How to Measure Post-Hiring Success

How to Measure Post-Hiring Success No business wants to lose money, especially from a decision youve made and even worse if you can easily avoid it. Bad hires continue to cost recruitment companies thousands of lost revenue every year. A recent survey in the UK on bad hires has put the  loss at anything between £15,000 to £30,000 per year, with some businesses admitting to losing more than £30,000. In the US, the true cost of a bad hire is even more. Researching and matching a candidate BEFORE inviting them for an interview is probably the best way to make sure your recruitment process is a success from start to finish because lets face it, if they fail at the first hurdle then you would never put them forward saving your business and client a lot of time and money. But what does post-hiring success look like AFTER youve placed a candidate? Happy management If the management and team are happy with the new hire then surely that has to be a good thing. Management can take pride in the fact that theyve hired the right person for the job who is an all-round fit. Someone who gets on with management, someone who can do the job and the real deal-breaker, someone who can get on with others. Its quite difficult to gain access in to the inner circle of a well-established team and although this may not happen instantly, the current teams acceptance of the new hire is as good as measure as any that the hire was a success. Employee contribution Im not talking about the amount of teas and coffees the new hire makes or the ability to treat the office with cakes and doughnuts on a regular basis but REAL contribution. If the whole point of a new hire is to help turn things around in a company or to implement a new product or idea then  if this is achieved then it can be deemed a success. Lets face it, theres nothing worse than recruiting someone who SAYS  they can be the change the company wants to see if they fail to deliver. Longevity Long service is something a lot of companies take great pride in and this is often rewarded with things like extra days off work, a gift, a bonus or in some cases an actual award. If someone you have just hired is likely to stay committed to the company and grow with it over the years then this is going to save the company thousands compared to those who have a high turnover of staff.  It’s also good for employer branding and reputation. This shows that the company is investing in the development and career opportunities of its staff enough so that they dont go elsewhere or get bored. It is  important however to have some staff turnover because this will bring in new experience gained from other organisations. Farhan Raja from Jobinterviewology says: If you’re a small start-up/company longevity is vital because it provides stability to help the organisation grow. Plus the loss of 1 person, say in a team of 20, actually contributes to 5% of the workforce so naturally it will have a far greater impact on the business. Compared to an organisation with 2000 employees. New employee contribution is obviously important in all types of organisations, however if the role is strategic rather than operational, new employee contribution is more important, as it will bring in new ideas, concepts and help drive growth. So  dont just pour your money down the gutter by rushing to onboard that new candidate. Dont miss out key stages of the recruitment process because, in this case, speed is not always of the essence and it will end up costing you more in the long run.

Should Recruiters Stop Using the Phone

Should Recruiters Stop Using the Phone I think my phone is broken…. It’s strange to think how much recruitment has changed since I first started. I remember my early days in recruitment â€" we were literally told to ‘hammer the phone’. We would make hundreds of calls per day, and at one point we even had software installed that monitored the phone lines to see how many calls we were making and how long we spent on each call.  The core belief was that the more time you spent on the phone, the harder you were working and networking. But in 2012, has the stereotypical image of the phone-monkey salesperson finally died?  I’m sure that many of you would agree with me that nowadays the call-to-hit ratio (i.e., the chances of actually speaking to the person whose number you are dialling) is very low indeed, both on the client and candidate side.  I would say that you are lucky to speak to one person out of every ten you call. So if we aren’t using the phone to make calls, what are we using it for?  Well it was recently revealed that us Brits now send more texts than make phone calls with our mobiles  and with the advent of smart phones, it’s easier to receive emails and social networking notifications than ever before. Texts, emails, tweets, InMails, Facebook updates… all of these can be accessed, read and sent by our mobiles without ever once having to make a phone call. I would certainly agree that having extra channels of communication can benefit me when I’m doing my job, but this does leave the hapless recruiter to ponder if we are facing a future where phone calls are a thing of the past. There are a number of theories why people are using the phone less today.  In this brave new digital world, have we evolved to the stage that we no longer wish to communicate with our mouths, but rather with our fingers? Have we become too scared to pick up the phone and actually speak directly to a stranger?  Or, just like that famous joke (“nobody drives in London â€" there’s too much traffic!”), is it quite simply that as volumes of sales calls have increased, people are fed up with constantly taking calls and just leave their phones to ring out? Networking will always be the way of making the most effective placements, and using the phone on a daily basis is the best way to keep in touch with those network connections; getting updates on changes in situations, discussing new opportunities, gaining leads and referrals.  I’d like to think that as someone who can type 50+ words a minute I will be ok with this movement to text-based recruitment.  However, examining this in comparison to a phone call, communicating solely by text is a false economy. In a brief 5 minute phone call with an applicant we can expect to have a conversation that, if transcribed, would average at around 750 words.  750 words of lovely recruitment goodness including leads and qualification, all in the space of time it takes to make a decent cuppa.  I could only manage to type 250 words in that time â€" only a third of the information that would be transmitted in a phone call, and it is all one-sided. I would miss out on the opportunity to listen and respond to what the applicant is saying; lose the personal touch and leave myself wide open to being misconstrued, as tone doesn’t translate well to email. I personally don’t think that there’s a magic cure that will allow recruiters to combat this shift away from actually speaking directly to people over the phone. I do believe however that using the phone less will have a detrimental effect on our billing ability. Closing a candidate is the only way to control the recruitment process, and if you don’t speak to them over the phone, you won’t be closing them effectively. Furthermore, if you don’t speak to the candidate in the first place, then you are never going to place them! I regularly hear the ‘more experienced’ (as I wouldn’t want to offend them by calling them old) guys in our office talking about the days of the ‘faxed CV’; laughing about putting labels over phone numbers and sending CVs via a wonderful new piece of technology called a ‘facsimile machine’. To many of the young guns reading this, that must sound like a time when dinosaurs roamed the earth, but this only 15 years ago, around the last time England reached the semi-finals of a major football tournament.  15 years from today, maybe I will be laughing that we used to actually speak to people over the phone. For now, if you’re serious about billing big, then the best thing you can do is get back on the phone and start speaking to people directly, to build the trust and relationship you need to close your next deal. And with that thought, I’m off to make some phone calls! Related: Are Recruiters Hiding Behind Social Media? Thanks to Andrew Fairley  for his help in researching this article.  

