How to Win at Leadership

How to Win at Leadership Few are born as leaders. Many shy away from the job, and only a few embrace the change, dedication and passion it takes to mold, upgrade and mentor a team. There are several reasons why individuals avoid management positions or why management and leadership positions seem to avoid them. What propels some to the next level is strict discipline and unrelenting drive to not only improve oneself but to improve others as well. Simply stated, winning as a leader means acquiring distinct behaviors and attitudes. Below, you’ll find a few. 1. Embrace risk, loss and failure. Leaders are not afraid to fail; they encourage calculated risk taking. They view failure as one step closer to success as opposed to allowing setbacks to mentally discourage them and, in turn those under them. 2. Winning leaders know their purpose. With a firm understanding of what they wish their team to achieve both in the long and short term, they execute their tasks with velocity and agility. They foresee changes in business and rapidly adapt. This leaves their team at less risk of losing confidence and momentum both key components and allies for the leader who desires to win. 3. Establish an environment of mutual trust. Winning leaders know that low levels of trust between subordinates and management leads to costly mistakes, slower execution and reduces positive risk taking and innovation. To gain the trust of others, winning leaders respect and trust the opinions and recommendations from the employees who are on the ground level. There is a firm understanding that micromanagement reduces trust between all parties. Winning leaders make sure their team knows the overarching plan, trusts they will do their job (i.e., gets out of the way) and allows those individuals to operate, grow and utilize their creativity and intelligence to further the competitive advantage of the group. 4. See it, believe it and make it happen. Leaders envision a clear goal and, in a lucid, direct manner convey the desired outcome to those under them. They stay firm to achieving the end result and naturally lead by example.   Regardless of how lofty their goal may be, they instill confidence in themselves and others through small wins which forge confidence and cohesiveness among the team. 5. Precise time investment. Winning leaders invest their time where there is the most return on investment. They judge each employee based on performance and cut ties when they are involved in a losing hand. Winning leaders have a clear and compelling understanding as to which subordinates and business segments will provide the greatest ROI and who unfortunately drags the team’s performance to lower levels. They don’t protect under performers. Winning leaders understand that leadership means making difficult decisions and contenting to invest in a losing proposition always ends up backfiring. 6. Despite setbacks, winning leaders stay the course. Winning leaders do everything possible not to get sidetracked, lose interest and settle back into bad habits. They make a habit of excellence, closely track the progress of their subordinates and ensures everyone remains on course. In the End. Winning leadership takes practice. It entails cultivating the right state of mind in oneself as well as in those whom they lead. While leaders come in all different shapes, sizes, sexes, personalities and experience levels, they all channel their energy to improvement in themselves and others and consistently strive to meet the highest of standards the foundation of all winning leadership.

How to Get Your Writing Company Resume to Stand Out

How to Get Your Writing Company Resume to Stand OutBefore you call up a writing company, you should make sure you know what you want out of the resume. If you want a professional looking resume that tells them your goal and what kind of professional you are, here are some tips for making yours stand out from the rest:Wordy. You need to make sure your resume is short and concise. While it's great if you can throw in a bunch of stuff that will seem impressive to the company, having a lot of information written in a big block of text may also be boring to them. They don't want to read anything longer than 500 words and not have enough to put any type of emotion in your resume.Sloppy. You need to use a reputable company that knows how to edit and manipulate your resume so that it doesn't look like you just tossed it on the floor or some other impromptu way. Make sure it looks professional and neat and organized.No attachments. If you have an application already on file that you're asking the writing company to send to them, you should ask them to send it separately because most times they won't be able to. This will save you time and make sure the company has the ability to contact you through their system.Not organized. A good writing company knows how to get your resume organized so that it makes sense and reads well.Have questions for the company? These will help you make sure your resume looks professional and organized.You don't have to do this all the way yourself. A qualified writing company will be able to give you good help on how to write a resume, but you should be doing some of the legwork. You can do this by doing some research online on company websites and hiring out to others who have used these companies before.Your resume should be professional and well written. You shouldn't have to worry about how it will look. That's why it's important to use a writing company that is trustworthy and has good experience working with people who are just getting started in the business.

