The best things in life are usually byproducts

The best things in life are usually byproductsThe best things in life are usually byproductsThales of Miletus, considered the first true philosopher in ancient Greece, lived a simple life.We know him today for his application of early scientific principles to the study of nature. In a way, he was the intersection that caused mythology to diverge away from a world of facts.Naturally, there is little he had to say that is considered profound today, but for the time he lived in, his approach was nothing short of revolutionary. When he talked, people listened.According to legend, however, as his appeal grew, so did the noise of his critics. What could a man of such humble origins tell them about how the world worked, they wondered. Surely, if he knew what he was talking about, his wealth and his success would speak for itself.Much of their irritation with Thales came from him shunning such worldly desires. They had a point, too Can you really criticize something that you havent experienc ed for yourself?Thales, the story goes, then platzdeckchen out to make his case. Using his observational knowledge of astronomy, he rightly predicted that one of the years would have a particularly favorable climate for olives to grow on olive trees. The winter before harvest season, he made his bet.By hiring away all of the olive presses before the harvest, he became the single point of distribution for the machinery needed to collect the fruit, making a fortune in the process.He didnt have much money or any visible form of leverage before this, but he did have a theory based on his tested knowledge and that, apparently, paid off in an indirect way.When people began acknowledging his worldly success, he simply went back to his old, simple way of being. The only difference this time was that no one dared to doubt him.Second-order effects carry the rewardLike most parables of historical figures, there is as much chance that the story of Thales is grounded in myth as it is in reality. That, nonetheless, doesnt stop it from being useful.There are a few points we can take away here. The obvious one concerns itself with virtue and Thales living what he preached. Another is the value of knowledge and understanding how to think well enough that the theories we rationalize translate into practice.The most interesting illumination, however, which connects to the other two but is mora foundational, is the fact that everything has both an intended and an unintended side-effect.Thales never cared about being wealthy and successful things we think of as the reward but his intention to learn and to understand the world paved a way there regardless. Granted, he walked away when he got there, but the connection between the two matters.Most of the things we want this could be said to include our pursuit of happiness, too are arbitrary cultural constructs which have changing definitions. They have no fixed point, and they dont represent a universal, timeless emotion or feel ing or value or way-of-being.Even if we, ourselves, define success and happiness at some point, theres still nothing concrete to grasp because we live in a world of constant change, making them arbitrary.Any attempt to acquire such rewards, then, is misguided. You cant intend to wake up living a perfect life in a year, hoping that your goals and the 10 steps you laid out will get you there, because your expectancy of what that perfect life is fluctuates as you interact with reality.The best things in life are byproducts. They are almost never intentional first-order effects, but unintentional second-order effects. They emerge as a consequence of just doing what you ought to do in a way that is valuable and meaningful over a sustained period of time.In Thaless case, maybe wealth brought him new conveniences, and that was nice, but his appreciation of the simple life was born from not minding whether the reward was there or not, which in turn likely enabled him to enjoy it in a health ier and more balanced way.The most direct way to get what we intuitively want is to let it go and keep moving.Orienting yourself in what is disorientingMost of us think about the future a lot. We make plans, we consider, and we compare. Many of us, in fact, live in this imagined thought-game more than we do in the reality around us.This is a natural human instinct, one most people need to engage for survival. But in order to make sense of this thought-game, we do something that damages us We use the arbitrary words like happiness and success and their association with imagined events to orient us.Not only do we live in a made-up world, but we use that made-up world to guide us in reality, centering it on made-up definitions of words that dont have concrete definitions.We cant deal with the fact that the future is unknown and disorienting, so we create all this in our mind as a reference point. For the most part, it does fine, but at its core, its a thinking pattern that can only l ead to dissatisfaction because the predictions we make are often poor.In his book Obliquity, economist John Kay makes the case that complex goals in complex systems which very much applies to us as humans are best achieved indirectly.Most rewards are byproducts, yes, but there is another caveat Due to the uncertainty we face when dealing with the future, the only way to orient ourselves in the right direction is to self-correct towards some roughly undefined point while focusing on something else.To make optimal decisions, an agent has to force their attention onto what they can control, which usually has nothing to do with happiness or success or any other worldly desire.This means that much of the imagined future we construct is a waste of mental energy and resources, because the only place where you can control something is right now, in reality.To orient ourselves in a disorienting world, we need to forgo our fixation with whats defined.The takeawayWe live in an interconnected reality, one in which the effects of actions produce externalities that cant always be predicted. Theres more to life than knowing that two plus two is four.The fable of Thales is telling because, once we extrapolate from it, its a reminder that there is usually more going on around us than we intuitively think, and we should respect that fact.Every choice we make, every action we take, and every effect we produce ripples to create second, third, and fourth-order effects that leave unintended byproducts. Often, its these byproducts that surprise us by giving us an answer we didnt even know we were looking for.It makes sense that we chase arbitrary definitions of success and happiness, and it makes even more sense that we try to define them for ourselves when we realize this, but broken down, the whole enterprise still fails because these things are simply coping mechanisms.They provide a reference point in an imagined future which offers orientation in the present. This is, natural ly, valuable, but taken too far, it leads towards a game of disappointment.Complex systems are unpredictable which makes complex goals difficult to design. Rather, a better way of interacting with reality is by focusing on what can be controlled moment-to-moment, adjusting our orientation as we figure it out, letting the externalities play their part.This doesnt mean that we shouldnt strive to be better or that its not worth fulfilling any of our desires. All it means is that the best things in life dont always respond to attention.If we learn to focus on what we simply ought to do, quite often, the rest takes care of itself.Want to think and live smarter? Zat Rana publishes a free weekly newsletter for 30,000+ readers atDesign Luck.

