The Experts Weigh In Recruiter Insights On Candidate Experience

The Experts Weigh In Recruiter Insights On Candidate ExperienceThe Experts Weigh In Recruiter Insights On Candidate ExperienceEven with all of the technology available to recruiters, finding great candidates can still be a challenge. Here at Simply Hired were pushing the boundaries of whats technologically possible in matching job seekers to openings, and were interested in how other technology leaders approach solving the recruiting challenges of today.In May we played host to our first Innovation in Recruitment Forum in San Francisco. The evenings expert panel was moderated by Gerry Crispin, co-founder of CareerXroads. Our panelists were Robert Hohman, CEO at Glassdoor Stacy Donovan Zapar, Candidate Experience Engagement Leader at Zappos Dan Finnigan, CEO atJobvite and Simply Hired President and CEO James Beriker. Attendees included human resources and talent acquisition leaders from NetApp, Groupon and Bank of the West.One theme of the evening was candidate experience. As the mas termind behind the Candidate Experience Awards, Crispin often mentions how hard it is for candidates to apply to some companies. The two aspects of the candidate experience that were top-of-mind for panelists were 1.) the mobile job seeker experience and 2.) employer branding content.About one-third of Simply Hired job-seeker besucherzahlen is mobile, and that number is only going to rise. So its increasingly important that the user experience be as mobile-friendly as possible. Pinch and zoom is not a mobile strategy, said Donovan Zapar. Candidates should be able to easily read job descriptions from their mobile devices, apply and view employer branding content.Hohman said that 44 percent of Glassdoors traffic and 47 percent of LinkedIns traffic is mobile. A Glassdoor survey showed that one in four job seekers said they wouldnt apply to a company if it didnt have a mobile site.Beriker cited Simply Hired data on how mobile job seekers are more engaged, looking at jobs on both mobile devices and personal computers. According to Simply Hired research, 85 percent of job seekers want the ability to apply for jobs via mobile devices. When unable to apply on mobile, theyre forced into a hybrid approach where they search for jobs on mobile but apply via desktop.Employer brandingcontent helps with candidate engagement. Crispin believes that the companies with quality content in addition to innovative recruiting technology tools will be the ones to move forward rapidly.Candidates are looking for information on sites like Glassdoor because it helps them make decisions about which companies to apply to. Millennials in particular have come to expect transparency from employers, although Crispin mentioned a study that showed Baby Boomers were the most likely to complain online about a bad experience with a company.The panel echoed the common industry notion that recruiting is a lot like marketing, and both Zapar and Finnigan emphasized the candidate funnel. Finnigan spoke a bout how applicant tracking is similar to sales force automation in that it converts the candidate into a sale. Just as marketers think about social, content and advertising, recruiters should do the same.Zapar spoke about the relationship-building aspect of recruiting and said that recruiters ought to have a pipeline of candidates in anticipation of job openings before they occur. Beriker challenged the group to create tools that allow candidates with a wide variety of skills and technological sophistication to find a better job.Data was another issue on everyones mind. Hohman mentioned that recruiters spend $14 1000000000000 per year on advertising, but when compared to traditional advertising little time is spent tracking ad spend. The industry should focus on optimizing channels by measuring return or cost-per-hire for each channel. The tools are now available to create greater efficiency in recruiting through measurement and optimization. Both Finnigan and Hohman gave a nod to Simply Hired as being a leader in delivering candidates at attractive cost-per-hire, which of course Beriker appreciated.Crispin concluded the panel with a call to make a commitment to use all available tools, and he hopes to see more case studies about new best practices. He also emphasized the importance of better understanding job seekers. Thats something we think about every day here at Simply Hired as we review searches from millions of job seekers every month and conduct one-on-one interviews with job seekers to better meet their needs.Read more articlesSimply Hireds Innovation in Recruiting Forum 2014

