How To Write a Resume For Working Abroad

How To Write a Resume For Working AbroadHow To Write a Resume For Working AbroadDo you want to work abroad? Then maybe you were already thinking about how to adjust your resume so it meets your dream countrys criteria. This is important because aresume that would get you a job in the US might easily land you in trash straight away in France. Well, not necessarily, but lets not try to run before we can walk. Heres some practical stuff to know before you apply for an international job.Country-specific vs. Company-specific resumeFirst of all, you should ask yourself whether this job position requires you to send over a country-specific or a company-specific resume. Thismeans you have to distinguish between an international company/organization in a foreign country and a local company/organization based in that foreign country. Because theres no point in writing a country-specific resume if the company is American (say youre applying for a job at IBM in South Korea).Large multinational c orporations usually have their own resume standards that are set according to the country of origin. Much depends on the work environment. If the majority of employees are internationals, or expats, its mora than likely you dont have to bother with a country-specific resume. On the other hand, if youre applying for a job in a localcompany/organization, you will have to adjust your resume to that countrys resume standards.But its not always as easy as that. Research the company and the position carefully before writing a resume because the company itself might be international, but if its a local branch that operatesseparately from the headquarters, youd better make your resume country-specific. Tricky, we know.International resume vs. Domestic resumeSecond thing you have to be aware of is that regardless of what kind of company it is, resume for a job abroad is always different than a domestic resume.In international resume, you have to put more emphasis on your personalitythan when youre applying for a domestic job. Because even more than your knowledge and skills, the recruiter is interested in your adaptability to the international environment. Youre asking how to do it?Put a short career objective or a summary on your resume. Say what you think youre excellent at and why youre passionate about your profession.If you are a fresh graduate and you dont have much experience to show, be more specific when describing your education. Tell about interesting projects you were part of, clubs or societies you were a member of or your greatest academic achievements.Mention your international experience, for instance, Erasmus, exchange programs, international internships. If you dont have any of that, emphasize your passion for traveling.Focus on traits that would make you a good candidate to work in an international environment.How to write a country-specific resumeTo put it simply, a resume, curriculum vitae or CV is a summary of your education, skills and previous w ork experience everywhere in the world. However, some countries may have their specifics when it comes to writing style, formatting or info provided in a resume.We have collected for you some useful info about what resume specificsare there in different countriesThe United StatesIn the US, most job applicants send resumes, because an American CV is a longer, sometimes around 10 pages long, document only used for the purpose of academic, medical or research jobs.A standard US resume is usually one page long.Personal information such as age, nationality or marital position on a resume or cover letter is considered unprofessional.Unless its relevant to the position youre applying to, you dont need to list any hobbies or personal interests.You shouldnt bother with putting a photo on your resume. This is to prevent bias and discrimination. Of course, acting or modeling jobs are exceptions.In the United States, you should basically take yourself as a product and your resume as your advert isement.You should emphasize your qualifications, achievements and relevant experience in a bold and sharp manner. Remember that the competition is tough so your resume is your opportunity to shine. Do use a lot of power words that show passion, commitment and action, such as efficient, determined, skilled, achieved, responsible etc.CanadaWhen applying for a job in Canada, it is very important to have a resume formatted in a Canadian style. Before applying, make sure you are aware of some minor differences between the English-speaking and French-speaking areas in Canada. Here are some universal tipsKeep your resume short two pages are maximum. If you are a fresh graduate without much experience it is recommended to keep it to one page only.Contact information (email and a cell phone number) should go at the top of your resume. Also,in Canada it is quite common to include links to your social media accounts on your resume. Your LinkedIn profile should be enough.Below the contact inf o, write a short career objective.Use short and dynamic sentences full of power words and verbs implying action. Emphasize your qualities and value to the company.In the work experience section state any kind of work you have done even internships andvolunteer work count.Your resume must be well organized. Canadians are perfectionists so make sure your formatting and style are perfect. Use bullet points and headings.In the work experience and education sections keep the sentences indefinite,dont write in first person.EUROPEIn Europe, you call resume a Curriculum Vitaeor a CV. In most European countries a CV is 1-2 pages long. In Europe there are still countries where there it is accepted, even welcome, to include photos