The Navy Full Time Support (FTS) Program

The Navy Full Time kooperation (FTS) ProgramThe Navy Full Time Support (FTS) ProgramNavy Reservists are dedicated and diverse men and women of all ages, backgrounds, and ethnicities. They work to defend the nation while also working in a variety of careers as professionals of all kinds, and with a range of education levels. Typically, Naval Reservists are continuing their military service after serving active duty for less than 20 years. However, some Reservists joined directly to the Reserves, received basic training, follow-on training, and like their former active duty counter-parts serve one weekend a month and two weeks a year. However, some programs allow for the Reservists to go active duty for a short period (weeks or months) or an extended period (years or full deployments). Depending on your skills and training, you may be eligible for more active duty time and be a part of the Full-Time Support Mission of the Navy. Training the Navy Reserve With the FTS Program Navy Fu ll-Time Support (FTS) is a program that allows Navy Reservists to perform in positions as full-time active duty members, helfende handing the Navy Reserve Force. These members receive the same pay, allowances, and benefits as active duty members. Often there are jobs in the military that are understaffed. Depending upon the deployment status or immediate requirement to have a fully trained member fill one of these empty billets, the Reservists can fill a need of the active-duty Navy. The purpose of the Full-Time Support (FTS) program is to train and administer the Navy Reserve. It is open to both male and female personnel. Enlisted FTS personnel serve in demanding billets both at sea and ashore, providing the support necessary to prepare Navy Reservists to deploy when needed. Often in times of war and deployment, the needs of the Navy grow, and critical job skills are a commodity. The Reservists can fill that role as well as build their military resume by deploying or filling an act ive-duty position stateside. A related program, the Navy Individual Augmentee (IA) program allows Reservists to perform full-time active duty service in positions that support strategic objectives. Members may be chosen or volunteer to fill in for roles requiring specialized knowledge or skill sets. They could potentially fill needs outside the Navy in any of the service branches. Advantages for Navy Full-Time Support Members The primary advantage of FTS over regular active duty is that FTS members generally spend longer in a single location (they are not re-assigned as often), and there are Navy reserve bases where these members can be stationed that are not normally available for active duty sailors. Enlisted FTS personnel may be assigned to Operational units, such as Navy Reserve Force ships and Reserve air squadrons.Shore activities like Navy Operational Support Centers.Major shore commands, such as the Chief of Naval Operations, Navy Personnel Command, and the Navy Reserve Forces Command. Enlisted Ratings Available in the FTS Program The Navycalls their enlisted jobs ratings. Similar ratings are placed into various communities. Click on each rating designator to read a basic job description, as well as basic qualification criteria established to obtain the particular rating. AC - Air Traffic ControllerEN - EnginemanAD - Aviation Machinists MateET - Electronics TechnicianAE - Aviation Electricians MateHM - Hospital CorpsmanAM - Aviation Structural MechanicHT - Hull Maintenance TechnicianAME - Aviation Structural Mechanic (Safety Equipment)IC - Interior Communications ElectricianAO - Aviation OrdnancemanIT - Information Systems TechnicianAS - Aviation Support Equipment TechnicianMR - Machinery RepairmanAT - Aviation Electronics TechnicianNAC - Naval Air Crew, 82xxAW - Aviation Warfare Systems OperatorNC - Navy CounselorAZ - Aviation Maintenance AdministrationmanPR - Aircrew Survival EquipmentmanBM - Boatswains MatePS - Personnel SpecialistCS - Culin ary SpecialistSK - StorekeeperDC - Damage ControlmanYN - YeomanEM - Electricians Mate Information derived from Navy.com. The only negative news from the open FTS jobs in the Navy is that there is minimal opportunity for re-enlistment bonuses. And most of the needs for position in the FTS are for E-6 and below sailors with less than 14-years of service. However, sailors above that threshold can submit an Enlisted Personnel Action Request 1306/7. Submit the request to change component re-enlistment to Navy Personnel Commands Enlisted Active Programs Branch.

