayed what the scientists called self-regulatory behavior. Its a12-year-old whos going up to their trainer and saying, I think this strenge ausbildung is a little too easy. What is this working on again? Why are we doing this? I think Im having a problem with thi s other thing. Can I work on that instead?(To learn how to make your kids smarter, clickhere.)So youre asking questions. Youre engaged. Now how do you apply that to the skill youre working on?Find Your Optimal PushThe kids who questioned their teachers got to know themselves better. So they were better judges of what they could and couldnt do.This allowed them to best practice at a levelwhere they were always stretching themselves but not so much that the task was impossible. This is called optimal push.Knowing youroptimal pushmeans youdont plateau - youjust keep getting better. And when youscrew up youlllearn more from yourmistakes.Heres DavidOptimal push is something thats a little harder than what youve ever done but not so hard its out of your reach.When the other kids plateau, these kids dont. And thats on the playing field and in the classroom. The kids who had these self-regulatory skills get more out of their mistakes than their peers do. Their failures are not wasted oppor tunities they draw something from them.(To learn how to apply the craftmans mindset to your work, clickhere.)Lets say youre doing everything mentioned thus far. Awesome. If you had to sum up the most important thing to focus on in justone word, what would it be?The 1 Thing Is ReflectionDavid asked the head of theGroningen talent studies if she could sum up in one word the thing that all the top kids (in school or any sport) all had in common.She said Reflection. They think about what they did and ask themselves if its working.Heres DavidWhen they do something, whether its good or bad, they take time for reflection. They asked themselveswelches it difficult enough? Was it too easy? Did it make me better? Did it not? It sounds simple and sounds facile, but I think we dont do it.We naturally gravitate toward increasing comfort in everything we do in our jobs. We become more efficient and we angelegenheit prey to that efficiency. Thats a disaster. When all your effortsare things that yo u can do easily and without thinking about them, yourenot going to improve.(To learn how the lessons of ancient thinkers can improve your modern life, clickhere.)Lets pull everything together and bust one more big myth about being the best at anything.Enough Reading. Time For Doing.Heres what youcan learn about learning from DavidDont Let Anyone Say You Dont Have TalentWhat Do You Rage To Master?Dont Follow Instructions. Fumble Around.Ask Whats Most Important Here?Be A Pain In The AssFind Your Optimal PushThe 1 Thing Is ReflectionSome of you might think the above doesnt really apply to you. Its too late to start something. Or youre too old to learn.Wrong. The latest research says youre never too old to learn. Youcanteach an old dog new tricks.Heres DavidI think what the science is saying at this point is that a lot of the limitations that were placed on older learners and older athletes didnt have any empirical backing.As we get older we trade a more flexible brain for one that is m ore efficient. We see that in sportsandwe see that in other cognitive skills. Experience and efficiency make up for some of the raw horsepower that we may lose as we age.Its never too late to be great.Join more than 305,000 readers.Get a free weekly update via emailhere.Related postsNew Neuroscience Reveals 4 Rituals That Will Make You HappyNew Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More SuccessfulHow To Get People To Like You 7 Ways From An FBI Behavior ExpertThis article originally appeared at Barking Up the Wrong Tree.7 secrets top athletes can teach you about being the best at anythingWed all like to be better at what is most important to us.Top athletes know the secrets to constant improvement but most of us dont hang out with gold medalists or top coachesand were not familiar with the sports research. So I called a guy who is.David Epstein is the author of the New York Times bestsellerThe Sports Gene Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance.Its an excellent r ead whether youre a sports fan or not and covers a lot of the science on how we can get better at anything.In this post youll learnThe one word thattop students and top athletesboth useto get better.The thing babies can teach us aboutlearning.Howbeing difficult to deal with can boost your learning ability.The qualityall prodigies have in common.The question that accelerates learning.How to leverage your unique abilities to be your best.And a lot more.Lets get to it.Dont Let Anyone Say You Dont Have TalentYou get told you dont have natural talent at something. Or youre not smart enough. Not fast enough. Soyou get discouraged and quit.But new research is showing some abilities dont make themselves visible until challenges get hard enough.Heres DavidOnce things get hard enough, people start to be differentiated andsee some skills that theyprobably didnt even know they had.Those skills were only activated once they got into the right spot and the challenges got difficult.Theres a new fa ctor in sports research called trainability. Some people may not have natural talent but they may be highly trainable.They start out below average but improvefar faster. When we measurethese people on day one they get told they dont have it. But after a few weeks or months theyre blowing away the so-called naturals. The lesson? Hang in there.