The Untold Resume Story Marla Gottschalk

The Untold Resume Story Marla Gottschalk Last week, I attended a client meeting discussing the merits of candidates for a key position. At one point, the conversation turned to a current freelance contributor with whom they had developed a long relationship . The conversation went something like this: Company Executive A: What about bringing in Erin on this one? Her work is beautiful. Company Executive B: We should think about the required progress on this project â€" we need to keep things moving along quickly. Company Executive C: Id like to see Erin here, but I worry about her ability to handle the schedule when the pressure heats up. Hmmmm. That information was certainly never mentioned before â€" and it certainly was not on her resume. This individual had completed multiple projects with the company quite successfully. Her work was described as inspired and she usually hit budget targets. However, it appeared that a portion of her invisible or unwritten resume was affecting her chances with the current opportunity. This brings us to an interesting inflection point. We all have an alternative or unwritten resume â€"   which effectively captures what is not included in the more formal version. (See a great discussion of the topic in this classic HBR post.) This unwritten version, might include aspects of our work life including attitude, performance under pressure and our overall ability to collaborate. We all have a side to our career story that we may be overlooking â€" and its elements may have a significant impact on our future. We all need to ascertain the complete story. The sooner the better. So what do you think might be included in your invisible resume? Time to think about that. Dr. Marla Gottschalk is a Workplace Psychologist. She also writes for Linkedin and US News World Report.

Top 10 Things to Mention in an Interview

Top 10 Things to Mention in an Interview The job interview might be the only thing left between you and the position of your dreams. Even when you’re the most qualified candidate with references galore, a poor interview performance can leave a lousy impression on a potential employer. Yet, you can avoid nearly all interview mishaps if you prepare the right way for your interview. This means always knowing which talking points to bring up â€" and why these points are important in determining if the position is a good fit for you. Here are 10 things to always bring up in an interview: 1. The Work The most fundamental goal of the interview is to determine whether you have the skills to do the job. Still, your interviewer may not even know how to figure out if you have what it takes. You must be ready to do it for them. Be prepared with a list of your top selling points so the interviewer is completely aware of your advantages over others. 2. The Company In a 2011 survey by AccountTemps, 38 percent of managers said the number one interview mistake they encountered was little or no knowledge about the hiring organization. Don’t let that happen to you. Do your homework ahead of time so you are ready to say why you want to work at that job and for that company. 3. The Culture The work environment can determine whether you love your job or hate it. Address the work culture with your interviewer to make sure your values align. There’s nothing worse than landing a job only to realize the organization is not a place where you would feel comfortable working. 4. Industry Knowledge Want to “wow” the interviewer? Show off your knowledge of the industry. Talk about recent newsworthy events or the company’s newest products. Thoroughly understanding your industry proves your passion for the field. In addition, having this knowledge suggests you have a deeper level of expertise than the average candidate. 5. Past Experiences Your past experiences demonstrate how you would perform if you landed the job. So, you want to be prepared to describe past experiences where you had a big impact. If you have numbers to back up your claims, that’s even more persuasive. 6. Portfolio A portfolio is a visual representation of your past work. It not only shows off your accomplishments, it also gives you added value. While a portfolio may not be essential for many positions, having physical representations off your work that you can share upon request will make you look good because you went that extra mile. Related:  5 Reasons Why All Job Seekers Need to Have a Work Portfolio 7. Your Plan For the Position Your interview needs to show the company what you can do for them. Lay out what you’d do, should you get the job. This plan doesn’t need to be detailedâ€"it just needs to illustrate how you would positively contribute to the position. For instance, presenting how you would reduce customer turnover is an easy, yet beneficial way to show an employer why you would do well. 8. Your Referral (if you have one) There’s nothing wrong with name-dropping if the person helped you land the interview. If you were referred to the position, be sure to remind the interviewer. This connection may put some legitimacy behind your candidacy, as well as spark a positive conversation between you and the interviewer. 9. Thought-out Questions Always make sure you have questions at the end of the interview. From queries about the interviewer’s role to thoughts on the history of the position, questions show your desire for the job. They can also give you more insight into the role, which may not have been addressed during the more formal portion of the interview. Related: 9 Killer Questions Candidates Ought to Ask the Interviewer 10. Next Steps Understanding the next steps in the interview process is essential. Always ensure you’re aware of what these are. It may be a second interview. It may be giving the company a list of references. It may mean you won’t know the outcome for a few weeks. By asking about these next steps, you’ll know what to expect and gain some peace of mind. You’ll also show your enthusiasm for this position. As you can see, job interviews can be a much smoother process if you use this checklist. Do your research, emphasize why you are the best candidate for the job, and always leave on a good note. You’ll find the outcome of the interview will be much more positive if you do. What do you think?  What are some other things to always bring up in an interview? Let us know in the comments below. Related:  How to Answer the Top 10 Interview Questions Alan Carniol  is the Founder of  InterviewSuccessFormula, a program that helps job seekers to deliver powerful answers that prove why they are the right person for the job. Follow Alan and Interview Success Formula on  Twitter. Image: Shutterstock

