Alexandra Levits Water Cooler Wisdom Do You Rely Too Much on Processes

Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom Do You Rely Too Much on Processes I know that the topic of generational differences irritates some people. My personal experience, though, is that when it comes to certain things, baby boomer points of view do often differ from millennial points of view. One of these areas of debate isprocess. Why (Some) Boomers Like Process and (Some) Millennials Don’t Many boomers scaled their organizations successfully because they put the right processes in place to do so. For a long time, these processes worked, and so understandably they may be reluctant to let go of them. And when new business challenges present themselves, many leaders answer them with new processes, because after all processes are tried and true. These are the rules, and if we don’t stray from them, we’ll be okay. When millennials came into the work world starting in the aughts, many weren’t as enamored by process. They wanted to use new technologies, in real time, to solve new kind of dilemmas popping up every day. They wanted to change business for the better bystreamlining workand getting it done as quickly and efficiently as possible. Tension started to build, particularly in this decade when the health and survival of a company depends upon its ability to beagile. Some leaders wanted to stick steadfastly by procedures that had served them well in the past, while others felt that existing processes and the bureaucracy often associated with them were impeding growth and true progress. For more where this came from, head over to the QuickBase Fast Track blog.

The Complete Guide To Kick-Starting Your Business Career

The Complete Guide To Kick-Starting Your Business Career Getting into the highly-competitive world of business is difficult, especially when you first start. In this field, people value experience. The people at the top have been working as managers for years and years. You have to do something to impress these people if you want to scope out a career for yourself. So, how can you kick-start your career? Read this guide and find out. Have a plan of action (and follow it) Before you do anything, you need to have a plan in mind. Its one thing to say that you want to enter the business sector, but its another to know which particular area interests you. What is it that you want from your career? Do you hope to head up someone elses firm or do you have aspirations to start a business yourself? What is your ultimate goal? Once you have answered these questions, you can begin planning out how you will follow the right pathway. Work as an intern or apprentice One of the best ways to get some hands-on industry experience is to work as an intern or even an apprentice. As we already mentioned, your experience is king when it comes to this sector. Any experience you can get will help you along the way. When you work as an intern, you get a low fee for doing so. Sometimes, interns even work for free. Remember, if you work hard now, money will come later. Get a relevant degree to boost your potential If you want to leapfrog several steps in this industry, you might want to consider getting a suitable degree. You will find that managers take you much more seriously if you have taken the initiative to get an education in your specific field. If you hope to go into high management, you might want to look into a business and leadership degree. In reality, getting a qualification of this nature will mean that you stand out to your management team. You can even study online, which means that you can do it alongside your current role. Picture via Link Revitalize your CV to make it sparkle Does your CV need some love and attention? If it has been a while since you revamped your resume, now may be the best time to do so. You should make sure that you list all your recent job posts. Aside from that, you also need to make sure that you state how they helped you and what you gained from them. You need to show potential employers that you have learned leadership skills that you can use in the real world. Start a small scale business from home If you want to learn about how business works at a base level, you should start one. You dont need thousands of dollars to start a company for yourself. You can do something on a small scale. For example, you might want to buy some products online and sell them on a market stall. The point is not that this enterprise needs to be a massive success, it is that you need to learn from it. Develop your management style When people look for business leaders, they want people who can prove themselves as managers. That is to say that you need to develop your management style so that you are ahead of the game. There are certain attributes you will need if you wish to lead people. For example, you need to have excellent communication skills and a personable approach to work. You should also organize your time well and understand how to oversee workloads. If you learn to develop these skills, you will find that your career is a success. Set short-term goals and follow them We have already talked about the long term, but how about your short term goals? You need to know what steps you should take to reach your dream job. You should set out a step by step guide to where you want to be. That way, you can figure out what you need to do each day to get a step closer to the career you want. It might help you to write down the steps so that you have a clear idea of what you need to do next. If you have an entrepreneurial spirit, you might be perfect for the world of business. If you follow this guide, youll get where you want to be in no time at all. Remember, if you work hard, there is no reason you should not succeed. Picture credit