(For more on what the most successful people do that makes them great, clickhere.)So talents not as big an issue as you may have thought. But where should you focus your energy?What Do You Rage To Master?What doprodigies have in common? Ellen Winner at Boston College calls it the rage to master. Its aninsatiable desire to get better at something specific.Heres DavidI love some of the work done by Ellen Winner at Boston College on prodigies. She coined this term rage to master. Its the obsessive desire to improve at something.We think of prodigies as little miracle kids. And yeah, when you look at tests of working memory they score off the charts . But thats theonlymetricthey all have in common.So they dont have completely alien super-brains.A huge part of why theyre so good is they found the thing they had natural talent for and relentlessly applied themselves. And thats something we can all do.Heres DavidReal prodigies basically all score in the 99.9th percentile of working memory but after that they score really, really differently. It suggests that while they have some horsepower, they also have individualized unique strengths that have made them good for what they do. They arent just interchangeable. They gravitated toward unique strengths that they have.(To learn how you can go from dreaming to doing, clickhere.)So you know what youre passionate about and youre working hard. Whats the best way to get started? Youll be surprisedDont Follow Instructions. Learn Like A Baby.When did you learn the most and learn the fastest? Theres no debate its when you were a baby.You didnt get clear instructions from anybody on anything and yet you learned some of the most complex things in the world, like walking and talking.This process (implicit learning) isnt just for babies. Were often too focused on executing very specific steps and so we dont take the time to fumble aroundandmake mistakeslike when we were kids.As adults we think we dont have time for it but its one of the reasons we dont learn as well as when we were little.Heres DavidAllowing implicit learning early in whatever were learning, whether its chess, whether its looking at market patterns, whatever it is, is very important. You dont wanttoo much explicit coaching early on. You want to learn like a baby. Babies are immersed and theyre given immediate feedback and they have to strive and try.Only later do you formally teach them things like grammar.And its not just speculation. Research with young surgeons is showingthe power of learning like a baby.Heres DavidOn the first try those given explicit instructions were better, but very very quickly the ones who started with more implicit-style learningsurpassed them insurgical speed and accuracy.(To learn about grit and resilience from a Navy SEAL, clickhere.)Whats the main question you should be asking yourself when trying to improve?Ask Whats Most Important Here?InThe Sports Gene,David tells the story of what happened whentop baseball batters went up against a female softball pitcher.She struck every single one of them out.How did she do it?Because the old advice of keep your eye on the ball is dead wrong. In fact, its impossible - a baseball moves too fast. Its not about reaction time. Its about the subtle cues a batter sees in a pitchers body before they throw the ball.But baseball batters arent used to how softball pitchers move. They get all the cues wrong and strike out.If you dont know what theimportant part of what youre trying to learn is then youre like a batter trying to keep their eye on the ball. Youre focused on improving thewrong thing.Heres DavidThe hallmark of expertise is figuring out what information is important. And in many cases, these are things that are implicitly learned that the performer themselves would not be able to tell you. They will tell you something that causes their success and in many cases theyll be wrong. Weve had to do some pretty complicated studies to figure out what it is they actually do.(To learn how to find the best mentor for you, clickhere.)If youre smart, youre getting help with whatever youre trying to get better at.Whats the best way to deal with your teacher? Its probably not what youd expectBe A Pain In The AssTheGroningen talent studies have been following kids in the classroom and in a variety of sports for 15 years now.What do the ones who go on to get the best grades or become pro athletes have in common?They didnt merely do what they were told. They questioned coaches and teachers. They pushed back. They asked if this was the right activity for them to be doing.Heres DavidThekids that outdid their peers in the classroom and the kids that went on to become pros in a variety of sports had behavioral traits in common.The kids who went to the top in soccer, for example, they displayed what the scientists called self-regulatory behavior. Its a12-year-old whos going up to their trainer and saying, I think this drill is a little too easy. What is this working on again? Why are we doing this? I think Im having a problem with this other thing. Can I work on that instead?(To learn how to make your kids smarter, clickhere.)So youre asking questions. Youre engaged. Now how do you apply that to the skill youre working on?Find Your Optimal PushThe kids who questioned their teachers got to know themselves better. So they were better judges of what they could and couldnt do.This allowed them to best practice at a levelwhere they were always stretching themselves but not so much that the task was impossible. This is called optimal push.Knowing youroptimal pushmeans youdont plateau - youjust keep getting better. And when youscrew up youlllearn more from yourmistakes.Heres DavidOptimal push is something thats a little harder than what youve ever done but not so hard its out of your reach.When the other kids plateau, these kids dont. And thats on the playing field and in the classroom. The kids who had these self-regulatory skills get more out of their mistakes than their peers do. Their failures are not wasted opportunities they draw something from them.(To learn how to apply the craftmans mindset to your work, clickhere.)Lets say youre doing everything mentioned thus far. Awesome. If you had to sum up the most important thing to focus on in justone word, what would it be?The 1 Thing Is ReflectionDavid asked the head of theGroningen talent studies if she could sum up in one word the thing that all the top kids (in school or any sport) all had in common.She said Reflection. They think about what they did and ask themselves if its working.Heres DavidWhen they do something, whether its good or bad, they take time for reflection. They asked themselvesWas it difficult enough? Was it too easy? Did it make me better? Did it not? It sounds simple and sounds facile, but I think we dont do it.We naturally gravitate toward increasing comfort in everything we do in our jobs. We become more efficient and we fall prey to that efficiency. Thats a disaster. When all your effortsare things that you can do easily and without thinking about them, yourenot going to improve.