Take Your Coworker to Work Day - Job Shadowing

Take Your Coworker to Work Day - Job ShadowingTake Your Coworker to Work Day - Job ShadowingTake Your Child to Work Day has become a tradition on the fourth Thursday in April in some workplaces. But, at the TechSmith Corporation in Okemos, MI, the concept morphed into an opportunity for internal on-the-job training, and a new form of job shadowing. This story demonstrates employee ideas that you might want to incorporate in your workplace. But, it also lays out a process for how employee ideas can happen with commitment and support. Consider supporting the implementation of employee ideas similarly in your organization. The Generation of an Employee Idea The concept originated when Jim Hidlay, ausverkauf VP, told technical development staff members that he wished that they could sit in on several sales meetings. He felt that the experience would really open up their minds about the customer experience and the job of selling the products they developed. A technical staff member, A ndy Rudnitsky, thought that might, in fact, be a grand idea not just for sales, but across the company. He had read about Take Your Child to Work Day and he thought that the concept could apply to coworkers, too. As the company had grown, employees were separately working in five buildings. Some departments never crossed paths. Other company employees never saw each other or interacted and the departmental functions were all housed separately. This welches a far cry from earlier days when you could see every employee from your work station. He developed the idea of a Take Your Coworker to Work Day in which a coworker would visit with a buddy in another department to learn the ins and outs of that employees job. While visiting and learning about the coworkers daily job, the employee from another department would gain a new understanding and respect for the person and the function that he or she job shadowed. Nervous about presenting the idea to the management team, because it requir ed a significant investment of employee time, Rudnitsky bounced the idea off of a number of colleagues who were universally excited. He floated the idea to solicit input and feedback because he recognized that he would be unable to implement the concept without help. In a company with a history of supporting employee-sponsored events, ideas, trips, and concepts, Rudnitskys manager suggested that he put together a proposal to explore with the management team. They supported the idea. A number of employees volunteered to assist him. Rationale for Take a Coworker to Work Day Rudnitsky prepared a solid rationale for why bring a coworker to work day welches a win for his company. He believed that this font of activity would Build informal employee relationships,Create knowledge and understanding between company functions and departments,Eliminate stereotypes that employees had of each other and other departments,Give employees a chance to interact with employees that they might never know under usual circumstances, to enhance company-wide team building,Help employees gain respect for the work of other departments,Counteract the traditional employee process of making things up when they didnt know or understand what was actually happening in another department, and Demonstrate and share the root and core of the TechSmith culture and work environment help employees step out of their comfort zones, provide the time to understand the point of view of others, and incorporate and demonstrate the company values in action. Implementation of Take a Coworker to Work Day Everyone loved the idea, but in the midst of employees busy work days, Rudnitsky had a hard time getting help to implement the idea. So, he made an internal company video that marketed the idea and asked for help via direct employee emails. Excited team volunteers formulated the guidelines for Take a Coworker to Work Day. Interested employees were asked to make three choices of jobs they wished to sha dow for a day. A popular selection from the list of department and function choices was the open-ended choice surprise me. Interested employees turned in their Take a Coworker to Work requests.Employees were matched as closely as possible to other volunteers from their first choices of departments. Rudnitsky says that the matching was challenging in that each participant had different wishes based on his or her choices of departments and functions. Several employees received unconventional and unrequested matches. Since no one complained, he assumes that coworkers were able to work out the details to meet their needs. Once matched and notified, the employees contacted their coworker to schedule their time together. Job shadowing time included attending meetings, participating in the daily details of the employees job, reviewing the coworkers goals and responsibilities, and holding informal lunches for discussion.Employee time together depended on the job and was necessarily flexible . Employees were able to schedule half days, whole days, specific meetings, lunch dates, and so forth whatever it took for the coworker to job shadow the most significant components of his or her coworkers job. Employees from every department, including managers and executives, participated and tried to give their buddy a positive, learning experience. Each employee was also asked to maintain the confidentiality of the other employees job contents when needed. The Success of Take Your Coworker to Work Day During the first Take Your Coworker to Work Day, about 25% of employees applied and participated. The second year, closer to 45% participated. Popular departments included sales, marketing, and development big time. Employees were so interested that a team of eight employees, including executives and managers, went out to lunch to discuss how to keep the process going. Rudnitsky was excited to share the challenge of the marketing, matching, and publicity with other employees, once again, as he realized how much time he and the team had invested the first year. Fortunately, several volunteers came forward, including Jessica LaHaie, who provided behind-the-scenes leadership with an employee team that included Rudnitsky, and the program continued for thesecond year. The employee participation rate in the second year was up 52% from the first year. Employees who participated filled out evaluations, made suggestions for improvement, received participation t-shirts, and attended a celebration luncheon provided by the company. The evaluations of Take a Coworker to Work Day were so positive that the team hopes to continue the program in years to come. On a personal level, the implementation of employee ideas adds value and engages your workforce in unpredictable ways. Employee involvement rules. Rudnitsky said, I never saw myself as the kind of person who would do this kind of thing generate the idea, run with it and find fertile ground for implementation in a c ompany that was open and receptive. We have an attitude here that we will try stuff. There is a real openness to trying. And, if you can make the people better around you, by implementing this shadowing program or any other employee ideas, what else can you ask? Indeed, Andy, what else can you ask?