How to Help Boost Your Childs Memory

How to Help Boost Your Child’s Memory We all know how incredibly important it is to have a good memory during our lifetime. Whether this is to keep on top of growing piles of work, remember that all-important to-do list, or just to keep our daily lives in check, we use our memory almost constantly throughout the day. A child’s memory abilities as they grow up will be directly affected by how often their parents have encouraged them with memory exercises when they were younger. For this reason, it is important to think about this early on. In this article we have explored different ways to help boost your child’s memory.  Different memory types Research from PennState Extension has found that children are, incredibly, able to recall memory from the time that they first develop an awareness of their own self, which is usually between 18 months and 24 months of age. There are two different types of memory; long term memory and short term memory, also known as working memory. Some believe that working memory is a better predicator of how well a child will do at school than an IQ, but children need both a good long term and short term memory to be successful during their education. Short term memory refers to the ability to remember recent events, such as details from a story, while long term memory refers to the ability to remember things such as friend’s names or how to ride a bike.  How big is your child’s memory capacity? Our minds are the place where we make mental calculations, make predications, analyse events form new thoughts; much like a mental notepad. Each child has a different sized mental notepad, much like different sized computer RAM, which can be clearly seen in a classroom when some children can follow instructions easier than others. Children with a low working memory can sometimes seem like they aren’t interested or aren’t listening, but this is not always the case. A smaller working memory can lead to trouble remembering what a task was, difficulty in forming language or a tough time working out maths problems. A lower working memory is directly affected by age, and an average four year old will have a working memory of around half or a third of that of an adult. So if you believe that a child is having trouble keeping up with you, be sure to compare them to other children of the same age. Its  also worth noting that a smaller working memory is not necessarily a sign of a lower intelligence. It will no doubt effect how your child learns, but it is not the same thing as IQ. It is also estimated that roughly 10% 15% of children have working memory problems.  Signs that your child might have a lower working memory These are signs worth looking out for that may suggest that your child has a lower working memory: Can be reserved during group activities and may not answer a direct question Can find it hard to follow instructions May not follow a task properly and may even end up giving up with the task Can make place keeping errors, such as skipping or repeating steps May have difficulty with recalling events or information May seem inattentive or zoned out regularly These are just some of the signs to look out for, but do not represent an exhaustive list. They can also be signs of other problems, and these things are always worth getting checked out by your doctor. With memory specifically, if you believe that your child has memory trouble, then there are ways to boost your child’s memory, which we will explore in greater depth below.  Try memory boosting games Memory boosting games are an obvious but great way to boost your child’s memory. You are probably familiar with childhood favourites such as Simon Says or Concentration, and others such as I Spy are good for getting a child familiar with recollection skills. Even simple tasks such as having your child play with different coloured toys, and then taking one away and asking which has gone. Consider making memory games using your children’s toys  Teach your child visualisation skills One great way to help boost your child’s memory is by teaching them visualisation skills. When talking to them, reading them a story, or giving them an instruction, ask them to create a mental image of what has just been said or read. For example, if you have asked your child to set the table for four people, ask him or her to picture that in their heads, and then to draw it. Once you have been doing this for a while, you can ask them to describe it to you rather than draw it. Other games such as board games or card games like Uno, Go Fish or Crazy Eights are other good memory boosting games. This is because they are expected to remember on several fronts; the rules of the game, the cards that they have and also what cards have already been placed down. These are small games but they can go a long way in helping to boost your child’s memory.  Make time for physical games too Physical activity has been cited as “miracle grow” for the brain by Tricia Ferrara, a family therapist. This is because physical exercise has been shown to produce biochemical activity in the body which helps prime a child’s brain to learn and remember things by strengthening connections in their mind. Therefore, it is a great idea to allow your child to run around and have a play both before and after learning! Make sure that your child has plenty of time for physical activity too as this is great for boosting their memory  Start numbering your directions to your child When giving directions to your child, begin sentences in such a way as “I need you to do two things…”. This will help a child begin to separate out the different points in their heads and to remember them better. The more often you do this with different directions, the more you will help to boost your child’s memory.  Be inquisitive and ask your child questions Another great way to boost your child’s memory is by asking them regular questions about things they may have seen or heard. For example, if you have spent time at a park, ask them “Who was at the park?”, “What did you see at the park?” and similar questions along those lines.  Try connecting feelings of emotion to information If your child begins to associate feelings of emotion with information, it gives them yet another way to process it and remember it. A great way to do this is by asking them to directly associate themselves with things that you are talking about. For example, if they are learning about the pyramids in Egypt, ask them to imagine what it must have been like to climb them with the heat beating down!  Look to connect other pieces of information as well As well as looking for emotional connections between information, try to have your child make connections to pieces of information that they already know as this can help them to easily learn new memories. For example, show them that the two times table is the same as doubling a number, for example: 6 x 2 = 12 and 6 + 6 = 12.  Sing a song to your child to help boost their memory Continuously singing a song to your child, particularly one that they enjoy and can get involved with, is another way to help boost their memory. It is yet another way of teaching them to learn and store information, and the process of repeating it back to you will help with their memory skills.  Give your child a good diet Make sure that your child is getting a good diet, as this is another way that will help to boost your child’s memory. Fish oil is known for its memory boosting benefits, and even simple things like water can help with a child’s concentration. Also consider when you feed your child certain things; sugary foods and refined carbohydrates may give them a temporary energy boost but could leave them crashing later in the day and so unable to retain information as well.  Helping with other areas of your child’s life As well as helping to boost your child’s memory, it is important that you focus on all of the other aspects of their life too. At ParentsNeed we have put together comprehensive guides and reviews to make the job of parenthood a little easier and to kid your child happy! Image credits: Main        Gratisography and Juan Salamanca

