Happy birthday to... - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Happy birthday to... - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog This blog is now five years old! I cant believe it!! If you cant either, I can prove it: heres my very first post. Its been quite a ride. For the first three and a half years it was pretty quiet around here with wildly irregular posting and just a few faithful readers. And then, last year, it took off like crazy. The day before my own birthday, incidentally. Some stats: This is post number 1,203 There are 5,325 comments on the site Akismet, the spam blogging software I use, has blocked 167,674 spam comments. Sheeesh! In the last year, this blog has been read by 1.5 million(!) people. I feel truly grateful and proud to work on something this big. And it makes me really happy because it tells me that people all over the world have a deep, lasting interest in happiness at work. Some of my proudest moments with the blog have been: Writing posts that get read by tens of thousands of people Getting feedback, ideas, tips and criticism from so many nice people Getting email from a lady in Hong Kong who quit her crappy job because of something she read here Being invited to speak in India, because of the blog Asking for help and getting it Now: if youd like to give this blog a birthday present, I ask for the gift of feedback! Id love to ask you: What do you like about this blog? What could I do to make the blog more useful to you and even more popular? What has been the most inspiring or useful thing youve learned here, that has helped you become happier at work? If youd like to answer one or more of these questions, please write a comment. And most of all: Thank you for reading this blog! Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

7 tips to help you become a better ACTIVE listener -

7 tips to help you become a better ACTIVE listener - I cant talk enough about how important it is to be a good listener if you want to succeed in your job hunt. Earlier this week, I shared tips to help improve your listing skills. Today, some additional thoughts and advice! I have written about how to stand out in a sea of sameness.   Instead of focusing on YOU â€" what you want, what you offer â€" start listening. Ask questions. Be the candidate who connects on an emotional level with your audience. There’s nothing that people like better than someone who seems interested in THEM â€" it’s human nature. Be the one who listens first and answers based on what you learn. You may be surprised by how well this technique works! Being an active listener is just that a process that involves your participation. On the surface, listening is something you do without thinking. In reality, to be a good listener, you need to work at it. Grace Fleming, who writes for the About.com Guide offered these tips to help become an active listener. Listen for verbal clues. Watch for nonverbal clues. Eyebrows, hands, pauses, eyes these note when a person makes an important point. Be mindful of your own reactions. Nod or smile, but try to avoid physically reacting to a negative comment. Fleming notes,   As long as you’re managing your reactions, you’re still listening. Avoid making predictions. Dont assume what the person will say next, as it usually means you will stop listening. Focus on the words, not the person. Dont focus on what the person wears or ugly hairstyle! Don’t get caught up on one detail. It is easy to get distracted, but you dont want to miss the next important point. Don’t let your mind wander. Your to do list can wait. Push non-related thoughts from your mind to focus on the conversation. Dont miss the rest of my series about the five networking fundamentals to help you land a job. Review the pieces about the keys to researching your networking targets, how to ask good questions and six ways to improve your listening skills. Once you have a chance to think about updating your skills, take   this quiz to evaluate your general listening skills. Please share your ideas and comments about good listening in the comments! photo by vickisnature

Free Modern Resume Templates Fundamentals Explained

Free Modern Resume Templates Fundamentals Explained The Importance of Free Modern Resume Templates It's possible to even give them a copy of your resume so you are both on the exact same page. Usually, a reference list isn't a mandatory part of a resume. Locating the right template helps saving a good deal of time and money. There are many free creative resume templates you may use, enabling you to focus your energy on everything else you should do. Massive number of design style will guarantee you will come across a resume template that fits with your taste. Once you have selected your perfect resume template from our selection, follow our completely free expert guidance about ways to craft the ideal modern resume. The very first template on the list features an elegant black and white modern resume design that may be used for any job in any business. If you have a look at the templates we've listed below, you will see that they all are similar in the manner your information is prioritized and structured. If you didn't know that there such design goods, today we want to inform you concerning the new templates which are already available at TemplateMonster site. There are three major types of resume templates. It is possible to stop searching for the best resume templates for Word at this time. A basic resume is also less difficult to read. Then it may be time to bring some style to your resume! A modern resume ought to be simple to read and attractively designed. The Fight Against Free Modern Resume Templates Modern-day employers will likely be reading your resume online rather than on paper, for instance, and might want details which you wouldn't see on a traditional resume. You could also see Modern Business Resume Templates One of the absolute most important things to keep in mind while writing a resume is that it's not an autobiography.

