The Importance of Having an Opinion at Work

The Importance of Having an Opinion at Work The Importance of Having an Opinion at Work In school, were taught to understand both sides of every issue. If you can argue for and against a point, youre more likely to truly understand all dimensions of the problem at hand.In the workplace, its also helpful to understand all angles of an issue. Earlier in my career, I worked in strategy roles. My internal customers, so to speak, were C-level executives. When I shared my ideas, I tried to remain balanced, presenting both sides of the argument. I wanted to be unbiased in my approach.But one executive I worked for wanted to know my ideas. On multiple occasions, he would ask me, But Angela, what do you really think about this issue? He once told meI welches the only employee hed ever had whose personal opinion he couldnt guess. In a way, this felt good. I was separating the business and the personal.Over the years, Ive learned that this is not always the best approach. Recently, something happened to remind me of this point. Ive been working with a smart person to help me on a project. The person is an expert in an area I know nothing about. I respect their experience and perspectives. When it was time to make a decision, I asked the person, What do you think about this? The person responded with, Well, I generally try not to influence my clients with my own opinions.There are certain times in your career when youre brought in to work on a project because you know more about a particular subject than anyone else in the room. When that happens, its time to share your opinion. Its time to have thoughts based on your past experiences. To a degree, its okay to have biases in that moment. The bias you have is your past experience guiding you past experience that nobody else in the room has.Dont get me wrong. There are times at work when your employer is just looking for someone to complete a task. In those moments, theyre not looking for feedback, suggestions, or improve ments.But when youre hired to be a consultant, a strategist, or a high-level thinker, you should have an opinion. Your opinion will guide your client to success. It will take them to a level that they wouldnt be able to reach on their own. Thatswhy they hired you. If they were just looking for a button pusher, theyd find someone cheaper todo the job.So stand up and speak up. When its your turn to have an opinion, have one. And if you dont have one for a specific reason, explain that. But be sure the reason is not because youre avoiding having to say something.Its true, you may fail if you speak up. But failure happens to everyone. Plus, with your experience and your expertise, youre the person least likely to fail in the room. Your boss knows that, and theyre depending on you to help out.You can only do that if you have an opinion.A version of this article originally appeared in theMemphis Daily News.Angela Copeland is a career coach and CEO at her firm,Copeland Coaching.

Navigating a Personal Crisis at Work

Navigating a Personal Crisis at WorkNavigating a Personal Crisis at WorkNormally, I am that reliable co-worker you can always count on- the one who never calls in sick. But that all changed a year ago, with a first trimester miscarriage, the loss of my aunt who I welches extremely close to, and another miscarriage where I had to have surgery.This rollercoaster of unfortunate events could have knocked me down, made me not want to get out of bed, and affected my performance at work. But instead, I chose to stay positive and do everything I could to keep going, especially at the office.I hope that you will never have to deal with a personal crisis, but if you do, here are three things that helped me move from my bed to my desk- and get the best assessment ratings that Ive ever received at work.1. Dont Worry About Work When Youre Picking Up the PiecesAfter my first miscarriage, I headed right back to work and didnt give myself enough time to grieve and heal. I consumed myself with my job , and I used it as a way to not deal with what had happened.But this was the wrong approach. A few months later, the grief hit me even harder because I had never dealt with my emotions in the first place. Work became extremely tough, and it seemed like little issues that I could prototyply handle were making me overly emotional. I was fragile, but no one around me knew what was really going on.After my second miscarriage, I knew I needed more time off to take care of myself. So I took a week off and worked from home for another week. This allowed me to handle my emotions earlier, instead of using work as a crutch to avoid the feelings that I needed to go through (and then eventually falling apart later). My entry back to work after my second miscarriage was a whole lot easier because I took more time off for myself.2. Be Honest With Your Co-WorkersInitially, I didnt want to tell anyone I worked with what I was going through. I thought about just saying I was sick for a week. But I k new that was so unlike me that it needed a better explanation.I realized that, when I opened up and let everyone know what I was going through, they were able to understand better. They were happy to pick up my workload right away, and they didnt expect me to be doing anything. Because they were so supportive, I could really focus on myself. On the other hand, if I had just said I was sick, I would have been worried about work my entire time off.If you dont feel like you can talk to your manager about what you are going through, ask your friends or family to help you. After my first miscarriage, my husband called my manager and let her know what was going on. My boss then contacted my co-workers and clients so no one expected me to be answering emails or phone calls. Even if you have a ton of work piling up (like I did), youll likely find that your manager and co-workers will be more than willing to pick up the pieces.3. Dont Miss Out on Your BenefitsI worked for the same company fo r six years and never understood my benefits. I realized later than I would have liked to know that my company offered some amazing benefits, including free confidential counseling and research programs.Look in to the programs that are available to you, and dont hesitate to take advantage of them. Even though counseling isnt talked about much, its not something to be afraid of, and it doesnt mean you are weak (or crazy). Counseling was a huge part of helping me get back to normal so that I could complete my work assignments and better manage my work relationships during the difficult times.My company benefits also covered medical research programs- I could have someone complete a research report about a medical condition I had and email it to me. This information was so helpful, and it would have taken me weeks to do by myself.Its tough to make that first step and to ask someone else for help, but I promise, youll be so glad you did. If I hadnt made that choice to put myself first, I wouldnt have been able to perform well at work and continue to do the things that I love to do everyday (like helping young professionals find jobs on my blog).Above all, remember that you are not alone in your struggles and that there are ways to deal with your personal issues and still perform fabulously at work. As hard as things may seem, dont give up, and dont deal with your crisis alone.Photo of stressed man courtesy of Shutterstock.

