Ask Away How Do I Get a Job Referral From a Friend or Peer

Ask Away How Do I Get a Job Referral From a Friend or Peer Welcome toAsk Away, Recruiter.coms new weekly column Every Monday, well pose an employment-related question to a group of experts and share their answers. Have a question youd like to ask the experts?Leave it in the comments, and you might just see it in next weeksAsk Away This Weeks QuestionWeve all heard that employee referrals are a great source of high-quality candidates for companies, but where does that leave the job seekers who want to be referred? Do you have any tips for job seekers who are looking to be referred to a company? How can they use employee referral programs to their own benefit?Job seekers who know an employee should ask what pain points the company is currently feeling. Then they can reorient their pitch and cover letter to better suit the companys needs. During the interview, they can also then ask more incisive que stions about where the applicant can fit into the organization. Employees can only say so much because of NDAs non-discloaya agreements, but they might point to public information that can be used to infer the companys pain points.-Allen ChengCofounder and Head of HiringPrepScholarI would suggest that jobseekers search Google for companies that have employee referral programs. Heres an example of an article that lists many.Once youve compiled a list, look in your LinkedIn network to see who you know at those companies. You can search your connections by company, and then either send them an email or use LinkedIns InMail feature.In your letter, refresh their memory of how you know each other, tell them how interested you are in working at XYZ company (and why) specifically in which role youd like to work and why youd be a benefit to the organization. Include a brief elevator statement on your strengths and a few career highlights.Ask for an introduction to the head of HR, or, ideally , the hiring manager for your target function. You should have already identified the right rolle(s) and can mention them in your letter. You might even use the request an introduction function within LinkedIn to make the introduction as easy as possible for the person youre asking.If the company has done a good job in communicating the employee referral program to its employees, the person youre asking to help you will be incentivized to make the introduction. Make it as easy as possible for them and state your value proposition youll be halfway there.-Jill PearsonPrincipalPearson Partners InternationalFind LinkedIn connections who have similar tastes reach out to LinkedIn connections whom you not only have a strong personal relationship with, but also anyone who is similar to you. Employees tend to recommend people much like themselves.Suggest a pre-interview Offer to take the contact to lunch as a way to provide all the information needed for a strong referral, from major profes sional accomplishments to what makes you an ideal candidate. This conversation not only increases your chances of obtaining an interview, but it also makes your contact look good for providing an informed recommendation.Do not make it impersonal What will hurt your chances of getting that dream job is making the request impersonal. Sending a generic note, attaching a copy of your resume, and expecting your contact to send it to HR or the hiring manager is just lazy and not polite. If its unsolicited, there is a pretty good chance it may hurt your chances of getting that job.-Matt KaineCEO and FounderReachJob seekers need to get out there and meet people who work in their career field. So, job seekers should figure out what professional associations they should become active in and find the professional networking events where theyll meet people in their profession.-Rich GrantPresident of the Maine College Career ConsortiumRichCareer.netWhile every employee finds monetary compensatio n for a referral attractive, money is not the motivator. As in any type of a referral, theprimary concern is to look good. Will that referral be relevant and make a good impression on the company? If you are looking to persuade an employee to refer you, make sure that the employee feels you have the skills and you will make a favorable impression on the company.The best way to utilize anything to your own benefit is to first figure out how you can benefit others. As you identify your target contact to refer you to a company, first identify what would benefit that person. Look at their recent activity on LinkedIn. A gentle reminder of thecompanys employee referral program would be appropriate.-Saundra LeeCEODubin Lee If you know of a company youd like to work for, its a great advantage to be referred by someone who works there. Making that happen can be as simple as asking that someone for more information about the company and letting them know that youre interested in pursuing an opportunity there.Questions about the culture or positions available can be a great segue to asking for a referral.If you dont necessarily know someone in your immediate circle who works at your ideal company, using resources like Linkedin can help you find acommon connection that could point you in the right direction.If you know the company offers a referral bonus, approaching the employee can be even easier, because referring you is also a benefit to them.Half the battle is just building up the courage to ask the question. The worst that can happen is youll hear a no, and at that point, youre noworse off than you were before you asked. Its always worth a shot-Shayleen StutoTalent CoordinatorTechnologyAdvice

The Orwellian Lobotomy

The Orwellian Lobotomy The Orwellian Lobotomy Do you know that Newspeak is the only language in the world whose vocabulary gets smaller every year?- Symes, a state philologist, in Orwells 1984A clean-cut fresh-faced recent graduate abruptly stops gushing about the job you are interviewing him for to reluctantly admit under your questioning that indeed he was previously arrested for looting during a riot. As part of his predictable ausprgung of regret, he repeats what he has already endlessly repeated to shamed parents, other recruiters, puzzled friends, the police and to his former employer My friends were egging me on as they shot iPhone video. It just seemed so cool at the moment. I got caught up in it.What neither he nor any of them- and perhaps even yourealize is that he has just had a Newspeak moment in your office on the heels of and as a reflection of an earlier Newspeak moment he had during the chaos of the riot. What this means is that because of coarse conceptualization, he is unable now and was unable then to make crucial distinctions that would have provided the kind of insight and guidance required to avert that disaster. Even though he may belatedly recognize the concepts and distinctions once they are presented to him, because he would never use them himself, they might as well bedrngnis exist.The Menace of Mind ShrivelWithout the active or passive vocabulary to distinguish fame from infamy, publicity from notoriety, being famous from being infamous and being spontaneous from being rash during the riot, he was