6 Things I Learned About Job Satisfaction From Interviewing More Than 500 People

6 Things I Learned About Job Satisfaction From Interviewing More Than 500 People 6 Things I Learned About Job Satisfaction From Interviewing More Than 500 People Through these conversations, Thach has gleaned six crucial insights about what makesa successful and genuinely fulfilling career.1. Be CourageousAfter conducting interviews with more than500 professionals, Thach estimates thatmore than 50 percentchanged the direction of their career path at some point.Thach himself never created a video until after graduating from college. Initially, he planned to enter the teaching profession. This led to him working at a community college, where he was given the opportunity to shoot and edit his first video. His newfound passion quickly blossomed into a viable career path.If you discover a new interest or an unexpected opportunity later in life, be open to pursuing it. Its never too late.2. Dont Just Work for the MoneyThe average person spends more thanone-thirdof their life working, s o its imperative that you spend your time doing something that means more to you than just a paycheck.A six-figure salary might seem like it should be at least one major driver of career satisfaction, but in the long run, it really isnt.According to the Harvard Business Reviews list of thetop five career regrets, the biggest regret people report is I wish I hadnt taken the job for the money.3.You Have Many, Many OptionsDid you know that you could make a living as a professionalbeekeeper? Or as ahot air balloon pilot? You are likely only aware of a tiny fraction ofthe hundreds of careers that might be the perfect fit for you.As a professional interviewer, Thach has seen the myriad opportunities that are available to people of all skill levels and educational backgrounds. For instance, maybe you dreamed of one day becoming a doctor until you realized that you couldnt afford the time and money such a goal requires. Whatyou may not have realized is that there are multipleopportunities in the medical profession aside from being a doctor that offer you the chance to help others. You could instead becomea nurse practitioner,a physicians assistant, or ahospital administrator.Start investigating the vast world of career possibilities. Pretty soon, youll find the job thats perfect for you.4.Consider Being Your Own BossThroughout his career, Thach has observed that the individuals who aremost enthusiastic about their work arethose who started their own business or were working to bring their own ideas to life. Venturing out on your own can seem risky, but according to the U.S. Census Bureau,400,000 new businesses are born each year in the U.S.In the end, seeing your own vision bear fruit can be an incredibly rewarding experience.5. The Internet Is Your FriendThere are many resources available that are just a mouse click away. Thach himself learned many of his video production skills through tutorials onLynda.com,YouTube,andCreative COW.Some sites even provide courses th at offer degrees or certificates upon completion. For instance, if you want to pursue a career in marketing, but lack formal marketing education,UC Berkeley Extensionoffers online certificate-earning courses like Introduction to Marketing, Creating An Advertising Campaign, and Implementing a Brand Vision, all of which could help you break into the field.6. Follow Your Dream. Seriously.In every single interview, Thach asks, What do you wish you had known when you were first starting out in your career that you know now?By far, the most popular piece of advice he hears is to follow your dream. While this advice may seem clich, that might be because it is simply the best way to achieve true job satisfaction and success.However, if your appetite for risk-taking is low, thats okay, too Not everyone is able to take financial risks such as starting their own business or chasing their dreams of Broadway stardom. Many people dip their toes in the water by freelancing in their spare time. Oth ers have found lucrative outlets for their creativity on sites like Etsy or eBay. In reality,there are many ways to test the waters.Whatever your dream, someone has probably already made it a reality for themselves. Now its your turn.-Rubina is marketing manager atPathSource, a career exploration company that aims to transform lives by connecting people to their ideal career paths. She enjoys hiking, traveling, and all things food-related (including cooking it, eating it, and watching reality shows that revolve around it).*Brandon is a senior at the University of Minnesota, where he studies strategic communication and Spanish. Following a string of odd jobs, including waiting tables at not one, buttwoIndian restaurants, he now finds himself interning forPathSourceas their social media and marketing intern.