on a CV, though itsslowly becoming outdated.The United KingdomA British CV is usually one page long only.In the UK, it is quite usual to state also your secondary education on your CV even if you have a college degree. This is because A Levels and O Levels tests pro ve the level of proficiency in specific subjects. Being a foreigner, you can but dont have to state it.Write aCV in full sentences, not just bullet points. For example In this job position, I was managing social media and was responsible for creating and managing adverts on facebook inc and Twitter.Leave the photo and your date of birth out of your resume.Its common to provide at least two references with the contact details at the end of your CV.FranceFrench CV should be short and concise unless youve got years of experience or published plenty of articles/publications.It is okay to include a photo on a French resume but it should be a professional headshot.It is common to add a short description of your skills and/or short-term career goals at the beginning of your resume.In the education section, you should only state the highest diplomas you have obtained. Of course, this is only if the previous education is not particularly relevant in terms of certain skills or knowledge.With regards to language skills, it is advised to give details (fluency level).GermanyGermans call a CV Lebenslauf which could be translated as the course of life.Germans are very strict when it comes to job applications. If the CV isnt easy to read and navigate, it will most likely be thrown out.Put your professional passport-style photograph in the top right corner of your CV.A German Lebenslauf is very factual, hence, it should contain only factual data. No embellished sentences or elaborate statements.There should be no gaps in your CV. Even if you didnt work for a period of time, state why and what it was you were doing.It is common to enclose copies of supporting documents with your Lebenslauf.Generally, finding a job in Germany if you dont speak German is a tough one. There are exceptions of course, but at least a basic level of German would help you a great deal.ASIAJapanTypically, you do include a photo on a Japanese resume. It has to be a professional photo and the smarter you look, the better.Your resume should be written in Japanese.Japanese resume contains very detailed personal information such as gender, date of birth, nationality and address.Being a foreigner, its best to have some acquaintances in the company youre applying for. Japanese tend to be quite suspicious when it comes to foreigners.SingaporeEven thoughSingaporeis a former British colony, the term resume is used instead of CV.Detailed personal info and contact details should be stated at the beginning of your resume. A photo is a great asset.Singaporean resume should be reasonably conservative keep it neat and factual.Put a short career objective before the education and work experience section.You should put two references with contact details at the end of your resume.IndiaAn Indian CV never includes a photo and info such as place of birth, race or religion.Keep it relevant. Indians do not really care about your hobbies, interests or minor successes.In India itsmore common to use a fun ctional format instead of reversed chronological format. You would typically put a summary of your skills and expertise at the beginning. You should also list your most important career achievements.It is quite common to put an executive summary at the beginning of your resume where you state all the most relevant info about you in a nutshell.UNITED ARAB EMIRATESIt is quite common to have a really long CV in UAE typically up to four pages long. Hiring managers are very thorough in scrutinizing the applicants so make sure your CV is detailed.There arent any anti-discrimination laws in UAE. Hence, including a photo is a must. Employers want to see how you look like and will consider your CV more trustworthy if it includes a photo.Write very detailed personal information and contact details. In UAE, recruiters want to know everythingFeel free to exaggerate and embellish. We dont advise you to lie, but a UAE CV should be action-packed and a bit dramatic. Emphasizeyou take the job very seriously.Make sure your CV stands out from the crowd. Everything about United Arab Emirates is fancy and stylish. So should be your CV.AUSTRALIAAustralian resume is a bit different from a European or American style resume so when applying for a job in this country, make sure youll adjust yours to Australian standards. Australian resume is generally very clear and concise, written in a reversed chronological format with bullet points and around two pages long.Its recommended to include a mission statement or your career objective at the beginning. Two or three sentences will do.You should not have any gaps in your resume. In case theres a gap in between your previous employments, state what you were doing in the meantime.Less is more. Keep the design simple no fancy fonts or colors. Regarding the content, avoid revealing too much about yourself.Make your resume achievement oriented dont just state your work experience but make sure you highlight your special abilities and your not able achievements.If you havent had much previous experience, focus on your extracurricular activities and things you did beyond your given responsibilities.Clearly state in what way the company can benefit from hiring you. Highlight your strong points and value you would bring to the workplace.List some of your most interesting hobbies and interests at the end. Try to bring as much of your personality to the resume as it gets.Never include an age, race or religion info in your resume. And no photos