7 Ways To Sniff Out The REAL Company Culture - Work It Daily

7 Ways To Sniff Out The REAL Company Culture - Work It Daily 7 Ways To Sniff Out The REAL Company Culture - Work It Daily You read the job description and get so excited. It is exactly what you want in your next career step. You talk with the recruiter and everything seems aligned. You prepare for the interview, you ask good questions and you get good answers, you think you got this nailed. It is as good as it seems, then you start and, a month later, you realize that it isn’t what you thought it was and you feel trapped. Related: 3 Sneaky Ways To Research A Company You can’t quit after a few months because you don’t want to be a job hopper. You regret your decision and wish you had done things differently. So, how do you know what it’s really like to work somewhere? Here are some ideas to help you identify the real company culture before you accept a position. 1. Ask a LOT of questions I've said it before and I will say it again; ask a lot of questions! Ask scenario-based questions about career paths and culture and then you need to be sure that the interviewer can back it up. Ask them to tell you stories about top performers at the company and why the company considers them a top performer. Ask about what characteristics are rewarded and revered in the company. But be sure you ask! 2. Listen to the answers probe Asking is simply the first part of the equation, because then you need to listen and trust your gut. Does the answer seem genuine? Do they have no stories to back up their claims? Do they seem like authentic stories? And finally, do you think these answers and stories are aligned with what you want? If the answer is maybe, probe deeper with the interviewer. If you don’t get anywhere after you attempt to probe a bit, and it remains a maybe… then it’s a no. Maybe is a “no” because you cannot afford maybe. 3. Study current and former employees Take some time on LinkedIn. Study the company page and the people who are working for the company. Are they frequently promoted? Do they demonstrate a career path? DO they quit and come back? This can tell you a lot about the company culture and can also inform the awesome questions you have to ask. 4. Connect with current employees Use your network to talk with people who already work there. Ask them the good, the bad and the ugly. These conversations can help you shape an understanding of the company culture from an insider’s point of view. Ask them questions about what’s important to you when you join a new company. 5. Connect with former employees Similar to the idea above, talking to former employees is equally important. These people can tell you why they left and if they would ever consider going back. The information you learn from former employees should also inform your questions. Keep in mind, companies do change and the reason this person left may no longer be an issue. So, be sure that you are mindful of that as well. 6. Read reviews, but don't ONLY read reviews Sites like Glassdoor and Indeed are awesome to get some insights, but I always caution that these sites can sometimes cloud your point of view. Keep in mind; people who write anonymous reviews of things are often either horribly disgruntled or shilling. If you want to read reviews, read the ones that are middle of the road. Don’t read 5-stars and 1-star. Read 3-star reviews and then either ask your network to validate or just take it with a grain of salt. 7. Follow them on social to see how they respond Social media has forced brands to more openly communicate with candidates and customers. Some companies do an amazing job of telling you about the culture on their social media channels. Others don’t. The companies who do not share a lot about their culture, you should study how do they treat their candidates and customers. You can use this information to see what it might be like at a company, and to see what is important to the brand before you join it. Changing jobs is a big decision. Figuring out your fit is so important so that you don’t end up filled with dread and regret or the dreaded “job hopper” label. Carefully considering a company’s culture is critical in your career because getting it wrong is too costly. This post was originally published on an earlier date. Related Posts Company Culture: 7 Tips On How You Can Plug In 14 Ways To Research Company Culture 5 Tips To Uncover Company Culture About the author With passion and an innate curiosity, Tracey strives to push the envelope to create great experiences for talent. Tracey has been developing digital, mobile and social solutions for nearly 20 years in the talent acquisition space. Currently CredHive’s CEO, she is dedicated to changing the way hiring is done to create a more level playing field for talent. Visit CredHive to learn more.   Disclosure: This post is sponsored by a CAREEREALISM-approved expert. You can learn more about expert posts here. Photo Credit: Shutterstock Have you joined our career growth club?Join Us Today!