How Do I Stop Hearing, Youre Overqualified

How Do I Stop Hearing, Youre OverqualifiedHow Do I Stop Hearing, Youre OverqualifiedYou have to strike a delicate balance between showing experience and showing age. Cutting early history from the resume means you may cut off too much experience. Yet presenting too much history may place you smack dab in the middle of an age discrimination scenario. No ones going to speak the words to you that your age is the problem, so youll just hear some version of, youre overqualified.Overqualified is coded language, translating to old or expensive. They may say something that sounds vaguely complimentary, like, you might be a big fish in a small pond around here, or, you have so much knowledge and expertise that were a bit concerned youll get bored. When you hear any version of the above, here are some strategies to use to keep your candidacy alive.Fact Check Your Own StoryWhen a candidate tells me that theyve heard mora than once theyre overqualified, I investigate whether theyre targeting rol es on a level appropriate for them. For example, there was a candidate whose last 2 titles were CFO and COO, both at small organizations, who was seeking a Controller position.In his mind, of course he could meet all the qualifications for that job. But this is leid about only whats in your mind as the candidate. Its critically important to consider the scenario from the recruiters perspective. The recruiter is likely thinking, Why is THIS candidate applying for THIS job? It doesnt make sense.If your resume and LinkedIn say too much, thats the 1st thing that will prompt the potenzial employer to label you as overqualified. The CFO / COO presented numerous strategic leadership achievements, as well as success stories regarding companies he grew from nothing. All of this was wonderful, but it was over the top for a Controller position.Look at your own facts. You dont have to present all of them. That can be the equivalent of fire-hosing the employer, letting him know the full totality of what youve done in the past, when the reality is hes only looking for a candidate to fulfill a smaller set of tasks in the particular role hes looking to fill.Stop Self-StereotypingMature workers are looked upon as experienced, reliable, stable, and loyal, with good practical knowledge. If your resume says things like this, first of all, the employer already expects that from your age category. Secondly, youve labeled yourself with a stereotype that further penetrates your age into the potential employers mind.Instead, tell the employer what he doesnt already know about you that you are creative, energetic, and comfortable with new technology. These are all the points employers assume about younger workers. Therefore, these qualities are exactly the types of things you will want to emphasize.Overcome the myth of a digital divide. Its important to fight the perception that your skills and knowledge might not be on the cutting edge. Theres no excuse for not having technology skill s. Spend productive time on the Internet. Stay up to date with technological trends. Learn what you need to know for your next role by tapping into YouTube, Udemy, or Coursera, where you will learn, almost literally, anything and everything under the sun.Ace Your InterviewsBe strategic in your interviews. Know who youre dealing with and what kind of baggage theyre going to bring to this conversation that will help or hurt you. Your overall attitude during your interview needs to be one that shows respect and deference. The interviewer is already starting off the discussion very likely believing youll never be able to work for a boss whos younger than you are. A younger boss may feel awkward giving you direction.What youre going to do is smile and make them feel comfortable. Then, address their concerns, whether they actually spoke the words or not. Discuss examples of when you were coachable, took direction, and accepted constructive criticism in order to learn from others. While yo u may be more experienced than the person interviewing you, dont be a know it all. Seek out the interviewers opinion about the industry. This approach will open the employers mind and help him envision you as a contributor to the organization.Youll hear the overqualified objection significantly less as long as your resume is targeted to the job without being over the top, make sure not to stereotype yourself, and be extra respectful, deferential, and inquisitive in your interviews. The job market is hot for candidates over age 50, as long as you know what to do. Join us for more on this in, 3 Simple Steps To Cut Your Job Search Time In Half You can see exactly what candidates ages 55, 56, and 57 did to land the jobs they have right now.

No BS Engineering Elephant Dung to Help African Farmers

No BS Engineering Elephant Dung to Help African Farmers No BS Engineering Elephant Dung to Help African Farmers No BS Engineering Elephant Dung to Help African FarmersBotswana is home to more than 130,000 African elephants, more than all other African countriescombined. Unfortunately, those elephants have begun exploring beyond the national parks, encroaching into areas where Botswanans live. This is a herausforderung for people, since elephants that encounter human settlements fight with livestock for water and raid crops at night. Angry farmers will set traps or tip off poachers to the locations of elephants.My teammates in the International Development Design Summit were each from different villages in Botswana. After a brainstorming session to identify the problems, we proposed developing a device for farmers to manufacture their own elephant repellent. We started with information from a local non-governmental organization called Ecoexist and found that elephants are afraid of fi re, smoke, bees, and electricity. We knew that electric fences are too expensive for most small farmers and notlage culturally suitable to protect ranchers water points due to the practice of free range livestock in Botswana.The bulk of the briquettes is elephant dung found near villages. The paint can protects the burning briquettes from the rain. Photo Engineering for ChangeMy team, composed of three locals and myself, got to work testing recipes for what we call a chili briquette. When burned, the smoke from the briquettes can turn away unwanted elephants. The bulk of the briquette is elephant dung itself, which is easily found close to villages where people gather firewood. The second ingredient gives the smoke an extra elephant-repelling kick chili peppers. Cooked sorghum porridge, a common breakfast food, welches used as a binding agent. After conducting user research, our team identified a need for the chili briquettes during the rainy season when farmers plow and the elepha nts come to eat the crops. Knowing this, we designed a mbaula (metal stove) out of a paint can with a lid for keeping the rain off the burning briquette.Read More Spray-On Antenna Could Signal the Future of WirelessAfter testing the burning bricks, we identified a recipe that makes strong, irritating chili smoke and burns slowly to last all night. The chili briquettes use a ratio of 21 elephant dung to chili and a ratio of 201 elephant dung to soft porridge. The overall recipe is 20101 dung to chili to porridge. This contains the right amount of chili to produce strong-smelling, irritating chili smoke, and the right amount of fuel and moisture in the chili bricks for them to dry quickly and to burn for a long time. According to the farmers who have tested bricks so far, five nights of continuous burning are enough for elephants to change their corridors and stay away from the fields.The chili briquettes are such a cheap and simple solution theyve generated a high demand for a busine ss to make and sell them to farmers and ranchers. My team used sketch-modeling to design and iterate a press mechanism that could produce enough force to compress the briquettes on a commercial scale.Importantly, my team members were not experts in engineering or design. But one goal of the International Development Design Summit is for participants to learn through trial and error. Accordingly, the first prototype we built welches a wooden box that was hard to clean, made briquettes that were too small, and lacked the force to compress the briquettes properly.A metal press raises and lowers a heavy concrete block to form the dung mixture in a removable mold.Our team split into two after creating the first prototype. I worked on the stove and tested briquette recipes while others began building a second press. That press was larger, made from metal, and had a handle that raised and lowered a heavy concrete block into a removable mold. Upon testing, we found that this prototype was t oo expensive and mechanically inefficient to produce affordable and well-compressed chili bricks. After the summit, many participants reported that they felt empowered to continue applying the design process to solve everyday problems. Two team members even agreed to continue developing the technology in their home villages of Kaputura and Rakops.There are now two new businesses in my teammates home villages of Kaputura and Rakops making and selling chili briquettes. The two innovation centers, established as part of the summit, will help the entrepreneurs with tools, design help, and business support as they scale up and protect many more elephants and humans from each other.Listen to ASME TechCast How Engineers Close Communication Gaps with Non-engineersAnna Libey is an Engineering for Change Research Fellow and an environmental engineer, with a focus on water and sanitation for international development. For more articles on global development visit www.engineeringforchange.org.