Building Your Target List The Targeted Job Search - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Building Your Target List â€" The Targeted Job Search - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Your target list Your target list should contain companies that could hire you. You should be looking for companies that are looking for your skill set. This is step one of Target the Company and Quit Chasing the Job   or the Targeted Job Search. Lets cover four sources to find these companies. 1. Your friends This might seem obvious, but you should talk to your friends about where they work and whether they know of companies that hire people like yourself. Remember, we are not looking for companies that are hiring, but those that are capable of hiring you at some point in the future. 2. Business journal Just about every major metropolitan area has a business journal. Here in Austin, it is the Austin Business Journal. Each week, they have a new list of companies. At the end of the year, they publish the Book of Lists. You can usually get the Book of Lists in most public libraries. Look at the best places to work and fastest growing lists. Beware that, even if a company made the best places to work list last year, that does not mean it is a great place to work. Just like with investments, past performance does not necessarily predict future results! You may find other resources similar to the Business Journal that lists companies. 3. LinkedIn advanced search Search using LinkedIn Advanced Search  for people with similar titles and certifications. For example, if you are a project manager and have a PMP certification. You would perform a search where you place PMP in the last name field and enter your zip code in the Postal Code field. The results would list people in your network who have PMP list in their last name field and are located near you. Make a list of companies where the people in your list work. Perform searches using the title field. Enter variations of the title you currently have or would like to have in your next job. Add the companies you find to your target list. 4. Public databases I use a resource provided by the Austin Public Library called The A to Z Databases. This is a great resource for locating small and medium size businesses. Check your library to see if it is available. Your list is a working list and should contain 15-25 companies. You will never stop working on this list. This list should be updated monthly, even when you are happily employed. The next step in the Target the Company and Quit Chasing the Job or the Targeted Job Search will be to research the companies on your list. I will be discussing researching these companies next week! Are you ready to start building your list? Marc Miller â€" Career Pivot Check out my book Repurpose Your Career â€" A Practical Guide for Baby Boomers Do not forget to follow me on Twitter or FaceBook

The right choice University of Manchester Careers Blog

The right choice University of Manchester Careers Blog If youre at the start of a new postgraduate degree, are you perfectly happy with the choice youve made, or are you still wondering whether you should have gone for that other PhD, or that job, or stuck it out in your old job after all? Ive been watching a TED talk from Dan Gilbert, a Harvard professor who researches into the psychology of happiness. His book Stumbling on Happiness sounds like the sort of self-help manual Id normally avoid like the plague, but its nothing like that. It elegantly demonstrates how the human mind fools itself into thinking it knows what will make the accompanying human happy, ignoring any evidence to the contrary. His talk discusses how we synthesise happiness, including how we can still be genuinely happy whether good or horrible things happen to us. However, he argues that having a choice, where that choice is reversible, leads to you being less likely to be happy with your choice. In short, if the only prospect on your horizon was a place on this Masters course, youll probably be happy. If you were agonising between leaving your job and coming on this postgraduate programme, and your boss said, dont worry, well keep your job open for you, youre more likely to be unhappy with your choice, whichever choice you make. If you enjoy that feeling that your heads about to explode with the profound implications of what youre hearing, watch this 20 minute TED talk: If you want to see the transcript, its available on the TED site itself. So, if youre not sure if youve done the right thing, what can you do about it? The start of a new phase in your life is often accompanied by a niggling doubt that youve done the wrong thing. If its a new job, its even got a name the induction crisis. Apparently, up to 22% of employees leave their job within six months of joining an organisation (CIPD 2008). Thats why good employers put together induction programmes, training plans and regularly check to make sure youre settling in. Theres some of that at university (I reckon Ill see around 2,500 of you for induction talks in your first week), but if there are over 100 new starters on your Masters programme, its hard to give you all a personal induction programme. Its the opposite problem if youre starting a PhD youll quickly find out that conducting academic research can be a very solitary occupation. Whatever your state of mind at the start of your postgraduate degree, Id recommend putting some effort into the social side of university. Try the Student Union activities theyre not just for 1st year undergrads. With your extra maturity, you may even find yourself on a committee or two very quickly. Become part of our vibrant Manchester community if you dont know where to start, have a go at volunteering, particularly with an organisation based outside the university itself. The Careers Service runs a volunteering database with details of local organisations who would love to hear from you. Get to know the other postgrads on your programme even if your School organises some sort of initial get-together, it will be down to the postgrads on your programme to take it further. All it takes is for you to chat to a couple of others and mention that it would be good to arrange an informal event for you all to get together When I started work (back in the Dark Ages), our new employer organised a series of events for its 50 graduate recruits. However, the real life-line turned out to be our informal agreement that wed meet up every Tuesday night in a specific pub in town. Sometimes thered be half a dozen of us, sometimes twenty but for years afterwards, there would always be someone you knew. Who knows what you could start with your postgraduate colleagues? Will it help my career? Absolutely. One of the challenges postgrads sometimes have when applying for jobs is that they dont have anything on their CV apart from their postgraduate degree. This is particularly true for PhDs where activities prior to starting a PhD are pretty out of date once you get to the end of your degree. Getting to know others on your programme (or elsewhere at the University) is also a great start to building your network which could help your career in the years to come. How do I know? Well, thirty years on, Im still in touch with some of those people I used to meet up with, every Tuesday night. All Postgraduate 53.468610 -2.233701

On The Other Side of Fear

On The Other Side of Fear Theres a soulful old tune that I remember because it was playing on September 11, 2001.   The Other Side of Fear was a helpful refuge from the unthinkable madness of the day.   Ms. Murray sings about how fear keeps us from experiencing love.   Take a listen for yourself and ponder the message. More recently,   celebrity Will Smith spoke of his experience skydiving.   In his comedic but very insightful recounting of his encounter with fear, he says that on the other side of your maximum fear are all of the best things in life.   Not just love, but all of the best things of life. Is it possible that all of the best things of life are just on the other side of fear?   Thats probably a question that most of us have pondered.   And theres no doubt that our fears are usually far greater than the imagined dangers we face.   How many times have you broken through your fears only to ask yourself afterwards, what was I so afraid of? So How Did You Do It? As I consider the times in my life when Ive faced my fears, overcome obstacles, and made life-changing breakthroughs, I ask myself how I did it.   Was it just stumbling forward out of exhaustion? Was it because Id learned some great truth or wisdom from some self-proclaimed guru? Or was it something else? It was something else. Those breakthroughs came when I connected to my own inner strength.   It was when I saw clearly that what I wanted was over there, and I would no longer be kept from having it.   And if it was to be, it was up to me. Ive never been much of a hero worshiper. Yes, I believe were stronger together.   I know we can and do learn from and rely on others to help us along the way. But we are equals on the journey we call life. There are no gurus. There are no heroes.   That is, except the very personal hero that resides within each of us.   I am my hero, and you are your hero. Be Wary Of Self-Proclaimed Saviors So, its no surprise then that I am immediately suspect of anyone who claims to have the answers be enlightened know what no one else knows And, invariably, wants to sell something. No, Im not a cynic. Because I do believe that most people are genuinely desirous of improving the human condition. Unfortunately, too often theres apparently too great a temptation for the ego and financial rewards of playing on the needs, emotions, and frustrations of those seeking answers. Need A Primer But NOT A Hero? If youre not yet ready to accept that you already have what it takes to get past your fears, thats okay.   Listen to the words of one of the classics, such as Wayne Dyer.   Or for a newly published read, pick up Love Is The Power -Moving Humanity From Fear To Love by Robert Williams.   Williams shares a first-person account of his life-long quest for and acceptance of the natural powers that reside in all of us.   Its a reminder that while we each walk a very different path, there are miracles available for all of us, if well only let go of our fears.   Especially if lessons from real-life experiences resonate with you, this is a very engaging read.   Check it out! No matter how you get there, start YOUR journey.   Yes, its true that love, and all of your dreams and aspirations, are on the other side of fear.