How to Write the Perfect LinkedIn Invitation

How to Write the Perfect LinkedIn Invitation LinkedIn is a great tool for keeping in touch with useful contacts you make throughout your career and even for making new connections who may be able to assist you along the way, so therefore it is important that you give off a good impression when using the network. Saying this, people will always cut corners where they can and  this is a particular issue on LinkedIn  when it comes to sending invitations to connect with people. Yes, LinkedIn do offer a generic message to be sent alongside your invitation if you wish to do so, but think about it this way, would you approach someone at a networking event without as much as properly introducing yourself? This is why it is crucial that you put the time in to customise your invitation messages on LinkedIn and this infographic by Webquacker  explains how to write the perfect connection request. TAKEAWAYS: Make sure you have a  good quality photograph of yourself on your profile.  The person that you are connecting with will build a first impression of you based on this, so make sure it is professional and gives a positive representation of who you are. Selfies,  party pics and low resolution photographs are best avoided. Address the individual by name.  By beginning your message with Hi [name] it gives a more personal feel, rather than giving the impression  of you sending out connection requests willy nilly. Just be careful to spell their name correctly as a mispelling will suggest a lack of care. Introduce yourself or explain how you know them. If  youve met before, chances are that they will remember who you are without prompting, but just in case, its always good to remind the individual where you met. Alternatively, you may be sending the invitation because you read their work or would like to do business with them and in this case tell them just that. Be sure to introduce who you are and explain what you do. Explain why you would like to connect with them.  People are more likely to accept a connection invitation if the sender has a proper reason for reaching out and is not just looking to expand their network by any means. End on a positive note.  Finishing your message with a warm sign-off will make you appear approachable and users are much more likely to accept an invitation with a welcoming tone. RELATED: LinkedIn Invitations: Everything You Need to Know (and Then Some!)

This is a course for INTJs

This is a course for INTJs This  course  runs May 7 â€" 10 at 8pm Eastern and includes four days of live video sessions and email-based materials as well as a weekly meeting with special guests for four weeks.  The cost is $195. Sign up now. This is a course for INTJs. Its not like any course I’ve done before. But before I even tell you about it, I want to say you really have to be an INTJ to enroll in the course. First of all, the INTJs are ruthless to people who are not like them, and honestly, I can barely cope with being in a course with them. Because even when they are trying to be nice (which they may or may not be trying to be when they talk to me) they can’t stop squashing other people for having weaknesses. Literal illustration: Melissa sitting on me because I didnt wake up on time. Usually the best way for me to tell if someone is an INTJ is to put them into the first course I did for INTJs the INTJs are in heaven and everyone else is like why are all these people such assholes? But that takes a lot of time, so heres a shortcut for how to tell if you tested as an INTJ but you’re not: Do you make decisions based on your values? Yes? No? It depends? Do you have hobbies? Yes? No? What counts as a hobby? Does it bother you that I am not getting to the point fast enough in this post? Yes? No? I wouldnt say Im frustrated, but I do think you should do more preparation before you start to write. If you did not answer no to all then you are not an INTJ. You can email me though and I’ll tell you your true type. (Note: those three questions are only for people who tested as INTJs.) An addendum to my emphatic scaring off of non-INTJs. INTJs are loyal, honest, and high earning, and they make great partners for INFJs and ENFPs. There is no better way to learn how to reel in an INTJ than lurking in a course full of INTJs. Because they mostly hate everyone, they dont generally talk much, but they talk a lot in this type of course. So we will have an INTJ viewing area, with signs that say things like no talking and please don’t feed the INTJs. If you want to be in the viewing area, send me an email. Ok. So, moving along, here is what the course is about: What is the difference between super successful INTJs and all the rest? We will spend three nights talking about what INTJs need to do to get the most interesting jobs. The fourth night will be a QA. Then we’ll meet for four weeks afterwards to do an interview with INTJs that are remarkable. I’ll interview them and Melissa, my trusty INTJ co-host will edit my interview in real time, while I’m trying to do it. Day One: The ideal INTJ work environment. An INTJ focuses on getting things done, which means they live in reality. This also means they dont come up with big ideas on their own, because big ideas require suspension of reality. The ideas INTJs come up with are all systems and solutions. Like, Amazon sorts products one way so if you add a certain type of product you’ll always be at the top of Amazon. That’s an idea, but its a boring one for an INTJ to implement.  INTJs are natural editors of big ideas and even more natural implementers of big ideas. So their work is only as interesting as the ideas that come floating by them. Day Two: The ideal INTJ co-worker. INTJs can succeed anywhere you put them, but too often INTJs end up somewhere that is not worthy of their natural ability to execute a plan. Because not all CEOs try to solve huge problems, and not all grand thinkers are earthbound enough to actually allow anything to get done. I once read an article about what VCs look for in CEOs. And there was resounding agreement that the best CEO is just a little bit too sane to be living in an institution. INTJ should look for companies a lot like a VC looks for companies they see good ideas and then need help sorting and executing on the best ones. To an INTJ, it’s counterintuitive to go hunting for coworkers in the thick forest of mental instability. But this course will show you that you can handle much more than you think you can (and why its even good for you). Day Three: How to attract a big thinker.  Yes, this sounds like dating topic. Maybe that’s because work is a lot like dating. (And if you want to know how hard it is to connect with a big thinker, consider how incompetent INTJs are at dating.) Luckily big thinkers adore working with INTJs, so if you can make yourself be known, you’ll be well received.  Personality type targets: ENTJ or ENTP if they are the CEO. Or an ENFP if its their own business. Day Four: QA for all things INTJ. The following weeks.  A parade of INTJs who caught my eye as especially successful in specific ways. People who have launched startups, joined startups, sold out, cashed out, and been pushed out. Each of these people did something really interesting in a way only an INTJ could. You will hear from them about what they did to get where they are. And note: In true INTJ fashion, most of these people never talk publicly about their careers. So it’ll be unvarnished for sure, and who knows what else.  Sign up now.