5 Tips to Help Raise your Efficiency

5 Tips to Help Raise your Efficiency5 Tips to Help Raise your EfficiencyWith a ton of work. comes great responsibility (I guess Ive already heard this before). Dont let the work stress you, dont let it steal all of your time. If you have trouble to keep up with a lot of tasks, this list may be helpful for you.Know your prioritiesIt may be hard to assemble your priorities sometimes. The most important tasks are not always those with deadline around the corner. To know your priorities you have to find your goals at first. You can use this advice in both private and professional life.20-80This ratio is known as Pareto principle. It says 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. Basically, 80% of success (work done) is achieved by 20% of effort. Dont do any unnecessary work to achieve those remaining 20% with 80% effort. It consumes a lot of precious time. You can use the time for different, much more important tasks.Have a planCreate a calendar with all your tasks. There is a lot of neat online tools to do that. Dont try to do more, than you can handle in one day. Actually, put an emergency time after every task. Maybe there will be traffic jam, or some other time killer during the day.The hardest part is to follow your plan. Sometimes you will force yourself to keep up, but in the end, you will be thankful for doing so. Trust usReserve time for your work ONLYOnce you learn how to plan your day, its a good idea to reserve a couple of hours dedicated to your work only. Dont let anyone to interrupt you. Once you step on the working flow, it is done almost with no effort. The worst thing is, when someone constantly interrupts you, and you can not stay focused.RelaxBeing a workaholic kills your creativity, energy and enthusiasm for work. Know when your work is over and have a nice relax with your friends or family. There is nothing better for your career, than coming back to work fresh.Do you like this story? Share it with your friends.Share Your Feedback or Ide as in the Comments