How to Be Productive at Work

How to Be Productive at Work Work spaces are changing. Never before has there been such an emphasis on employee happiness. Countless studies have shown that a happy employee equals a productive employee and employers are finally listening. Whether you’re a small business or a multinational company, there are certain things you can do to make the workplace a happier and thus more productive environment for your employees. Thanks to Davitt Corporate Partners for the infographic.

Michael OBrien Shifting with Purpose. [Podcast] - Career Pivot

Michael O’Brien â€" Shifting with Purpose. [Podcast] - Career Pivot Episode #102 â€" Marc interviews Michael O’Brien on how a devastating and life-changing accident set him on a path of purpose and passion. Description: Michael O’Brien is a Sales and Marketing Executive Coach, Resilience Builder, Motivational Speaker, and the bestselling author of Shift: Creating Better Tomorrows: Winning at Work and in Life. Marc and Michael share their common experience of near-fatal bike accidents and Michael talks about his life and career since his accident. Key Takeaways: [1:24] Marc welcomes you to Episode 102 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast. [1:38] If you’re enjoying this podcast, Marc invites you to share this podcast with like-minded souls. Please subscribe on CareerPivot.com, iTunes, Google Play and the Google Podcasts app, Podbean, Overcast app, TuneIn, Spotify app, or Stitcher.. Share it on social media, or tell your neighbors and colleagues so Marc can help more people. [2:01] Marc is launching the 2018 Repurpose Your Career Podcast Survey. To improve the show, Marc would like to know more about you â€" how you listen to the show; if you read the show notes; what kinds of episodes are your favorite; and so forth. [2:22] Marc asks if you would kindly go to CareerPivot.com/podcastsurvey (where you will be redirected to SurveyMonkey) to take the survey. Marc will publish the results in a couple of months. Marc thanks you in advance for doing this for the podcast. [2:48] Next week, Marc will likely have a QA episode but he may decide to do something different. Listen in to hear! [2:58] This week, Marc interviews Michael O’Brien, who, like Marc, suffered from a near-fatal bicycle accident. Hear how this changed his life. Michael is the author ofShift: Creating Better Tomorrows: Winning at Work and in Life. Now on to the podcast… Download Link | iTunes|Stitcher Radio|Google Podcast| Podbean | TuneIn | Overcast [3:21] Marc and Michael have discussed how similar their accidents were, and how the paths they have taken are very parallel. [3:33] Marc welcomes Michael to the Repurpose Your Career podcast. Marc and Michael met two or three years ago. It has been 6,298 days since Michael’s last bad day. [4:32] Michael tells how the first of his life involved school, family, and the corporate ladder. He felt sales was his calling, since his paper route. He started selling copiers on commission but wanted to be in pharmaceutical sales. When he finally got into pharmaceutical sales, it was a 22-year long career. [6:37] Eventually Michael came to his first downsizing, which was unexpected. It taught him to diversify his resume. At his next job, he had the opportunity to get into sales management but he went into pharmaceutical marketing management, instead, in New Jersey, where he and his family have stayed. [7:33] Now, Michael helps leaders avoid getting hit by their SUV. He does that as an author and through speaking, but mainly as an executive coach. Michael loves helping leaders and shaping corporate culture. He has been doing so full-time since 2014. [8:28] Michael tries to help people put their last bad day behind them and create better tomorrows. He tries to help people live a life that is purposeful, so they can be ‘the wealthiest person they know.’” Michael means by that, the wealth that comes from within, not just the wealth of ‘money and stuff,’ but happiness, joy, and fulfillment. [9:02] Michael has a story about his own last bad day. He had brought his bike to a sales and marketing summit in New Mexico. Michael describes the experience of cycling and being hit head-on by a white SUV. The EMTs were scared for his survival. [12:17] All he could do was look up at the sky and will himself not to fall asleep â€" to ‘stay in control.’ He remembers making a commitment that his life would change if he lived. He remembers every minute of the 19-minute helicopter flight to the hospital. [13:59] Michael’s commitment was to stop chasing happiness. He relates this to something he had read from Zig Ziglar, who had talked about the ‘do, have, be’ way of living that many follow â€" work hard, buy things, and that will finally lead to happiness. Michael used to tell himself he would be happy when he got to the next thing. [15:14] At each life milestone, Michael was happy for a moment and then found it was fleeting and he went back to chasing happiness. He knew it wasn’t a healthy way of living. He didn’t know the path forward but he knew it was a different path. [16:10] In that moment of clarity on the helicopter, he knew he just wanted to live. Bound and braced, he could only move his eyes. He kept them on his flight nurse. He still has a picture of that flight crew. He sees it every morning with gratitude. [16:41] Michael tells of his surgeries and how many units of blood product he needed. Many of his major bones were broken. His left femur had shattered and lacerated his femoral artery. Only his youth and good shape had kept him alive to get to the hospital. [18:00] Michael spent 72 hours in the ICU, ‘jacked up on a whole bunch of meds.’ He doesn’t remember any of it, but he ‘was babbling like a fool.’ At one point he spent 45 minutes interviewing his wife for a sales rep position on his team and didn’t hire her. He said he had to call her back because he had other candidates to interview. [18:48] Marc’s near-fatal bike accident was a year to the day later than Michael’s, on July 11, 2002. Marc has his own morphine-related trauma center story. He tried to go home and started pulling off his restraints. He had to insist on no more drugs. [19:44] Michael, still loaded on drugs, tried to convince his wife they should buy Amazon stock. It was worth $15.00. She ignored that, and he forgives her since she forgave him for not hiring her. [20:09] When Michael came out of the ICU, a few days later, the doctor talked to him about the accident and the extent of his injuries. The SUV driver had a revoked license and should not have been driving. Michael learned he would have a lifetime of limitations, dependencies, and future surgeries including total knee replacements soon. [20:36] Michael’s quality of life was going to suffer. At that moment, he recalled his commitment that if he lived, his life would be different. It got different, but not in the way that he wanted. Michael