Internship Resume Examples - What Should They Contain?

Internship Resume Examples - What Should They Contain?When you go out looking for internship resume examples, there are a number of different things you should take into consideration. While the first thing you should look for when looking for example resumes is that they all contain information about the person on them as well as their educational background.Of course you will want to be sure to get an example with someone who is reputable in the industry, and in this case a good example would be from the employer. That said, there are also other things that will make a resume better than others.For example, if you are applying for jobs in a technical field that involves a lot of typing-related tasks, then that may not be the best career for you. An example from that career would be a job in a technical writing field. A good example would be from someone who has a degree in computer science.Employment history is also important. You want to see if they have any previous jobs or other employment history. This will help you make sure that you have someone that can complete the work at hand.Personal details such as their names, addresses, phone numbers, and so forth should also be included in the examples. These are all very important to having a resume to be considered. It can be difficult to remember everything that someone does, but it is also vital that you have as much detail as possible.Even if you are applying for an internship that does not require you to put any kind of requirement on the resumes of the people that are helping you, it is still important to get good examples. The reason being is that if you do not include enough information on the resume, then you can rest assured that the resume you are going to send in will not stand out and that can actually cause the applicant to be passed over for someone who puts more effort into their resumes.After all of this, the next thing that you will want to consider when choosing your internship resume exampl es is that they have to look professional. That means that they do not need to be hand written, but instead you want to find something that has a computer generated look. That is something that will help you feel that your resume is professionally done.If you go online and try a few of the internship resume examples, you will see that there are plenty of different choices that you can make. It just makes sense to be certain that you are getting the best resume that you can when you go out looking for them.