Is Your CEO Executive Resume Missing These Three Must-Haves

Is Your CEO Executive Resume Missing These Three Must-Haves Is Your CEO Executive Resume Missing These Three Must-Haves Executive resumes for CEOs are held to a higher standard on multiple levels. An effective CEO resume must deliver metrics-driven accomplishments while having visual appeal, an organized message, and a clear focus.ACEO resume needs to deliver its message with an I know who I am and where I am going type of spirit. The executive resume must show respect to the reader by clearly outlining the CEOs value.Some CEOs mistakenly include everything but the kitchen sink on their resumes in the hope that another executive will view their career history and know where to put them. Often, this kind of resume signals a CEO who has not conducted a pre-search, someone who just wants to explore the market and see what is out there. These CEOs would do well to consider how a little context relative to their focuscan directly impact their results - and almost always reduce frustrat ion and misunderstanding in the market.Here below are three points to consider as you (or you and your executive resume writer) develop your CEO resume1. Keywords and Summary Statements AlignedWith Your Ideal Next RoleOne of the most important things to remember is that the keywords at the top of your CEO resume create the readers initial perception of you by defining alignment and scale. You need to help the reader understand and appreciate your capabilities and career focus at a cursory glance.For example, you could sayTransformational Leader CEO Business DevelopmentBut this is much clearerCEO $1B+ Manufacturing Transformational Technologies Strategic Growth InitiativesAdditional key points may include elements such as3 Successful Mergers Acquisitions$10B PLTeams to 1,000MBAMultiple Board Appointments Advisory Roles2. Understand That You Control the Readers Eye as It Scans Your Executive ResumeYour CEO resume needs to be effective at both acursory glance and a deeper read. Every time you bold something or putit ina different color, you are essentially saying Look here Now look here And look hereTo this end, please bold only those things to which you want to draw the readers eye first. These should be soundbites that include size, oversight, and1-3 main accomplishments.3. Front-Load theMetricsAs a leader, you demonstrate your achievements by beginning with the results youhave realized - not by beginning with your actions or activities. Beginning a bullet with your results says to the reader, Hey, I understand what you want to read because I am a leader. It sets perceptions and builds confidence (in you). It also makes the conversation more fluid, creates excitement during the interview, and helps the reader picture you achieving similar results for them.Here are a few examplesDrove $500M revenue in 24 months leading major turnaroundGenerated $90M through establishing a new divisionProduced $35M in annual contract revenue spearheading 3 new service rol loutsThese are advanced resume points that you as aCEO must be aware of as you develop your executive resume. Understanding how your written communication sets perceptions will give you the executive edge that many other executiveslack.Mary Elizabeth Bradford founded and operates the No. 1 online executive resume writing service for VP to CxO executives worldwide (maryelizabethbradford.com).Master the art of closing deals and making placements. Take our Recruiter Certification Program today. Were SHRM certified. Learn at your own pace during this 12-week program. Access over 20 courses. Great for those who want to break into recruiting, or recruiters who want to further their career.

The Ultimate Approach for Hotel Resume

The Ultimate Approach for Hotel Resume The End of Hotel Resume Read on to find out mora about the length of time your gasthof desk hospitality resume should be along with the suitable vocabulary to use to make certain your application materials become noticed by the hiring manager. Rapid expansion in the area of tourism has caused the increase of hotel management industry for an international in addition to, local level. Today, a growing number of students are choosing hotel management courses. Top Choices of Hotel Resume To find out more on what it requires to be a Hotel Accountant, have a look at our complete Hotel Accountant Job Description. University Career Services offers a wide array of programs and services which will help you accomplish your objectives, both as youre at UH and long after. Writing a strong resume is just a single part in the procedure for job seeking. Writing a successful resume isnt straightforward. Hotel Resume Secrets Classified ads usually desc ribe what the job involves, and therefore you dont need to waste time attempting to work out whether youll be proper for a specific position. A tiny personal touch can go a very long way. Make certain you didnt miss whatever could cost you the job that you dream about If you have problems coming up with supporting interests or activities, follow the hints above and you ought to be in a position to think of a few. Uploading to our resume database requires you to make an account. When you have lots of experience in customer assistance, you might want to use a combination format to highlight both your years of knowledge and accolades. As previously mentioned, you wish to decide on a resume format thats suited to your personal profile. With all resumes its vital to select the ideal format. The Honest to Goodness Truth on Hotel Resume No matter whats going on in your private life, you must stay pleasant, respectful and courteous to all the hotels guests. You have to prove youve got all of the amenities. Besides cleaning rooms, you could also be assigned laundry duty. Even if the hotel is extremely busy, the employee still ought to have the ability to juggle a number of tasks while remaining friendly to customers. Because of the potential pressure to create sales, hotel sales managers ought to be able to deal with and manage stress appropriately. Possessing complete understanding of all the services the hotel offers is important for creating a successful sale. Hospitality covers a wide range of job titles, all which are a kind of consumer service linked to hosting, catering to, and entertaining guests. Your experience level will have an impact on your pay. You may not have any skilled aspirations driving you to return to school as an adult. If you dont have previous housekeeping experience, you will need to use examples from your other professional experiences or personal life to show that youll be an important worker. Other important areas in you r work experience will likewise be explored to highlight your credentials and make a stand-out resume. First and foremost, if you would like to have a thriving career in Housekeeping, youve got to learn how to get alongside people. You may also want to review the Housekeeping job description and ideal job qualifications sections so youll get a better idea on how to generate your resume stand out more. Housekeeping plays an extremely important role whether its in an industrial environment or within a private capacity. To create a great housekeeping resume, youll need to emphasize your efficiency, cleanliness, ability to obey instructions, and client service abilities. Hotel Resume - Is it a Scam? Ensure youre familiarized with all the work search abilities and strategies out there. If youre on the lookout for a housekeeping job, you will want a resume that sparkles. The perfect way to apply for any job as fresher is to produce a number of resumes. A lot of people dont like their present job or career. With our specialized therapy, youre going to be in a place to tap the complete potential of your professional network and make sure your profile on social networking channels matches the caliber of your resume. For instance, if you worked in the health care business but are attempting to become in to sales, replace the term patient with the term client or customer, which are a whole lot more relatable to a larger selection of audiences. Make certain you change the info and images through the numerous phases of construction to continue to keep people updated on your progress. Images and short films may be shared. Usually, applicants just need to fulfill the physical demands of the job and keep up a flexible schedule. Successful applicants have to be primarily self-motivated and have the capacity to work unsupervised. They must be highly empathetic. They must have the ability to maintain a healthy balance between the ability to work independently and as part of a team.