became angry, frustrated, bitter, and even revengeful. [20:54] Michael focused at first on the unfairness of the events and facts he had to face. He played up the victim story pretty well and everyone validated it. He was a mess. His wife was left taking care of him in the hospital and their two young daughters. [21:52] When Michael flew home to New Jersey he had another aha moment. He realized he was dissatisfied with the toxic stew he was lying in. During his daily physical therapy one day, he saw some patients were progressing and some were stuck and moping. He knew he wasn’t showing up with the right attitude and mindset to get better. [23:23] At that moment, Michael made another commitment that he was going to show up differently, going forward so he could be the best husband and father and person that he could be. [23:34] He let go of comparing himself to others and showed up with a different lens â€" one of abundance instead of scarcity. He didn’t use that vocabulary, but he had that attitude. He decided to find some level of gratitude in his situation. Viktor Frankl said it’s not the events in our life that define us, but it’s our response to them (paraphrased). [24:51] Michael determined to be known by his response to the accident, and not be known by what happened. Michael got busy that day trying to make his recovery something he was known for. [25:07] Marc says so many of us get defined by what happens to us. We also like to compare ourselves to other people and those comparisons just aren’t fair to ourselves. Marc is a fan of ProBlogger’s Darren Rowse, who says to new bloggers, don’t compare yourself to someone who’s been doing this for 10 years. You’re brand new. [26:05] The next day, Michael had a real test. He had an orthopedic appointment to see if he was ready to start learning to walk. The doctor told him he needed more time in the wheelchair; more time in the hospital. His new attitude didn’t give him new strength, but it gave him determination not to go back to his victim way of thinking. [27:27] Eventually, day by day, or pedal stroke by pedal stroke, Michael kept working on his self-narrative, losing the victim story, and becoming resilient. Day by day, Michael was getting better. He decided he was never going to have another bad day. With his wife and his daughters in his life, there was no way he could have another bad day. [28:21] Michael focused in on the things he could still do and the things he still had. He strung a few days of improvement together and then a few weeks and eventually, he got out of that wheelchair and out of the hospital. He still had about 10 surgeries ahead of him, setbacks, and hospital stays before he could get back on the bike as he wished. [29:20] Someone told Michael, “Hey, listen! Don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle.” Michael was at the beginning of a journey to get better and healthier. From the time of the accident to the start of his rehabilitation took three to four months. [30:12] Michael’s wife and daughters had been coming to visit him at the hospital twice a day, 45 minutes each way. He was exhausted after a 15-minute visit, but he was anxious to get back home. He wanted life to be normal again. Nothing about being in the hospital was normal. [31:25] Michael credits his employer with being really kind and very patient, to a degree that is rare. They worked out a system where Michael could go back to work part-time at first, through the rest of the year, working half a day and doing rehabilitation half a day. In January 2002, they gave him a pivot to run operations and get out of traveling. [33:53] Michael was reluctant to give up his head of marketing position but he took the job and it turned out to be the best shift in his corporate career. He is so grateful they gave him the pivot opportunity. [35:10] That pivot eventually landed Michael in executive leadership. All the time he was in recovery, he knew he was eventually going to go into executive coaching. This concept first came from David, a recent hire of Michael’s before the accident. David was the first executive coach Michael had met â€" before he even knew what that meant. [36:07] When Michael got into executive leadership, he stayed in that role for six years, from 2008 to 2014. He had a team of close to 1,000 reps, with a PL of around $4 billion. That was beyond any expectations he had ever had. In 2014 he got the last ‘puzzle piece.’ There was another realignment in the company [36:38] The president of the company, Michael’s friend of 18 years, got pushed out and a new president came in. Michael knew right away they were not a good match. This was the puzzle piece that helped Michael make his last pivot. Michael told his boss in May, he would stay for the summer and September 1, he would start his own business. [37:30] People questioned why he was making the decision. Michael told them he’d been working on the decision for 13 years and this corporate change made it clear that it was time for him to move forward. [38:00] Marc notes how this pattern is very similar to the career paths of a lot of people he has interviewed. They start in a role that is not their favorite, an event tells them they need to do something different, they do nothing, then, a second event gives them the kick to go do what they want to do. [38:27] Marc invites you to listen to Episode 7 with Mike O’Krent, or Episode 3 with Dr. Joel Dobbs for similar path career pivoters. We know what we’re supposed to do but usually, it takes some outside interference to get us to do what we want to do. [38:49] If someone’s life has been touched, and they are inspired by Michael’s book or work, or a keynote, to lead a purposeful life, that’s the type of work Michael really loves to do. [41:39] Marc shares his own bicycle accident details with Michael. Marc’s Toyota Corolla experience didn’t cause nearly as much damage as Michael’s Ford SUV experience. Michael regrets that he didn’t want to hear how lucky he was in the accident situation, with EMTs coming immediately. He knows it now. [44:35] All the proceeds from Michael’s bookShift: Creating Better Tomorrows go to the charity World Bicycle Relief, giving mobility to girls in poor countries. Bicycles change the world for someone. You can reach out to Michael at MichaelOBrienShift.com. [45:49] Marc hopes you enjoyed this episode. He got choked up when editing this episode. Marc hopes you will be inspired by Michael’s story. [47:06] Marc is soliciting members for the next cohort of the CareerPivot.com Online Community. For information, please go to CareerPivot.com/Community. For information, please go to CareerPivot.com/Community. [47:48] Check back next week when Marc will likely be doing a QA session with listener’s questions. Marc Miller Like what you just read? 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Best Programming Languages for AI Machine Learning CareerMetis.com