susceptible to the temptations of the mob (which he failed to distinguish from a party). Likewise, in only belatedly appreciating the difference and predictable connection between being caught up and being caught, he wrongly imagines he has offered you some kind of extenuation of his actions, as though being caught up, which is somehow cool and in his vocabulary, conceptually or in practice doesnt correlate with getting caught.He is anoth er victim of Newspeak.You- the Source, or the Target of Newspeak?Newspeak (new+ speak), the shriveled, thought-obstructing, mind-controlling version of English described In George Orwells dystopian novel 1984 is generally and rightly regarded as an iconic menace- but primarily, as Orwell (whose real name was Eric Arthur Blair) himself conceived it, as a politically repressive tool and weapon developed and utilized by the totalitarian State. Now, almost thirty years later, the question to ask is to what degree has Orwells prediction come true and who is responsible for that?The possibility that Newspeak might instead or also be a creation of, rather than only a yoke imposed upon, the masses flips the cart and horse, and puts the onus of responsibility and blame on the ordinary citizen as a source, rather than as only the target of that kind of linguistic lobotomy. If this is true, then, as part of the masses, you may- willy-nilly- in your day-to-day operations be setting the stage fo r or raising the curtain on the expansion of Newspeak (as will be illustrated below), as you fail to notice that for every new hi-tech term you learn, there are scores or maybe hundreds of venerable, useful concepts and words that Newspeak-free minds used to know and use that you dont. Moreover, if other psychologically, morally, politically or socially important concepts you recognize are never used by you, you are functionally operating within a framework of Newspeak.That possibility allowed- if a massive dumbing-down of the masses could be self-inflicted, with or without State connivance or conspiracy, it is but a short step to consider the further possibility that not only has Newspeak already arrived, but that it is being created by those whom it controls, namely, almost everybody, including you, unless you happen to be among the Illuminati-affiliated, mass-media or pop-culture true controllers.In the 1984 super-state of Oceania, clear thinking about politics, morality, culture , society and just about everything else is deliberately impeded by the imposition of a totalitarian State-created language, Newspeak, supplemented by daze-and-trance inducing, infantile drivel-lyrics of pop-tunes and ditties-of-the-day (much like those of today). This mind-controlling stripped-down, concocted version of English was designed to express far fewer concepts, distinctions, analogies, critiques, logical inferences, examined acronyms, nuances, subtleties and insights than conventional English can.Citizen evaluation of government policies and social mores was thereby reduced to little more than orchestrated grunts of approval or disapproval, e.g., doubleplusgood (which can be usefully compared to our modern epithet cool) and ungood. Gone and blocked were any understanding of right, prudent, expedient, effective, generally approved and differentiation of these from each other and the contrasting concepts State-sponsored and decreed.Newspeak Shrink-Wrapped MindsAs the charac ter Syme, a state philologist, puts it in 1984,After all, what justification is there for a word which is simply the opposite of some other word? A word contains its opposite in itself. Take good, for instance. If you have a word like good, what need is there for a word like bad? Ungood will do just as well- better, because its an exact opposite, which the other is not. Or again, if you want a stronger version of good, what sense is there in having a whole string of vague useless words like excellent and splendid and all the rest of them? If that argument is correct, why have words like immoral, amoral and non-moral, when unmoral will suffice to cover them all and condemn someone who has been charged with what would previously have been called a non-moral offense, e.g., criticizing the government , but is now adjudged unmoral and no different from immoral? Doubleplusungood can replace them all, including unmoral. Likewise, who needs a minority racial or ethnic identity when White a nd Unwhite or Black and Unblack are enough? In the heat of the moment and near the flames of a burning police cruiser, it can all seem doubleplusgood (i.e., cool), without any regard for or recall of the distinction between morally good and viscerally good. (Notice how cool, just like Orwells doubleplusgood, never encourages moral reflection or restraint.)Reducing the number of words in a language is but one Newspeak trick eliminating the spaces between them is another. For example, Newspeak itself is written as one word, presumably to discourage thinking about other possibilities, such as Old Speak, and perhaps subversively yearning for it.facebook inc as NewspeakThe same obfuscating trick can be observed in what is among the most popular modern recruiting tools Facebook. Compare recruiting on Facebook with hypothetical recruiting on Face Book. Notice how Facebook as a seamless conceptual unit discourages, while Face Book encourages imagining a competing alternative, e.g., Place Bo ok (of job openings). In fact Placebook exists- and as an explicitly recruiting-focused website. It is an overseas teacher job-placement site, viz., the-placebook.com. (The fact that URLs tend to be seamless in this way makes domain registration services pawns or propagators of Newspeak.)Confirming that one should never judge a Facebook by its marketing cover, at the subliminal level, fusing face and book in Facebook brilliantly obscures the fact that Facebook is neither a book nor a collection of books, while promoting the comforting and addictive illusion that it is equivalent to and a substitute for real books and reading. Moreover, by fusing face and book, Facebook implants a powerful mental and emotional association between previously rather disparate things, in a kind of Orwellian doublethink- the power to hold two contradictory ideas in ones mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them (1984, Chapter 2), like War is Peace and the idea that the past is what we today say it was. In pre-Newspeak, looking at a face and reading a book were quite disparate Facebook makes them synonymous in a War is Peace oxymoronic way.To see the grip that this contradictory, unconventional juxtaposition of concepts has on the masses, ask any teenager to add one word to this one book. Odds are that the result will be face, not Domesday Book (described as the oldest public record in English history and probably the most important statistical document in the history of Europe), or paperback book or even the slightly longer kids story The Jungle Book. Nice marketing, Facebook great Newspeak.20th-Century NewspeakThe switch from Kentucky Fried Chicken to KFC in 1991 came across as a Newspeak distraction or inhibition of awareness, by concealing the word fried and its negative health associations from