[Webinar] Companies Killing the Millennial Hiring Game - Spark Hire

Webinar Companies Killing the Millennial Hiring Game - Spark HireEffective Communication with Millennial CandidatesYour hiring process has been working great for years. Maybe youve made little updates here and there, but overall, its been smooth sailing. As youve worked with younger employees and candidates lately, perhaps youve seen a drop off in interest and applications for your positions. What happened? Its possible your current hiring process appeals best to potential employees of your generation. But the positions you fill most often are best suited for a new generation Millennials.This generation, well-known for killing industries across the board, are leveraging their power as the most employed generationto change the way business is conducted to its core. Their impact is even felt in your hiring process, from your talent pool, to candidate conversion, and time to hire.Now, you can have your most pressing millennial hiring questions answered on-demand Spark Hires Growth Recru iting Webinar series brought together hiring experts from Spark Hire, BambooHR, and Criteria Corp, to discuss the best ways to start killing the millennial hiring game. Click here to watch the webinarWhat this means for youEffective Communication with Millennial CandidatesWhich modernized recruiting tools are really worth it? What language, methods, and tools actually help you connect, relate, and present a positive employer brand to millennial candidates?This generations formative years were spent in the technology boom of the 90s and 00s. They reach for technology, the internet, and their phones, like you reache for a cold glass of lemonade on a hot day. To approach candidates where they are, how far do you have to go to integrate into their preferred methods of communication? Millennials Influence on HR ProcessesMillennials have different expectations about how business should be conducted. They crave transparency, responsiveness, and a good fit. In the past, HR processes focused on the needs of the employer. But with the changing talent market, more importance is placed on the candidate experience. Your company and its values have to stand out and appeal to millennial priorities.Tools Built to Improve the HR Function in a Millennial Talent PoolBecause of these different needs, some tools on the market can drastically improve the ROI of your hiring process to reach this generation. There are also tools that will have no impact on your process and even those that make your ROI worse. The key is to look at the candidate experience armed with the perspective of the Millennial generation.About the WebinarJoin Spark Hire, BambooHR, and Criteria Corp for a discussion-style panel webinar any time youd like by watching it on-demand.CEO of Spark Hire, Josh Tolan, Head of Talent Acquisition at BambooHR, JD Conway, and Vice President of Sales and Strategic Partnerships at Criteria Corp, Amyra Rand engaged in a lively discussion on how to best source, interview, and h ire the millennial generation.Click here to watch the webinar