Best Programming Languages for AI Machine Learning Artificial intelligence and machine learning faced a lack of resources as most of the languages were known for generic programming and that the professionals have not explored the arithmetical, statistical, and analytical aspects of the languages they were working in.There is a huge list of programming languages, but all of them have a difficult level. Some of them are hard to learn whereas others are easy even for a beginner to use. You can find explore more about such languages in this post, which even a non-coder can learn and get expertise in.evalWith the help of those languages, a beginner can start coding, but cannot suffice the needs of an expert AI and Machine learning professional. To be able to contribute to projects about big data and analytics, he or she has to find out the best languages and acquire some hands-on expertise in most of them. This post discusses some of them for your ease.Best Programming Languages for AI and Machine LearningEvery programming language has a defined scope, features, and functionality. They are not parallel to each other that’s why developers and software engineers have to select them precisely for an intended purpose.Among thousands of languages, you might have heard the names of a few because they survive for providing that specific need. For example,web designers and developerswere once limited to specific web design principles; as they focused on HTML and PHP as these were serving the purpose.As soon as machine learning and artificial intelligence expanded, the coders explored and experimented with sophisticated languages. Not all of them are good enough to be adopted as it takes quite a lot of time in learning and mastering any specific language to brew the desired results.The professionals may consider the ease of learning, its support and computability, and the way other community members are embracing it for coding. Once they learn a language that has more features than necessary, they settle with it to excel further rather than searching for more options.In this post, I am reviewing some of the best programming languages that have proved more helpful in solving problems of machine learning and artificial intelligence.1) PythonevalPython is one of the widely used programming languages as its scope is not limited to artificial intelligence and machine learning. It has acquired fame for possessing a variety of features from the very beginning of its launch.evalEvery programming language is popular among the community of coders for a set of functionalities. They like to share about it to learn and excel in a language for producing more concise and useful code. Python is popular for various reasons. It is known for being simple, scalable, and flexible with a huge array of libraries and enticing features.The core distinction of Python is its focus on agile development. The professionals, who are in a continuous quest of learning different languages, find it quite easy to understand and use. T he simplicity of the language helps them quickly learn and create the code without much brainstorming for it. Solving the problems of machine learning may require complex knowledge, but Python makes it easier for them. The beginners can hone their skills first on python if they are passionate to excel in data sciences, machine learning and artificial intelligence. To start with, they can seek assistance from different libraries like Pybrain, Numpy, AIMA, etc.2) ScalaScala is a dedicated language with advanced features for carrying big data projects. The language makes it easier for the coders to create, write, and implement different algorithms for machine learning and artificial intelligence. It is powered by the Apache Spark platform and some major technologies for streamlining big data projects. By utilizing different libraries like Saddle, a programmer can lay down the powerful and perfect foundation stone for an AI product.3) C++evalC++ is a pioneering language, as it is known among coders for long. It is highly recommended for time-sensitive projects where the smallest fraction of a second matters the most. The significance of C++ lies in its fastest transition of the message with hardware, which proves its immense compatibility of the application with its device.Being a fast and reliable language solution, it suffices all the needs of coding for machine learning and artificial intelligence. Going specific to its usability, one can find it a miraculous gift for statistical projects in AI. In addition to C++, C language has always been a tough contender in aiding programming with an enticing collection of deep learning libraries.4) R ProgrammingR Programming has secured a name in a specialized field that belongs to addressing statistical and numerical problems. However, it was not successful in getting the limelight the day it was introduced to the programmers, but the expansion of machine learning and artificial intelligence has brought it to fame and ga ve it the due reputation among the coders and developers.R Programming was considered the best fit for data sciences and AI because of its immensely useful tools for resolving numerical problems. It is loaded with a huge collection of libraries and features that a machine-learning enthusiast may need the most.One can find and utilize the collection to the fullest for drafting immaculate solutions let it be sampling, model evaluation, supervised learning, or data analysis. This is an open-source application, which simply means the beginners, and professionals can start coding in it without spending a dime.eval5) HaskellHaskell may be the lesser-known languages, but it has existed since 1990. For a conventional programmer, it may be of little use, but for a machine learning geek, it is a gemstone. There are various notable organizations utilizing this feature-rich coding language, one of them worthy to mention here is its impeccable support for domain-specific languages. This makes it a priority for machine learning and AI research.6) LispLisp is another archaic language that has aided the artificial intelligence programs for long. John McCarthy, as regarded as the father of AI, introduced it back in 1958. The language is competent enough to process the data in signs and symbols.The exuberant prototyping is one of its key distinctions, whereas one can effectively produce new objects with dynamic designs in the language. Lisp was one unique in providing the interactive tools for the assessment of expressions and rekeying of the functionalities, whereas, with the passage of time, its singularity was found in other languages as well that is why it lost the charm of being an unparalleled language.7) JavaJava is among the few programming languages that have contributed to tons of segments in the IT industry, which primarily includes machine learning and AI as well. Its virtual machine technology can prove to be more effective and easy in developing a single-version a pplication. The machines that are compatible with Java will smoothly run such an application.evalJava has been in the market for more than a decade and was used in developing a variety of content for websites, mobiles, and desktop computers. I remember playing games and using a dictionary and other applications powered by Java on my small and old-fashioned cell phone back a decade. It required the device to support Java.The support makes it an armed tool for bigger projects let it be in machine learning or artificial intelligence. Its long existence has formed a community around Java that is always ready to serve the coders with quick guidance and assistance.8) JavaScriptJavaScript is prevalent for creating applications for internet users and objects for websites. It was quite an underrated language until it stepped into the realm of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Look out for different libraries to prepare to work towards Machine Learning projects. Some of the notewo rthy of them include ConvenJS, Mind, and Synaptic.The good thing about JavaScript is its ease of understanding and learning the coding fundamentals. If you planning to start writing code for your project, you may need to make sure you are aware of the context you will be working in as it may demand you to be more focused and detail-oriented.9) JuliaJulio is regarded as the best to deliver lightning-fast results in analyzing computational and numerical problems. The code does not need to compile the code separately. The ability to understanding and resolving complex mathematical roots is what makes Julia a reliable option for the drafting code of machine learning. It is quite easy and quick to mend a problem with a simple algorithm.evalConclusionLeaning any programming language is fun and opens countless opportunities for you, whereas selecting the right tool and master it is quite significant to success in the current era. The languages discussed above may not be developed solely fo r machine learning and artificial intelligence, but is the basis of any project or program, they are serving a key role in AI.If you are just starting out, you can find more in this articleas to how to prepare for a career in machine learning. The young talent is not required to master all such languages as they have to start from the basics but continue their learning process. Once you learn the foundations of coding, no language may seem unfamiliar or difficult for you to learn and code in.