How to Identify Dysfunctional Aspects in Your Workflow - CareerEnlightenment.com

How to Identify Dysfunctional Aspects in Your Workflow Your workflow is meant to be an aid. It’s meant to make life easier and it’s a synergistic whole that impacts the fate of the projects you’re working on. One of the smartest ways to improve your business is to optimize your workflow. This is because it’s what determines how things actually get done in your business. It’s the system that determines how inputs ultimately become outputs. Your productivity is hinged on it.But as you know, “a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.” Furthermore, it’s vital that you are able to periodically fine-tune your workflow and cadence of productivity by identifying the facets that are functional and dysfunctional. Naturally, it’s only after identifying them that you can fix them.Let’s get to it.How to Identify Dysfunctional Aspects in Your WorkflowWhen a person is sick, there are almost always symptoms that can be noticed, right? The most telling sign that certain aspects of your workflow are suboptimal is being shown in t he results you’re currently generating. The results show that your business or organization, just like a human being, may be “sick.” It’s the same with dysfunctional workflows. Such show some negatively impacted symptoms, such as:Silo thinkingSpreadsheet maniaProcess variationInformation starvationEmail overloadFrequent complaints by team membersSubstandard outputsMissed deliverablesInadequate scoping of projectsInaccurate time estimatesFractured communicationLet’s check out a few of the symptoms.Silo thinkingWhen members of your team start thinking of their work as separate (at times superior) to that of others and making decisions that do not take into consideration how the whole team is affected, then you have silo thinking. It’s a dangerous limitation that can at times guarantee suboptimization or, even worse, failure. It’s likely the reason why so many companies look for organization design consulting services, i.e., sometimes it takes an outsider to pick apart yo ur business and understand what needs to be worked on.Spreadsheet maniaSpreadsheets have their value. They are great for certain tasks. “Certain tasks” is the keyword. So, be wary if members of your team start using spreadsheets as a panacea. This happens in some businesses and teams. In truth, they may be great for presenting some vital static reports. If you want a smooth-functioning, dynamic workflow, you’d need to keep spreadsheets in their place. There is an awesome workflow management software that’d help make your processes more fluid and efficient. Want to Read More Articles Like This One?Sign up here to receive weekly updates from Career Enlightenment, and never miss another powerful job searching tip! SUBSCRIBE! You have Successfully Subscribed!We hate spam too. Unsubscribe any time. Process variationThe essence of a workflow is that there are optimal, predefined processes for carrying out tasks. Because they are predefined, work can be done more efficiently. M embers of a team or freelancers do not have to crack their brains to determine how tasks are to be done. When there’s process variation, there’s no predefined flow, or the flow is inadequate, or it’s being ignored. The result is variation. Different team members devise different ways of carrying out the same task.Information StarvationThe provision of adequate information is critical to the smooth functioning of any workflow (especially since IT is fastly becoming so integral to business). If certain parts of the flow or certain team members do not have access to information that they need to perform their tasks adequate, the workflow cannot but be bogged down, ultimately, this starvation will result in a host of serious problems. It’s vital, then, that access to information is integral to your workflow.Email overloadDo you still recall when getting email was an exciting novelty? You probably told your friends and family members about the emails you’re getting. Now, everyb ody is drowning in email. They are great. No doubt. But, for workflow management, there’s something like too much of a good thing. At times, team members send so many emails, back and forth (or slack messages). This is motion. It’s not necessarily indicative of progress. It’s a sign that something is not right. A redesign is advisable so that work can be facilitated with as little email as possible. The goal is to get the work done, not write about it.ConclusionIn conclusion, there are three main steps to take to ensure that the identification process above becomes a tool for improving your business. They are:Map your current workflowAnalyze each facet’s contributionIf the workflow has been mapped already, you can proceed to the analysis stage. You may assume that you and your team know your workflow, but it’s always helpful to have it documented. A central part of the analysis is to ask if that facet of your workflow is truly adding value to the chain or is it a constrain t. Those that are deficient can be removed or improved.

Dont Just Train Them To Work, Train Them How To Work - Margaret Buj - Interview Coach

