My two cents…This is the “age of accountability.” Any information on the Internet is free game to employers AND to job seekers. Both parties should utilize all resources available when considering fit and making long term employment decisions.
Advice to job seekers:
Great article and stats from Recruiting Trends…
Many Employers Pass on Applicants Due to Social Media Posts – Recruiting Trends. Read More
Great article. I’m an Introvert myself, and it is a challenge sometimes. I’m submitting an article to vitalink next month about my own experience as an Introvert and how my “get it done” strategy completely changed my life. I can’t wait to share it with you.
5 Strategies for Communicating When You Don’t Even Like to Talk | Entrepreneur.com.
The stereotypical entrepreneur talks to everyone easily, but introverts need not be discouraged. Reticence does not doom you to failure.
Social science finds at least a third, and maybe half, the population is introverted. Successful entrepreneurs who are introverts make their personalities work for them. With less interest in the spotlight than accomplishing goals, introverts are inclined to let talented employees run with their ideas. Here are five strategies for making introversion an asset. Read More
I encourage job seekers to spend some time thinking about and writing down what environments are most conducive to their success and overall well being. Not every employer is a great fit, even if the job description is perfect.
This is just as true for adults with AS. Before you start applying for jobs, spend some time thinking about what environments work best for you. Some adults with AS love working with people; others find the people and social aspects of work their greatest challenge.
Here’s a great article that provides some good advice for AS job seekers. Understand, nothing is one size fits all. If something the author suggests appeals to, give it a try. Otherwise, keep looking for what works best for you.
Asperger Syndrome Job Success Secrets | Coulter Video. Read More
Great overview of some of the things we are in control of when it comes to job search. It’s completely up to the job seeker to make sure they are communicating their strengths and impact to the employer…in the resume, the cover letter, and in their conversation with the Interviewer. Take the time to show yourself in the best light.
7 important questions every job seeker should ask themselves. Read More
The world of work is changing! After twenty years in Human Resources, I am convinced that our work weeks could easily be compressed to three or four days per week. It has been my experience that there are typically a lot of time wasters and distractions that occur everyday. People are not motivated to be focused and intentional with their time because they’re going to be there 40+ hours anyway. If we offered people that same weekly pay and gave them the option of working three, four or five days per week…what do you think will happen? Talk about balance! Our lives be transformed by the new found time for family, for creativity, for rest, for giving, etc.
This is a great article. Very happy to see the changes taking place in the work place these days.
Trends in Hiring Executives with Part-Time Schedules – Recruiting Trends.
80 hours a week. No work-life balance. Read More
Great article further supporting the statement that you are like the people you spend the most time with. Surround yourself with positive, passionate people if you want a positive, passionate life.
Your Bad Mood is More Contagious than You Think – Human Capital Institute.
I tell everyone I know…”Figure out what you enjoy doing and what you’re good at and go do that for someone who needs just what you have to offer.” I believe that this is the path to living purposefully and joyfully.
And here’s the science behind it!!!
This is your brain on knitting – CNN.com.
(CNN) — Her brother’s sudden death in 2004 hit Sarah Huerta hard.
In the years that followed, Huerta couldn’t leave the house without suffering a panic attack. She hated getting in cars since her brother’s body was found in one. She couldn’t seem to hold down a job. Every time she stepped outside she felt disaster closing in.
Her physician diagnosed her with post-traumatic stress disorder and extreme anxiety.
Her husband gave her knitting needles.
Huerta was skeptical at first. Knitting seemed silly — and difficult for hands she could never seem to keep still. But as she learned to knit and purl, hours melted away. She realized she was no longer focusing on the future, imagining catastrophic things happening to her loved ones.
“That’s when I seriously started crafting,” Huerta said.
Crafting can help those who suffer from anxiety, depression or chronic pain, experts say. It may also ease stress, increase happiness and protect the brain from damage caused by aging.
Little research has been done specifically on crafting, but neuroscientists are beginning to see how studies on cognitive activities such as doing crossword puzzles might also apply to someone who does complex quilting patterns. Others are drawing connections between the mental health benefits of meditation and the zen reached while painting or sculpting.
“There’s promising evidence coming out to support what a lot of crafters have known anecdotally for quite some time,” says Catherine Carey Levisay, a clinical neuropsychologist and wife ofCraftsy.com CEO John Levisay. “And that’s that creating — whether it be through art, music, cooking, quilting, sewing, drawing, photography (or) cake decorating — is beneficial to us in a number of important ways.”
Designer Mark Fast makes knitting ‘sexy’he fallen: 9/11 in metal
Effects similar to meditation
Even today, years after Huerta first learned to knit, she finds she can lose herself for hours in a tricky pattern.
Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi first described this phenomenon as flow: a few moments in time when you are so completely absorbed by an activity that nothing else seems to matter. Flow, Csikszentmihalyi says, is the secret to happiness — a statement he supports with decades of research.