A One-Minute IQ Test for Job Applicants

A One-Minute IQ Test for Job Applicants A One-Minute IQ Test for Job Applicants Or will you? (At least one big-league online news network suggested that indeed you will, with its slightly garbled story headline Watching This Video of Black and White Bars Could Predict Your IQ.)Recently reported research conducted at the University of Rochester suggests a link between IQ and the ability to detect the direction of motion of animated vertical lines moving like ripples across a screen (much as shown in the image below and exactly as in the video). Somewhat unexpectedly, the study suggests that the higher the degree of perceptual intelligence and the larger the test image, the worse the performance.Thats because highly intelligent people are very good at filtering out and suppressing hintergrund noise when laser-zeroing in on what is occupying their minds. The larger the image, the more it becomes background and therefore the likelier it is to be ignored, unprocessed or otherwise fail t o register.Apparently, the more intelligent the video viewer, the smaller the image has to be (within limits) in bestellung to identify the direction of motion.Conducted through collaboration among various departments, including the Department of Brain and Cognitive Science at Rochester, the research results were summarized in the online posting of the study, as follows IQ scores are predicted by individual differences in sensory discriminations. High IQ is associated with motion perception impairments as stimulus size increases. The results link intelligence and low-level suppression of sensory information. Suppressive processes are a key constraint of both intelligence and perception.Before rigging up tiny screens flashing LED rapid-burst vertical ripples or arrowheads leading to the interview room (in order to guide and identify the most intelligent candidates to the room) or huge screens (with the ripples/arrowheads pointing to the exit, for everybody else), you may want to hit the pause button on that video and the research, in order to ask several presumably intelligent questions, based on the presented summary.1. 1. Are general IQ scores so closely correlated with sensory discrimination? What about logic, verbal fluency, mathematical calculation, spatial orientation and relations, static pattern recognition, memorization skills (including photographic memory), motor intelligence (e.g., fitting pegs into holes) and the like. Do all of them correlate that strongly with sensory discrimination, and if so, with which kinds, e.g., visual only, or also auditory, olfactory (smell), tactual (touch), gustatory (taste) and/or even gravitational? Are we to conclude that dog-nosed professional wine tasters (sommeliers) are, on average, smarter than most of us?Read that verbatim summary above one more time IQ scores are predicted by individual differences in sensory discriminations. Where does that leave the musically brilliant, but blind Stevie Wonder- or is there n o such thing as musical intelligence and musical genius (even if utterly absent in some of the worst genres of modern music)?The likeliest reply is that the correlations are valid only for the visually unimpaired- which is obviously true for the cited study.Still, the case of Stevie Wonder does suggest the need for controls for eyesight in research population, specifically over comparable, if elend identical, acuity.Otherwise, another correlation might be found between poor visual discrimination and high intelligence, based on performance with eye charts and comparison of the low eye-chart scores of nearsighted bookworm academics with those of everybody else.I easily and more readily perceived the direction of the lines in the smaller images. But I thought I also saw motion (presumably correctly) in some of the larger ones (the rest looking static). So, does that make me smart, but with a helpful degree of averageness for backup?Although I have been a professional musician, I do not have absolute pitch and cannot, therefore discriminate C from C auditorily- even though I have no problem in locating them visually on a keyboard. So is the IQ yardstick only visual sensory discrimination?Or is the kind of sensory discrimination that correlates with high IQ only in the modality specified in the research protocol, namely, moving lines set against fields of varying size?2. 2. Exactly which sensory discriminations are markers for intelligence? The doubt and red flags being raised here boil down to this OK, so sensory discrimination correlates with IQ. But, which senses- only visual? How about multilinguals who can distinguish seemingly indistinguishable tones in other languages- and therefore learn them more easily than others. Which candidate would you want to hire- the guy who not only knows the difference between his left and his right, but can also visually discriminate which way vertical lines are moving, or the German linguist who can perfectly discriminate the six tones of Vietnamese?3. 3. Can we be smart with respect to one kind of sensory discrimination, but less so in terms of another, e.g., visual vs. auditory? If sensory discrimination correlates with intelligence, what happens when normal, unimpaired performance in one sensory domain is much worse than in another? For example, my sense of smell is very acute and discriminating (or so I think) but I cant distinguish a Siamese cat from an Abyssinian by blindfolded touch (or should I be able to?). Joking aside, I can distinguish visual Chinese characters much more easily than when they are pronounced.What implications does that have, if any, for sensory discrimination-based concepts of intelligence? Clearly the existence of homonyms- words that sound the same, but have different meanings, e.g., bored and board, can make sensory discrimination of these as auditory inputs impossibleConsiderations like this one raise the question of whether the sensory discriminations that correlate with intelligence are only the raw ones- pure physical stimuli, with no semantic, cultural, otherwise learning-based or other complicating variables affecting attempts to discriminate among them.4. Is your dog smarter than you? Take yet another look at the first statement of the summary IQ scores are predicted by individual differences in sensory discriminations. So, if I had a dog, it would have a higher IQ than mine, because it can distinguish sounds, smells and tastes not only better than I can, but in ranges I cannot perceive, e.g., ultra-high frequencies. By the same token, and confining the discussion to visual discrimination- the key parameter of the Rochester study, are eagles smarter than us because they can distinguish a mouse from a cigarette butt while soaring high in the sky?If you jumped to that conclusion, subtract a couple of IQ points from your score, or add a few to what you thought your dogs IQ is. Nonetheless, it is worth asking whether IQ is acuity-dependent- with fi ner discriminations evidencing higher intelligence, or whether the key claim of the research is only the narrower one that IQ is field-dependent, in this case, dependent on the relative or absolute sizes of the visual fields (of the sort used in the video).Until these and probably a lot more other questions are formally raised and answered, its probably better to wait before installing that flashing office LED screen to screen job applicants. But, to hedge your bets, there is one way to apply the Rochester results and video that will enable you to estimate their intelligence.Have them watch the video and tell you whether they think it tells us anything about intelligence.