15 things I believe Updated for late 2018

15 things I believe Updated for late 201815 things I believe Updated for late 2018I have taught an introduction to organizational behavior class for mora than 30 years to both undergraduate and graduate students. I first taught it at The University of Michigan to undergraduates when I was a doctoral student. And Ive taught an ever-evolving version of the class almost every year since I landed at Stanford in 1983. For years, the brde day, especially the final 20 minutes or so, felt awkward and forced as I struggled to look back on what the class had learned, provide some closure, and end on an upbeat note. About 15 years ago, I experimented with an ending ritual I passed out a list of 12 things that I believe, made a brief comment about each one, and thanked the class for their efforts and for putting up with my quirks and imperfections. The list contained many opinions that were related to the class. But they also drew on other work I hadnt mentioned in class and my general perspect ive on life.It worked and it still does. The students like it and it feels authentic. Ive fiddled with different versions of this list over the years - items come and go, it gets longer and shorter, but it still feels like a useful ritual for wrapping up the class. About ten years ago, I put it on my old Work Matters blog and people seemed to like it there too I have continued to tweak the list and update the links that explain my opinions in more detail. This post offers the latest Things I Believe list. I last updated in early 2018 and was inspired to update it by the start of the 2018-2019 academic year.Last year, I updated the silly thinker picture from my old blog with a new picture of the older me sitting at the same spot, next to The Thinker at the Papua New Guinea Sculpture Garden on the Stanford campus. (FYI my old Work Matters blog endures at www.bobsutton.org and my All Things Bob Sutton site is at www.bobsutton.net).As with each time Ive revised this list, doing so for ced me to think about what is important enough to remain, what I feel compelled to add, and what I best subtract to make room for new stuff (I did cheat a bit and expanded it from 14 to 15 things). Here is the current list- each but the last one has a link if you want to dig into it further. I hope you like it. And I would love to hear your reactions, suggestions, and critiques.1. Sometimes the best management is no management at all first do no harm2. The best leaders have the attitude of wisdom, the confidence to act on their convictions and the humility to keep searching for (and acting on) evidence that they are wrong.3. Indifference is as important as passion.4. The best leaders know what it feels like to work for them. They overcome the urge to focus attention on powerful superiors vorschlagher than their followers. They also resist the temptation to believe and reward those who butter them up with flattering bullsh-t (And make it safe for followers to tell them uncomfortable truths).5. Fight as if you are right listen as if you are wrong.6. Fear the clusterfk (or clusterfug)those debacles and disasters caused by a deadly brew of illusion, impatience, and incompetence that afflicts too many decision-makers, especially those in powerful, confident, and prestigious groups.7. Big teams suck.8. George Carlin was right. Too many people behave as if my sh-t is stuff, and your stuff is sh-t. It creates a lot of unnecessary friction and frustration.9. Hierarchy is good. Hierarchy is essential. And less isnt always better. Giving people orders, watching them work, and making decisions are things that ought to be done with care, caution, and compassion. But organizations and teams need hierarchy (and other bureaucratic trappings) to function.10. If you are a winner and an ahole, you are still a loser in my book because you are harming so many other people in your lust to build something, make money, or dominate that competition.11. Kurt Vonnegut was right. It is often more constructive to tell yourself I have enough than to keep asking how you can get more and more and more. I dont believe that people who die with the most money, fancy stuff, power, or prestige win the game of life.12. If you are plagued by an ahole or a pack of them make a clean getaway if you can. If you cant, develop a strategy for protecting yourself and fellow victims from the onslaught, for preserving your dignity and spirit, and for fighting back.13. Am I a success or a failure? is not a very useful question. It is better to ask what am I learning.14. Life is always going to be a bit messy, especially if you are doing something interesting and new. Try to create as much simplicity and clarity as you can, but embrace (and enjoy) the inevitable confusion and messiness too.15. Jimmy Maloney was right. Work is an overrated activity.I left this last point unexplained on my published lists and without any links until recently. Most readers got the message and only a few complained because I didnt explore any nuances or talk about who the heck Jimmy Maloney was to me. But here is the background which I always tell my class.About 20 years ago, I spent many of my weekends and vacations racing sailboats with my boyhood friend Jimmy Maloney. He had a serious and stressful job, but was making good money. He and his wife Loretta still found a lot of time to spend with each other and their three young kids. But Jimmy and Loretta felt oppressed by the rat race. And at the strangest moments 10 seconds before the start of a race, during complicated maneuvers such as tacks or jibes, or even the middle of a capsize Jimmy would start bellowing work is overrated or we are all suckers, most people wouldnt work if they had a choice. It wasnt just hollow talk. Jim and Loretta quit their jobs, sold their house, bought a sailboat, and cruised with their kids for a couple years (Loretta is a schoolteacher, and she was very disciplined about teaching each kid the mat erial required by their California school district). The family eventually landed in New Zealand, where they raised their kids. They work just enough to support a modest but healthy life. All three kids grew up to be great sailors too. In fact, their daughter Alex won a silver medal in the 2016 Olympics and their son Andy sailed on the New Zealand boat that won the Americas Cup in 2017.I like to end my class with that story because I am so focused on the workplace in my writings and research, and the students I teach at Stanford are such extreme overachievers, that it is useful to remind them (and myself), as Jimmy would put it, that work is an overrated activity.P.S. I put my final exam question on the course outline, so students know it from the first day Design the ideal organization. Use course concepts to defend your answer. The quality, range, and imagination of these papers often stuns and delights me.Thisarticlefirst appeared on LinkedIn.