Why Competition at Work Wont Make You Successful - The Muse

Why Competition at Work Wont Make You Successful - The MuseWhy Competition at Work Wont Make You Successful Imagine this Yur manager ranks everyone on your gruppe and shares the numbers. Too scared to think about that scenario? Well, it happened to me. At one company I worked at, management numerically ranked us on our work efforts each year. Competition in the workplace is often inevitable. And, while some leaderships view competition as a technique to maximize production, the truth is that it can cause unnecessary stress and anxiety. Its a good thing to be a dedicated employee and want to produce solid work, but you dont have to do that at the expense of battling it out with your co-workers. My advice? Do everything you can to avoid the drama attached to office rivalries. Plus, theres a far better way to thrive in your career- and I explain it all below. Evaluate the Playing FieldThink of your peers as a team with each person playing their own position. Notice who excels at what. I nstead of comparing your abilities to theirs, make an effort to embrace, honor, and applaud their efforts- chances are, theyll do the same for you if you set an example. A solid, well-rounded team flourishes most when theres a diverse range of skill sets, not to mention a collaborative, supportive work environment. Identify Your PositionThink of a space thats uniquely yours, setting you apart from everyone else at the office. Maybe its efficiently pulling and analyzing data, being unshakable in tough conversations with customers, excelling in negotiating prices or possessing a business network with an insurmountable number of contacts. Consider areas where youve received compliments, been the go-to expert, or even won awards. It can be really difficult, especially early in your career, to pinpoint what you bring to the table. If youre having trouble identifying your top strengths, keep in mind that we often find success in the same areas in which we take delight. By this, I mean the things you genuinely enjoy participating in. Reflect on the moments in which you seem to find yourself in exceptionally high spirits- what types of projects were you working on at that time? Once you recognize your strong suits, embrace cohesiveness over contention by promoting your gifts while partnering with those who compliment your shortcomings. Shoot for the GoalConsider your why- beyond a paycheck and possible promotion, why do you clock in every day? Let this lead you toward setting goals. For example, my why is to empower people toward career fulfillment. That led me to a short-term goal of recruiting for a company that takes pride in offering its employees abundant career opportunities in addition to an impressive work environment. My long-term goal involves demonstrating a direct connection between company culture and revenue growth in order to influence companies to treat their employees better. Once you begin to better understand yourself, youll realize youre probably a iming toward different goals than your peers, hence eliminating the drive to compete. Of course, in many industries, it may appear you have the same goals on paper as one or mora of your colleagues, but remember that theres a reason two of you (or 10 of you) were hired for this role. Even if youre trying to accomplish similar things, youre bringing different skills and ways of doing it to the playing field.Play Your Position to the Best of Your AbilityConsider in what way your individual talents fit into the puzzle that makes your team successful. Alleviate the stress to duplicate by concentrating on pushing your strong points forward which will in turn aid the team. Uncover business problems with solutions that align with your gifts. Use your distinct skills to modify inefficient and ineffective processes that may be in place. Dont be afraid to stand out and lend a hand to your peers as teamwork often trumps separation. And remember to record your successes on an up-to-date resume and on your LinkedIn page. Weve all witnessed the toll that stress in the workplace can take on a persons well-being. Theres value in appreciating the contributions of your colleagues. Instead of competing against each other, we can co-exist by complimenting each others abilities with our own.