4 Benefits of Object-Oriented Programming

4 Benefits of Object-Oriented Programming4 Benefits of Object-Oriented ProgrammingLike parachute pants and Pac-Man, OOP (object-oriented programming) got its start in the 1980s. But unlike trendy fashions and video game characters, this programming model is still going strong after these many years.OOP has become a fundamental part of software development. Thanks to the ubiquity of languages like Java and C++, you cant develop software for mobile unless you understand the object-oriented approach. The same goes for serious web development, given the popularity of OOP languages like Python, PHP and Ruby.Getting your head around the idea of object-oriented programming can be challenging for some IT professionals. You may be wondering why you even need objects when you could use the top-down approach of traditional structured programming in languages like Visual Basic.If youve written this kind of software, youre probably used to breaking down large problems into sub-problems and solvin g them in separate units of code. Or you may have experience with functional programming, which treats elements of code as precise mathematical functions, and prevents them from affecting other elements, i.e., no side effects.Get to grips with OOP, however, and youll see that its a whole new way of solving problems. The basic concept is that instead of writing a program, you create a class, which is a kind of template containing variables and functions. Objects are self-contained instances of that class, and you can get them to interact in fun and exciting ways.The advantages of object-oriented programming lie in this kind of encapsulation. Heres a detailed look at some of OOPs top benefits1. Modularity for easier troubleshootingSomething has gone wrong, and you have no idea where to look. Is the problem in the Widget file, or is it the WhaleFlumper? Will you have to trudge through that sewage.c file? Hope you commented your codeWhen working with object-oriented programming language s, you know exactly where to look. Oh, the car object broke down? The problem must be in the Car class You dont have to muck through anything else.Thats the beauty of encapsulation. Objects are self-contained, and each bit of functionality does its own thing while leaving the other bits alone. Also, this modality allows an IT team to work on multiple objects simultaneously while minimizing the weg that one person might duplicate someone elses functionality.We can help you find your next programming jobSEARCH JOBS2. Reuse of code through inheritanceSuppose that in addition to your Car object, one colleague needs a RaceCar object, and another needs a Limousine object. Everyone builds their objects separately but discover commonalities between them. In fact, each object is really just a different kind of Car. This is where the inheritance technique saves time Create one generic class (Car), and then define the subclasses (RaceCar and Limousine) that are to inherit the generic classs tr aits.Of course, Limousine and RaceCar still have their unique attributes and functions. If the RaceCar object needs a method to fireAfterBurners and the Limousine object requires a Chauffeur, each class could implement separate functions just for itself. However, because both classes inherit key aspects from the Car class, for example the drive or fillUpGas methods, your inheriting classes can simply reuse existing code instead of writing these functions all over again.What if you want to make a change to all Car objects, regardless of type? This is another advantage of the OO approach. Simply make a change to your Car class, and all car objects will simply inherit the new code.3. Flexibility through polymorphismRiffing on this example, you now need just a few drivers, or functions, like driveCar, driveRaceCar and DriveLimousine. RaceCarDrivers share some traits with LimousineDrivers, but other things, like RaceHelmets and BeverageSponsorships, are unique.This is where object-orient ed programmings sweet polymorphism comes into play. Because a single function can shape-shift to adapt to whichever class its in, you could create one function in the parent Car class called drive - not driveCar or driveRaceCar, but just drive. This one function would work with the RaceCarDriver, LimousineDriver, etc. In fact, you could even have raceCar.drive(myRaceCarDriver) or limo.drive(myChauffeur).4. Effective problem solvingA language like C has an amazing legacy in programming history, but writing software in a top-down language is like playing Jenga while wearing mittens. The more complex it gets, the greater the chance it will collapse. Meanwhile, writing a functional-style program in a language like Haskell or ML can be a chore.Object-oriented programming is often the most natural and pragmatic approach, once you get the hang of it. OOP languages allows you to break down your software into bite-sized problems that you then can solve - one object at a time.This isnt to s ay that OOP is the One True Way. However, the advantages of object-oriented programming are many. When you need to solve complex programming challenges and want to add code tools to your skill set, OOP is your friend - and has much greater longevity and utility than Pac-Man or parachute pants. Tags