To Be Or Not To Be ~ Decision For Advancement - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

To Be Or Not To Be ~ Decision For Advancement - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career The past few years have shown waves of employees leaving corporate behind to begin their own venture of entrepreneurship. Some of the entrepreneurs with whom I have become good friends are now re-entering the workforce for a variety of reasons. Conversations are now taking place pondering the question of, “When is it a good time to quit one path to follow the other?” There are so many advantages and disadvantages to both courses of employment and entrepreneurship that choosing the right one becomes a very difficult decision to make. This decision is one of the trickiest because whichever choice we make will affect our personal life as well. When the decision is finally made, and the new path pursued, our lifestyle is affected too. How does one go about making this monumental decision? Should you have a need for immediate income, and are struggling within your business, then employment wins without question. If you are considering going into business for yourself, here are some questions to ponder. They indicate the typical traits of successful entrepreneurs: Do you multi-task? Will you make a commitment to continual education? Do you have a team of people on whom you may rely for help and support? Are you a calculated risk taker? Do you have a burning desire to accomplish something that is not possible in the employment arena? Are you a motivated person dedicated to making your desires a reality? If you are an entrepreneur considering becoming an employee: Are you experiencing many sleepless nights? Are the working days too long because you do most of the work yourself? Will life be less complicated with a steady paycheck? Will you enjoy more freedom by working? Are you satisfied with the accomplishments you already made in your business? Are you at a place in your business where you will have no regret by moving back to employment? In the past, I have counseled people not to quit, when they are under pressure from management in the corporate world, unless its on their own terms. Any time you choose to stop doing something, it should be a decision you make that is in your best interest. You may accomplish this examining your priorities, needs and deep down desires. Examining our emotions, history and desires is the exact same way sales are made to prospective clients. We conduct a question and answer session regarding their priorities, needs, wants and deep down desires. In essence, we need to sell ourselves on the idea whenever a major change is about to take place. While you contemplate making the change, mentally walk yourself through the new daily routine. Will you be at ease with the new circumstances or at least willing to adapt? Are there advantages to be had from going through with the process? Will transferring from one to the other path address the majority of your needs, wants and deep down desires? Can you sell the idea of the change to yourself? Only you will know what is right for you. Once your decision is made, do not second guess yourself but know that what you chose is the right choice at the right time. Whichever path you take whether to further build business or to interview, do so whole-heartedly. Knowing what spoke true to you to make the switch is the essence of your personal brand. Connecting the dots will have you enjoying the Smooth Sale! Author: Elinor Stutz, CEO of Smooth Sale, LLC, (800) 704-1499, authored the International Best-Selling book, “Nice Girls DO Get the Sale: Relationship Building That Gets Results”, Sourcebooks and the best selling career book, “HIRED! How to Use Sales Techniques to Sell Yourself On Interviews”, Career Press. She team sales training, private coaching and highly acclaimed inspirational keynotes for conferences. Upon request Elinor is available for consultation.