consciousness, much as 1984s Minitru blunts any critical thought about and challenges to what it represents The truth-manufacturing and destroying Ministry of Truth. (Note how much easier it would be to sell an unsuspecting vegan on the idea of working for or eating at a franchise called something like KFC than at one called something like Kentucky Fried Chicken, which since 2007 has been restored as the brand name and, of course, after the company eliminated artery-clogging (Newspeakish) trans fat (trans-fatty acids) from its North American recipes.)An institutionalized repression of expression, Newspeak, as conceived by Orwell, represented a future government artifice and control technique that would effectively replace the need for external, brute-force, boot-force suppression of dissent and debate with psychologically internalized obstruction of it. Although conceived by Orwell decades before 1984, manifestations of Newspeak were evident in that eponymous year. For example, in 1984, If English had no word for truce or negotiation, it would have forgivably seemed to everyone that Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwaters Vietnam War mantra The only alternative to victory is defeat indeed enumerated and exhausted all possible Newspeak war policy options- in both the year and one of its forms Orwell had presciently predicted.However, ancient harbingers of Newspeak can be found in the worlds oldest cultures For millennia, the Japanese, having had no concept of privacy, apparently never demanded, idealized, discussed or otherwise thought about it, until the last century, when, at last, puraibashi entered their lexicon.The Latest Newspeak Blinders and BlundersMost recently, widespread confusion and silence has resulted from the current apparent inability of some major media news networks to grasp the distinction between pending legislated authorization of indefinite military detention without trial of (non-)citizens and the pending companion legislated requirement of indefinite military detention of non-citizens, again, without trial- two (or maybe four) concepts separated by and possibly separating those detained without trial fro m a legal abyss. Failing to recognize and correctly articulate the distinction between authorize and require, most news coverage and analysis of this hotly debated and important issue has, so far, been mere unnews, to coin a Newspeaky term.Can you imagine not grasping the difference between being authorized to hire candidate X and being required to hire him and also discovering that your HR department cant articulate it to help you comprehend it?As one of the clearest and perhaps the most engaging analysis of this issue, The Daily Shows Jon Stewart take aired on December 7, 2011 is hard to beat or forget, including for its implicit lampooning of Newspeak when Stewart points out that, in the War on Terror, terror can never surrender and end the war (an allusion to the Newspeak technique of stretching and distorting the meaning of war by obliterating the distinction between a nation-State, viz., Iraq and a psychological state (small s), viz., terror, as conceivable enemies.)Despite th e humor-tinged spin of Stewarts warning, the ominous, very unfunny and spreading Orwellian application of this casual use of war blatantly surfaced in a December 21, 2011 CNN interview with a Louisiana state representative, who is calling for the Louisiana National Guard to be indefinitely deployed in the streets of New Orleans after a 2-year-old child was killed in a drive-by shooting. The justification for the dangerous militarization of civilian policing, Chile style? The crime was, he said, unacceptable behavior and because we are at war, although with only a a few select people who commit such heinous crimes and who are creating a negative environment. He added that when you are at war (even with only a few individuals), you have to bring in the soldiers. (Even for a war on drugs, a war on terror or a war on obesity?)Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up NewspeakThe evidence suggests that if things are changing, the change has not worked against the entrenchment of Newspeak. Conceptual and cr itical precision are as- or perhaps more- endangered today as- or than- they were in Orwells 1984 and Goldwaters 1984. The difference is that, in 2011, Newspeak-style amputation of communication is, irrespective of any possible government conspiracy to further it, being initiated from below as well as from above.The dumbing-down of non-fiction discourse, including writing, e.g., the triumph of mass-media news sound bites over deep and sustained commentary the functional illiteracy of millions the need for remedial reading and compulsory critical thinking courses the texting assault on the expression of complete thoughts the transformation of formerly hardcore-science Scientific American magazine into something like a puffy Readers Digest version of itself distraction by every sort of stimulation that doesnt require thinking about it the displacement of thought by celebrity gossip and the disappearance of leisurely contemplation and reflection are all contributing to the truncation o f the amount of time and energy that should be put into thought and communication.Multicultural Newspeak Whenever I go for a walk along Vancouvers sea wall, about half of the overheard conversations are in some language other than English- Russian, Chinese, Korean, Czech, French, Italian, you name it. (Too much of the rest is dumbed-down Valley Girl/Boy moronic English.) It was the same in London, years ago, when I lived there. That diversity is part of the vibrancy and charm of both places.Similarly, among your colleagues and others who come into your office there are probably those for whom their first language is not English, but who, nonetheless, not only manage, but frequently excel in it. Still, it is not reasonable to expect all of them to have a perfect grasp of every English nuance. That perfect grasp can be observed, but not as a rule. Cracking a subtly-nuanced or culture-bound joke will often immediately reveal this, e.g., What happens to worn-out hockey pucks in Canada? Answer They are iced.- a delicious paradox, given the ambiguity of iced, but one wasted on anyone unfamiliar with its dual meaning.So, because of the influence of this kind of cross-cultural No-speak, Newspeak is gaining another foothold, albeit a totally understandable and innocent one, as subtle distinctions and nuances of shared, but only imperfectly shared, languages are lost. At least No-speak has no insidious motivation such as brainwashing/shriveling or the undesirable consequence of reducing contact with foreign, differently-minded cultures, as did Orwells politically-motivated and implemented Newspeak.Nonetheless, the modern and future blending of Nospeak and Newspeak means that the kind of fully expressive, reflective and critical language that used to characterize language is likely to become increasingly rare. This may be inevitable and not only because of Big Brother schemes to dumb us all down, but also because of our own mental laziness and mass-cultural distractions that make deep and precise thoughta Big Bother.