HR Terms and Jargon You Need to Know

HR Terms and Jargon You Need to KnowHR Terms and Jargon You Need to KnowEvery profession has its own language or jargon, and Human Resources is no exception. Here are some of the HR terms you might hear coming out of an HR managers mouth and what it all really means. To communicate effectively with HR, whether or not youre in the department, its important to understand and speak the lingo. A Seat at the HR Table Imagine a group of decision-makers sitting around a conference table making a decision. Anyone who is there at the table has a seat, meaning they were invited to the meeting. HR managers often talk about having a seat at the table to emphasize that someone from HR needs to be at a company meeting to make sure the departments perspective is taken into consideration when decisions are made. Additionally, the term refers to a seat with the executive leadership in the executive conference room. This is where HR really wants inclusion, making sure its eingabe is heard when dec isions are made that affect the companys strategic direction, particularly when deploying people is involved. HR wants that seat to participate as one of the companys strategic decision-makers. Balanced Scorecard The term balanced scorecard comes out of Harvard Business School, and as such, can be explained in either a very complicated manner or in this way everything matters. You cant just ignore your people and focus on the numbers. You cannot expect people to produce quality products if they are judged by the number of parts they produce. The scorecard looks specifically at four different areas Learning and Growth, Business Process, Customers, and Finances. Often, the HR business partner is heavily involved in the learning and growth portions of determining this scorecard for each senior person. In some organizations, the administrative and customer-focused jobs in the organization also report to HR. Competencies or Core Competencies These are generally the skills needed to do a particular job, but the reference is often a little fuzzier. Skills imply something concrete, such as, must know how to do financial modeling, while competencies can also include soft skills, such as problem-solving abilities. When HR managers talk about core competencies, they are referring to the knowledge, skills, and abilities that are absolutely critical to the job. So, while its nice to have an accountant with good interpersonal skills, all accountants must first have the ability to work with numbers. Corporate Culture Every company has its own culture. Cultures can develop naturally without any effort, but often the HR department will attempt to build a specific culture. Youll see mission statements and team-building activities and a number of other activities that are designed to create a specific culture within the organization. Good HR departments make weeding out bad managers (or training bad managers to become good managers) a priority when creating a good co rporate culture. Bad HR departments focus on mission statements and then wonder why the culture is mucksmuschenstill toxic. Downsizing, Reorganization, Restructuring, or Rightsizing As a general rule, these terms all mean that a company isgoing to lay off a number of employees.Its possible to reorganize and restructure and keep all of the employees, but in reality, if you hear discussions about company-wide reorganizations or downsizing, freshen up your resume, because you might need it. Family-Friendly Businesses often claim that they are family-friendly when they have policies that are meant to support working parents. Benefits such as flexible schedules, on-site daycare, and generous sick leaves to care for yourself and your sick children are often cited as important aspects of a family-friendly business. HR departments are usually the ones who develop and implement such family-friendly policies. Good HR departments recognize that what their employees want from their bene fits is the most significant factor when determining what employee benefits to share. The benefits play a significant role in employee retention. Gross Misconduct If you do something that is so bad the only consequence is for the company to immediately fire you, your actions were gross misconduct. For instance, if you set fire to the bosss office, it doesnt matter that you had a perfect performance appraisal the week before, the boss will fire you. Gross misconduct is generally determined by company policy rather than by law. But just because the employee handbook doesnt say no arson allowed doesnt mean that the company wont fire you - and have you arrested - for that action. Hitting another employee is another example of gross misconduct, as is stealing the companys products. Let Go Let go is one of many euphemisms employers and employees use to say that an employee was fired. Now, of course, there are two main types of fired. The first is when an employee is terminated f or business reasons unrelated to performance. This is generally known as a layoff. The second is a true firing - when the employee has done something wrong. That something wrong can include poor performance as well as something more terrible, such as stealing. Another common term for firing an employee is employment termination or terminating the employment relationship. Onboarding When youre hired, you have a lot of paperwork to fill out. This is the very basic step that is done for all new employees and, in some cases, this is the entire onboarding program. Some companies have elaborate onboarding programs that involve cultural integration and building a general company knowledge base. The goal of all onboarding programs is to bring new employees into the company and get them working effectively as quickly as possible. The ultimate goal is to build a positive relationship that enables you to retain the employee. Talent Management When HR people talk about talent managemen t, they are really just talking about making sure they recruit, train, manage, develop and retain the best people. Sometimes talent-management programs dont include everyone in the organization, but only the high-potential employees and current leaders. Both management and HR departments are involved in developing and implementing a talent-management system. 80/20 Rule This terminology is used in many different situations, but in HR, it typically means that 80 percent of the problems are caused by 20 percent of the employees. HR departments may also speak of frequent fliers. These are employees who seem to have problems with everything and everybody and take up a great deal of HR time. They take up HR time disproportionately to better-performing employees- the employees that the HR staff would rather spend their time developing.