Interview Questions About Company Culture

Interview Questions About Company CultureInterview Questions About Company CultureInterviewers ask questions about company culture to ensure the employees they hire will be a good fit for the organization. Be ready with honest answers when the interviewer asks interview questions about company culture. What Is Company Culture? Company culture includes a range of issues, from how employees dress, to how they interact with company leaders, to how often employees volunteer to work after hours. Although company policy can certainly influence culture, the dominant force in creating and maintaining a company culture is generally social. Ideally, workplace culture supports efficient work along with an enjoyable work environment, and there are many different company cultures that do just that. The important thing is that new hires be compatible with the culture, otherwise, communication problems or worse could develop. Of course, a company culture can, by definition, be learned, but that does not mean all qualified employees want to learn a given culture- some people will just never want to attend employee birthday parties, for example. Its also possible that a company culture might involve lifestyles that are inappropriate for some people. For example, a working parent might be unable to work frequently extended hours. Or a cultured style you developed in your previous workplace might be totally different from the company where youre interviewing, which could make a new adjustment period difficult. Interview Questions About Company Culture Interview questions aboutcompany cultureare designed to determine whether you will be a good fit for an organization. There are no right or wrong answers to these questions since a badeanstalt fit is just as problematic for you as for your employer, but you can practice answering typical questions in order to increase your confidence for your interview. Here are examples of interview questions that are used to determine whet her youre a good match for the company Did you fit in with the culture working with your last employer?What would be the ideal company culture for you?How would you describe yourself?Tell me about yourself.Do you prefer to work independently or on a team?What type of work environment do you prefer?Describe a typical work week.Do you take work home with you?How many hours do you normally work?Describe a time when your workload was heavy and how you handled it.?How do you handle stress and pressure?Who was your best boss and who was the worst? Why should we hire you?What do you know about this company?Why do you want to work here?How do you evaluate success?What are you looking for in your next job? What is important to you? Corporate Culture Questions for You to Ask Youre being interviewed, but youre also interviewing the company to see if you think youll fit in, enjoy the work, and excel at your new job. Remember, the hiring process is not just about finding a company that is wi lling to hire you- its also about finding a place thats the right fit for you- plus you want to find an employer that can help you meet your professional goals. Besides, your interviewer will expect you to have some questions about the job or the company. Here are some questions you can ask to determine if youd be comfortable in the companys environment How would you describe your corporate culture in five words?Whats the best part of working here that I wouldnt be able to tell on a tour?What kind of employee achievements does the company recognize?What kind of philanthropy does the company contribute to or participate in?How often do you hold company-wide meetings?What is the companys approach to career development?Describe the work-life balance of employees.What kind of opportunities do you offer for advanced training and education?Why are you proud of this company? Whats one thing you would change about the company if you could change absolutely anything?

The Perfect Job Interview List

The Perfect Job Interview ListThe Perfect Job Interview ListWhen youre preparing for a job interview, it can become a complex process from deciding what to wear to nailing the interviewquestions and sometimes the problem that lets us down is something we dont even notice.We came across this infographic that is based on a survey of thousands of hiring managers. What it reveals are themost common non-verbal mistakes job seekers make during a job interview.Heres a great checklist that will help you walk into your job interview with more confidenceSource Cloud Atlas

Life, Death and How to Put Research on Resume

Life, Death and How to Put Research on Resume Faculty might also be requested to take part in a pre-departure orientation which covers issues of well-being and safety. When you look thorough lots of college resume examples, it is going to become obvious your achievements in education are an incredibly strong foundation for a hiring decision. As a consequence, such students start looking for the best essay help to make certain that their project is going to be produced at the maximal level in accord with all academic standards. Every student has the choice to receive their essay customized according to their criteria. Heres What I Know About How to Put Research on Resume When it might appear dull, you consistently should customize just about every single correspondence to fulfill the specific occupation for which youre applying. When it can appear dull, you always have to customize each and every correspondence to coincide with the particular job for which youre employing. T hus the correspondence is similar to any formal business letter. Thus remember to produce your correspondence specific and dont use the fundamental template. How to Put Research on Resume the Ultimate Convenience Your advertising manager resume summary is the surface of your sales funnel. If youre in sales, use absolutes sparingly and that usually means you never lessen their weight. You can construct your own blog to display your absatzwirtschaft and advertising abilities. 1 Actually, in marketing, its what you say and the way you say it. Its going to be potential that you get an HR manager on linked-in or publish by means of email youve got an immense desire to perform for your own firm. Your call may be just what it requires to pull your marketing resume to the peak of the heap. You only will have to earn a productive coverletter in the proceedings you want to obtain a superior job. Irrespective of being only 17, you may want to create a restart for many different fact ors. Request a specific problem and help it become a simple job to reply. Incorporating the incorrect ideas or too a lot of things to a resume will probably help you to save from having the industry occupation that you want. It is critical to understand what things to include at a coverletter and precisely what things to miss out. In a great deal of cases the whole letter is curved off in several sentences, since there is no room for irrelevant ideas. There are a lot of reasons why you need to prefer our services. A correspondence is comprised simply to improve your probability of being researched. Requesting lots of worry for research same subject issue. Top How to Put Research on Resume Secrets You should start out with a good object that may shed some light on your individual abilities and expertise. The plan procedure welches clarified. Use a resume summary when you have lots of experience and techniques. If you realize that you are developing new relationships the ex act same or similar to past ones, youre in a cycle. The Battle Over How to Put Research on Resume and How to Win It To begin with, its about how you would like your startup to be perceived by a possible employer, not how you perceive it. Speak to the business and discover out that it must truly be addressed to. You generate an organization that you know is quite very likely to fail. If your subject organization is genuinely innovative, it might be able to outperform in an industry in decline. The Key to Successful How to Put Research on Resume Our resume builder gives you tips and examples on the best way to compose your resume summary. They all are positive. There really are various assortment of evaluations to choose from. The Benefits of How to Put Research on Resume Nearly all people nowadays realize resumes and job software cannot be reliable. Finding the best method to compose a resume is the custom of understanding a completely new kind of artwork. A good coverle tter can make your software stick out from the audience. A good coverletter has the capability to make your application stick out from the crowd. What You Dont Know About How to Put Research on Resume Firstly, its a less formal type of letter writing than the traditional letter. You dont need to compose your letter on your own. Thus the letter is comparable to any formal business letter. Firstly, it really is really an official sort of letter writing compared to the conventional cover letter. Its quite useful once you are carrying out a work hunt. You may not have much work experience to include, so concentrate on personal and professional skills and your educational background. Just concentrate on the experience gained at the occupations youve had. Our technicians will kindly answer each one of your questions.