5 Tips That Can Help You Land a Job Before the End of Summer

5 Tips That Can Help You Land a Job Before the End of Summer5 Tips That Can Help You Land a Job Before the End of SummerEager to meet your goal of securing a great new fleck before autumn leaves start to fall? While theres never a guaranteed way to speed up a search and land a job, some actions can help move things along.We asked career experts for their thoughts on accelerating the process, and they had plenty to sayHere are some of their suggestions to land a job before the end of summerIncrease networking.Perhaps the number one tip in any season, strengthening connections and developing new ones often brings exciting opportunities out of the woodwork. Make the effort to go to a professional conference, drop a line to a former coworker, or chat with other parents registering their children for school.Today, right now, join your college and grad school alumni associations, and sign up for their end-of-summer networking party. Its a great way to immediately get yourself in front of p eople, says success strategist Carlota Zimmerman. If people can register electronically, thus allowing other guests to see whos coming, keep an eye on that. Google those people. Do you have business cards? This would be an excellent time to get some basic cards, and think about what youre looking for.Pick up the phone.In our email and text environment, many job seekers fail to realize that hiring is a person-to-person activity, says Laura Handrick, career analyst at FitSmallBusiness.com. If you upload your resume, send an electronic cover letter, and follow up by email, youre missing the most powerful way to job hunt- by talking to a person.Why dont people commonly follow up by phone? Handrick notes that many fear rejection or think they shouldnt bother the hiring manager. But as she reasons, Its the hiring managers job to fill the position. If you feel you are the best fit, you will be doing that person a favor by calling to follow up after your email.Go beyond human resources.Tire d of being another resume in a pile? See if you can find someone to go to bat for you.Ask an employee at the company to refer you for a job. Employee referrals are more likely to get hired than cold applicants, so find a contact at the company who can make an introduction, says Susan Weil, cofounder of the career advisory firm Weil Wein. Write a brief paragraph that your contact can use to make an introduction to the hiring manager for a specific position and include a link to the position description and your resume.This makes it easy for your contact to forward your email to a key contact at his/her company.Contact recruiters.You needing a job + Recruiters having jobs to fill = Potential for mutual satisfaction.Get recruiters working for you- there are recruiters at all levels and in all industries. Make sure they have your resume and know youre on the market. They need to fill positions fast and with quality talent, says certified master coach Adriana Llames of XecuCoach.Beat th e rush.Finally, remember the old saying of the early bird getting the worm.As noted by Elizabeth Webster Felix, principal/team leader at the talent acquisition agency WinterWyman, Many candidates will say I am going to take the summer off of the job search. But the amount of candidates that hold off on their search due to vacations, nice weather, etc. results in a flood of candidates that are aggressively searching after Labor Day. This means more competition. If you can be flexible (about availability to interview and to start) and maintain your searchduring the summer, you will have an edge over the fall job seekers.Browse Open Flexible Jobs

Customize this Outstanding PR Account Manager Resume Template

Customize this Outstanding PR Account Manager Resume Template Customize this Outstanding PR Account Manager Resume Template Writing the PR Account Manager Resume TemplateCreate Resume Public relations firms have the difficult task of creating and maintaining a positive public image for their clients. The slightest dent in the clients armor could create a public catastrophe that would cost the client money and opportunities. That is why your PR Account Manager resume template should highlight your professional sense of responsibility and your dedication to getting the job done.Resume Template for PR Account ManagerGail WatsonProfessional SummaryDedicated PR Account Manager that understands the delicate nature of every clients public image. Proven history of developing strong crisis management programs, scheduling media releases and appearances to coincide with client events and keeping the client constantly updated on every aspect of the development of their public image. Aggressive professional that tries to stay ahead of trends and develop policies that prevent problems from occurring in the first place .Core QualificationsProject ManagementReputation ManagementSocial Media MarketingMedia MonitoringClient CommunicationsCrisis ManagementExperiencePR Account Manager, May 2010 June 2015Bliss Public Relations New Cityland, CAConstantly updated the client contact database with new and relevant informationDeveloped media release schedules that helped to keep positive information about each client flowingCreated crisis management procedures that were used twice to salvage the reputation of two large clientsPR Account Assistant, June 2000 May 2010Prancer Public Relations New Cityland, CAWrote press releases for select accountsDistributed outgoing correspondence to clients on a regular basisMonitored all media releasesEducation2000 Bachelor of Science, Public RelationsAcropolis University New Cityland, CACustomize Resume

4 ways to beat the bad weather blues