My Engineers Notebook Hope Duntoye

My Engineers Notebook Hope Duntoye My Engineers Notebook Hope Duntoye My Engineers Notebook Hope DuntoyeHope Duntoye, an ASME member from Lagos, Nigeria, has nine years of experience in various industries, with more than four of those years spent in the energy sector. As an assistant consultant at the Lagos office of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), he consulted for industry clients on performance improvement as well as systems and process assurance services. Hope joined Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria in Port Harcourt in November 2011 as a production engineer. In July 2014, he was transferred to Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Ltd. in Lagos, where he currently works as a mechanical supervisor on the Bonga floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facility. As mechanical supervisor, Hope leads a team that ensures the maintenance integrity and reliability of the facilitys turbines, pumps, compressors, gas engines, heat exchangers and other mechani cal equipment. He was a member of the 2014-2015 class of the ASME Early Career Leadership Intern Program to Serve Engineering (ECLIPSE), and was selected by ASME to attend the ASME Leadership Training Conference in St. Louis in 2013 as an early career delegate. Hope received a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Lagos in Nigeria in 2006, and is currently completing work on an M.B.A. at Robert Gordon University in Scotland.Hope DuntoyeWhats inside your engineers notlageebook?My engineers notebook contains the various challenges concerning mechanical equipment and process reliability Ive encountered on the FPSO. It contains new things I learn on a daily grund about overcoming the challenges of oil and gas production in the deepwater environment. It also contains some leadership tips I pick up on a daily basis from my discussions with top management staff in Shell.Whose notebook would you fruchtwein like to peek into? Why?There are a lot of great achievers whose notebooks I would like to see, but I choose Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton for now. I consider them to be the greatest scientists of all time and would really want to understand how they put their ideas to paper. I want to understand what inspired them and how some of their theories really started out. I would want to see the great work of these people in its original form.How and when did you know you wanted to become an engineer?I started feeling that I wanted to become an engineer when I was young I just didnt think I would become a mechanical engineer. I have always loved mathematics from primary school days and I always excelled in it. One day I spoke to my parents and grandmother about my love for road construction and I was told that the people constructing them were civil engineers. So I felt I wanted to be one. I also liked taking apart and trying to fix our electronics when I was young. Some I could fix, some other I spoilt completely. So, I then thought I would like to study electrical and electronics engineering. In my senior secondary school days, I started learning about other science courses like physics. Eventually, I chose to study mechanical engineering at one of the most competitive universities in Nigeria, the University of Lagos.ASME Past President Madiha El Mehelmy Kotb (right) and 2014-2015 ASME Early Career Leadership Intern Program to Serve Engineering (ECLIPSE) intern Hope Duntoye at the 2014 ASME Annual Meeting in Portland, Ore.Whats the most exciting project youve ever worked on?An exciting project for me was leading more than 20 colleagues to carry out root cause analysis (RCA) on a failed electric heater bundle in a non-associated gas plant. The RCA was able to identify the root causes of the failure and adequate solutions were proposed and implemented. This was important because the heater bundle was part of a glycol regeneration process in the plant. If glycol is not regenerated because of the failed heater bundle, it will become uneconomical to treat the gas. And if the gas is not treated, it will lead to gas deferment or asset integrity damage to the pipeline transporting the gas. Any disruption of gas production would have a negative impact on the Nigerian economy, as oil and gas currently accounts for more than 90 percent of Nigerias export revenue.What do you think youd be doing if you hadnt become an engineer?I started out my career consulting for PwC, one of the Big 4 professional services firms, where I acquired a detailed understanding of processes by providing performance improvement services and systems and process assurance services to top industry clients. So, if I werent working as an engineer today, I would be happy providing professional services such as management consulting or systems and process assurance.Whats your favorite activity when youre not working?I think its very important to continue learning and acquiring knowledge. So when Im not working, Im probably studying or re ading trying to get a better understanding of things. I also love driving, swimming and playing the piano.Was there a book or a movie that piqued your interest in science or inspired you to become an engineer?There really wasnt any movie or book that piqued my interest in engineering. But after I started studying engineering in the university, I saw a movie titled 21, and loved the way some simple concepts in science were discussed in it. I also saw the movie 3 Idiots after school and again liked how the conventional way of studying engineering was challenged in it.Hope Duntoye presenting a mini-talk to early career engineers at the ASME 2014 grenzberschreitend Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition in Montreal, Canada.Who are your heroes, either within the engineering profession or in the rest of your life?My late brother will always be my hero. Although our parents are still alive, he played the fatherly role in order to ease the burden on our parents. He was a trusted, s elfless person who I wish had lived longer. He was deeply religious, and was moral, diligent and caring. He encouraged me to take my studies seriously since I was young. God used him and my parents to motivate me to be where I am today.Whats the most meaningful or rewarding aspect of being connected to engineering?One of my lecturers would always say, When a doctor prescribes the wrong drug, one person dies. But if an engineer builds a failed bridge, hundreds of people will likely die from the collapse depending on the size and location of the bridge. The most meaningful aspect of being connected to engineering is that we pragmatically apply scientific theories and watch as our designs translate into projects that influence lives around the world.What does ASME mean to you?ASME has meant different things to me at different stages of my life. When I was in the university, I saw ASME as simply a codes and standard society. In the last four years since joining ASME, I have found other interesting things the Society has to offer, such as the opportunities for early career engineers to develop and participate in programs like ECLIPSE and the opportunity to network in an organization that is as truly diverse and inclusive as ASME.The most meaningful aspect of being connected to engineering is that we pragmatically apply scientific theories and watch as our designs translate into projects that influence lives around the world.Hope Duntoye