The Fight Against Pre Writing Skills for Resume

The Fight Against Pre Writing Skills for Resume A Key Skills section, on the flip side, is listed on top of a resume. My Perfect Resume has a huge library of ideas and examples to demonstrate how to compose a resume summary statement to produce your own. You need to know how to resolve issues. You must use skills in caring and implement different approaches to help the individual improve from present health condition. You should understand the caring process for unique diseases. For instance, if youre interested in research, mold your statement to reflect how you intend to aid people throughout the present of medicine, or your desire to discover solutions to each issue. Pre Writing Skills for Resume No Longer a Mystery Based on your degree of experience and the jobs youre applying for, what you decide to concentrate on in your resume summary can fluctuate. You, if youd like the job. Research a selection of job postings for similar job titles to comprehend the abilities an d go through the industry requires. There are a lot of basic kinds of resumes used to make an application for job openings. The Battle Over Pre Writing Skills for Resume and How to Win It For instance, you may be hired to edit a book, in which case understanding of the books subject matter is a clear plus. No matter where you include your skills section on your resume, you can be confident that the hiring manager is likely to find it and definitely likely to ask about doing it. There are a few things that dont belong on a resume for work. The Principles of Pre Writing Skills for Resume That You Will be Able to Learn From Beginning Right Away Learning a number of writing skills isnt as hard as you may think. Resume language skills are the same. Your language skills are just a little portion of your resume, therefore its very important that also you recognize how to compose a resume by every section. Written language skills are an essential part of many positions in nearly every business. For instance, if youre asking for a job as an administrative assistant, you dont will need to discuss the way your job for a babysitter helped improve your childcare skills, but you might share the way the experience helped you cultivate time management abilities and the capacity to juggle numerous tasks simultaneously. Soft abilities, on the flip side, arent simple to quantify. Before you jump into writing down all of the awesome talents youve got, lets learn a little more about what skills employers typically start looking for on a resume and see whether it is possible to incorporate any in your skills section. Finding the Best Pre Writing Skills for Resume If you get a wide selection of technical abilities, however, your abilities might end up being precisely what gets you hired. Achieving success in the modelling business isnt always quick. Your skills section stipulates a window into how much capability you are able to bring to the business.

Your Personal Life Is a Project. Learn to Manage It like a PM Superstar!