(To learn how the lessons of ancient thinkers can improve your modern life, clickhere.)Lets pull everything together and bust one more big myth about being the best at anything.Enough Reading. Time For Doing.Heres what youcan learn about learning from DavidDont Let Anyone Say You Dont Have TalentWhat Do You Rage To Master?Dont Follow Instructions. Fumble Around.Ask Whats Most Important Here?Be A Pain In The AssFind Your Optimal PushThe 1 Thing Is ReflectionSome of you might think the above doesnt re ally apply to you. Its too late to start something. Or youre too old to learn.Wrong. The latest research says youre never too old to learn. Youcanteach an old dog new tricks.Heres DavidI think what the science is saying at this point is that a lot of the limitations that were placed on older learners and older athletes didnt have any empirical backing.As we get older we trade a more flexible brain for one that is more efficient. We see that in sportsandwe see that in other cognitive skills. Experience and efficiency make up for some of the raw horsepower that we may lose as we age.Its never too late to be great.Join more than 305,000 readers.Get a free weekly update via emailhere.Related postsNew Neuroscience Reveals 4 Rituals That Will Make You HappyNew Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More SuccessfulHow To Get People To Like You 7 Ways From An FBI Behavior ExpertThis article originally appeared at Barking Up the Wrong Tree.

Lessons Learned from Success Stories

Lessons Learned from Success StoriesLessons Learned from Success StoriesSix job seekers that landed senior-level positions share the lessons they learned from the job huntWhatever career experts may have to say about the job search, tzu siches nothing like first-hand experience. These members of Ladders shared their stories and offered specific tactics from their own successful searches.Focus your search strategy.The challenge is to find your niche. Three years ago, if you could fog a mirror, you could get a construction contract. Now its a little bit harder. OpsLadder member David Rosenof, chief operating officer and VP of Hunter Construction in Pompano Beach, Fla.Read Davids story.Demonstrate your value.Tzu siche was a time during the dotcom boom when everybody wanted CRM or everybody wanted ERP and you were able to dump your solution at people. It is not like that any more. You have to be able to go in and is of each person within that organization. You need to be really consulta tive. You need to do your homework. You need to be able to show what differentiates you from other companies. Linda Schroeder, a SalesLaddermember who found a job working for a company whose products help other companies operate short-staffed.Read Lindas story.Tune your resume.I was willing not only to focus on what I had been doing the past eight years, but what I did in my past by bringing back some of my older skill set to the table so that it would be considered as well. And that made a big difference. Pam, a FinanceLadder member who used a free resume critique to focus and brush up her resume, which led to a job in a company that focuses on restructuring and distress and wanted someone with both legal and business skills.Follow the trends.Be as specific as you can. For example, the most current nursing trend today is wound care. Most people dont know that. And that could be open to a nurse with a two-year degree or a LVN (Licensed Vocational Nurse) with a one-year degree. So if that nurse were to take one week out of his or her time and become wound care-certified, they are good to go for $70,000 or $80,000 right there. So the message is Follow the trends. Robert N., a registered nurse and UpLadder member who used his years of management experience to land an executive job at MedicalEdge Healthcare Group Inc. in Dallas. Read Roberts story.Look for opportunities, even in down markets.Some job opportunities come from cleaning up the mess other companies made. Dreambuilder is going to clean up the mortgages and then resell them because they are going to put a payment in front of the customers that they are going to be able to live with. They have been in business for six or seven years now, and they are ready to expand and take their business to the next level. Up until now, they have been a small Wall Street company, but today their business model is growing. Rob Onofrietti, a SalesLadder member and new director of sales at Dreambuilder Investments LLC. Read Robs story.Translate your effectiveness.As I wrote my resume, I really had to translate what I had done into value numbers and how much I had saved, said Suzanne Frawley, an HRLadder member who used the resume service to focus her pitch and land a job as learning and development manager at the local offices of German pharmaceutical giant Boehringer Ingelheim. For example, she was able to show how she had saved her firm more than $140,000 by sharing pace-learning programs throughout the company at a global level. That was one of my bullet points or accomplishment statements, as we call them on my resume. Once I had figured that out and put it into print, I thought Wow That is what companies are now interested in. Read Suzannes story.Overcome objections.I listed the things I was able to impact and the cost reductions and eventually the cost of goods sold and gross margins. Bringing that to the table allowed me to talk about the things I can do based on what Ive done in the pa st. That made for a very clear picture. I was willing to move, and I said that up front. A lot of people werent, so that was one advantage. John, an OpsLadder member who landed the VP job hed been searching for despite pressure to look for something more junior or accept much-reduced salaries. The key to overcoming objections was to quantify the value he brought to a company and clearly show what concessions he would make to take a job. Read Johns story