4 ways to beat the bad weather blues 4 ways to beat the bad weather blues Today is officially the first day of spring,  but if the weather in your neck of the woods is anything like ours is here in New York City  and the rest of the country (only a handful of states reached 70 degrees today), you’re still waiting for warmer temperatures to finally arrive.Here’s how to beat the bad weather blues.Chase the sun - whenever it peeks outChances are, it’s a little lighter out when you leave the office these days. So, cap off your day by taking advantage of the sunshine and going for a walk around your neighborhood when you get home.There’s no reason to waste all those rays, especially if you’ve had a ton of cloudy days lately.Prefer to work out inside? Hitting the gym for a workout might also boost your endorphins, helping you end a long day feeling better than before.Enjoy those warm-weather treats anywayToday is the first day of spring, which means that Dairy Queen and Rita’s  are doling out free treats - like ice cream and Italian ice.But you don ’t have to stop seeking out the ice-cold desserts of warmer days when the first day of the new season has passed us by.You can store ice cream, popsicles and more in your freezer whenever you want - you don’t have to wait until spring or summer. There’s nothing like getting cozy at home with an occasional bowl of your favorite sweet treat.Get your spring clothes readyPleasant spring weather may not have hit your area yet, but you can dream, can’t you?Put your spring clothes on standby: Organize your closet, get rid of old clothes and shoes that no longer reflect who you are anymore, and bring the warm-weather clothes out from your drawers and into the open.But don’t forget to leave out some heavier pieces so you’re prepared for any cold weather that pops up.Do some spring cleaning in your workspaceOut with the old … you know where I’m going with this.Apply your spring cleaning mindset to your home office or desk at work. Remove excess clutter, and make space for new things that will inspire you.Put up a few new photos. Buy a new journal or stationery for planning purposes.  Bring some greenery to your workspace by introducing a potted plant.  Organize your computer’s desktop  to make room for new folders and files.Spring weather may not be here yet, but that shouldn’t stop you from embracing the new season.close dialogAdvertisementclose dialog/* effects for .bx-campaign-1012255 *//* custom css .bx-campaign-1012255 */.bx-custom.bx-campaign-1012255.bx-type-agilityzone .bx-close { z-index: 2;}.bx-custom.bx-campaign-1012255.bx-type-agilityzone .bx-close svg { height: 40px; display: inline-block; margin: 10px 0px; pointer-events: none;}@-ms-keyframes bx-anim-1012255-spin { from { -ms-transform: rotate(0deg); } to { -ms-transform: rotate(360deg); } } @-moz-keyframes bx-anim-1012255-spin { from { -moz-transform: rotate(0deg); } to { -moz-transform: rotate(36 0deg); } } @-webkit-keyframes bx-anim-1012255-spin { from { -webkit-transform: rotate(0deg); } to { -webkit-transform: rotate(360deg); } } @keyframes bx-anim-1012255-spin { from { transform: rotate(0deg); } to { transform: rotate(360deg); } }/* rendered styles .bx-campaign-1012255 */.bxc.bx-campaign-1012255.bx-active-step-1 .bx-creative *:first-child {padding: 0;width: 720px;}.bxc.bx-campaign-1012255.bx-active-step-1 .bx-creative:before {min-height: 0;}.bxc.bx-campaign-1012255.bx-active-step-1 .bx-creative {background-color: transparent;border-style: none;}.bxc.bx-campaign-1012255.bx-active-step-1 .bx-close {stroke: white;background-color: transparent;border-style: none;width: 100px;height: 100px;padding: 0px;top: 0;right: unset;border-radius: 0;background: radial-gradient(circle farthest-corner at 20px 30px, black 20px ,transparent 20px);text-align: left;left: 0;}.bxc.bx-campaign-1012255 .bx-grou p-1012255-nbXkQWD {width: 50px;position: absolute;left: 50%;top: 50%;transform: translate(-50%, -50%);}.bxc.bx-campaign-1012255 .bx-element-1012255-41CkKqe *:first-child {animation-name: bx-anim-1012255-spin;animation-duration: 800ms;animation-iteration-count: infinite;animation-timing-function: linear;margin-top: -25px;}.bxc.bx-campaign-1012255 .bx-group-1012255-rdGtKqu {padding: 10px;}.bxc.bx-campaign-1012255 .bx-element-1012255-57nOYUI {width: auto;}.bxc.bx-campaign-1012255 .bx-element-1012255-57nOYUI *:first-child {padding: 2px 4px;font-size: 10px;color: rgb(255, 255, 255);text-transform: uppercase;background-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.34);}.bxc.bx-campaign-1012255 .bx-group-1012255-fEAd6NQ {position: relative;z-index: 1;width: 720px;height: 480px;background-color: transparent;}

5 effective ways to overcome setbacks in life

5 effective ways to overcome setbacks in life 5 effective ways to overcome setbacks in life I had been assigned to my first FBI field office for less than one year when I was unexpectedly transferred across the country and given 30 days to report to my new office. The FBI likes to see how new agents overcome setbacks in their personal life and survive surprises in their career and still manage to land on their feet.Follow Ladders on Flipboard!Follow Ladders’ magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and more!We’ve all started over in a different environment, lost a job or had a relationship fail. We grapple for a lifeline as we struggle to overcome these setbacks. We feel the tug of war between a cerebral brain that thinks its way through problems and an emotional limbic brain system that feels its way around.To us, it feels as though each of these brain components have their own agenda, and at some point a certain amount of paralysis can set in as the two brains fight for dominance. Technically, this is what happens in pos t-traumatic stress disorder. The prefrontal cortex of the cerebral thinking brain loses its ability to regulate the  emotional limbic system. While we may not experience the full impact of PTSD, stress and anxiety, they can still affect our ability to make the best decisions.We can develop a strong mind when we find ways to get the cognitive and emotional parts of the brain to cooperate.  