Your Personal Life Is a Project. Learn to Manage It like a PM SuperstarYour Personal Life Is a Project. Learn to Manage It like a PM SuperstarYou need to get something done. You set a date. At some point you actually start working on it.The deadline flies by. Youre still at it.Why did I ever think that deadline was reasonable?And how the hell did this get so expensiveEver heard of the planning fallacy?Its basically a catch-all term for every mistake possible underestimated costs and complexity, notlage accounting for unknowns, and being overly optimistic about external circumstances.Were all guilty.Get this in an experiment, Americans were asked to evaluate the expected cost of remodeling their kitchens.The average estimate? $18,500.The actual mean cost? Almost $39,000.Try explaining that to your bankAgain, were all guilty, but therbeie are people who seem to always be on top of things. Theyre actually paid for doing just that.Project managers.Do they have superpowers? Are they lucky ? No, not at all. They just happen to know some things you dont.And theyre about to teach you those skills. (And, as a bonus, recommend some of the coolest, easy-to-use productivity apps to help you manage your personal life like a pro.)1Understand why we all suck at planningStep one realize whats been stopping you so far.In a word overconfidence.Its best explained by a concept of WYSIATI (What You See Is All There Is) coined by one of the most exceptional psychologists of all time, Nobel Prize winner, Daniel Kahneman (Every project manager I spoke with mentioned this theory).You see, when we make plans, we tend to focus only on the known knownsphenomena weve already seen and can anticipate.What we forget about, though, areKnown unknownsthings we know might happen, but we ignore them because we hope they wont happen (or well fix them later.).Unknown unknownsevents that we dont know about and cannot predict.If what you see is all there is, you better see it all.So2See the BoardEach t hing you do actually requires you to do a lot of smaller things. We dont think this way about walking the dog, making tea, or sending an email to accounting.But we dont think this way about more complex projects either.In the search of a solution to that problem, I reached out to Shai Shandil, an Agile/Scrum management coach, and a founder of softsolutions.His answer? See the mainboard.No, this isnt a zen koan He means literally.The easiest way to combat a mounting pile of tasks is to have a physical board that holds all these tasks.Its called a kanban board and was first used by Taiichi Ohno at Toyota.Shai let us see his board he used for moving home(Hestotally un-high-tech about it)Notice two thingsFirst of all, the tasks on Shais list are very specific.For instance, its not clean the house. Instead, its divided into smaller, controllable tasksVacuum house, Clean between oven glass, Wipe down kitchen, (already done).Clean shower, Clean drains, Bleach kitchen blinds, Mop house, (to do.)Secondly, all stakeholders (be that your spouse, children, or flatmates) can immediately learn what the status is.Its a BRILLIANT way of stopping nagging because the answers to all How are you going with X? types of questions are so readily available, Shai says.I know what you might be wondering3How much should I break down my tasks?Thats a question many kanban users ask and, ironically, most kanban tutorials rarely answer.For good reason. Theres no one-size-fits-all answer. You need to be agile and learn what works for you.But there are two general guidelinesDependencyOne of the main reasons work gets delayed is the dependency on other people. When breaking up your work, make sure that its clear which item requires someone else to take action.At a given point, the number of external stakeholders your task is waiting for should not exceed two.What if it does?Thats a signal you should break down the task further, into lower-level items that dont rely on that many dependencies.Ti meThis factor is much more speculative, but if you need a basic rule of thumb, here it isThe extremum task size is 30 minutes.Aim for a maximum of one workdayfor sanitys sake, you dont want work to spill over to the following day.It will take time and practice to determine what goes on the board. The good thing is, after a few iterations, youll notice things flow smoothly from left to right.Youll see what needs to get done first, do it, and move on to the next task.Plus, once you see movement on the board, youll learn to manage your time to keep things moving. Got a time slot for X? Do X. Not enough time before your date? Do Y.Shai gave another personal example to brilliantly illustrate thatI never iron more than three items at a time. Its less about how much it takes me to get it done. Its more about how much time it takes my wife to get date-ready. All of a sudden, I no longer have to set up an ironing task every week, a saving of an hour for my free time.4A continuous flow of tas ksNotice that, in Shais kanban board, theres no backlog column.Thats because kanban management doesnt concern itself with time boxes work comes in, gets worked on, and gets finished. Thats it.This approach seemed surprising coming from Shai who specializes in Scruma methodology focused on timeboxed iterations called sprints. But Shai suggested that the simplicity of kanban is usually way more fitting for personal or family needs.Another PM, Leigh Espy, Project Manager at FedEx and owner of ProjectBliss.net shares Shais approach.Three years ago, she encouraged her then 10-year old daughter to start using a simple kanban boardmade from just a whiteboard and Post-It-Notes, with three columns Not Started, Doing, and Done.The simplicity lets my daughter focus on getting the work done and moving the task through the stages of execution very quickly. Having a list of chores to pick from gives her a sense of control, Leigh says.She still has to do the work, but she can determine in what ord er. And shes formally taken ownership and committed to the task. Once shes finished the work, she moves the task to the Done column and picks the next item. This is also helpful for meit lets me know what shes actively working on, she explains.A child-friendly, glorified to-do list? No, its more than that.First of all, we rarely know when well have a bit of free time. The kanban board lets you queue tasks, prioritize them, and get them done when you have an opening.Secondly, committing to using a board will let you see patterns. Youll notice repetitive tasks, identify which ones take longer than expected, and soon youll streamline everyday processes (remember Shais ironing example?).But proper project management is not only about getting things done more efficiently. Its also about working towards an important objective5Whatever you plan, think about the big goalIn the end, we all do things for some grander reason.For someone, as someone.Every Sunday, Scott Perry (a PMP-certified Pr oject Manager by day, and a baseball blogger at CatchersHome.com by night), together with his wife, holds the weekly marriage meeting.They open up their very analog Moleskine schedulers and go through their plans for the upcoming week.But thats not all.Another thing I do in my personal weekly planning is to integrate a Role Map into my plans. Its a structured blueprint of every role you have in your life (think Employee, Son, Husband, Father, Little League Coach, etc.) that connects you with your weekly plan so that your actions are intentional, not reactive, supporting further development of each role. This way, I can spend time on things that count and not on busy work that doesnt really matter.Ever found yourself elbows deep in something, only to realize youre not getting closer to what you actually want to achieve?Exactly.Busy is a drug. Makes you feel good. But being busy doesnt imply being productive.Always ask yourself whats the actual outcome of what Im doing? Is there any v alue in it? Are the steps Im taking bringing me closer to the end goal?Make reality checks a habit. Kanban or no kanban.At the end of the day, good project management is about making the right choices. You know, the ones that actually pull you closer to the desired outcome.And for the final word... Heres how to boost your efficiency with apps65 top apps recommended by PMs for increasing your productivity1. OmnifocusAn indispensable daily tool for organizing your home and professional tasks.It allows you to easily group your tasks by priority, complexity, and dependenciesthe time of day, your location, other people, etc.Available for iOS and MacOS users only.2. todoistA super easy way to seat daily and weekly goals and analyze your productivity. Beautiful visualizations will help you notice trends in your productivity. Not to mention Todoist karma points, streaks, and levels which will gamify your life and make you want to chase numbers(Its also very easy to integrate todoist with yo ur Gmail and Google Calendar.)3. PocketThe easiest way to save cool reads and other stuff you find online. Store them in your Pocket and revisit when you have some free timeon your computer or mobile.4. TrelloLove the idea of a kanban board but cant be bothered to set up a physical one?Enter Trello. A straightforward, easily accessible online kanban board you can use on your own or with your family.5. AudibleLast but not least.Reading is a joy, but sometimes you cant really sit down and stare at text. Get your daily dose of literature as you walk your dog or clean the tub.So, what do you think?