ASME Appoints Michael Merker as Associate Executive Director

ASME Appoints Michael Merker as Associate Executive Director ASME Appoints Michael Merker as Associate Executive Director ASME Appoints Michael Merker as Associate Executive DirectorMichael MerkerMichael Merker, a dedicated member of ASMEs staff for more than three decades, has been named the Societys new associate executive director of Standards Certification. Merker has held a number of positions of increasing responsibility since joining the ASME staff in 1981, most recently guiding the global expansion of ASMEs Conformity Assessment programs and contributing to the growth and development of ASMEs digital publishing endeavors as managing director of Conformity Assessment Publishing. In his new role as associate executive director, Merker will oversee ASMEs Standards, Technology Personnel Certification, and Training Development groups, and retain his current responsibilities for Conformity Assessment Publishing. He will also continue to serve as a member of the Executive Leade rship Team, which reports directly to ASME Executive Director Thomas G. Loughlin. Michael Merker, with more than 30 years at the Society, has the necessary experience, breadth of knowledge, and business acumen to successfully carry on the important work of standards and certification in the global engineering marketplace, Loughlin said. His is a most deserving promotion.

Take a Leap of Faith in a Job Hopper

Take a Leap of Faith in a Job HopperLeap of Faith in a Job Hopper?Take a Leap of Faith in a Job HopperI read a blog post recently that posed a rather simple question Would you hire a job hopper? Put aelendher way If you had two finalists for a position, would you go with the one who stayed five years at her last job? Or the job hopper who worked five jobs in the last five years?The topic generated more than the usual number of comments, with some valuing loyalty and others arguing that many of todays workers are simply more apt to bolt if their jobs are not serving their careers or lives well.Any job hopper would cause a bit of concern with a hiring manager, which is only natural. But what amuses me - or maybe more accurately, ticks me off - is a hiring manager who would reject a job hopper while his or her own company shows no loyalty to its own staff by always taking layoffs as a path to profitability, or that doesnt invest sufficiently in employee training and development (if at a ll), or both. Such a hiring manager would be a shining example of corporate hypocrisy.If I were a hiring manager, I would admittedly be concerned about hiring the job hopper. But at the same time, I would be compelled to ask myself these questionsWould the applicant fill a critical role for us, and fill it well?Do we have an employee training and professional development program that mightturn this job hopper into a high-level contributor and long-term employee?Are the applicants long-term (i.e., three to five years out) career goals ones we could feasibly help him or her reach through professional development?Does this person want professional development?If this person were to leave after a year or so, could the work be redistributed easily?If the job-hopping was related to salary or benefits issues, how do we stack up against our competitors or companies of similar size?Hiring managers need not fear job hoppers unless they have no clear career goals in mind. Id be concerned about hiring a person who cannot clearly state that in a resume or articulate it in an interview. Yes, job hopping may be a regular practice among the Millennial/Generation Y set, but anyone - at any stage in life - can hop from job to job without a purpose. Thats why, as an applicant, you should chart your career course before you search for a company you believe would be a good stop along the way.I welcome thoughts from both job seekers and hiring managers. Does this topic bring out more than just a little bit of emotion in you?