4 tips for writing an office goodbye message on your way out the door

4 tips for writing an office goodbye glaubenszeugnis on your way out the door4 tips for writing an office goodbye message on your way out the doorWhether you quit or were fired from your job, its mucksmuschenstill important to make a good impression upon your exit.Heres what to keep in mind when writing a message to say goodbye to people at your now-former company.Be gracious - never bash the company itselfSo you didnt care about the companys mission, and you feel like it didnt provide you with every opportunity you wanted. That doesnt mean you should blow it.Katie Smith, EVP and Chief Compliance Officer of the compliance software company Convercent, told Moneyabout what you shouldnt say in a goodbye message.Your digital footprint is permanent, she said. Be wary of using it as an opportunity to broadcast complaints or regrets. You dont know what your former colleagues will do with your words once youre gone.Youre definitely going to need to keep it positive and be respectful.Dont ca ll out toxic coworkers or your horrible bossWhats done is done. Think about it - do your former or future colleagues need to know just how fed up you really were with your boring desk job? Or that you only took the position for the money?Unless someone caused you physical or emotional harm, you should put it in the past, unless you want to risk looking extremely unprofessional.Dont forget that word of mouth travels extremely fast in some industries.Dont gloat about your new positionThat is, if you have one.If you happen to have a new job that youre much more excited about, or one at a higher-profile employer, dont use your message as an opportunity to point out all the reasons why your future - or paycheck - will be better than everyone elses.This can only ruin your chances of maintaining a network within your former company, and it could definitely resurface if any future employers call the company for references.Make sure your former colleagues have a way to reach youYou never know when you may want to reconnect.Alison Doyle, a career expert and founder and CEO of CareerToolBelt.com, writes in The Balance that you should do this in your message.Include any personal contact information, such as your new email address or phone number, so people can keep in touch. You might also consider connecting with your co-workers on LinkedIn as a way of staying in touch, if you havent already, she writes.More from Ladders8 things smart people never reveal about themselves at work10 ways smart people work less and get more done6 reasons recruiters say theyll toss your resume in the trash