How to Call in Sick Without Putting Your Job at Risk

How to Call in Sick Without Putting Your Job at RiskCalling in sick has almost fallen out of fashion. Ever heard of presenteeism? Thats the idea that really committed employees come to work no matter whateven when they shouldnt. Dont buy into this theorythere are definitelylegitimate reasons for calling in sick from time to time. googlekalendertag.cmd.push(function() googletag.display(div-gpt-ad-1467144145037-0) ) Follow these rules to make koranvers youre using this rare privilege appropriately.1. If youre really sick,please stay home.If you have a virulent new coldor the fluor any other highly contagious situation, STAY HOME. You wont be productive, and you could get other people sick and then take down everyones productivity. Stay home for a day or two and come back refreshed. Your team will thank you.Oh, and a hangover does not count. Have an aspirin and some coffee and get your butt to work. You cant call in schwimmbad choices.2. Protect your mental health.If you really need a mental health day, take one. Try scheduling in advance to avoid leaving your colleagues in the lurch. If you need to take one spontaneously, it can be okay to use a sick day. A simple stomach bug ought to do the trick, without requiring you to invent many details. Tickets to something cool dont count as reasons to take a mental health day, by the way. Keep it legit.3. Assess the number of sick days to take.Does your job even give sick days? Its a sad world when we have to ask this question, but if you dont have any sick time, or youll be taking a pay cut by staying home, youll have to be even more discerning making your day-of decision. But again, if youre contagiousespecially if you work for the elderly or in food serviceyou just might have to stay home.4. Follow the rules.Remember that employee handbook you got on hiring? Look up the protocol for whom to notify and how to set up an away message on your voice and email. Make sure the chain of command is notified. Protect yourself f rom scrutiny. When in doubt, think about how your boss and coworkers have reacted to others calling in sick, and try to make it as uncomplicated on yourself as possible.5. Make it easy for your team.If you routinely do good and thorough work, keep your team updated, and keep all shared files and resources updated and ready for anyone to jump in and use, then taking a sick day wont ruin anyone elses week. Make a habit of keeping your tasks in order and dotting all your is at the end of every day. This will make it easier for you to tag out for one day when youre really suffering.6. Take care of your family.If you have a sick kid at home, stay home and take care of them if you can. Or if your spouse or aging parent needs urgent care, make that a priority. Most workplaces will be tolerant of a few of these emergency situations per yearjust make sure you dont abuse the privilege. Only take it when you have to and its legit.7. Be smart and safe.If theres a hurricane or blizzard or monsoo n out there and you dont have a safe and ready way to work, its okay to stay home. Dont put yourself in bodily danger navigating dodgy roads to get to work. That said, if the weather isnt seriously dangerous, you should just suck it up. Sometimes it rains.8. Understand that things happen.If your toilet explodes, or you have a job interview, or something else emergent comes up, its okay to call in sick. Just make sure you have a really good reason and that you dont pull this trick too often. Take care of yourself, but be sure to also take care of your job.