Americans are spending more time sitting than they were ever before

Americans are spending more time sitting than they were ever beforeAmericans are spending more time sitting than they were ever beforeIf you feel like youre strapped to a chair all day, you probably are, according to a new study.Americans spend nearly a third of their day sitting down, taking life from a seat with adolescents leading the pack. US teens are sitting around eight hours while adults sit almost 6 hours a day, according to research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreResearchers at Washington University in St. Louis found that both adults and teens have increased their seated time by nearly an hour a day from 2007 to 2016. The compiled data included school and workloads, but the study also found that Americans of all ages have increased their computer time.Its very concerning when theres such an increase in sit ting time on a national level across all age groups, especially taking into consideration the health risks that come with this, Dr. Yin Cao, the author of the study conducted by Washington Univesity in St. Louis, said, via the Guardian.There are medical risks attributed to sitting down for too long. A study published by the American Journal of Epidemiology in 2018 claimed too much leisure time increased your chances of death from multiple causes including cancer, stroke and other ailments.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people

Skipping Work After the Big Game

Skipping Work After the Big GameSkipping Work After the Big GameSKIPPING WORK AFTER THE BIG GAME54% of professionals know someone whos called in sick or made an excuse for skipping work the day after a sporting event, such as the Super BowlTOTALAGE 18-34AGE 35-54AGE 55+GENDER MALEGENDER FEMALEYes54%65%52%36%63%44%No46%35%48%64%37%56%The fruchtwein distracting or annoying employee behavior when it comes to major sporting events, according to senior managers42% Calling in sick/making an excuse for skipping work the day after18% Spending too much time talking sports17% Showing up the day after tired/under the weather15% Being a poor sport/overly competitive8% Overdoing it with team decorations/attireCities with the most managers annoyed by workers playing hooky1 Cleveland2 Denver3 Chicago