The Ultimate What to Put on Your Resume Trick

The Ultimate What to Put on Your Resume Trick What to Put on Your Resume Features Resumes a well-written resume is a highly effective marketing and advertising tool that is able to make your career. Along with your work performance, a hiring manager would like to make sure youll fit in-and work well-with the other employees in the workplace. The hiring manager merely wishes to see whether you bring any skills to the table which arent highlighted or clear in the remainder of your resume. Employers should know what youve done to add to the development of your department, team, and company to discover whether your strengths align with the demands and responsibilities of their organization and the work opening, Nicolai states. In your resume, you may only consist of work experience directly associated with the job which you apply. Thus when writing down your job skills take some time to strategize and find out the very best approach to organize them in your resume. You should wish to be a very good fit for the business as much as the provider would like to get the most suitable fit. Therefore, for those who have a job which interests you and the provider is searching for someone with four decades of qualified experience, you most likely wont find it if you simply bring in your training. First do some light research on the business, then attempt to set up contact with somebody in the business or who might know something about the corporation. Ask in case you have any questions regarding the organization and the role they are offering you. Put simply, attempt to learn as much as possible regarding the firm. If you want to relocate for work, you most likely already know its most effective to leave your present address off your resume. Review their About Us page and see whether your soft abilities or attributes are aligned with the providers core values. Try to remember that creating your resume isnt a one-time job. There is an excellent possibility th at you are able to make an excellent first impression with a stunning resume. Possessing a good idea of your objectives and expectations is helpful to concentrate on clutter control rather than damage control after it has gotten out of control. Of course you might be putting on a non-profit event of some sort, which is ideal, go have a go doing it but odds are even a non-profit event has to continue to keep costs down in rather much the exact same way as any other business event. There is quite a very good likelihood you could make a fantastic first impression with a stunning resume. Make a list of absolutely all youve done that may be useful on a resume. Go right ahead and cut or condense whether it feels natural or saves you from going on to a different page nobody will hold it against you. There are a couple different things you may include, along with a couple of formatting tricks, which will help you present yourself in the very best light possible. Based on your degree of experience and the jobs youre applying for, what you decide to concentrate on in your resume summary might vary. Theres no need to incorporate a GPA. If youre interested in submitting an application for a particular job, review the post carefully and pay attention to the list of skill requirements. Employing a resume builder to create a whole and catchy resume is an excellent way to entice a prospective employer. Different job postings are likely to have different search phrases, different job duties listed, and so forth. You would like your employer to understand what you did in your prior jobs, but you dont will need to include things like the kitchen sink. For instance, if youve only held one job. however, it is not pertinent to what you need to do next, you still need to keep it. You should tailor your resume to each work application so that it responds to the particular demands of the job which youre applying for.