Video Arun Majumdar 2013 Honorary Membership

Video Arun Majumdar 2013 Honorary Membership Video Arun Majumdar 2013 Honorary Membership Video Arun Majumdar, 2013 Honorary MembershipArun Majumdar, vice president for energy at Google, is widely recognized as a leader in energy innovation. He has distinguished himself in research, teaching and national service.At Google, Dr. Majumdar is driving the companys energy initiatives. In 2009, he was nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate to become the founding director of the U.S. Department of Energys Advanced Research Projects AgencyEnergy (ARPAE). ARPAE invests in innovative projects to rapidly create new technologies. In 2011 and 2012, Dr. Majumdar also served as acting under secretary of energy.Previously, Dr. Majumdar was a professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at the University of California, Berkeley. He also served as an associate laboratory director at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Before joining UC Berkeley, Dr. Majumdar taught at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and at Arizona State University in Tempe.Dr. Majumdars research includes the science and engineering of nanoscale materials and as well as large engineered systems.To read more about other ASME honorees, click here. The copyright of this program is owned by ASME.

Strategies for Combating Bullying, Workplace Harassment

Strategies for Combating Bullying, Workplace HarassmentStrategies for Combating Bullying, Workplace HarassmentMany workers in the legal industry experience workplace harassment - demeaning, abusive, or authoritarian behavior. Studies show that less than one in 10 victims of workplace harassment let the offending person know they dont like it. When employees dont take action about harassment issues, they are far less productive in the workplace. Moreover, workplace harassment can have a negative impact on a law firm or organization. If you are the target of a bully, below are several strategies offered by workplace experts and employment attorneys to deal with workplace harassment and bullying behavior. For additional infassonation on workplace harassment, check out the following articles Bullying Facts and FiguresBullying StoriesBullying legislationWorkplace HarassmentTypes of Bullying Let the Bully Know the Behavior is Unwelcome Christina Stovall, Director of Human Resource Serv ice Center for the HR outsourcing company Odyssey OneSource, had the following to say A bullied target can first try to address the behavior with the bully directly, particularly if its a more subtle form of bullying (i.e., explaining that snide or sarcastic comments are bedrngnis appropriate, not professional and not appreciated). If the bullying is of a more serious nature or if the target has attempted to resolve the issue but to no avail or if the bullying has gotten worse, then its time to tell someone else about it. At a minimum, victims of bullying or abusive behavior should tell the bully that the behavior is inappropriate and unwelcome, says Josh Van Kampen, Esq., an employment attorney in Charlotte, North Carolina. Assuming it is emotionally safe, invite the person to lunch to discuss the issue and how you can be more productive together, Dr. Robyn Odegaard, owner of a speaking/consulting company and the founder of the Stop The Drama Campaign, suggests. Report the Misco nduct Victims of workplace harassment should immediately report the misconduct to their supervisors and to human resources, advises attorney Angela J. Reddock, National Workplace Expert and managing partner of the Reddock Law Group, an employment and labor law firm in Los Angeles, California Employees should not be left to handle such issues on their own. They should obtain the kooperation of trained professionals and ensure they have the support and backing of the company in dealing with such issues. Van Kampen notes that, although victims have the option of reporting the behavior to human resources, such action may not always prove fruitful Due to gaps in the legal protections in the bullying setting, they may beunprotected from retaliation for reporting the bullying behavior. If the bully is your boss, your recourse is often limited. Like any abusive relationship, there is an opportunity cost for pulling the trigger fear of being fired, retaliation, or reputational fallout, says Roy Cohen, career coach and author of The Wall Street Professionals Survival Guide. Even when the HR department is consulted, the victim may, unfortunately, bear far too much of the burden when this process involves a highly placed manager or manager who is a big contributor to the bottom line. These are the clients I often see in my practice and they tend to be either paralyzed with fear or desperate to exit the situation. Document the Behavior Joseph Cilona, a Manhattan-based licensed clinical psychologist, business and personal coach, author, and nationally recognized psychology expert, advises bully victims to keep a copy for themselvesand provide a copy to their superiors, HR department, and any other relevant colleagues Always create a written record describing the appropriate behavior, the date, time and place it occurred, and who else was present. Should things escalate, or official or legal consequences arise, written documentation will be the most important thing you can have to protect yourself and your job. If its not documented, it might as well not have happened. Van Kampen agrees The victim is wise to assemble proof that the bullying behavior has occurred. For example, some states like North Carolina permit a party to a conversation to tape record a conversation with another party without notifying the other party that its being recorded. The existence of such evidence can force an employer to take effective remedial action in response to a bullying position than it might otherwise. In he said, she said scenarios, employers invariably fail to take action against the harasser. Consult Employer Policies If your company has an employee manual, determine if there is an official policy regarding harassment. The topic is currently receiving a great deal of attention - and rightly so - and the awareness of a potentially hostile situation will hopefully be taken seriously, Cohen notes. Virtually all medium to large businesses have harassment po licies that can potentially capture bullying behavior. Unfortunately, as many sexual harassment victims can attest, these complaint processes are far from effective fixes in many harassment scenarios and employees exercising their rights under such policies can sometimes be targeted for retaliation, Van Kampen warns. Unfortunately, for the targets of bullying, they may not be protected for reporting the bullying behavior, unless the behavior constitutes unlawful harassment under civil right employment laws like Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act or the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. For example, if the bully has targeted the victim, but his motivation is not based on the victims race, gender, disability, age, or other protected category, the employment laws probably dont protect the victim from being retaliated against by the employer. Find an Ally Large companies often have an ombudsman, an individual charged with investigating and resolving these sorts of ma tters, Cohen says. Since the HR department typically represents the companys interests - that is, until a matter is proven to be harmful which is often too late - the ombudsman may offer a more impartial forum for resolving these complaints. Seek Medical Attention Victims of bullying should also obtain medical attention through Employee Assistance Programs if theyre offered by the employer, or through their primary care physician, Van Kampen advises In the absence of a medical record showing that emotional damage was suffered, a court or jury will be reluctant to award significant damages even if the bullying behavior is found to be unlawful. Research the Bully Cohen suggests performing your own background check on the bully. The Internet offers vast potential for researching history and process. It also provides almost complete anonymity. You may be able to determine if the individual who is bullying you has done this before and how it has been treated, he states.