To appear confident, stop power posing and just be authentic

To appear confident, stop power posing and just be authenticTo appear confident, stop power posing and just be authenticNerves are the bane of any good presentation, since half your energy seems to go into not giving away how worried you are that youll screw up.Ergo the cottage industry in advice about body language the poses and hand gestures that, like some kind of corporate gang sign, are supposed to indicate to the tribe that you belong, and you get the language.A Harvard geschftlicher umgang Review articlecalled 6 Ways to Look More Confident During a Presentation explored what adopting certain posessignals to others. There were six examples from the Center for Body Language, but here are a few Moving your hands within a limited space, orthe box, is supposed to signal that youre trustworthy, truthful. Acting like a you have a basketball in your hands, orholding the ball, should make you look commanding, dominant, while a wide stance is supposed to make you look confident, in cont rol.Researchers have studied what it means to be confident and how to translate that into your body language. We were interested in how it compared to the power of being vulnerable enough to be your authentic self with others.Power posingThe ongoing dialogue about what poses make you feel and/or look powerful has been raging for years now.Social psychologistAmy Cuddy talked about the power posing during a 2012teddy boy Talk. She conducted a study of body language, where participants took on high-power poses that made them look confident and low-power poses make themselves look small for two minutes. They also took saliva from the participants.So two minutes lead to these hormonal changes that configure your brain to basically be either assertive, confident and comfortable, or really stress-reactive, and feeling sort of shut downSo it seems that our nonverbals do govern how we think and feel about ourselves, so its not just others, but its also ourselves. Also, our bodies change our minds, Cuddy said in the 2012 TED Talk.But the teams 2010findings were challenged later on. Another team replicated the study on a larger scale and found no effect,the findings of which were published in 2015, according to Slate.The other team shared their analysis with Cuddy, who replied and her team published a responsein Psychological Science, according toSlate.While fake it til you make it is often popular and sometimes valuable advice, it doesnt seem to always work. And a new kind of concept is having its day being yourself. It takes a lot less energy than trying to appear perfect and infallible, which requires a lot of thought and wastes energy in trying to control other peoples perceptions.Another bonus being yourself makes you more sought-after and trusted, as long as you are introspective about your own actions and respectful toward others.Authenticity is the new measure of leadershipAt what point does your being yourself outweigh striking a pose? It all comes from the same place compassion for flaws, whether theyre yours or someone elses.For researcher BrenBrown, feeling your best and treating others well starts with being vulnerable- she talked about it in a 2010 TED Talkin Houston.when we work from a place, I believe, that says, Im enough then we stop screaming and start listening, were kinder and gentler to the people around us, and were kinder and gentler to ourselves, Brown said in the 2010 talk.In a vulnerable moment during anotherTED Talk in 2012, Brown herself opened up about having the worst vulnerability hangover of my life after her 2010 talk in Houston, and talked about telling her friend about what she was going through over lunch, doubting her decision to talk so openly.But that kind of self-doubt is the sure road to authenticity and by extension better leadership, because it forces us to examine who we are. While power-posing can fake confidence enough to get into a room, no amount of body language can replace the good judgment that m akes a leader.Be a truth-teller, and be around truth-tellersBill George, a senior fellow and lecturer on leadership at Harvard Business School, has written that one of the keys to authentic leadership is examining our origins and our crucibles, or those times when we are changed by the pressure and fire around us.As leaders explore their life stories and crucibles, and process their experiences, they develop deeper understanding of themselves and feel increasingly comfortable being authentic, George wrote. This is a lifelong journey in which we are always discovering the next layer, much like peeling an onion. As leaders discover their truth, their True North, they gain confidence and resilience to face difficult situations.Drop the mask, because no ones fooledThe old corporate idea of getting promoted and rising rewarded masks and costumes the perfect suit functioned as a kind of corporate armor to keep people at arms length, and Dale Carnegie techniques such as repeating peoples n ames imitated a genuine interest in others.But the newer science on leadership is looking at the power of honesty wearing what makes you feel capable and comfortable like Mark Zuckerberg and his 20 gray t-shirts speaking with radical candor seeking out advisers who are truth-tellers instead of sycophants. That means making sure your body language is calm and reflects that you are listening and interested, not copying someone elses idea of what looks powerful.Either way, tapping into who you really are deep down is sure to help you feel more confident with yourself and others atwork- maybe even during that big company presentation. Being comfortable in your own skin is the ultimate power pose.