The Best Team Building Day Ideas For 2019 - Margaret Buj - Interview Coach

The Best Team Building Day Ideas For 2019 In order to make your team perform better and communicate more, it is a good idea to hold some team building days. These days should be fun and include an activity that they will use to work together and get to know each other a little better. Here, we are going to give you some ideas on what you can do for your team building days in 2019. Keep reading if you’d like to find out more. Kayaking One of the best ways to get your team together in 2019 is to have an activity day that gets them outdoors. It is important that they are able to spend some time together out in the fresh air and kayaking is the perfect way to do this. They can work together to get to a certain location and  develop some new skills  while they are there. Kayaking is really fun so make sure to try this out. Treasure Hunt Another great team building idea is to go on a treasure hunt with your staff. This could be arranged by you or you could ask a professional team building events team to organise it for you. If you get someone else to organise it then you will get to join in on the fun. This is a really exciting option for a team building day so make sure to give it a try for something a little different. Rock Climbing Another great idea for getting your team outside and spending time together is to go rock climbing. This will give them a chance to see if they are brave enough to try and test themselves. They also might be able to gain some more confidence after braving the climbing wall and they can support each other if they are struggling. Make sure to try out rock climbing with your team in 2019 for a fun activity that will take them out of their comfort zone. Laser Tag Laser tag is another great activity that your team will love because it will remind them of their childhood. They might have played laser tag when they were younger, but they have probably not had a chance to do it again. You will find that there are plenty of laser tag places in London that will let you bring your staff along  and have a fun day out. Make sure to put them into teams that they are not comfortable in to encourage them to work together in different groups. This will help to make your team stronger in the future. Escape Room The final idea that we have for your team building day in 2019 is an escape room. This activity involves your team working together to get themselves out of a room using a series of puzzles. This is often more of an activity for a smaller team, but it can be really fun. Look out for escape rooms near you as you will find that they are popping up all over the place due to the popularity. Your staff will love this activity and you might even be able to improve their skills through it. Final Verdict It is very important that you host a few team building days throughout the year to make sure that your team are working together effectively. Think about trying an outdoor activity to give them some time to refresh or organise a game of laser tag to let them blow off some steam. When you do, you’ll have a team who work a lot better together in the future.

Brandyourself.coms New Release Promises to Change Online Reputation Management Forever - CareerEnlightenment.com

Those results that Google shows these hiring managers are, for the most part, outside of the control of most lay-people. Unless you are knowledgeable about SEO (or have read that chapter in my book), you probably feel quite helpless in changing these results.Reputation.com offers a great service, but their prices are aimed primarily at mid-market managers or private practice lawyers, starting at $300 and going up into the thousands.The rest of us have to hope that we might get a manager in that 10% group that doesn’t Google candidates. But hope is not a strategy.In comes Brandyourself.com, starting at free and going all the way up to $9.99/month. Can someone say, “online reputation management for all!” Even with their free subscription, you’ll be able to make significant changes in how your profiles are set up to better influence the search engines.It Does What it Says on the TinThe new user interface for Brandyourself.com is easier than ever. It took me 10 minutes to optimiz e my LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter profiles so that they are more likely to rank; then another 10 minutes to build my own website pre-built with all of the SEO bells and whistles that might cost you thousands of dollars to get done professionally.As an experiment, I wasn’t able to see any immediate changes to my Google results; but how can you make perfect better! Ok, that was cocky, I know. But since I do already dominate my Google Search after four years of effort there really isn’t much more that can happen. So, I’m curious to see some real results from Brandyourself.com (and I’m sure they would love the case studies as well) from people who are unhappy with what Google shows about them (or their name).So I would like to offer a little something to my loyal readers. The guys over at Brandyourself have offered you, my readers, a three month premium membership, for the first five of you to retweet this article and @reply @brandyourself, and 15% off premium membership for a ll runners up, this offer will run through the end of April.In exchange, I want you to take a screenshot of your Google search results before you sign up, and then again at the end of 30 days. Email me both screenshots and you may win a chance to get featured on the Brandyourself blog (how’s that for building your personal brand!).ps. if you dont have my email address, its because you havent subscribed to my newsletter yet. Tisk  Tisk.