Finding a Job After Leaving a Career

Finding a Job After Leaving a CareerFinding a Job After Leaving a CareerThe Donald calls it our depression. Hes talking about the economy, not our mood but I think he intends the double entendre. Technically, it is a deep recession, but one with soaring unemployment and plunging retirement account values. That combination is forcing thousands of American managers and executives in their 30s and 40s to rethink their career path and many mora in their 50s and 60s to revamp retirement plans. Those changes coupled with new legislation out of Washington could spark a commitment to public service not seen since the 1960s. Volunteering is not new for out-of-work execs or senior corporate folk who have recently retired. Historically, those ex-executives have the means to retire comfortably or hang out for a while until the next senior position presents itself. But this unprecedented economic climate is turning some of those stereotypes on their ear. Two quick examples and then a probabl e solution. I spoke to a friend this weekend who had been an executive at one of the headline-grabbing banks now parteially owned by Uncle Sam. He had been quite successful there for the past 15 years but got his walking papers late in 08 as part of sweeping downsizing. Given the supply of top jobs (shrinking) and the toxic (forgive the adjective choice) working environment at most major banks these days, he really doesnt want to continue with what had been his career. While he is considering a redirected career path in some other part of the private sector, he told me he has been strongly considering the path of public service government, teaching or non-profit organizational leadership. And Im hearing this kind of thing a lot these days.Second example a 60-something acquaintance of mine who retired early about five years ago after a solidly successful career as an executive. His health is superb better than when he was working but his 401k is not so superb. In fact, he has lost mora than the average Joe about 45% of the value back in 2007. So, as he sits here today, he is facing a longer-than-expected life span and a shorter runway of funds to support his desired and accustomed lifestyle. Given his age and the contractions in the private sector, he too is looking at the public sector.One external initiative could accelerate opportunities for the people like them. President Obama is expected to sign the Edward M. Kennedy National Service Act soon. The bill is designed to encourage more Americans to commit to national service and expand opportunities for them to do so. AmeriCorps, which links volunteers nationwide with local needs in education, health care and infrastructure will be tripled to 250,000 slots. For older Americans, in particular, and also for mid-lifers looking for a second career act, the legislation will create a series of programs that will help direct retirees into new roles in nonprofit and public service, on the front lines and in mana gement. (As an example, check out a pilot program in California called Encore Fellows.) The federal government is also working hard to improve its recruiting and talent management approach. The Partnership for Public Service has been encouraging the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to do more in the areas of employer branding, recruiting process improvement, applicant tracking, and talent development and retention. There should be obvious opportunities for people with deep knowledge of how the private sector works and for those with skills in technology, health care, infrastructure and energy.Regardless ones view of a pending recovery, its clear to most people that we are now living in different times. The public sector is already different and there are many changes in store in the next decade that may make it a far more attractive place to launch that second or third career or for former execs to parachute back onto the battlefield for another round of challenges and opport unities.