Yes, There Is A Best Time To Look For A Job

Yes, There Is A Best Time To Look For A Job Whether you live in the frosty foothills of snow-laden Colorado or upon the balmy terrain of breezy SoCal, theres no denying, no matter how hard we wish and pray, that we are indeed in the throes of a rapidly approaching February. The dead of winter is upon us.Heres a suggestion to beat the hopeless winter doldrums look for a new job. According to a study conducted by Executives Onlinebased on ten years of hiring data, February and March are the best times of the year to get a new gig. Why? While January regularly brings about a flurry of job activity due to new budgets for a new year, its a known entity the job market is flooded with like-minded competition. Yetthe threat of your arch nemesis landing a spot at the company youre coveting reduces in February, as the January kchenherd gets hired and leave their former positions - which, hey, may finally get you a foot in the door.But, if you really want to stand out, head over to our sign up page and start your job-seeking journey with us. Not only do we have amazing opportunities from companies that care about gender diversity and inclusion like Time Inc., Verizon and Viacom, our talent teammay be able to help you stand out from the crowd and support you on your path.So, give it a whirl, what have you got to lose but thewinter blues? Here are some of PowerToFlys latest and greatest, fresh out of the oven and piping hot for your genius February job search.Senior DB2 DBA (LUW)/Data Engineer - American Express (Phoenix, AZ)Senior Engineer, Big Data - American Express (Phoenix, AZ)Senior Engineer - American Express (Palo Alto, CA)Software Engineer - Hearst (New York, NY)Director, Application Operations - Viacom (New York, NY)Software Engineer, Video, SDE I - Time Inc. (New York, NY)Mobile Engineer, Video, SDE II - Time Inc. (New York, NY)Senior Software Engineer, Video, SDE II - Time Inc. (New York, NY)Tech Lead, Video, SDE III - Time Inc. (New York, NY)Senior Software Eng ineer, Ad Distribution - Time Inc. (New York, NY)Senior Technical Program Manager - Time Inc. (New York, NY)Technical Program Manager - Time Inc. (Seattle, WA)Software Development Engineer II - Time Inc. (Seattle, WA)Software Development Engineer II, Data Engineering - Time Inc. (Seattle, WA)Senior UX Designer - Time Inc. (Seattle, WA)UX Design Technologist - Volkswagen (Belmont, CA)Software Engineer, Backend - Casper (New York, NY)Bots and AI Reporter - Octane AI (Remote)Executive Assistant to the Founders - Octane AI (Remote)Principal Data Scientist - Verizon (Orangeburg, NY)Network Security Engineer, Professional Services - Verizon (Reading, U.K.)Project Manager, Advanced Communications - Verizon (Reading, U.K.)Data Science Engineer - Verizon (Walnut Creek, CA)Accounting Specialist, General Ledger - Verizon (Singapore, Singapore)Solutions Engineer - AdRoll (New York, NY)Solutions Engineer - AdRoll (San Francisco, CA)Lead User Experience Researcher - AdRoll (San Francisco, CA)Seni or Backend Engineer, Activations - AdRoll (Remote) One of the biggest challenges in almost all industries today is achieving gender parity. Gender diversity provides huge benefits in the workplace. pWhile some industries have made significant advancements in gender diversity, some industries lag further behind... and the construction industry is well-known for being in the latter category. If someone says, construction workers, youll likely picture a group of men in yellow hard hats analyzing an architects plans or laying bricks on top of a scaffold. And men at work signs only help to reinforce this image.pThis stereotype is rooted in reality. When was the last time you actually spotted a woman on a construction site? Or hired a female plumber or carpenter? Your answer is most likely never. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statisticsreports that only 3.4% of the total of 8.3 1000000 construction employees are women.pBut the construction indus try has a lot more to offer than steel-toed boots and hard hats, and it needs women to help advance the industry in this era of rapid change. Here are 5 reasons why women joining the workforce or looking to make a pivot should consider a career in construction.h21. Fuel neuerung/h2pNot only is diversity the socially and morally right thing to do, but it is also actually an excellent business strategy. pResearch presented in the Harvard Business Reviewshows that diverse teams develop more innovative ideas. This is further supported by a study conducted by Gallupon the performance of gender-diverse teams versus single-gender teams, which found that the difference in backgrounds and perspectives led to better business performance and problem-solving. h22. Capitalize on Demand/h2pThe construction industry is currently experiencing a labor shortage. The industry itself is booming and projected to be one of the fastest-growing industries, with total spending projected to exceed $1.45 tril lion in 2023/a. However, most construction companies are unable to meet the rising demand. pAccording to the Associated General Contractors of America/a, more than 80% of contractors are experiencing difficulties filling hourly craft positions that represent the bulk of the construction workforce.pAnd demand isnt limited to individual contributor roles. Given the industry boom, there are a number of open stable and high-paying roles (any project managers out there?) waiting for the right candidateh23. Leadership Opportunities/h2pAccording to the Bureau of Labor Statistics/a, women compose only 7.7% of the total 1 million managerial positions in construction.br/pBut given the highly collaborative nature of construction work, more women in leadership roles would help drive innovation and enhance productivity.Furthermore, as a woman in construction in a leadership position, youd have the unique opportunity to drive change for the industry and make it a more attractive option for other women.h24. High-Income Potential/h2pSalaries for many skilled positions in construction are on the rise, making a construction career a prime choice for women looking for a high-paying job,pThe 2018 Construction Craft Salary Surveyconducted by the National Center for Construction Education and Research revealed that salaries for many skilled craft areas are increasing. Project managers and project supervisors topped the list at $92,523 and $88,355, respectively. The next set of highest-paying jobs include those of combo welders ($71,067), instrumentierung technicians ($70,080), pipe welders ($69,222), power line workers ($68,262) and industrial electricians ($67,269). Of the 32 categories of workers in the survey, 19 positions earned an average salary of $60,000 or higher.h25. Sense of accomplishment/h2p The construction industry can give employees a unique sense of achievement. Yes, the job is stressful and the work can be demanding, but nothing beats the feeling of being able to b uild something from the ground up. pHow many professionals in other industries can point at a school, a hospital, or a skyscraper and say I helped build that?pThe construction industry has a long way to go in combating gender bias and supporting women in the workforce, but given the current demand for workers, theres no better time to pick up a sledgehammer (figurative or literal) and smash the gender stereotypes plaguing the construction industry.