Writing a Resume For a Job With Animals

Writing a Resume For a Job With AnimalsWriting a resume for a job with animals is much more difficult than writing one for a job without animals. There are many reasons for this, and I will list a few here.First of all, the company is probably more specific than if you were applying for a job where no animals were involved. If they say that they don't have any jobs available for an animal advocate, I don't see how they're any different than when it comes to hiring. So be sure that you're accurate and specific as possible.Your CV is also an important part of your job search. Most employers are looking for someone who is willing to commit time and effort to their job search. So be sure that you are writing a resume for a job with animals that shows you are committed to that type of job.One of the biggest difficulties of writing a resume for a job with animals is that people have always been afraid to apply for jobs with animals because of the way the media portrays animal advocates. In a large and diverse country such as ours, there is a big chance that someone in your field could get fired from their job simply for their animal advocacy. There is absolutely no guarantee that this won't happen.The second thing to consider is that you don't need to start over and start from scratch. Just because you were an animal advocate before doesn't mean that you need to change now. You can still show them that you are professional, and that you are interested in continuing your career with animal advocacy.There is no need to fill out thousands of applications when there is one perfect resume out there for you. Remember that each of these companies has thousands of applicants, so the chances of getting an interview are much better. But you do need to be concise, and you need to have a specific goal in mind that you can clearly describe in your resume.If you're not sure how to start, just spend some time at the library or a bookstore and find a good book on resume writing. The n you can jump right into creating your own resume. You can even customize it a little, but I highly recommend having a professional write yours for you.By spending some time being more specific and getting an idea of what companies want, you'll know how to prepare a resume for a job with animals. I hope this will help you find a better job with animals, and that it can help you find the perfect job for yourself!

How To Ace Psychometric Tests - Debut

How To Ace Psychometric Tests - Debut We know that progressing through your application process can be daunting, especially when competition for undergraduate and graduate jobs is high. The more information you can get on challenging stages such as psychometric tests, the better prepared you can be for them. Psychometric Testing: What you need to know You will undoubtedly come across psychometric tests during your job applications, the more you know about them, as well as why companies use them, will go a long way to help you prepare and perform to the best ability and get you through to the next stage of the process. What are Psychometric tests? Psychometric tests can help both you and potential employers gain insight into your personality and psychological thinking.   When applying for jobs, psychometric tests allow you to be assessed more fairly based on criteria relevant to the position.   The tests can help you find or demonstrate your strengths, and because the tests highlight your abilities, they can help you make career decisions in future.   For employers, these assessment tools are really useful when selecting or developing staff as they provide objective information about a candidate’s abilities and suitability for the demands of a particular job.   So more often than not, you will have to take the tests during your undergraduate or graduate job applications. Why are they used? Because they help employers understand whether a candidate is right for a particular role, either in terms of skillset or personality.   Developed by occupational psychologists, psychometric tests provide an objective way of measuring abilities and behaviours, as well as being a personal development tool indicating strengths and preferences. Using standardised tests makes them accurate, reliable and fair. What are the different types of Psychometric tests? Psychometric tests fall into two main categories: personality questionnaires, which try to measure aspects of your character, and aptitude tests, which measure your reasoning and cognitive ability (cognitive ability refers to the individuals capacity to think, reason, and problem solve). Personality questionnaires Personality questionnaires explore the way you tend to react to, or prefer to deal with situations. They focus on a variety of personality factors, such as how you like to think, how you relate to other people, your ability to deal with your own and others’ emotions and your drive and motivation to succeed. Whilst the number of tests you may take may vary between different application processes, you’ll be asked questions in the same format you’ll have to record how much you agree with a statement describing ways of feeling or acting on a scale of one to five (or Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree). There are no right or wrong answers so it’s important to answer openly and honestly to get an accurate measure of your personality and indication of your interests and values. Employers use this insight to clarify what fields of work may interest you, what factors make work worthwhile for you, and may help facilitate discussion at interviews. Aptitude tests Aptitude tests are designed to test your ability to learn or understand. These ‘intelligence’ tests consist of multiple choice questions you’ll have to answer in a given time-frame. They often examine skills such as verbal, numerical, error checking, spatial, mechanical, diagrammatic or abstract reasoning.  Having a measure of these skills helps employers determine whether a candidate may have the right skillset for a given role. These tests can feel really alien if you haven’t taken them before, so it’s a good idea to familiarise yourself and get comfortable with the format. There are plenty of sites you can use for practice tests including  Saville Consulting,  SHL Talent Measurement  and  practiceaptitudetests.com  and it’s definitely worth spending time doing this so that you are better prepared when the time comes to complete them in an application process. Top Tips Brush up on your skills.   The best way to improve your aptitude test results is to improve your underlying ability. For numerical reasoning, practice basic mental arithmetic with and without a calculator. For verbal reasoning, practice extracting and summarising the main points from passages of information Always read the instructions carefully and make full use of the examples provided Work through aptitude tests quickly and accurately Answer behavioural questionnaires openly and honestly Make sure you are relaxed, well rested and have no distractions Pro tip:  Download the Debut app and you could totally grab yourself a summer internship  way before anyone else.