Organization for Creatives Staying Productive + Sane as a Renaissance Soul

Organization for Creatives Staying Productive + Sane as a Renaissance Soul being busy means doing stuffby Eviva! Art Prints Huzzah! Michelle Nickolaisen  is back after introducing us/making us addictive to Trello! In this post, shes getting close to my heart (and the heart of 95% of the peeps I work with) by giving us creative Renaissance Soul ways to stay organized sans head explosions. Enjoy! The topic of productivity is a big one, far too big to cover in just one blog post. In fact, I just taught a course on it and I still have more to say. But I thought Id cover some of the most helpful things for Renaissance types, the things that can help you start to shift the way you view things like productivity organization, and then turn that shift in viewpoint into action to help you through your workday. (Why am I targeting specifically Renaissance types? Because the vast majority of productivity organization information out there is created for specialists, and it does not work for those of us who arent specialists. Not well, anyways.) Staying Productive When youre interested in everything and everything seems interesting, it can be really hard to focus and actually get any freakin work done. As Im sure youre well aware. One way to trick yourself into focusing is to give yourself a time limit. It is monumentally easier to focus if you know that you only have to do it for 15 minutes (or 30, or whatever). Sarah Bray posted a great example of this with her 90 minute workday article that highlights a lot of the benefits of working in that way; theres also the Pomodoro technique (you can use Focus Booster for that). Another useful strategy is to pay attention to your distraction triggers. These are you may have guessed! things that can cause you to become distracted. For example, when Im writing a blog post, I either compile all of the links for the post ahead of time or after I finish the writing process, because I know that if I go looking for a link in the middle of the writing process, Ill end up going down the internet rabbit hole and suddenly look up two hours later, having not written a word andI still dont have the link I went in search of! However, if I have a list of the articles/blog posts Ill be linking to ahead of time, I can put them where appropriate without losing the flow of my writing and without getting distracted. Other common distraction triggers include things like answering the phone or checking social media. The key to working around these is to come up with a preventative technique one that doesnt rely on you having the willpower in the very moment of distraction, it just eliminates the most likely possibilities of getting distracted. For example, if you tend to check social media in the middle of work get distracted, use an extension like StayFocusd to block your social media sites during your prime work hours. Actions: Try working in 15 or 30 minute blocks and see if that helps you out any track your progress! When you start trying new things, you want to be able to see whats working whats not, so keep a simple journal, something like Set timer for 15 minutes, accomplished. Track your distraction triggers. When you noticed that youve become distracted and wandered off-path, stop and take a moment to write down what you were doing when you became distracted. Chances are pretty high youll start to notice some patterns! And remember, after you figure out what your distraction triggers are, figure out how to prevent them from becoming an issue. Staying Sane When I say staying sane, I mostly mean avoiding overwhelm through being organized. Creatives tend to have a love-hate relationship with organization we ogle beautiful, clean, organized offices and craft rooms on Pinterest (dont lie, you do it too) but when we try to sit down and get organized ourselves, its like running into a brick wall. Organization should be fun and easy. It should make your life better. Period. If it doesnt, then you should feel free to stop doing what youre doing and try something new. A lot of the organization out there is very masculine and/or left-brained lots of hard-and-fast-rules, intricate multi-step systems that require a flowchart to understand, with the end result when used in an office creating a sterile, boring space. Booooo. People end up trying that sort of organization and having a hard time with it because its not suited to them, their working style, or their personality and then they decide that its easier to just be unorganized instead of struggling within a system that doesnt fit. Instead, you want to choose tools based on what you like. One of my favorites is Springpad I love that I can do things like change the background and pick colors, and that the layout is so pretty. Im monumentally more likely to use a tool if it has great aesthetics, and I know that, so I can use that information to help me pick how I organize things. (This is, by the way, why its totally okay to pay twice as much for an attractive set of filessince just the fact that the files are attractive means youre about a kajillion* times more likely to actually use them.) A big part of why organizing can be so helpful in keeping you sane is that it can let you have access to what you need when you need it. This applies to both physical organization things like planning, saving notes, etc. if you have no doubt that youll be able to find your crochet hooks or your camera or your notes on your book idea, it removes a lot of background stress that youre carrying around, that you might not even realize you have. Actions: Experiment with a couple of organization tools. See what you like. See what youre drawn to. Do you want something thats incredibly simple? (Check out TeuxDeux.) Or something thats visual with a lot of options? (Springpad again here.) Look at how other people use these things and start figuring out what makes things easy for you. Alternately, figure out whats hard for you right now. What do you tend to lose, that you dont want to lose? Emails from clients? Appointment dates/times? Useful bookmarks or notes on a project youre working on? When you know what you tend to lose track of, you can figure out how to start capturing it in a way thats easy for you. Check out some slightly off-the-beaten-path resources on organization I really like Organizing From the Inside Out, even though some of the information is a bit dated. She addresses how we can change our definition of organized to one that suits us, and how to create a system that works for us most of her suggestions are for physical space (and some are a little dated), but her philosophy can be applied to online space or information as well. *Number based on totally scientific research. Although, FYI, in Making Ideas Happen, they talk about some fascinating concepts related to aesthetics, including the fact that aesthetics affect the way people feel about their work, which in turn surprise! affects how productive people are. See more examples here. Michelle is a writer + project wrangler who lives in Austin with her husband, two cats named after Buffy characters, and her Shiba Inu.   She writes about taking your work + business to new heights at  Let’s Radiate about  fulfilling your potential at  Bombchelle.  Michelle  just wrapped up the live Productivity for Multipotentialites course  with Emilie of Puttylike, which is now available in a self-study version in case you want more tips on staying productive sane.

Moving past limiting beliefs to create your ideal career - Hallie Crawford

Moving past limiting beliefs to create your ideal career Graduation is upon us! Job seekers, specifically recent graduates, often have limiting beliefs about their lack of work experience or value. When these beliefs are shared with a prospective employer it can completely derail a job search These beliefs can show up in many forms, for example: Ill never make enough money doing what I love, Its not responsible for me to follow what my heart wants in my career or Im not good enough at this to really make it in the field I most love. Do these sound familiar? Having limiting beliefs can cause you to question moving forward with your ideal career. Here are four ways to overcome these beliefs so they dont hold you back: 1) Become aware of them. You have to really see what limiting beliefs you have. Get to know these beliefs instead of pushing them back and resisting them. As the famous saying goes, What resists, persists. So instead, keep track of what limiting beliefs are most active for you. Awareness is the first step in moving past them. 2) Connect to what you want the most. Would you rather put energy into your limiting beliefs, or into your passion? In order to answer that question it is important to connect to what you care about and what you want. Why does it matter to you? How does it make you feel when you think of what youre passionate about? 3) Make a commitment. Now that you are in a great position to make a choice, write down your #1 limiting belief. Next, write what you most want for your career. Now really take these two things into consideration. Which one are you most committed to? Which one do you want to feed with your energy and your love? 4) Choose an action. Based on your choice of what you will put your energy and time into, what is one action step  you can take to move forward with that choice? Write down the action and the deadline for achieving it. If there are any baby steps needed to help you get there write those down as well. If you choose what you love and are passionate about, you are on your way to moving past your limiting belief and creating the life and career you desire. Congratulations to those recent grads out there! Good luck and we hope this is helpful for you. Darcy Holoweski Certified Career Coach P.S. Be sure to check out our  LinkedIn Consulting Program  where you can  learn how to effectively leverage your LinkedIn account for your job search and ongoing professional development.