How to Conduct a Behavioral Interview for a Job

How to Conduct a Behavioral Interview for a JobHow to Conduct a Behavioral Interview for a JobWant to know the best way to identify whether a candidates characteristics and motivations match the behaviors needed for your job? A behavioral bewerbungsinterview is the best tool you have to identify candidates who have the behavioral traits and characteristics you believe are essential for success in your open job. Additionally, in a behavioral interview, you ask the candidate to pinpoint specific instances in which a particular behavior welches exhibited in the past. In the best interviews, the candidate is unaware of the behavior the interviewer is verifying. The actual interview is preceded by behavior trait identification and a job description. The upfront work makes the interview effective and successful. Heres what you need to know about how to prepare for and conduct a behavioral interview. How to Conduct an Effective Behavioral Interview Start your preparation for a behaviora l interview by identifying what you want the employee to be able to do in the open job. Use a job specification and write a job description to describe the requirements of the lage.Determine the required outputs and performance success factors for the job.Determine the characteristics and traits of the individual whom you believe will succeed in that job. If you have employees successfully performing the job currently, list the traits, characteristics, and skills that they bring to the job. Narrow the list to the key behavioral traits you believe that a candidate needs to be able to perform the job.Write a job posting that describes the behavioral characteristics in the text. Make sure the characteristics or requirements section of your job description lists the same behavioral characteristics.Make a list of questions, both behavioral and traditional, to ask each candidate during the behavioral interview. A structured list of behavioral interview questions makes candidate selection more defensible and allows you to make comparisons between the various answers and approaches of your interviewees. Review the resumes, cover letters, and other job application materials you receive, with the behavioral traits and characteristics in mind.Phone screen the candidates who have caught your attention with their qualifications, if necessary, to further narrow the candidate pool. You want to schedule the most qualified candidates for a behavioral interview.Schedule interviews with the candidates who most appear to have the behavioral characteristics, along with the skills, experience, education, and the other factors you would normally screen for in your application review. Ask your list of behavioral and traditional questions of each candidate during the behavioral interview.Narrow your candidate choices based on their responses to the behavioral and traditional interview questions.Select your candidate with the right mix of knowledge, experience, and behavioral character istics that match the needs of the job guiding your decision. Characteristics Identified for the Behavioral Interview In preparation for a behavioral interview in one company, a list of behavioral characteristics was prepared for the position of sales representative. Behavioral characteristics identified by the interview kollektiv included AdaptableArticulateAccountablePerseveranceListenerHigh energyConfidentHigh integritySelf-directedFocusedEffective networkerMoney hungryEnthusiastic The company prepared a job description that reflected these behavioral characteristics. Then, the company posted the job in a variety of online and offline locations. Behavioral Job Posting for Sales Representative Part of the job posting stated Successful track record in selling and customer account management for small, medium and large customer accounts high, demonstrated energy levels extremely motivated to succeed accountable for results computer skills in Microsoft Windows products includ ing MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint excellent written and verbal communication skills interacts with and works well with others in various fast-changing environments/situations including strong networking and listening skills effective problem-solving skills able to motivate others through persuasion and leadership able to prioritize, manage time and orchestrate multiple tasks simultaneously able to maintain self-confidence and high self esteem in tasks such as cold calling and prospecting able to effectively work independently or in a team environment able to maintain company and customer confidentiality practices corporate and personal integrity on the highest level. Salary and commissions commensurate with contribution. Resumes and cover letters were screened for the stated behavioral and traditional characteristics and traits listed. Interviews were set up with the most likely candidates. Behavioral Interview Questions These are examples of behavioral interview questions that were asked of the candidates. Keep in mind that the employer is seeking evidence of the behavioral traits established at the beginning of the hiring process. The applicant may or may not have figured out the behavioral characteristics the employer is seeking. If the candidate read the job posting carefully and prepared for the behavioral interview, a savvy candidate will have a good idea of what behavioral traits the employer is seeking. Tell me about a time when you obtained a new customer through networking activities.Give me an example of a time when you obtained a customer through cold calling and prospecting. How did you approach the customer?What are your three most important work-related values? Then, please provide an example of a situation in which you demonstrated each value at work.Think of a customer relationship you have maintained for multiple years. Please tell me how you have approached maintaining that relationship. Your manufacturing facility shipped the wrong ord er to one of your important customers. Describe how you would solve this problem both internally and externally.The quantity of parts and the part numbers of items available for sale change daily. Talk to me about how you have handled similar situations in the past.If you are hired as our sales representative, you may see the need to change the organization of the department. How have you approached such situations in the past?Give me an example of a time when your integrity was tested and yet prevailed in a selling situation. Following the Behavioral Interview With answers to behavioral questions such as these, you have comparisons you can make between your candidates and you can assess their approaches to selling. You have a good idea about how the candidate has approached selling situations similar to yours in the past. The values and behavioral characteristics and traits you have identified and sought out give you a much better idea of whether the selected candidate is a go od fit for your position. Use a behavioral interview to select the sales representative most likely to succeed.