Mental toughness  involves the ability to experience discomfort yet still feel comfortable. A setback doesn’t have to be the end of the story. In fact, a setback might be exactly what we need to get where we want to be.Here are five effective ways to overcome setbacks in life:1. Start with a minor source of uneasinessWhen we move out of our core competency, we often feel vulnerable and weak, not unlike how we feel when confronted with a setback. We no longer feel in control because we don’t have the right answers or feel uncertainty about our choices.To overcome setbacks, we need a beginner’s mind that leaves behind old assumptions and gropes for new ways to move forward. This is exactly the mindset we need when confronted with obstacles and adversity! We may not be able to rely upon our developed skills as we face a new barrier or challenge, but if we’ve continually and deliberately placed ourselves in situations that are beyond our core competency, we’re more prepared to deal with the unknown.With experience and practice, we can predict our response to the unknown with greater accuracy. This is another important component of mental toughness - the ability to choose our response when confronted with the unknown rather than simply react to our circumstances.How to make it work for you: Identify a minor source of uneasiness that clearly places you in a discomfort zone - but not in a panic mode. When you do, you begin to  train your emotional and thinking brains to communicate with one another. Start small so it doesn’t put your emotional limbic system into surviv al mode. However, the challenge does need to be big enough to generate a physical reaction.For example, if you fear public speaking, the thought of your performance can cause palms to sweat and heart rate to increase. These physiological responses are triggered by your  fear response  - which is housed in your limbic system. Start with a small group so you can experience the physiological responses. Prepare your talk and deliver it with confidence. Next time, speak in front of a larger group, etc.2. Pinpoint where your fear is coming fromThe limbic system is powerful; we often have a visceral reaction to a situation before we have a conscious awareness of it. This is called gut reaction. Studies have shown that we can use our thinking brain to control our limbic system if we do two things: Recognize what has happened Tell ourselves that there is no reason to react with fear If we force ourselves to use our cognitive function, we activate the  prefrontal lobe of the cerebral cortex which can generate positive thoughts. Once we call attention to our fears, we’re able to see them in a different, and often more objective, light.How to make it work for you: When you experience stress or anxiety that is produced from a fear, your brain’s amygdala triggers negative emotions. When this happens, observe your thoughts and feelings but don’t chase them! Take a deep breath and ask yourself, “Have I overreacted? What triggered this response?”Over time, you’ll get better at it because life tends to offer several fire alarms over the years, and eventually you’ll learn not to jump out the window every time.3. Get to know your fearStudies have found  that when you call your emotion by name, it lessens the limbic system’s activity. When you accurately identify and describe your discomfort, you lessen the power of the fear associated with it.When your fear is left in darkness, it will grow and sabotage your efforts to move forward. Don’t hesitate to pinpoint your fear and spend a little time with it. The more you get to know it, the better you can control it.Similar research  has found that it is important to limit your description of your fear to one or two words. If you engage in a long soliloquy, it will only  heighten your response  and produce adverse effects.The ability to overcome setbacks and move on is the definition of resilience. Accept what you cannot change and choose a more productive response. No one enjoys stress and discomfort, but they can help you grow.How to make it work for you: The next time you’re stuck in traffic, resist the temptation to honk the horn, beat the steering wheel or shout obscenities. Instead, view the traffic jam as an opportunity to get better control of your emotions. Again, identify the specific emotion you feel and why you feel it. Acknowledge it and own it. Do this over and over; when y ou do, you change the way your brain functions. You can’t erase a negative encounter from your consciousness, but you can park it in a place where you can deal with it at a later time.4. Get comfortable with your discomfortMost of our discomfort is fed by our fears - fear of failure, fear of loss, fear of embarrassment, etc. Once we’ve stared it down, it’s easier to become comfortable with our discomfort because fear is no longer the monster that lurks in the dark. The more we know about it, the better we can control the circumstances that cause it to rear its ugly head.At the very least, we can predict our emotional responses and head off unproductive ones before we sabotage ourselves.It’s possible to get comfortable with your discomfort. If you can walk on scorching hot beach sand as you make your way to the cool water of the ocean, you’ve got the gist of a strong mind. The discomfort is there, you are aware of it, and while it doesn’t feel great, it co-exists with th e pleasure of a day on the beach.“Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional.” â€" Buddhist proverbHow to make it work for you: Don’t look at setbacks as failures because this attitude distorts your view of reality. Without a clear perception of reality, you can’t see how to pivot, solve, or make progress around a setback. Psychiatrist Daniel G. Amen states in his book “Change Your Brain, Change Your Life” that the way we overcome setbacks won’t unfold in a linear progression. As he puts it, “no one gets better in a straight line.” Growth is always about up-and-down struggles.5. Expect the worstAs entrepreneurs, leaders and business owners, you already know that setbacks are routine. The trick is to anticipate them. Ask yourself, “What is the worst that could happen?” That way you’re never surprised by what the day brings; instead, you’re prepared for it.This is not about pessimism, it’s about reality. When we contemplate negative events in advance, nothin g takes us by surprise. It’s wise to imagine every conceivable setback so we can make plans on how to cope with them. We won’t be rattled and can stay calm when they do show up.“Begin each day by telling yourself: Today I shall be meeting with interference, ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty, ill-will, and selfishness.”