Short Article Reveals the Undeniable Facts About Resume Critique and How It Can Affect You

Short Article Reveals the Undeniable Facts About Resume Critique and How It Can Affect You Why Almost Everything Youve Learned About Resume Critique Is Wrong As a consequence, youve got to check at your resume from an employers perspective. You require an effective career document that showcases your best accomplishments, skills, and attributes in a manner that keeps the readers attention and enables you rise over the competition. You dont have a good deal of knowledge or employment history to individualize your resume, but you can make certain your resume is a skillful presentation of everything youve got to offer you. If you are searching for some constructive feedback and actionable suggestions for improving your resume, a resume critique can guide you in creating the essential adjustments to achieve the results you desire. When you have completed a providers application procedure, then youll become part of their database for a time period. A lot of people make the error of utilizing an objective to tell prospective employers what their targets are, which is not why the provider wants to hire them. A specialist can take exactly the saatkorn primary ingredients I have in my kitchen and produce impressive results because that expert knows the way to use the fundamental ingredients with skill. As you wait, weve got a good deal of expert career advice on the blog. The Fundamentals of Resume Critique Revealed Also meet prospective objections upfront someone might have about why youd be a superior fit for the position. Utilize their job posting or find work description, if at all possible. You wish to optimize your job posts for engagement because you desire more people to see your work post in their news feed. If youre applying to a particular job, take some time to tweak your resume. Knowing that youre somebody who cares about the members of the community is likely to make you the absolute most popular poster on the webpage, since I mentioned earli er. The employer is searching for somebody that can and will satisfy their needs. The staff gives a great cake and some soda. To be able to be really helpful, however, you want to provide them some advice about how to boost their work in specific ways. Nevertheless, its not essential to go into complete information. You have earned the ideal shot, particularly for positions that youre qualified for. Finding out how to evaluate our own work is genuinely challenging. Youre relying on just a template to generate a great resume. Employing a custom resume instead of a generic one is going to greatly increase your probability of an interview. Domain anthroponym Tips In order to be noticed, you may want to think about a customized domain name. To help you brainstorm, here are a few of the varieties of keywords Hiring Agents might be searching for. Your header should be bigger. Resume Critique Secrets That No One Else Knows About Employers dont have enough time to guess what yo u would like to be when you grow up. You want to reveal the possible employers what youll be able to bring to their organization. Students are almost always welcome. They will also have a chance to meet with Careers in Nonprofits staff to give direct feedback on resumes. Resume is the very first impression which every candidate want to present their possible employer. You might need to have a look at all the resumes, for that issue. Its always best to have past employers and other professionals talk about your capacity to do a very good job. Your potential employers wont only see what youve achieved in years past but what you could offer them later on. What might have been good feedback only a few decades ago doesnt necessarily hold true today. One other great feature is that youll have the ability to find the help that you will need. The only thing was I didnt understand how to create small talk. All resumes, however theyre put together, need to be well-written and simple to scan for information. Instead, job seekers require a professional resume writing service which helps. Today you can maintain or build your employers website and boost the businesss sales. On-line job search that involves going directly to company internet sites is a great way to introduce yourself to the business in which you think that may be interested. If it isnt possible consider opening your own company or targeting new employment by telecommuting.

How Small Businesses Can Recruit Big Talent - Spark Hire

How Small Businesses Can Recruit Big Talent - Spark HireIf you want to compete with the big dogs, you have to play like the big dogs. There is no case in which this is more true than in big geschftliches miteinander versus small business. So when it comes to recruiting talent in your small business hiring efforts, its important to strategize in a way that attracts top talent to your company rather than a large corporation.In August, The Washington deutsche post dhl provided several helpful insights in order to help small businesses compete in the world of large corporation talent acquisition and angeschlossen recruitment. They suggest the followingBuild your brandThink Google, Apple, and Microsoft. These big name companies have been working for years to build their brand, and were not just talking products. Were talking about talent acquisition and recruitment. Theyre known for getting the best and the brightest, having some of the toughest job search processes and providing a great work life balance to their employees.Your goal in small business hiring is to recruit like the powerhouses. Decide on a reason why your small business is the best place to work and promote your strengths within and outside of your industry.Sell small businessThe Washington Post suggests that you emphasize that working for a small business is better than working for big business. Some of their reasons for this include more opportunities to grow professionally, greater say in big decisions and more chances to stand out and move ahead.When working to recruit these job candidates, tout these benefits. Provide examples of employees who have successfully moved through the ranks. Show the career path that new hires can hope to embark on with your company. Talk to them like theyre worth investing in for the long run.Make yourself knownFinally, The Washington Post states that you have to outwardly promote your personal brand and why youre the place to work as you recruit. This can be done th rough several different channels like your website, social media and sponsored workshops or forums. Make sure that the personal brand of the company is prominent in job postings, social networking and in-person interactions. Through this promotion, youre combining your efforts of personal branding and selling small business as a better working environment than big business.As you develop this personality within your industry and act upon it, youll develop the type of workplace reputation that attracts job candidates. As a result, online recruitment and talent acquisition will come easily, and the right candidates will be flocking to your job opportunities.How does your small business work to compete for the large company job candidates? Share in our comments now