Alexandra Levits Water Cooler Wisdom In Todays Business World, Its Adapt or Die

Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom In Today's Business World, It's Adapt or Die Just how important is adaptability to business or career success? According to a2013 studyby DeVry University’s Career Advisory Board, 93 percent of hiring managers saythat senior-level job seekers need to demonstrate the ability to adapt in order to cope with the ever-changing workplace. This type of senior leaderâ€"one who has learned how to roll with the punchesâ€"is essential to guiding 21stcentury businesses. Gallup’s famousStrengthsFinder talent assessment tool, which includes adaptability as a key dimension, defines the trait as the ability to live in the present, freely and willingly able to respond to the demands and changes of the moment. Adaptable people are flexible and don’t view the future as a set plan or a fixed destination. But most company cultures today, even small-business ones, arent as adaptable as they need to beâ€"theyre often ruled by the status quo and “standard operating procedure.” If you run your business with that mentality, you may find yourself encountering more problems than necessary and having a difficult time adapting to market changes. Rapid technological advances have also increased the speed with which you must make key decisions, and relevant changes must be integrated into your business culture if you want to survive. Take3D printing, for instance. Once 3D printing becomes part of the mainstream, manufacturers and their complex networks of suppliers and distributors must start thinking of their work differently if theyre to succeed. Unfortunately, disruptive technologies like 3D printing are derailing more businesses instead of positively transforming them. Without enough adaptable leaders, businesses are falling behind. For the rest of the piece, have a look at the full post at the AMEX OpenForum.

7 Mistakes I Made Looking For an Internship

7 Mistakes I Made Looking For an Internship You can pick any career, right from high paid bankers and Premier League footballers to the more sustainable and social jobs; mistakes will be inevitable in the pursuit of your chosen career. As frustrating as they may be, we learn the most from our mistakes and I learnt quite a bit from mine whilst looking for an internship 2 years ago. 1. I started looking for internships pretty late. For example, for a June start I started my internship search in January THAT IS LATE! Start looking for internships as soon as you decide you want one. Remember, its never too late to start but the earlier you start, the higher chance youd have. 2. I didnt attend a single presentation on finding an internship. I stuck to reading articles and news for internships, but the best advice and know-how of the process is more organised than we think! Attend a presentation by employers on campus or by your careers service to gain the most reliable and latest information. 3. I kept my search and decision to myself! Yes, that was a massive mistake. If you are struggling or need more information, speak to your friends and tutors. Even for those who are looking for internships themselves, there is so much to learn by speaking about it. 4. Lack of CV Review this is a general mistake everyone makes and I was no exception. I had the content on my CV but the design and reading it must have been a pain. After all, I got absolutely no response till I got my CV reviewed late in the year. Please get your CV reviewed by your careers service. Very important when looking for an internship. 5. Not using any social resources. I am saddened by this really. I didnt have a twitter account  and no profile on Linkedin. I must have been such a bore of a candidate to recruiters. Please use social resources general rule I follow if you can sell yourself somewhere sell. 6. When applying online, not using online resources like WikiJob. If you havent heard of it, then my friend, we are making similar mistakes. I wont say its got all the resources but try it, top employers secrets are up there. 7. Lack of preparation for interviews. When I did get an interview or two, I fluffed them pretty badly. Not having spoken to anybody about my interview and preparation, I ended up doing the school-boy error I told the interviewer what I did. But remember, the interviewer wants to know how you did it, not the result! Fail. More Resources If you are making any of these mistakes, please stop whatever you are doing and re-organise your internship search. Speak to other students looking for a placement/internship and get on the back of your careers service. They provide useful services and I can vouch for them first-hand. We have some quick guides below to help you remedy some of the mistakes listed above. Social networks are crucial whilst looking for an internship. ALSO SEE:  LinkedIn 4 Jobs  /Twitter 4 Jobs 34

How to Ethically Screen Candidates on Facebook

How to Ethically Screen Candidates on Facebook With over a billion users, Facebook makes a great tool for sourcing and screening candidates. However for a lot of people it is a platform that they like to reserve purely for personal use and therefore may find it slightly intrusive for a recruiter to check them out on the platform. Someones Facebook profile can reveal a lot about them as a person and could provide recruiters with information that could be  significant in assessing the candidates suitability for a role. Nonetheless it is important that recruiters adhere to the legalities surrounding candidate screening on Facebook. akkencloud.com has  put together this infographic covering    how recruiters are using social media to screen potential candidates, what information they are gathering and how to comply with Facebook regulations. Recruiting on Facebook 84% of job seekers have a Facebook profile. 54% of organisations use Facebook to recruit. Over 18.4 million applicants found a job on Facebook. How does social media affect hiring? 43% of employers research candidates online and a further 12% intend to start. 33% of recruiters found information on Facebook that made them more likely to hire a candidate. Recruiters often recommend a candidate for a job based on social media, for reasons such as culture fit, communication skills and a professional personal brand. How can a candidates behaviour on Facebook affect their hire-ability? 46% of candidates were rejected because of inappropriate content on their Facebook profile. 36% were rejected for bad mouthing a former/current employer or colleague. Links to drugs and criminal activity, poor communication skills and lies about qualifications were also reasons candidates were rejected during screening. How to make sure screening is ethical 57% of companies have no policy in place for using Facebook to screen candidates and of companies who dont use social media for screening dont because of the legal risks attached. Only look at information that is shared to the public. If you make a hiring decision based on information found on Facebook be sure to print if off in case it is later deleted. Inform applicants that information on social media will be considered in the hiring process. Learn more below! [Image Credit: Shutterstock]