- Marcus AureliusHow to make it work for you: Distinguish between setbacks and roadblocks. Setbacks can slow you down but won’t actually stop you. Roadblocks are like strips of flypaper â€" you get caught and they can threaten your progress. Because both setbacks and roadblocks are unavoidable, build extra fluff time into your daily schedule. If every last minute is chock full of meetings and deadlines, a little blunder or miscalculation can disrupt your entire day.This article first appeared in SmartBrief. You might also enjoy… New neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happy Strangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds 10 lessons from Benjamin Franklin’s daily schedule that will double your productivity The worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs 10 habits of mentally strong people 5 effective ways to overcome setbacks in life We’ve all started over in a different environment, lost a job or had a relationship fail. We grapple for a lifeline as we struggle to overcome these setbacks. We feel the tug of war between a cerebral brain that thinks its way through problems and an emotional limbic brain system that feels its way around. To us, it feels as though each of these brain components have their own agenda, and at some point a certain amount of paralysis can set in as the two brains fight for dominance. Technically, this is what happens in post-traumatic stress disorder. The prefrontal cortex of the cerebral thinking brain loses its ability to regulate the  emotional limbic system. While we may not experience the full impact of PTSD, stress and anxiety, they can still affect our ability to make the best decisions. Follow Ladders on Flipboard! Follow Ladders’ magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and more!   We can develop a strong mind when we find ways to get the cognitive and emotional parts of the brain to cooperate.  Mental toughness  involves the ability to experience discomfort yet still feel comfortable. A setback doesn’t have to be the end of the story. In fact, a setback might be exactly what we need to get where we want to be. Here are five effective ways to overcome setbacks in life: 1. Start with a minor source of uneasiness When we move out of our core competency, we often feel vulnerable and weak, not unlike how we feel when confronted with a setback. We no longer feel in control because we don’t have the right answers or feel uncertainty about our choices. To overcome setbacks, we need a beginner’s mind that leaves behind old assumptions and gropes for new ways to move forward. This is exactly the mindset we need when confronted with obstacles and adversity! We may not be able to rely upon our developed skills as we face a new barrier or challenge, but if we’ve continually and deliberately placed ourselves in situations that are beyond our core competency, we’re more prepared to deal with the unknown. With experience and practice, we can predict our response to the unknown with greater accuracy. This is another important component of mental toughness - the ability to choose our response when confronted with the unknown rather than simply react to our circumstances. How to make it work for you: Identify a minor source of uneasiness that clearly places you in a discomfort zone - but not in a panic mode. When you do, you begin to  train your emotional and thinking brains to communicate with one another. Start small so it doesn’t put your emotional limbic system into survival mode. However, the challenge does need to be big enough to generate a physical reaction. For example, if you fear public speaking, the thought of your performance can cause palms to sweat and heart rate to increase. These physiological responses are triggered by your  fear response  - which is housed in your limbic system. Start with a small group so you can experience the physiological responses. Prepare your talk and deliver it with confidence. Next time, speak in front of a larger group, etc. 2. Pinpoint where your fear is coming from The limbic system is powerful; we often have a visceral reaction to a situation before we have a conscious awareness of it. This is called gut reaction. Studies have shown that we can use our thinking brain to control our limbic system if we do two things: Recognize what has happened Tell ourselves that there is no reason to react with fear If we force ourselves to use our cognitive function, we activate the  prefrontal lobe of the cerebral cortex which can generate positive thoughts. Once we call attention to our fears, we’re able to see them in a different, and often more objective, light. How to make it work for you: When you experience stress or anxiety that is produced from a fear, your brain’s amygdala triggers negative emotions. When this happens, observe your thoughts and feelings but don’t chase them! Take a deep breath and ask yourself, “Have I overreacted? What triggered this response?” Over time, you’ll get better at it because life tends to offer several fire alarms over the years, and eventually you’ll learn not to jump out the window every time. 3. Get to know your fear Studies have found  that when you call your emotion by name, it lessens the limbic system’s activity. When you accurately identify and describe your discomfort, you lessen the power of the fear associated with it. When your fear is left in darkness, it will grow and sabotage your efforts to move forward. Don’t hesitate to pinpoint your fear and spend a little time with it. The more you get to know it, the better you can control it. Similar research  has found that it is important to limit your description of your fear to one or two words. If you engage in a long soliloquy, it will only  heighten your response  and produce adverse effects. The ability to overcome setbacks and move on is the definition of resilience. Accept what you cannot change and choose a more productive response. No one enjoys stress and discomfort, but they can help you grow. How to make it work for you: The next time you’re stuck in traffic, resist the temptation to honk the horn, beat the steering wheel or shout obscenities. Instead, view the traffic jam as an opportunity to get better control of your emotions. Again, identify the specific emotion you feel and why you feel it. Acknowledge it and own it. Do this over and over; when you do, you change the way your brain functions. You can’t erase a negative encounter from your consciousness, but you can park it in a place where you can deal with it at a later time. 4. Get comfortable with your discomfort Most of our discomfort is fed by our fears - fear of failure, fear of loss, fear of embarrassment, etc. Once we’ve stared it down, it’s easier to become comfortable