Don’t Just Train Them To Work, Train Them How To Work Congratulations. You’ve invested often quite senior management time as well as money in attracting, screening, interviewing and hiring your bright new starters, whether they’re school leavers, apprentices or graduate trainees. And you’ve not done it for the fun of it. You’ve done it because you have work which needs to be done. So to get the best value from all this hard work and investment, don’t you want to: Maximise your return by looking to get the best out of them as soon as possible, and Minimise your risk of losing them unnecessarily and having to start the whole process over again? But are you really giving these new starters all the skills they need to become the productive employees you want, as quickly as possible? Employability skills and readiness for work Those entering the workforce for the first time face the challenges of adapting to an entirely new and unfamiliar environment. It’s not surprising that employers often comment on such new starters’ unpreparedness for the world of work, but given it is a such new world to them, perhaps employers really shouldn’t be so surprised? After all, how well can a school or university be expected to prepare a student for the work role they will have and provide them with the necessary employability skills? Of course employers do look to train their new starters. In a business of any size there will be an induction course, health and safety briefings, as well as technical training on the specific skills the employee will need, the processes and procedures to be followed, and so on. There is an obvious payback in providing the technical skills and ability of how to do the job. But how often does this approach extend to the soft skills required to integrate into the workplace and to become an effective employee? In entering your workplace for the first time, your new starters will quickly need to learn how to manage: themselves their time and work their co-workers, their boss, and working in a team communications (and how to say no when needed) their career people and emotions and even stress If a new employee isn’t well equipped to manage these elements, how effectively are they going to be able to apply all those technical and works skills you have trained them in? And crucially for a return on your investment, how long is it going to take them to become a productive employee? Of course training can be costly. Given retention rates, some will always question any expenditure more than absolutely necessary on training new starters in case they leave. But how often do you consider the consequences of not training on those who stay? So it’s worth considering what the return on such an additional investment in employability skills training can be, both in quantitative and qualitative terms for both the organisation and the employee. The quantitative business case for employability skills training Quantifying the opportunity costs implied by a delay in a trainee becoming an effective and contributing employee is easy to conceptualise, but can be difficult to measure. Employers have always recognised that a trainee tends to be a drain on productivity while they are brought up to speed, and the length of that drain can vary widely depending on the nature of the job. Obviously however, the quicker this process is completed, the less of a drain and the greater the net increase in productivity achieved, and some research has shown that this process can be completed up to 30% quicker where the employee receives a structured skills development and mentoring programme. Other advantages of a faster ramp up to effective status can usually be seen in other metrics and KPIs such as reduced accidents, levels of defects, changeover times or production times, and as these are often already being recorded for management information purposes, consideration of them can go into the mix. In addition, there is also the opportunity cost involved in new employees who are struggling with these skills then becoming disillusioned, disheartened, and even eventually disaffected leavers. If they do, then the whole of your expenditure to date has been wasted and you are back at stage one, facing all those rehiring and retaining costs, whilst also having to deal with the disruption caused by an unplanned leaver. In this context it’s worth noting that together with opportunities for career progression, three of the main reasons employees give for leaving are to do with management failing to: take a genuine interest in their development, develop their skills or provide opportunities to utilise their expertise or abilities, and provide recognition of their contribution. Arguably each of the above has a direct link to the issue of lack of ‘soft’ and employability skills development. The qualitative business case The qualitative elements are obviously much harder to put a definitive value on. Nevertheless they are of real business importance as these types of employability skills should translate through into staff with greater communication and team work skills, confidence, and ability to learn; which in turn should help deliver better business relationships and performance. Creating a business with a reputation for strong employability skills training can also help in other ways including in aiding to attract the best young talent who will be looking for the best support in developing their careers. On the other side of the coin, as well as helping rapidly integrate your new staff into their teams and accelerating their transition into highly productive employees, as discussed above this type of training can also help with staff satisfaction and retention levels. And this is a win-win for the employee as well, since developing key employment skills helps them to develop their self-confidence, communication skills, and ability to work with people, each of which will be vital in helping them to develop their careers, management abilities and prospects. The business case for a joined up training approach Investing in training your new recruits in how to do their job makes obvious business sense. But their job isn’t just the specific tasks they have to carry out. It’s a wider interaction with the workplace, their colleagues, and even your customers, which they need to be equally skilled at to be successful employees. To get the best results both in terms of accelerating your return from the individuals recruited and in maximising retention, you therefore need to adopt a holistic approach to training in the hard skills they need, as well as in the soft skills they will need to use in the working environment. So don’t just give them hard training in the tools for the job. Train them in how to work, how to manage themselves and the people around them, so they can use the tools you give them efficiently for you, as quickly as possible. And by training them to be useful and productive employees as quickly as possible you’ll get the best return for your business, and the best levels of retention of engaged and committed employees. Bio Mark Blayney (www.theworkpress.com) is the author of Your First Job â€" How to make a success of starting work and ensure your first year is the launch of a successful career (ISBN 9780995617018), an essential guide to entering the world of work for the first time.