How Working Moms Can Be Great and Efficient in Business

How Working Moms Can Be Great and Efficient in Business If you are a working mom, you might feel burdened by the catch-22 of the guilt that comes from trying to do it all. While at work, you might feel bad about leaving your child or children behind at a daycare center. While you are at home, you may feel guilty about not staying at the office as long as your co-workers. Recent research has shown that working moms spend up to 25 percent of their time worrying. This is an average of 5 hours more per week than working dads worry. If a woman is an entrepreneur or small business owner, this burden is even greater. While there is no secret formula or magic genie to make the guilt go away, these tips may be able to help you to balance your work and family life better. How Successful Working Moms Balance Their Work and Life 1. Establish Work-Life Integration A generation or two ago, it was easy for working professionals to put their work down at 5:00 pm and head home without thinking about work activities. Todays high-tech society means that there is an expectation to be connected to work 24/7. Instead of balancing a separate family life and work life, an integration of the two is more realistic and easier to achieve. Try to build flexibility and margin into your day. If you know that you have a meeting with your childs teacher on a Thursday morning at 9:00 am, attend it and then resume with your work day, knowing that your work schedule may extend into the evening hours to make up the difference. Use technology to your advantage by checking emails while in the school pickup line or while waiting for your childs sports practice to conclude. Most working moms who manage their own businesses are passionate about what they do, which can make integrating work and family life easier. 2. Take Control When you are a leader in your field or the owner of a business, you have the benefits of greater autonomy and more resources. These assets can help you to gain more balance in your life. You may be able to delegate certain tasks to your staff instead of doing them yourself. This allows you to reduce your own workload and spend the time with your family. Just like you hire a receptionist or customer service representative for your business, you can hire professional helpers for your personal life. Do not be afraid to bring a nanny onboard or outsource your housekeeping and yard maintenance tasks. 3. Learn When to Let Go Micromanaging is not only a poor way to manage your time, but it also leads to burnout and added stress in your life. Have faith that your staff will get the job done once you have shown them once how to do it the way you prefer. Collaborate on the work if you have to, but the ideal method is to delegate it. This extends to your home life also. Avoid ruminating on what the nanny is feeding your child for lunch and just believe that all is going as you planned. At some point in the future, you will have to recognize that your children desire independence. Whether they want to stay home alone, do chores or drive a car, you will need to model independence and competence for them. There are benefits for your children when you allow them some freedom. A study done by McGinn et al. demonstrated that the daughters of working moms earn 23 percent more per year than the daughters of stay at home moms. Sons of women who work outside the home contribute more to child rearing when they become parents. Find ways to spend quality time with each child. One-on-one time such as bedtime stories or going to the post office could prove to be priceless. You can demonstrate your values as a mom and as a business woman. 4. Make Your Family Your Team Remember that the money you earn as a business owner helps your family to thrive. This income can benefit all of you by providing new opportunities to learn and have fun. When it comes down to it, family and business management are similar. Leadership and mutual respect will help you to enjoy success in all aspects of your life. Talk with your family about how much of your time they want. You can choose how to follow that through with changes in your time spent working. Including your family in these conversations will help to keep everyone informed and satisfied with your family and professional roles. Related Post: Work at Home Moms Summit

Using the Power of the Internet For Effective Groupon Resume Writing

Using the Power of the Internet For Effective Groupon Resume WritingGroupon resume writing is a competitive industry. The competition will not only be from other businesses but also from the experienced resume writers. It would be wise to seek the services of these skilled professionals in order to come up with a unique, striking and impressive resume that will impress your prospective employer.Resume writing for job hunting needs to be unique and eye-catching because most employers prefer applicants who have an edge over others. One way to ensure that you come out as the winner is to submit your resume online and in the format that a potential employer prefers.A Groupon resume writing service provider will also provide the opportunities for you to use pictures of you or the companies. These will certainly help your resume stand out and catch the attention of the potential employer. Just don't forget to add them at the bottom of your resume.You need to have an idea of what you can do to gain the best possible candidate for a position. Start by creating a well-written cover letter. Do not make the mistake of merely copying the opening paragraph and filling in the blanks.You need to think of the following things: What are the best possible qualities of the person or organization that you are addressing? What information about them do you know that will help them understand your candidacy? Are there any red flags that can make the difference between you being hired and you being passed over?After completing the cover letter and a cover email or posting a letter, you can start using the power of the Internet and the various business and Groupon websites to find contacts. Send out your resume in an electronic format so that you have it instantly available and, if you feel the need, you can also post it online.When you have your resume available for viewing and will post it on the Internet, make sure that it is attractive and catchy enough for prospective employers t o see. Most people find it hard to decide whether or not they should hire someone whom they have never seen before.So if you are a potential candidate for a job, start looking for a business that provides Groupon resume writing services. You will surely benefit from their expertise and your career path may well be more rewarding.