At This Company, Your Co-Workers Have Been To Outer SpaceAnd You Could Learn A Lot From Them

At This Company, Your Co-Workers Have Been To Outer SpaceAnd You Could Learn A Lot From ThemAt This Company, Your Co-Workers Have Been To Outer SpaceAnd You Could Learn A Lot From ThemWhether its in movies or the news, space is all over the place. At this point, very few people can imagine a (bright) future for our species that doesnt involve space travel or interplanetary colonization. But for all the people talking about space, some of the most knowledgeable on the topic actually work behind-the-scenes.Two of those knowledgeable people are former NASA astronauts and current aerospace leaders at Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) Steve Lindsey and Lee Archambault.The former astronauts have years of spaceflight, engineering, and flying experience they bring to new SNC projects, like the Dream Chaser spacecraft and the companys lunar gateway prototype.Meet SNC And Their Astronaut Dream TeamSNC is behind numerous exciting innovations in aerospace and defense. Its innovations can protect p eople in warzones by jamming the signals of radio-controlled IEDs (improvised explosive devices), AND help operate the instrument arms on the Mars rovers. SNC makes high-stakes tech that powers critical national defense operations and human exploration of the final frontier. Astronauts, soldiers and medics rely on the products that SNC makes.But thats just the company.The team is full of brilliant minds in extremely complicated disciplines like mechanical engineering, programming and medicine. However, three of SNCs many stars are Steve Lindsey,Lee Archambault, and John Curry.Lindsey and Archambault are former NASA astronauts andyes, this was actually their jobSPACE SHUTTLE COMMANDERS, who retired from NASA to join the team at SNC and help build the next generation of spacecraft. Both worked as test pilots for the Air Force and NASA, leading to careers as astronauts and commanders at NASA. Both commanded missions under the direction of NASA flight directors, such as John Curry, Drea m Chaser program director. They led missions to the International Space Station. In fact, Lindsey was the pilot who navigated the last mission of NASA legend, U.S. Senator, and American hero, John Glenn.What (And How) You Can Learn From AstronautsPrestigious companies will often tout public figures and accomplished team members as being part of their team, but how many can say that those people do real work at the firm? Let alone work alongside recent grads and interns?SNC is among the few.It matters to SNC that people like Lindsey, Archambault, and Curry work there, because the companys culture of mentorship and talent cultivation means that learning from your co-workers is not some ethereal concept. Its the real deal.Learning to be a rocket scientist or an aerospace engineer is nearly impossible to do without lots of hands-on experience at a high level. SNC offers that experience to their recent-grad hires and interns through mentorship and teaching. When you work at SNC, youll ha ve plenty of leaders at every level, from management to fellow grads, showing you the ropes of actual aerospace engineering work.As for Lindsey and Archambault, what can two veteran space commanders teach you about the industry? Our guess a whole lotReady to find your way into the aerospace field? Check out fun facts, videos, and amazing opportunities from SNC on WayUp right now