“When we are involved in (creativity), we feel that we are living more fully than during the rest of life,” Csikszentmihalyi said during a TED talk in 2004. “You know that what you need to do is possible to do, even though difficult, and sense of time disappears. You forget yourself. You feel part of something larger.”
Our nervous system is only capable of processing a certain amount of information at a time, he explains. That’s why you can’t listen and understand two people who are talking to you at once. So when someone starts creating, his existence outside that activity becomes “temporarily suspended.”
“He doesn’t have enough attention left over to monitor how his body feels, or his problems at home. He can’t feel if he’s hungry or tired. His body disappears.”
The effects of flow are similar to those of meditation, says occupational therapist Victoria Schindler. Science has shown meditation can, among other things, reduce stress and fight inflammation.
Our bodies are in a constant state of stress because our brain can’t tell the difference between an upcoming meeting with the boss and an upcoming bear attack, Schindler says. The repetitive motions of knitting, for example, activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which quiets that “fight or flight” response.
In a 2007 paper “The neurological basis of occupation,” Schindler and co-author Sharon Gutman argue that patients could learn to use activities such as drawing or painting to elicit flow, which would offer a nonpharmaceutical way to regulate strong emotions such as anger or prevent irrational thoughts.
“Flow could potentially help patients to dampen internal chaos,” they write.
A natural anti-depressant
The reward center in your brain releases a neurotransmitter called dopamine when you do something pleasurable. Scientists believe dopamine was originally designed to make us repeat activities that would help the species survive, such as eating and having sex. Over time, we’ve evolved so that the brain can also release dopamine while we’re staining glass or decorating a cake.
No more ‘buts’: Do what makes you happy
“Dopamine, in and of itself, is our natural anti-depressant,” Levisay says. “Any time we can find a nonmedicinal way to stimulate that reward center … the better off we’re going to be.”
There’s survey evidence to support crafting’s dopamine effect. In one study of more than 3,500 knitters, published in The British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 81% of respondents with depression reported feeling happy after knitting. More than half reported feeling “very happy.”
And crafting’s reward goes far beyond creation. Seeing the finished product adorning your walls — or receiving praise from a loved one — can offer repeated hits of that feel-good chemical.
Crafting also improves our self-efficacy, Levisay says, or how we feel about performing particular tasks. Psychologists believe a strong sense of self-efficacy is key to how we approach new challenges and overcome disappointments in life. So realizing you can, in fact, crochet a sweater for your nephew can help you tackle the next big paper your teacher assigns.
Creative activities may protect against aging
More than 35 million people worldwide live with dementia today. By 2050, that number is expected to more than triple, and experts are racing to find ways to protect the brain from this debilitating condition.
Neuroscientists used to believe that the brain was a static organ, says Levisay, and that once it was fully developed in your 20s, all you could do was lose power. But research has shown more recently that our brains are flexible and can adapt to their environment, even in old age — a concept called neuroplasticity.
The aging brain: Why getting older just might be awesome
The evidence to support this concept is overwhelming. Studies have found intellectually stimulating activities, such as learning a new language, can help prevent cerebral atrophy and significantly delay dementia. And a recently published clinical trial shows cognitive training can improve reasoning skills and the brain’s processing speed for up to 10 years after said training has been completed.
“The natural next step is to study other activities — not just memory, cognitive tests,” Levisay says. “What about crafting activities? Something people do naturally because they’re enjoyable.”
Crafting is also unique, Levisay says, in its ability to involve many different areas of your brain. It can work your memory and attention span while involving your visuospatial processing, creative side and problem-solving abilities.
Scientists are beginning to study leisure activities’ impact on the brain. Playing games, reading books and crafting could reduce your chances of developing mild cognitive impairment by 30% to 50%, according to a 2011 study published in The Journal of Neuropsychiatry.
“The hypothesis is that the more stimulating your environment is … the more you’re increasing the complexity of the brain, the more you can afford to lose,” Levisay says. “You’re building a buffer.”
SHRM – the Society of Human Resource Managers – has jumped on the long-term unemployment band wagon and has begun educating its 200k+ members on how to be more inclusive in their candidate searches. This presents job seekers the perfect time to make sure they are doing all they can to communicate to employers their strengths and how they will contribute. Here’s a great list of tips from SHRM…
How to Effectively Market Yourself for a Job When You’ve Been Long-Term Unemployed.
For most people losing a job is a devastating experience. Not finding one right away is even more discouraging, but the sooner you get started looking and the more dedicated you are, the more likely your search will be a positive experience.
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the largest HR association in the world, with more than 275,000 members. Our members, HR professionals in organizations representing all sizes and industries, recognize that as a result of the years-long economic downturn, an unprecedented number of Americans have been unemployed for six months or more.