5 Tips to Landing a Job as a Writer - CareerAlley

5 Tips to Landing a Job as a Writer - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. With only months away from graduation, you are now probably wondering or maybe worried about the kind of job that you are going to get with your degree in Journalism or in Literature. Youve had your fair share of writing has no future sentiments from your parents or other people who think that writing is more of a hobby than a career. But of course, this belief about writing is not entirely wrong. Lets admit it, money is not easy in writing. Even some of the most celebrated authors and poets lived and died in poverty. But do not be discouraged! The market scene is much more favorable for writers like yourself, especially with growing demands for write-ups and blog articles for advertising, marketing and SEO companies. Remember these guidelines by heart and you will surely do well in your writing job and prove your doubters wrong. 1. Know your writing potential No soldier ever goes to war without any weapons. In the same way, a writer must never charge into the war zone without the appropriate skills and the right mindset. Before applying for a job, try to reflect and evaluate your skills as a writer. Do you think you can keep up with the heavy demands and extensive pressure from your boss or your clients? Do you think your skills are good enough for professional writing? Is there a need for you to join writing workshops for further training? At the same time, try to determine the positive qualities that you have as a writer. For example, if you excel at sports writing, then you should try to applying as correspondent for a sports channel or magazine. If you are good at writing short stories for children, then you might want to try working for a publishing company that specializes in childrens books. Moreover, continue developing your writing style, or voice as Journalists would call it. Style/voice is the uniqueness or writing techniques that comes naturally from a writer. The problem with some writers is that they usually imitate the writings of other authors, which only hinders their true potential. 2. Know the dynamics of publishing Apply as a trainee or intern as soon as possible to your dream company (or a company that is similar to it) so that you can experience the dynamics of their production process. In general, the pressure is always high; you will have to deal with short deadlines, procrastination, and certain complications with clients, the source, or the editor. If you aspire to become a textbook writer, then prepare yourself with handling criticisms, long hours of researches, interviews, and deadlines. If you are an independent writer, you will need people that will help you to improve your writing. Given that you have enough resources, you might want to hire agencies that provide essay writing services such as editing, proofreading, and researching. But of course, it would be much better for your budget to have writing peers and circles who would review your work for free. 3. Know your interests and limitations It is virtually impossible for any writer to know and to be interested in everything. Before venturing into a writing career, you must determine the topics and ideas that interest you the most. Working with the topics or subjects that you like helps you to perform better. At the same time, you must also spend time to read about other subjects to extend the horizons of your knowledge. Soon your editors, publishers and (most importantly), your readers will appreciate it when you are able to provide information on a variety of topics. 4. Know The Art of Versatility As your career progresses, you may be assigned to write about topics that you are not interested in, or worse, topics that you have never heard of in your entire life. Think of this as a part of your learning process not just as a writer, but also as an individual. For those of you who aspire to become news reporters, you need to be versatile to beat your competitors for the hottest trends and news updates. As always, reading is still the best thing that you can do to extend your knowledge. About the Author Jillan Mullin is a part-time writer for rushessay.com. She is currently taking up her M.A in History at University of California, Berkeley. This is a Guest post. If you would like to submit a guest post to CareerAlley, please follow these guest post guidelines. Good luck in your search. Joey Trebif

Proactive or Pest - Which One Are You - Hallie Crawford

Proactive or Pest - Which One Are You A smart ending sentence to include in your cover letter to apply for a job is: I will call you in a few days to ensure you received this letter. What makes this sentence smart is that you proactively give yourself a reason to call your prospective employer. Mark your calendar for about three days after sending your cover letter and resume, then, rather than waiting for the employer to call you, you call the employer. While your identifiable reason for calling is to ask if the employer received your letter, while you’re on the phone, you can also ask if you are being considered for the position and if so, ask what to expect as the next step. Being proactive is desirable, but beware â€" you can overstep the line in being proactive. Where does the line begin and end in being proactive? Calling once to reach your prospective employer is proactive. Calling the same employer ten times a week after already leaving multiple messages is crossing the line. Oh, there is one other major way to identify if you’re crossing the line in the eyes of the prospective employer: being proactive is desirable and being a pest is just plain annoying. Enhance your chances of getting a job â€" be proactive but avoid being a pest! and Terry L. Wynne, Ed.S., LPC, BCC Certified Career Coaches