Reported Buzz on Create Resume from Linkedin Uncovered

Reported Buzz on Create Resume from Linkedin Uncovered If you own a profile on LinkedIn, take a peek at it now. First off make certain youre logged in to LinkedIn. LinkedIn is really the most formal of all of the social networking platforms, but its more conversational than a resume. LinkedIn offers users numerous methods to create an impressive profile. LinkedIn know their platform is where to be for all things career and skilled networking. Open networking is the best way to go. LinkedIn summaries are absolutely different. The advice for LinkedIn is, naturally, the precise opposite. LinkedIn isnt just an extraordinary approach to network, its also increasingly employed by recruiters to post vacancies and, more to the point, to hunt for candidates. For some folks, LinkedIn can function as a personal site. LinkedIn is an outstanding asset to your professional and company development. Including a hyperlink to a lousy LinkedIn profile will do more damage than good. One of t he absolute most important components of LinkedIn is your profile. On LinkedIn, make an effort not to go on and on and on. You should also ensure that youve got an expert photo and a superb quantity of connections. You might need to use one of the coloured variety for a single form of job and the Exectuive style for one more. Including a second element like a LinkedIn profile or cover letter typically costs about half the cost of the very first project. Those 3 parts appear in a LinkedIn search, together with your photo. Or all you have to do is click the word Profile itself. At this time youre see all the different resume styles Word has to offer you. Microsoft Word provides a bunch of resume templates. You can bring in a PDF which will either download straight to your computer for printing later or you may print it immediately. It is essential that you should have each of the informations in advance before you set in the info. You can decide to share the resume right from the application or you can put it to private. Scannable resumes need specific page designs because computer scanners cannot read certain products.Youre able to add your interests, personal info and contact details. Just sign up there, complete the details and your Resume is about to download. There are lots of methods to submit your resume on the internet. You can pick from different available themes and data shown on resume can be edited also. Top Create Resume from Linkedin Secrets Best wishes, Samantha Bee There are some requirements that each resume should not have any matter the sttte or variety of job. To a point, it probably depends upon your goals for LinkedIn and your very own personal philosophy, but should you wish to be found in the utmost amount of searches, theres no debate. The first thing you need to do whenever you arent looking for employment is surely learned how to begin a resume. The other reason I really like it is since its my online resume, that anybody can find, read and earn confidence in my capabilities. Create Resume from Linkedin Secrets So creating a great profile is essential to being found for your next career prospect. When applying for work, its wise to phone in advance and learn if the business youre applying to scans their resume submissions. Every customer may consult us at any opportunity to select the templates, an illustration of the greatest resumes, a market, a deadline, and several other elements essential to finish the purchase. Or DoYouBuzz, which is an incredibly user-friendly website with both free and paid plans, providing you with a lot of template options and is an extremely smooth process too. After you spot a job which you like, go straight to the work opening on LinkedIn to find out more regarding the chance and apply. You arent likely to have the job if you are unable to get contacted pertaining to an interview, plain and easy. Because resumes have limited space, your career objective h as to be concise. Infographic resumes become increasingly more common. LinkedIn is among the most effective career tools for your job search fremd from your resume. Prospective employers are able to at a glance, visit LinkedIn to find out more about you and your abilities and qualifications. Match your resume to the specific job.