Azure Resume Guide

Azure Resume Guide Heres What I Know About Azure Resume Part of the main reason for its popularity is undoubtedly the large reach of its operations. On the flip side, for those people who have a great quantity of experience already with the technologies, I dont find the certifications as being critical. Choosing which to use depends upon the sort of job which you are applying for and your degree of experience. To sum up, businesses are lowing the complete cost of ownership (TCO) by utilizing a PAAS offering. Many are focusing on the requirements of developers as an alternative to companies, and they could be well worth trying, particularly if your scaling needs are between little and moderate. It is possible to even check out several reviews and pick the business which best suits your requirements and inexpensive budget. Deliver significant releases to stakeholders in time and under budget. Definitions of Azure Resume If youre thinking that you will need a person to compose my essay at the moment, you can merely rely on our honest reviews. When it can be somewhat challenging to keep up, its also a great deal of fun. Everything else out theres fluff. Top Choices of Azure Resume Creating functions can be super helpful once you will need to run the exact block of code many times, with just minor modifications to parameter values, etc.. There arent Errors or Warnings. The browsers are taking a look at the partially downloaded file in the temp folders they use and taking a look at the incoming data from the server to find out how to request the rest of the part of the file. If it is an enormous file, we can check the advancement of the copy. There are a few forum threads you may look at which suggest a registry hack for a particular CLSID. You also only have one page to capture each one of the attributes you wish to share. Linux is quite much mainstream nowadays. With us, you are going to get high quality essays that are certain to bring you the very best results. Keywords are only one part of customizing your resume to a particular job. A page is an array of data that is identified by its offset from the onset of the blob. See personal site or github to find out more. Azure Automation gives you the ability to execute scripts against your Azure atmosphere. As an industry leader, Azure provides many benefits and advantages. It is possible to find out more about Azure IaaS here. Windows Azure will deal with the load balancing for each of the instances that are made. The Bizarre Secret of Azure Resume In Azure, its a dedicated service which gives you the ability to create a data warehouse that could store large amounts of information, scale up and down, and is completely managed. CSAs must comprehend the present small business problem or understand the upcoming vision and help the customer to attain the exact same utilizing the ability of cloud. The technology has the capability to bring ordnungsprinzip automation to a different level, in addition to improve business decision-making. A unit of automation is known as a runbook. No matter what service you wish to deploy, you always need to check for the access to a service at a particular data center location. A cloud service can have two varieties of roles. Instead, you are going to want to interact with APIs or third-party programs, and it might take a while before youre all set to operate your storage entirely in the cloud. Additionally, some organizations utilize Azure as an alternate to their very own data center. Most Noticeable Azure Resume For instance, your personal situation may be ideal for a Certifications and Courses Completed section. Our reviews contain information like the score of the clients, our rating, starting prices, Discounts, and caliber of the papers. Its possible to download a complimentary trial on the Microsoft Word site. Additionally, there are numerous areas which are especially hot right now that I think people will come across exciting. Now the Azure AD is all set. For smaller blobs, you dont generally will need to confirm the position of a copy operations it will likely finish before youve got an opportunity to inspect the status, based on the size. To begin with, you are in need of a storage account context. Tracking and keeping Database with the trendiest status for each cluster. Choosing Good Azure Resume Sometimes you could be uncertain even about the industry you would like to work in, and surely you wont have a great deal of skilled experience to back your targets. There are scores and scores of possible skills to look at using. It is simpler than you might think to compose a superb administrative resume that could enable you to find the job of your dreams. For some of them you will require help, while others you may write all on your own.