This new device promises to change your morning coffee run for the better

This new device promises to change your morning coffee run for the betterThis new device promises to change your morning coffee run for the betterThis year has already debuted some sizable strides in the world of automation, specifically for the tafelgeschirr industry. Chef B, for example,is a little droid from the Bay Area that can make more than three dozen 12 oz smoothies in an hour.Or what about Cafe Xs assembly line robot-barista that headlined the service tech world last year? Boasting the ability to serve up to three complex specialty drinks in 40 seconds.While its true that these kind of developments are happening all over the world as the technology improves at an exponential rate, a pro automation angle is becoming increasingly harder to promote when it comes to the service world an industry wherein quantity output is a little less relevant and unemployment rates intimate a slightly more harrowing implication.Beyond the limitsBriggo currently has one of the most impressive automated brewing machines to date. The machine is known as a coffee familie, and its capable of pumping out 100 gourmet cups of coffee in a single hour. The benefits primarily pertain to time conservation. Similar to Cafe Xs brewing machine, customers will order their beverage through an app, giving them the ability to customize every aspect of their drink-from the number of espresso shots to the temperature, and the coffee Haus will promptly get to work.No more lines, no more counter confusion, no more misspelled names, proudly writes Briggos website. The president of the company, Kevin Nater, continues,Imagine youre coming into the security line at the airport, your flight is coming up, and you know that if you want a coffee youre going to stand in a long line. From the security line, you can simply order your cup of coffee and pick it up at the coffee Haus and make it to your flight on time.The company currently has eight of these machines in operation and will be installing ano ther in ABIA and a new one in San Fransisco grenzberschreitend Airport in the next few months.The technology is impressive, no question. And there is something to say about the significant chunk of coffee consumers that privilege quick convenience over intimate quality or the social interaction found in local mom and pop shops. But does this demographic outnumber the rest?On these developments, human recourses worker and self-confessed coffee addict, Ryan Mulholland told Ladders that he lamented the potential loss of jobs but ultimately felt that customer satisfaction would increase much more on behalf of convenience even without the human interaction element. Though he conceded, on balance, he doesnt really care all that much.I hope workers wont be put out by this stuff but I think a lot of busy coffee heads will really appreciate a system. Go in, grab your coffee, keep it moving. No hiccups.Robots replacing humans?In addition to saying quality wont be negatively affected by a coff ee Haus, Briggo doesnt believe their technology will come with a negative impact on employment either. The new tech principally aims to fill underemployment gaps by diminishing human service setbacks like becoming flustered by a huge line or coming tired due to being overworked, things robots are simply incapable of succumbing to.We dont think were replacing people. We are creating a high-tech retail and marketing business, and developing jobs in the process, Nater says, We just hired two people in the Bay Area, where we are opening a new location in the spring.Unfortunately, speed and convenience is not the only token of a good day for some. An Uber driver named Tim Schwartz, who used to attend the same local Bushwick coffee shop as me every Monday through Friday, says that not only does he prefer a human barista, an automated one would not get his business at all.Schwartz explains Im much happier saying thank you to a guy that mightve put a little more love into that cup of joe an d needed a smile and a fiver in his tip jar to improve his day just as he improved mine. Dont want a robot making my coffee.