Women of Optoro

Women of Optoro Below is an article originally written by Sarah Foulke at PowerToFly Partner Optoro, and published on February 28, 2019. Go to Optoros page on PowerToFly to see their open positions and learn more.Optoro is made up of a diverse collection of individuals who have come together to achieve a single missionto transform the reverse logistics industry by finding homes for used and excess goods. We like to highlight that diversity with our Employee Spotlight blog series, during which we sit down with an employee every month to hear a little bit about the people who make the Optoro culture so distinctive.How would you describe yourself in 10 keywords or fewer?Go big or go home.What is your role at Optoro, and what do you do?Im the software development lead for the Return to Vendor team. We make a product that helps our client manage a workflow to return items to their original manufacturers for credit, based on agreements that retailers have with their vendors. I work with th e other developers on my team, as well as design, product management, and quality engineering to develop and deliver new features to the Return to Vendor product.What did you do before Optoro, and why did you choose to work at Optoro?Before Optoro, I worked as a software developer at another DC startup. I chose to come to Optoro to get a new experience with a different technology and a larger team. I welches attracted to the mission, product, and vision at Optoro, and knew that this welches a place where I could grow my career. The company is in a really exciting place right now, and I thought it was a great time to join the team.What is the most important thing you have learned since starting at Optoro?If youre afraid to do something, you should do it more often.What is the best part of working at Optoro?I think Optoro is especially unique in the way that everyone truly cares about each other. People say that a lot, but it does really feel different to me here. Everyone I work with is constantly seeking out ways to collaborate to get to a team goal. People are open and honest about what they feel is working and what isnt, and everyone is always trying to make Optoro a better place for all employees to work.What would you most likely be doing on a normal Saturday afternoon in your free time?fruchtwein weekends youll find me exploring DC and all it has to offer I sold my car about a year and a half ago and Im loving my car-free life. My fiance and I are usually going for a run in Rock Creek Park, working on projects in our new condo, trying out new restaurants with friends, or kicking back with our cat and watching some terrible reality television. One of the biggest challenges in almost all industries today is achieving gender parity. Gender diversity provides huge benefits in the workplace. pWhile some industries have made significant advancements in gender diversity, some industries lag further behind... and the construction industry is well-known for being in the latter category. If someone says, construction workers, youll likely picture a group of men in yellow hard hats analyzing an architects plans or laying bricks on top of a scaffold. And men at work signs only help to reinforce this image.pThis stereotype is rooted in reality. When was the last time you actually spotted a woman on a construction site? Or hired a female plumber or carpenter? Your answer is most likely never. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statisticsreports that only 3.4% of the total of 8.3 million construction employees are women.pBut the construction industry has a lot more to offer than steel-toed boots and hard hats, and it needs women to help advance the industry in this era of rapid change. Here are 5 reasons why women joining the workforce or looking to make a pivot should consider a career in construction.h21. Fuel Innovation/h2pNot only is diversity the socially and morally right thing to do, but it is also actually an excellent business strategy. pResearch presented in the Harvard Business Reviewshows that diverse teams develop more innovative ideas. This is further supported by a study conducted by Gallupon the performance of gender-diverse teams versus single-gender teams, which found that the difference in backgrounds and perspectives led to better business performance and problem-solving. h22. Capitalize on Demand/h2pThe construction industry is currently experiencing a labor shortage. The industry itself is booming and projected to be one of the fastest-growing industries, with total spending projected to exceed $1.45 trillion in 2023/a. However, most construction companies are unable to meet the rising demand. pAccording to the Associated General Contractors of America/a, more than 80% of contractors are experiencing difficulties filling hourly craft positions that represent the bulk of the construction workforce.pAnd demand isnt limited to individua l contributor roles. Given the industry boom, there are a number of open stable and high-paying roles (any project managers out there?) waiting for the right candidateh23. Leadership Opportunities/h2pAccording to the Bureau of Labor Statistics/a, women compose only 7.7% of the total 1 million managerial positions in construction.br/pBut given the highly collaborative nature of construction work, more women in leadership roles would help drive innovation and enhance productivity.Furthermore, as a woman in construction in a leadership position, youd have the unique opportunity to drive change for the industry and make it a more attractive option for other women.h24. High-Income Potential/h2pSalaries for many skilled positions in construction are on the rise, making a construction career a prime choice for women looking for a high-paying job,pThe 2018 Construction Craft Salary Surveyconducted by the National Center for Construction Education and Research revealed that salaries for many skilled craft areas are increasing. Project managers and project supervisors topped the list at $92,523 and $88,355, respectively. The next set of highest-paying jobs include those of combo welders ($71,067), instrumentation technicians ($70,080), pipe welders ($69,222), power line workers ($68,262) and industrial electricians ($67,269). Of the 32 categories of workers in the survey, 19 positions earned an average salary of $60,000 or higher.h25. Sense of accomplishment/h2p The construction industry can give employees a unique sense of achievement. Yes, the job is stressful and the work can be demanding, but nothing beats the feeling of being able to build something from the ground up. pHow many professionals in other industries can point at a school, a hospital, or a skyscraper and say I helped build that?pThe construction industry has a long way to go in combating gender bias and supporting women in the workforce, but given the current demand for workers, theres no better time to pick up a sledgehammer (figurative or literal) and smash the gender stereotypes plaguing the construction industry.