Why I put Immigrant on my resume

Why I put Immigrant on my resumeWhy I put Immigrant on my resumeIn April 2014, standing in my mothers living room in suburban Virginia, I kept trying to take slow breaths, be calm, and stop my mind from racing. I would have called it a panic attack but it went on for months. To a lesser extent, its dragged on for years. I welches overwhelmed by the feeling that I had next to no control. The plans I had for my life, my hopes and dreams, were all in the hands of a bureaucrat somewhere I would never meet who was ready to dictate what would happen with my life over the incorrect use of a stamp.I was applying for a long-term visa in the country that had become my home. This whole experience may not be typical for someone with a white middle-class background like myself. But, as it progressed, I came to realize that lack of control and anxiety was a part of who I am.I am an immigrant*.*To be clear, that means I am not an expat (a word we should really stop using).That may sound obvious to some, but for someone who grew up in the United States surrounded by immigrants from all over the world, it felt strange to turn a word so synonymous with other back on myself. But after spending nearly my entire adult life outside of the US, theres no denying that being an immigrant has become at the core of my identity. I am neither here nor there, a foreigner to some extent no matter where I am in the world.Searching for an Identity and a CareerBut my identity wasnt my only concern at the time. I had spent my entire career working to become an academic historian. However, with the future of academia not looking bright, I decided I had to start over. This brought up the question, what skills did I have?When I put together a resume, my academic performance was impressive, but it wasnt clear what practical skills I had. In spite of this, I managed to get a job as a writer. Over two years of working, my skillset slowly came through and I realized where my strengths lay. Unsurprisingl y, they largely stemmed from the defining experience of my adult life being an immigrant. I realized I couldSolve problems while communicating through language barriers to do things like figure out what time buses leave or decipher how to pay a water bill.Perceive the subtle contextual differences between cultures. For example, why a joke is funny to one culture and not another or how small changes in how something is worded changes how its understood.Adapt to ever-changing situations comfortably.Have enough patience to spend months and years going through bureaucratic processes and handle the emotional uncertainty that comes with them.These are skills I use at my job every day. But selling them, and myself, to an employer need to go beyond simply listing them as skills. By putting them in context, both my skills and myself become more three dimensional and compelling. So instead of binnenseeing adaptable they see Ive lived, worked, and studied in three countries. Instead of I know how to plan and adapt to complex situations, they see Ive mastered the intricate bureaucracy of the visa application process.Related articlesWhat did Microsofts Marketing Manager learn from 3 strengths you can develop only by switching jobsWhat does yur day look like? Share with us and winThe Moment I RealizedWhen I first encountered s resume builder, I spent quite a while adapting the simple Word doc Id been using for years. During that process, I spent a significant amount of time just considering what my accomplishments were, and what experiences defined me. That is when it all really came together. I clicked on the Experience section, where one would normally put a list of jobs, and typed the word Immigrant.I smiled and exhaled as a sense of calmness came over me. Yes, I was an immigrant. Yes, that belonged on my resume. In this moment, it became clear that my resume was about more than getting that next job, it was about personal reflection.Frankly, I want resumes and the jobs they get us to be more about who we are beyond simply what it is we do at work (here are some good examples). But making that change isnt going to happen overnight. We all need to consider the relationship between our identities and careers and let that reflect in how we present ourselves in the office and on the page. If youve had your own experience, Id love to hear about it. You can post about it in the comments or email me at eric.com.