3 Key Qualities of a Good Team Player

3 Key Qualities of a Good Team Player Article by John C. MaxwellOne of my all-time favorite movies is Remember the Titans. It traces the journey of the legendary 1971 high school team that won the Virginia state football championship and rose to become the No. 2 ranked high school squad in the country.But those victories alone were not what inspired the Hollywood film and provoked barbershop conversation decades later.The players attended a newly integrated high school in Alexandria, a town teeming with tension. That season, they conquered the racial divide among themselves and taught their fans to do the same.At a time when the city welches ready to burn itself to the ground, the kids stepped out and changed attitudes among themselves and their community, Coach Herman Boone said in an interview includedwith the movies DVD.They had embraced a teamwork attitude, each member learning to put aside his prejudice, mistrust, pride, and fear to become part o f a greater whole.The shift from me to we (or in the Titans case, from us and them to just us) doesnt come naturally to everyone. It sure didnt for me. Thats why today were going to examine some qualities of a good team player and discuss how to adopt an attitude of collaboration.1.Talk It OutCoach Boone might have explicitly taught ball-handling strategies, but the more critical skill he impartedto his players was communication. He made the young men ride together, room together, and train together. They resisted except for one white player who crossed the color line and set the tone for everyone else. The steady wins on the field might have cracked the wall, but it was the locker room conversation that demolished it, Boone later said.Communicating means more than simply talking and definitely more than just texting. To improve your connection with people, you must- Be candid. Harboring hidden agendas, relaying messages through third parties, sugarcoating bad news, beating around the bush, and airing grievances on social media are surefire ways to manipulation group relations.- Be quick. If something is bothering you, address the problem within 24 hours so that a short-term frustration doesnt morph into a long-term grudge.- Be inclusive. Be discreet when needed, but otherwise share as much work-related information with your team as possible. Open communication increases trust, trust increases ownership, and ownership increases participation.2.Roll With ItTrailblazing record producer Quincy Jones was once accused of being a sellout. He was big in the jazz world, rubbing elbows with the genres most renowned musicians, but he jumped into the pop scene in the 1980s, partnering with an emerging superstar by the name of Michael Jackson to the chagrin of jazz diehards.Jones shrugged them off. When I was 12 to 13 years old, we played everything strip music, rhythm and blues, he told Context magazine. We played pop music, polkas, and Sousa. We played every club in town black, white, tennis. So Ive always had a sortiment to draw from.Im not sure theres a better attribute to bring to a team than adaptability. What organization doesnt benefit from someone who is able to roll with financial ups and downs, pinch-hit for colleagues, adjust to changing operations, or shift strategies on the fly? These team players exhibit a nimbleness thats contagious, injecting a can-do spirit across an entire division.You can become more flexible in your thinking if you-Keep learning. For many years, I carried a notecard in my pocket and jotted down new information as I learned it. I got into the habit of looking for new material and skills to acquire.- Think beyond your role.How many times have you heard a colleague whine, Thats not my job? Dont be that office bellyacher Instead, learn a little bit about everyones duties, especially those higher up on the ladder than you. You never know when an opportunity will arise to save the day in a company crisis.- Think creatively. Look for unconventional solutions when you meet a challenge. Theres an expression that says a persons age can be determined by the degree of pain he experiences when he comes in contact with a new idea, Jones once said. The ones who dont react with fear are the really creative people. Lets try it, theyll say. Lets go there even if we blow it.3.Wave Your PompomsFiguratively, of course. But consider the enthusiasm of sideline cheerleaders and how much energy theybring to a stadium.I think about companies like Harley-Davidson, which went from owning 80 percent of its market to nearly going under in the early 1980s. Or General Motors sputtering in the 2000s, or Starbucks diluting itself with rapid, unsustainable expansion.In all three cases, the enthusiasm of the CEOs and employees rescued the companies from the brink of disaster and grew them into the juggernauts they are today. You dont need to be cheerleader-perky to bring energy into your workspace, but you can grow your enthusiasm by- Showing a sense of urgency. Give yourself deadlines for completing the steps of a project, especially the mundane tasks youre putting off.- Taking on more. When someone asks you to do something, do it and then go beyond the assignment.-Striving for excellence. Nothing breeds enthusiasm like the feeling of success that follows a job well done. Let that momentum carry you into the next project.Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz perhaps said it best When youre surrounded by people who share a passionate commitment around a common purpose, anything is possible.These qualities are merely a taste of the many attributes good team players bring to their organizations.Ill leave you, then, with one final task Think about the people in your sphere. Consider everyone from the parking attendant to the CEO. Identify those who exhibit the best team qualities. Watch them. How do they put their attitudes into action? How do they inspire others to follow their examples? Teamwork doesnt come naturally for everybody, but remember those Titans and know that attitudes can change.A version of this article originally appeared on SUCCESS.com and in the Fall 2018 issue of SUCCESS magazine.John C. Maxwell, an internationally respected leadership expert, speaker, and author who has sold more than 18 million books, has been named an inaugural SUCCESS Ambassador. Dr. Maxwell is the founder of EQUIP, a nonprofit organization that has trained more than 5 million leaders in 126 countries worldwide. A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and BusinessWeek best-selling author, Maxwell has written three books that have sold more than a million copies.