How did you lose pride in your work - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

How did you lose pride in your work - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog Link sharing site reddit asked its users a really interesting question: What work moment made your attitude go from proud employee to Im just here for the paycheck? The answers are incredibly interesting (if not a little depressing) and roughly fall into 3 categories. Here they are with some examples. The?examples also bear out the research that shows that even star employees resort to bad behavior when they feel mistreated at work. 1:?Bad bosses When the owners and GM looked at my prostate cancer as a major inconvenience for them. When they bitched about my being out for cancer surgery and Id been out less than two weeks. When I was back after two weeks wearing a fucking diaper because I was afraid of losing my job because of cancer. Then they expected me to be concerned whether they made a profit. Yeah, thats likely. For 7 years I had a boss who valued the work people did, and didnt care how you arrived at the end product. Motivated and innovative employees were recognized and generally received additional responsibility and challenges. Then came the new boss, who was the text book example of micro manager, and ran the department like it was a 50s assembly line. Watched the amount of time people took breaks, watched the minute people arrived, and the minute they left. Achievements were no longer recognized and employees were just cogs in a wheel. If there is no incentive to do anything more than the minimum amount of effort, the minimum amount of effort will be done. A change of boss. We went from someone positive and inspiring to work for to a dolt without vision or concern for employee morale or motivation. 2: Unfair treatment When the new guy who relies on me to do his job got promoted. The company cut out a whole department and transferred their duties to my department. Now we must do two peoples jobs for a 52?/hr raise and the strict no overtime policy remains. Fast forward 3 months and the company flies all the managers (3,000+) from across the US to Florida for a meeting where they rent out an amusement park and have a concert by a well known artist. Needless to say, Im now the saltiest of salty employees. Both of my mentors two ladies who saw potential in me that I didnt and helped me turn my life around were fired (packaged out) within a week of each other. Fired by people who had only started a few months before and then themselves quit a few months later. 3: Being asked to do something unethical When I was told to peel the re-manufactured sticker off of the back of the new instruments we were installing for a customer. Found out that the product reps were giving a ton of free product to the store for the managers to distribute to the sales team. The reps would even give the managers the option of getting a few display-only models for customers to check out or giving products directly to the sales team for them to describe to the customers. The managers would blatantly lie to the reps and say that giving them to the sales team would help their sales the most, and then the managers would just take all of it. Then these same managers would blame the sales team 100% for poor numbers, at our no commission position. If theyre only looking out for themselves, then Im doing that exact same thing. At a grocery store: When for 2.5 years I warned that someone was going to slip and fall on the faulty loading dock for the trucks because a drip in the ceiling wasnt being fixed by the company or the landlord who owned the building. On top of the the thing kept breaking. I griped loud enough and the solution was to send us pretty much this. Since unloading the trucks was a one person job, having one person drag this 165 pound ramp around was a hazard in itself, we just couldnt use it. So, inevitably, someone slipped and fell on the old ramp. And only at that point, and some payout that was kept private, did they replace the faulty ramp we had. Read the whole thread here and for cryin out loud: Stop doing this kind of crap to dedicated employees. Related posts Bad bosses why theyre bad?and what to do about them. How to be nice when youre the boss The 5 most important findings from the science of happiness that apply at work Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

The Power of Asking for Help - Kathy Caprino

The Power of Asking for Help Greetings. As I’ve been speaking these days about Breakdown, Breakthrough with other authors, I’ve been truly awed by their generosity, openness, and support for this new author.   These open-hearted men and women around the country have given freely of their insights, guidance, and hard-earned lessons from their triumphs and “bumps” (my new favorite word!) in launching successful books and businesses. I’ve wondered about this gift of connection and collaboration, and how new it feels for me.   I’ve also been quite startled by the feedback I’m receiving at my seminars.   People come up to tell me that they’re deeply moved by my “authenticity.”   When I ask them to elaborate, they share that, in their life and work, they feel surrounded by manipulation and a lack of forthrightness and candor, or sincere caring.   It seems to me that people are suffering today from an epidemic of inauthenticity.   When we encounter real openness in an individual, and experience their heart-felt wish to be of service through honesty and integrity, it’s a shock!   We’re so unused to it that we’re surprised at how inviting and enlivening it feels. I’ve learned these past months that asking for help is one of the most powerful things I can do (despite my resistance to it).   Being honest about what I don’t know seems to have created a new space or what I call a “breakthrough” circle â€" a circle that invites in other like-minded individuals who wish to be open, supportive, and caring, simply because it feels so good to do so. My recommendation is to ask for help today.   Be open about where you feel out of your comfort zone, where you need some guidance and support.   Don’t hold back or “hide.”   Coming forward openly will help you create your own breakthrough circle, right in your own backyard. Many happy breakthroughs, Kathy