Five Ways to Improve your Healthcare Hiring Process

Five Ways to Improve your Healthcare Hiring ProcessFive Ways to Improve your Healthcare Hiring ProcessFive Ways to Improve your Healthcare Hiring Process BoernerShifting reimbursements. Readmission penalties. Thirty million patients newly insured under healthcare reform. The looming retirement of millions of Baby Boomers. Put together, its a recipe for an especially challenging healthcare hiring process.Here are five ways to hone your hiring practices for healthcare hiring, both today and in the future.Hire a Team PlayerThe bulletin board behind Eileen Rowlands office at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City lists at least a dozen councils her nurses can join. Rowland, HHSs director of nurse recruitment, uses the list as a kollektivwork test for job candidates.I point at it and say, Can you imagine yourself on one of these councils? she says. Some people are genuinely excited. Others, you can tell they dont give a hoot. If they dont care, this isnt the right place for them.Wi th the rise of coordinated care, healthcare organizations are reorienting towardrecruiting team players and that means the hiring process has to target technically adept candidates who also have soft skills communication skills, an ability to work with different personalities and group problem solving skills.Rowland recommends that once you vet a candidate, get specific about their team player experience Have they been part of teams in their current jobs? What roles did they play? How did they contribute to a hospital initiative or project?And she asks these follow-up interview questions Were they involved in sports? Its not that someone who hasnt played sports cant be a good team member, she says. But when youre looking at new grads, looking to see what group activities people are part of is always a good idea.Interview SmartlyIf youre taking a team approach, it makes sense to bring the team into the hiring process as well, says David Twitchell, co-director of HR for Rutland dezent ral Medical Center in Vermont.This serves two purposes careful vetting of new hires and employee engagement.Be sure to include at least one person in the interview process who will be the new hires coworker, as well as someone on a different hospital team with whom the hire may have to coordinate care. Hiring managers and supervisors should also be given a shot to vet the candidate.These can be done over multiple interviews, but too arduous a hiring process can backfire, leaving the candidate with a bad impression of the company and ultimately damage the companys reputation among job seekers.The only exception to this, says Esther Cuno, recruiting manager for the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, is executive leadership. Its often hard to get all the players for those positions together at once, necessitating multiple visits.Otherwise, says Rowland, try to confine the interviews to one visit, if possible.Good people wont linger on the market even in this economy, she says. I dont want t o give the candidate an opportunity to meet another recruiter because I couldnt get it done today.Create a Consistent Interview ProcessCuno has heard it over and over again A hiring manager will tell her, I thought he would do so well. He really gelled with the team. He had a great personality. But its not working out.You absolutely can get blinded by personality in interviews, she says.The key to avoiding that, she says, is to be prepared and consistent. Strong personalities can pull interviewers off track, leaving them to realize later that they didnt get all the information they need to determine whether the candidate could succeed in the job.If youre consistent and ask everyone the same interview questions, youll be better able to weed out candidates who interview well but may not serve your organizational mission.Hire Tech Savvy CandidatesThe emergence of electronic medical records has added a new layer of vetting to Twitchells hiring processes.You have to make sure candidates are computer literate and savvy, says Twitchell, also leader of the Society for Human Resources Managements HR Disciplines Expertise Panel.Ever since we went to electronic medical records two years ago, weve done an assessment across our organization internally, to see where we had to develop opportunities to coach current staff. New staff must already have the skills.The good news is that many candidates are HITECH savvy so much so that in the tech-savvy Pacific Northwest, Cuno considers it a core function. Rowland verifies that people have experience with the programs they use and, in the end, tests candidates tech skills to provide an extra layer of protection.Invest in Your StaffIts been proven over and over again that employees accept or decline an offer based in large part on the employee benefits offered. That will become more important as newly-insured patients guarantees flood the system.One of our current challenges is forecasting in advance of actual needs, Cuno says.In order to really plan for the future, its important to recruit at all different experience levels, so you dont have a huge wave of retirements and a huge wave of change.So take your recruiting further. Cuno plans to expand recruitment beyond the region this year and target candidates nationally. Shes also exploring new internship programs, residency and preceptor programs, and is looking outside the oncology field for potential hires.Shes also looking for better ways to provide employee training and advancement for their current staff. Rowland even brings continuing healthcare education on campus for staff convenience.While such investment can be expensive, Cuno says, so is hiring the wrong person.Read moreEngage New Nursing Graduates for Future Hiring NeedsIT Staffing for Healthcare Recruiting for HITECH Retaining Healthcare Professionals with Education Benefits