Why Grads Should Consider Manufacturing Careers

Why Grads Should Consider Manufacturing Careers For most members of the newly graduated class of 2016, the manufacturing sector likely ranks pretty low on their list of possible careers if it ranks at all. But while the competition might be stiff in many sectors that recent graduates are more likely totarget, the manufacturing sector is suffering from an ever-increasing skills gap. Part of the reason why is that manufacturing jobs have a bad reputation. They are dirty. Unskilled. The pay is low. The hours are long.But the truth is, this isnt your grandfathers manufacturing sector.Over the last few decades, many of the unskilled positions in manufacturing have been automated. This means that skilled, educated workers are often required to operate and maintain the robots and computers that now run the show. College graduates in areas like IT, science, or mathematics can find work in this field without even having to look too hard. In addition, every man ufacturer is still a business, so a business degree might also land a solid entry-level career for a graduate.Recent graduates looking to explore this avenue of employment would do well to get themselves some training to pad their resumes before applying to manufacturing businesses.There are many avenues to obtain hands-on training as a job seeker, says Micah Statler, technical training program manager for Advanced Technology Services, a factory maintenance and IT consultancy. SkillPointTraining.com is one avenue, where individuals can secure a seat in any of our scheduled training courses. Original equipment manufacturers and distributors, colleges, and technical institutes also provide many training opportunities for those in the job market, but that training is often high-cost and product-specific.While a recent graduate obviously would not want to enter a new college or technical school training program (or foot the bill for one while still paying for their first degree), shorte r and cheaper online courses through companies like SkillPoint might give them an edge in the interview process and a better idea of what it is they are applying for.What Manufacturers Can DoOn the other side of the coin, considering the size of the skills gap facing the industry, manufacturers would do well to widen the scope of their skilled-labor searches and provide on-the-job training for college graduates. Getting a college degree in any field typically requires a certain amount of intelligence, dedication, and critical thinking skills, so its likely that a new hire with a college degree would be able to succeed in whatever on-the-job training companies deemed necessary to put them to work.Employees stay in jobs that they can succeed in, as well as jobs that treat them well. So providing them with the skills to do a good job and continuing to reward that effort can go a long way toward combating the skills gap.Training is a component of retention, but it is not the silver bull et. We have seen positive statistical results in the correlation between training and retention, says Statler. We have also seen very positive impacts against measured employee engagement in association with training and development opportunities. We believe that retention is the result of a multifaceted approach that provides an engaging and encouraging atmosphere, which promotes growth and inclusion. Training can serve as an entry point to such a work environment, but the key in getting the most impactful results is to utilize the training as a catalyst to provide greater opportunity mentoring, coaching, and opportunitiesto utilize skills in challenging higher levels of performance help to complete the package.An estimated 1.8 mio bachelors degrees were awarded to the class of 2016, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. For manufacturers, the skilled labor shortage could reach 3.5 million jobs in the next ten years, according to the Manufacturing Institute. W ith that sort of risk coming down the road, ignoring an intelligent, educated labor pool seems like a bad business decision for manufacturing companies. Investing in incentive programs to attract college graduates from liberal arts and other fields, in addition to providing the right training to help them succeed, could go a long way toward solving the shortage of skilled labor.F