A conversation on what great ideas are made of

A conversation on what great ideas are made ofA conversation on what great ideas are made ofScott Berkun is a bestselling author and popular speaker on creativity, philosophy, culture, business, and many other subjects. Hes the author of seven books, including The Myths of Innovation, Confessions of a Public Speaker, and The Year Without Pants. He joined Ryan Hawk, host of The Learning Leader Show, to talk about getting yourself and others to think creatively.This conversation has been edited and condensed. To listen to Scott and Ryans full conversation on The Learning Leader Show, click here.Ryan Youre a generalist, youve written on a lot of different topics- creativity, business, culture. You also taught creative thinking at the University of Washington. What goes into the curriculum of a creative thinking class?Scott Creativity is really a very simple thing. If you watch any six-year-old child play, theyre trying things out all the time. They want to build this thing out of Lego, or theyre in Minecraft and want to build a tower. Theres not a lot of inhibition in them. They get an idea and theyll try it out- if it works, great, and if it doesnt, it doesnt.They get an idea and theyll try it out- if it works, great, and if it doesnt, it doesnt.Thats one of the first lessons about creativity and being a better problem-solver recognizing how open you need to be, and how closed most adults become. We have become very structured, and we shut down a lot of our natural creativity just to fit in to the social order of life. And fitting in is totally fine, its good. But when we sit down to write a book or were in a meeting and were supposed to come up with ideas, we have all this baggage that represses a lot of things that we would want to say.The second thing that I taught people in this course is that all ideas are made up of other ideas. If you step back and break an idea down, you realize that it was already out there, just combined in a different way. And if youre able to landsee any idea as a combination of other ideas, now theyre things that you can play with too.You see this played out in this silly way- people say, Oh, thats Uber for chocolate. Or, This is Uber for laundry. Everything is just a recombination of things that already existed. If you are able to break an idea down into its parts, then you can reframe those parts and put them in different order.Some people feel like this is cheating- because youre not inventing every part of every thing, it means youre not actually creating it yourself. The truth is that no creator in history created everything themselves. Theres always reuse and reintegration of things that were already in the world.All ideas are made up of other ideas. No creator in history created everything themselves. Theres always reuse and reintegration of things that were already in the world.Ryan You decided to leave Microsoft to write overseas, and then write a book. You also write about this in one of your article s, How I Found My Passion. This word is brought up a lot and there are varying opinions on it.Cal Newport would say, You dont find your passion. You go find something, become really great at it, and youll find that you become passionate about that thing, whatever it may be. And it might surprise you. How would you expand upon that phrase?Scott Its one of ansicht tricky words, because passion is the self-perception of your level of interest, or its a self-perception of your potential. And people who dont know what to do with their passion or how to find it, theres some level of self-awareness thats missing. If youre really passionate about something, that means you should have energy to go and do stuff. To write a draft. To go read a book. Take a course.Sending me an email about how passionate you are is actually not a healthy, productive expression of passion. Its really more of the confusion between a possible passion and a fantasy you have of what it would be to be a writer.That s aid, I think there is something problematic about this very precious idea that you should only do work that you are passionate about, and that you should always follow your bliss. Everybody is so different. Some people clearly have a primary passion in their lives- they need to do it all the time. If they can find a way to carve a career around that where they dont crush their passion, thats probably great for them.And then, there are other people who are just as smart and talented, but they cant sustain that much intensity around anything, so they struggle. Theyre in a career, its okay, they think they should move to another, so they move to another one.The way you find your passion is by trying different things. The more diverse things that you try, the wider your perspective is of yourself. As you get better at experimentation, odds are youll find more things that you enjoy and that you really like.The more diverse things that you try, the wider your perspective is of yourself. R yan Most of us do a good job of seeking knowledge, of going to conferences, reading books, taking in knowledge. But a lot of us, I believe, struggle when it comes to the implementation and execution of what weve learned, actually going out and doing it. Do you have any tips or thoughts on specific ways that you could implement and execute on what youve learned?Scott When were reading the books or going to the conferences, were having the experience of the book or the conference. Were being entertained. We feel like were learning. But were not thinking about how to apply it, particularly if the book is entertaining and interesting.Theres an essay that I wrote called How to Call BS on a Guru, and its largely about this problem that its much easier to get up on stage or write a book to give advice than it is to live by your advice. So, number one is you should have higher expectations for the sources of information that you get. The second thing is about how you read and how you consum e. In every chapter before you move on to the next one, stop and think, How can I apply what I just learned? What would I have done differently last week? What should I maybe do differently this week? The third one is about the willingness to experiment. When you get new knowledge, its going to take a little while in applying it before you master it. And youre going to make mistakes in applying that new knowledge. It doesnt mean youre doing it wrong, it just means theres always adjustments that are going to happen.Ryan Another topic youve talked and written about is how to pitch an idea. Id love for you to expand on this because I think it applies to so many people.Scott With some basic training, anyone can get better at coming up with ideas for things or refining ideas. Its not that hard. Whats much harder is trying to convince someone else that your idea is good. The mistake that most people make is having the self-oriented perspective of, I want to pitch them on my ideas, its abo ut me.It has to be oriented the other way. The rolle on the other end is inundated with pitches, they see them 100 times a day. So you have to think really hard about their point of view. How do you make your pitch better or more salient or more compelling?Look at who else has pitched them before in something like this. What seemed to work well? Did they tell a story, did they pitch with data? How do I fit the idea that I have and pitch it in a way thats going to match what my boss is trying to do? It becomes a very different conversation.Ryan Another interesting topic you write about is how to run a brainstorming meeting. What are the proper ways to do that? What are some ways you could both run one of those meetings, as well as prepare to lend your ideas and thoughts to stand out in a meeting like that?Scott Most of the time unterstellung meetings are terrible. 70-80% are terribly run, terribly organized, and peoples cynicism about them is entirely warranted. The mistake that is u sually made is that the goal really doesnt make any sense. The goal of brainstorming is about volume. Its about giving yourself a big pile of ideas in the hope that you can find good ones.The problem is that usually people, once they get that big pile of ideas, have no idea what to do with them. The number one thing if youre running a brainstorming meeting is to be very clear about whats going to happen with the result. Youre going to generate a list, and thats going to go where? Whos going to get to see that list? Whos going to decide? That should be totally transparent.The number one thing if youre running a brainstorming meeting is to be very clear about whats going to happen with the result.The second thing is that you want to have someone in the room whos a good facilitator. In theory these meetings should be fun, energetic, entertaining. Theres this rule that comes from improv called, Yes, and, which basically means that any time you hear something, your job is to add to it an d to refine it, or to make some other version out of it.I said earlier that all ideas are made from other ideas. Yes, and is part of that spirit. Whenever someone starts criticizing someone elses idea, its very quickly going to defeat the purpose and the goal.One last trick is to start out the session by doing the opposite of the goal. If the goal of the brainstorming session is to come up with ideas to raise revenue by 20%, then you should have an entertaining exercise to begin with the goal of What can we do to reduce revenue by 20%? Initially people will balk at this, theyll find it kind of amusing. But once people start doing it, going for the opposite, its almost always really fun. A lot of the chemistry and creativity that people want in brainstorming activities sets the tone. You do that for 10 minutes or until it dies out, and then you switch over into trying to find positive, good ideas.This article first appeared on Heleo.

The State of Tech Hiring in Pittsburgh

The State of Tech Hiring in PittsburghThe State of Tech Hiring in PittsburghTHE STATE OF TECH HIRING IN PITTSBURGHQ3 and Q4 2019TOP SKILLS IN IMMEDIATE DEMAND1. Cybersecurity2. Cloud security3. Cloud computing4. Database management5. ERP implementationOF TECHNOLOGY LEADERS SURVEYED 62% plan to expand their teams.32% plan to fill only vacant positions.89% say its challenging to find IT talent in their area.97% are confident in their companys prospects for growth.97% will bring on project-based IT employees. Below are the top reasonsConsultants are parte of our hiring strategy 63%When theres a sudden vacancy 47%For especially busy times 43%For unplanned, time-sensitive projects 32%When a skill does not exist internally 29%Multiple responses allowed.TOP BUSINESS CONCERNS1. Maintaining security of IT systems2. Cloud projects/initiatives3. Innovation or helping grow the business Investing in new technologies*