with our discomfort because fear is no longer the monster that lurks in the dark. The more we know about it, the better we can control the circumstances that cause it to rear its ugly head. At the very least, we can predict our emotional responses and head off unproductive ones before we sabotage ourselves. It’s possible to get comfortable with your discomfort. If you can walk on scorching hot beach sand as you make your way to the cool water of the ocean, you’ve got the gist of a strong mind. The discomfort is there, you are aware of it, and while it doesn’t feel great, it co-exists with the pleasure of a day on the beach. “Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional.” â€" Buddhist proverb How to make it work for you: Don’t look at setbacks as failures because this attitude distorts your view of reality. Without a clear perception of reality, you can’t see how to pivot, solve, or make progress around a setback. Psychiatrist Daniel G. Amen states in his book “Change Your Brain, Change Your Life” that the way we overcome setbacks won’t unfold in a linear progression. As he puts it, “no one gets better in a straight line.” Growth is always about up-and-down struggles. 5. Expect the worst As entrepreneurs, leaders and business owners, you already know that setbacks are routine. The trick is to anticipate them. Ask yourself, “What is the worst that could happen?” That way you’re never surprised by what the day brings; instead, you’re prepared for it. This is not about pessimism, it’s about reality. When we contemplate negative events in advance, nothing takes us by surprise. It’s wise to imagine every conceivable setback so we can make plans on how to cope with them. We won’t be rattled and can stay calm when they do show up. “Begin each day by telling yourself: Today I shall be meeting with interference, ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty, ill-will, and selfishness.”- Marcus Aurelius How to make it work for you: Distinguish between setbacks and roadblocks. Setbacks can slow you down but won’t actually stop you. Roadblocks are like strips of flypaper - you get caught and they can threaten your progress. Because both setbacks and roadblocks are unavoidable, build extra fluff time into your daily schedule. If every last minute is chock full of meetings and deadlines, a little blunder or miscalculation can disrupt your entire day. This article originally appeared on LaRae Quy. You might also enjoy… New neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happy Strangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds 10 lessons from Benjamin Franklin’s daily schedule that will double your productivity The worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs 10 habits of mentally strong people

If you had a time machine, what would you tell your younger self about your career

If you had a time machine, what would you tell your younger self about your career If you had a time machine, what would you tell your younger self about your career Last month, we shared a list of things one woman knew about her career at 50 that she wished she knew when she was younger. Inspired by that post, we asked members of our Facebook community The Climb  what they wish they could tell their younger selves about their careers.Their answers were often beautiful, always important, sometimes funny, and in one case, made us wish we could provide a man with a brick wall to bash his head against. We saved that one for last. (It’s OK Keith, hindsight is 20/20.)We hope you enjoy their answers as much as we did  - and join us at  The Climb for more conversations like this. Become part of our wonderful, brilliant group of people striving to better themselves, and their careers, every day.“That I’m better, stronger and way smarter than what I was made to believe when I was young. That you don’t have to be silent about sexual harassment. Ignore the naysayers and go for what you really want.” -  Lisa  â€œThat it’s not always greener on the other side. I had some great jobs with amazing co-workers which I wish I had continued with for a longer amount of time.” -  Mark“3 important things: find not only a mentor, but an advocate (bonus if they’re an awesome person on top of being successful); learn earlier to get things done involves getting help from others, not trying to do it all; invest and save for retirement early!” -  Suzi“The importance of compartmentalization and self-care… Practicing self-care whether it’s yoga, massage therapy, or sleeping past 9 AM is tantamount to success in this career. I would tell myself you don’t have to work six days per week, the clients will survive. Take the day and rest!” -  Faatimah“That it’s not a career path, it’s a career maze. That’s it’s not a career ladder, it’s *Chutes Ladders*. That if you make good decisions every day it will all work out. AND: That it’s way OK to be proud of yourself once it does.”  -  Kristin“Just because an e xperienced person is giving you advice does not mean they are a good mentor. And not everyone will “see” the real you, so don’t waste time taking advice from those who can’t see your potential. And also work is not everything; you have to build a life for yourself as well.” -  Amy“It’s ok to have a job where you don’t wear a suit every day. Back in the day, dress for success was all the rage, and in fact, expected. It took me years to wake up as my friends in manufacturing or logistics and freight passed me by with their good paychecks while I settled for crumbs in my business suit with my BS degree in my pocket. We have progressed, thankfully.”  -  Elaine“The importance of collaboration, in-person networking, and personal development. Don’t wait for someone to offer a development opportunity- seek one out for yourself. Be proactive. Get used to public speaking and get comfortable with being uncomfortable.”  -  Pamela  â€œContinually reinvent your future. ”  -  Timothy“That sometimes no matter how hard you work, how good you are, someone may decide you are expendable because you make too much or are too old. SO: take the vacation. Take time off to see your kid’s game. Don’t let the jerks who think you are too young/old/loud/take charge ruin your mojo.  Live.”  -  KathyAnd lastly …“When Microsoft cold calls you to go for an interview in 1996, take the leap!”  - Keith