We are educating our members on how to review their organization’s hiring procedures to ensure they do not intentionally or inadvertently give less consideration to certain job candidates based solely on their unemployment status. Nevertheless, having a resume with gaps in work history can pose a challenge for the job seeker. This challenge is not insurmountable, and SHRM members offer the following advice to help you, as a job seeker, put your best foot forward. Step 1: Approach your job search as though it WERE your job
Step 2: Stay active by engaging in productive activities
Find activities to show that you are still engaged in your community and focused on gaining skills and qualifications. Activities also fill time on your resume, showing employers that you haven’t been stagnant since you left your previous position.
Personal Development or Professional Development
Development Through Volunteer Engagement Volunteering can involve much more than planting trees and painting buildings; it’s also a great way to learn new skills. You can design a website, organize an event, write letters on behalf of the organization or have any variety of other responsibilities.
Step 3: Update and revise your resume
Step 4: Network, network, network
Networking is still the most effective way to find out about jobs. Prepare your “elevator speech,” in which you describe your skills and career goals in two minutes. Preparing ahead helps you take advantage of opportunities to talk, at a moment’s notice, with someone who may be in a position to help you.
Reach out to family, friends, neighbors and associates.
Use online sites, including LinkedIn.
Reach out to employers that interest you.
Look for local nonprofit or government organizations that can help you with your job search. Never pay an organization to find you a job—most likely it is not a legitimate business.
Step 5: Become More Technologically Proficient
Step 6: Prepare for your future interview
Online Resources for the Job Seeker www.shrm.org/workforcereadiness –SHRM developed this webpage to house information about workforce readiness and long-term unemployment. Information on this site can give you a better understanding of how HR professionals view these issues.
Career One Stop – This federal government site hosts a variety of services including searches for short-term training opportunities, resume guides, and other resources with coordinating agencies. The site also has a section dedicated to people who lost their jobs, providing information on unemployment benefits, family support, and job centers in various locations.
Idealist.org – Home to over 12,000 volunteer opportunities, Idealist.org can be used to search for community-based volunteer jobs. The site allows you to search through thousands of job openings, internships, events, organizations, and over 500,000 personal member profiles.
LinkedIn Groups – The LinkedIn Groups Directory lists over 13,000 groups available to LinkedIn users. After creating a LinkedIn profile, joining groups that fit your interests is one way to stay current with relevant news and connect with like-minded professionals.
Monster.com Advice – With hundreds of articles on topics ranging from industry hiring trends, to interview tips for unemployed workers, Monster provides information on every step of the search-to-hire process. SimplyHired.com/advice – Like Monster.com, SimplyHired provides hundreds of articles on various aspects of the job search, job trends, career advice and resume tips.
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Most candidates eliminate themselves during the course of the interview. Here are some common reasons why…
Half of Interviewers Know a Good Fit Within 5 Minutes – Talent Management magazine.
Chicago — Jan. 16
When it comes to a job interview, the first few minutes may be the most crucial. A new survey from CareerBuilder finds that nearly half (49 percent) of employers know within the first five minutes of an interview whether a candidate is a good or bad fit for the position, and 87 percent know within the first 15 minutes.
The national survey was conducted online by Harris Interactive from Nov. 6 to Dec. 2, 2013, and included a representative sample of 2,201 hiring managers and human resource professionals across industries and company sizes.
Most Memorable Mistakes
When asked to share the most outrageous mistakes candidates made during a job interview, employers gave the following real-life examples:
• Applicant warned the interviewer that she “took too much valium” and didn’t think her interview was indicative of her personality.
• Applicant acted out a “Star Trek” role.
• Applicant answered a phone call for an interview with a competitor.
• Applicant arrived in a jogging suit because he was going running after the interview.
• Applicant asked for a hug.
• Applicant attempted to secretly record the interview.
• Applicant brought personal photo albums.
• Applicant called himself his own personal hero.
• Applicant checked Facebook during the interview.
• Applicant crashed her car into the building.
• Applicant popped out his teeth when discussing dental benefits.
• Applicant kept her iPod headphones on during the interview.
• Applicant set fire to the interviewer’s newspaper while reading it when the interviewer said “impress me.”
• Applicant said that he questioned his daughter’s paternity.
• Applicant wanted to know the name and phone number of the receptionist because he really liked her.
Common Mistakes
The most detrimental blunders candidates make in interviews are often the most common, according to employers:
• Appearing disinterested – 55 percent.
• Dressing inappropriately – 53 percent.
• Appearing arrogant – 53 percent.
• Talking negatively about current or previous employers – 50 percent.
• Answering a cellphone or texting during the interview – 49 percent.
• Appearing uninformed about the company or role – 39 percent.
• Not providing specific examples – 33 percent.
• Not asking good questions – 32 percent.
• Providing too much personal information – 20 percent.
• Asking the hiring manager personal questions – 17 percent.
The key elements of a positive and effective job search strategy are…1. Have a positive mindset; 2. Be a subject matter expert in you – strengths, talents, wisdom, unique experiences; 3. Know what you want; and 4. Be able to ARTICULATE who you are and what you want to others. This video offers some great insight into developing your personal brand.
Video: Take Control of Your Personal Brand – Harvard Business Review.
Jul 8,2014
