Friday, November 29, 2019

Academic Resume Graduates to Corporate Standards

Academic Resume Graduates to Corporate StandardsAcademic Resume Graduates to Corporate StandardsCareer-changing consultant and college hochschulprofessor wins Does My Resume Stink? contest. New resume opens doors into the business world.I want a business resume that opens doors for a corporate job, said Bill Lambert (who asked not to be named due to an ongoing search). Bill had an impressive, 25-year dual career as a psychology professor and consultant.His goal To leave academia and join a top companys HR department. He had many corporate clients but had never worked full-time for a corporation.Bills old resume used a traditional, chronological format that was dead on arrival for corporate employers. At first glance, it portrayed him as a lifelong academic with no business experience. His new resume positions him much more effectively for a corporate job.1. Sometimes the functional resume is your best, smartest choice.If youve been reading all the resume articles here on Ladders site , you probably know that recruiters and employers generally hate the functional-format resume. But it can the best choice for a career changer like Bill.The functional resume showcases your most marketable skills and downplays everything else. Unlike a traditional resume, it ignores chronological order and de-emphasizes dates, titles and the companies for which youve worked.Recruiters and employers complain the functional format hides your work history - and theyre correct So use this format only as a last resort.Note The functional resume is 100 percent truthful - youre not altering any facts - youre just changing the order of presentation and putting yourself in the best possible light for potential employers.In plus-rechnen to career changers, the functional resume is also a good choice for people re-entering the workplace after a long absence.In Bills case, we packaged his most marketable consulting skills - executive coaching, HR consulting, organizational development and t eam building - and posted them prominently. At the bottom of Page Two we briefly mention his former employers in academia (three universities).2. Strong accomplishment statements are critically important.A second problem with Bills resume was his seriously weak content.Instead of showcasing his top accomplishments, he overloaded the old resume with passive descriptions of job duties and tasks - a big mistake for any resume, no matter what the format. Compare the following examplesJob Description (Weak)Consulted and coached executives and managers in banking, retail, manufacturing, publishing, hospital, and broadcasting organizationsAccomplishment Statement (Strong)Led the executive team of BANK OF NEW YORK through a major crisis. Achieved excellent results via conference calls, phone interviews, and The Interpersonal Circle. Guided execs away from their immediate crises, stepped back, and creatively attacked the root causes of problems.3. Make sure that every element of your resum e supports your objective.When Bill first read his new resume, he found it a little bit unsettling. Unlike an academic studienplan Vitae (CV) that reports every teaching assignment and scholarly publication, a well-written business resume uses a direct, fast- reading telegraphic style so that a recruiter or hiring manager can scan it in 10 to 15 seconds.At the top of the first page, we deleted the Ph D after his name and moved it to the Education section on Page Two.The idea here is to make Bill look like a business person - not an academic.Note the Testimonials section posted prominently on Page One. This section would be totally inappropriate for a traditional resume but works well in Bills case because hes using a functional format. The testimonials (comprising strong endorsements from executives at top companies) immediately boost his credibility. And when making the transition from academia to business, a career changer like Bill needs all the help he can get

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Friendship guilt and how to overcome it

Friendship guilt and how to overcome itFriendship guilt and how to overcome itEver had friendshipguilt?When distance, work and a generally busy lifestyle gets in the way of keeping in touch with people you care about, its easy to feel friendshipguilt.Perhaps you havent been in contact for a long time and feel guilty for not being there. According toresearch, showing empathy and keeping in touch with friends makes us happier and its often the happiest people that are the most sociable.However, in a new era of technology, our lives can consist of social media and texting which is ironically making usfeel lonely and mora isolatedthan ever before. Its crucial to remember that we can show someone we care in more special ways that just sending a quick text.We worked with the wellbeing experts at CABA who identified 5 ways that will help youstay in contact and show your friends and family how much you really care.1. Call themTake advantage of the quick 5 minutes you have waiting in line at the supermarket checkout or whilst on the commute back from work. Spot the opportunities when they arise rather than scrolling through social media and take this opportunity to give them a quick call to let them know youre thinking of them. Facebook now allows you to monitor how much time youre spending on the app, so if youre one of those that has racked up many hours, try using this time to call a friend instead.2. Send them a care packageWhy not go back to basics and send something in the post. Astudyby Royal Mail found that people placed more value on things they can touch. Send your friends a small care package, it doesnt have to cost a lot, you could just send them their favorite sweets or chocolate.3. Send them a pictureSend them a picture to remind them of a memory or a time you spent together. To make it extra special, why not put it in a frame? Sending it via the post with a little katechese is far nicer than just tagging someone in a photo on Facebook. Reminding them of t he good times you shared together will put a smile on their face and shows them youre thinking of them.4. Send a funny videoOk, so you do need your phone or laptop for this one, but why not send a funny video at a time when they need you most? Whether its a video of babies, clumsy moments or dogs just being dogs, it will help brighten their day.5. Be presentRegardless of how busy you are, you should always try to find a way to be there when it really counts or when they least expect it. For example, do they have a professional or personal achievement thats being celebrated and could you go along? If your friend is going through a rough patch, offer to go to the cinema or have a movie night at home with them.Its the thought that counts so it doesnt have to take a lot of time or money and remember, you get out what you put in. You should try to show your appreciation in a way thats unique to you and your friend.Reminding your friends that youre thinking about themhelps to maintain tha t special bond and keeps you connected.This article first appeared on Your Coffee Break.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Designing a Seat for Sailing

Designing a Seat for Sailing Designing a Seat for Sailing Richard Ramos hadnt sailed competitively in years due to paralysis. But a sailing seat designed for those with physical challenges helped his teamwin third place in an event and the invention has continued to evolve. The original system amplified Richards arm strength by a magnitude and allowed him to steer the boat, explains mechanical engineer Aleef Mahmud, who has been working on the seat since he was an undergraduate at Rochester Institute of Technology, where it waspart of acapstone project. With the tiller of the boat, he could turn the boat in whatever direction he wanted and it allowed him to move around the boat without using his arms and legs and it protected him from the moving parts, such as the boom and sail. The steering was done with a crank mechanism. When you rotate the crank, it transmits the rotation of the crank load into a gearbox, which then transmits that load and allows it to be amplified, Mahmud says. Ramos could move around the boat because the system had a circular track that was based on a single pivot point. So when moving from one side of the boat to the other, we used the value of gravity, Mahmud says. So if the boat tilted one way or the other, his position could be released so he could rotate around track. Director of Community Boating Inc. Charlie Zechel (left) and Richard Ramos demonstrating an upgraded steering/chair system. Image Community Boating Now further improvements are being made to the invention, partly through working with non-profit Community Boating, Inc. (CBI), Mahmud says. CBI wanted a system similar to the kind created but one that could fit in any sonar boat and accommodate any kind of user, he says. What we did was put together a project plan. We started in the beginning of 2015 and even went through an Indiegogo campaign for that and raised $30,000 to fund development. Improvements have included making it so the platform itself would be able to raise or drop based on how low the floor was and also adding different handholds and accommodating how to attach to the floor or the back of the tiller, he says. There were incremental notches to change attachment points and we had to make koranvers we have enough points of adjustment in the crank, within the seat, and you could be as close to the crank or be as far as you wanted to be. Aleef Mahmud using a CNC drilling machine. Goals are to have advancements in the universal system for any kind of boat but also the kind of electromechanical components that can allow a user to have more functionality by picking up responses from the body. Youd like the system to get to the flip of a switch or turn of the dial for the user to move things as they please, he says. But despite the goals of future improvements, Mahmud says whats been accomplished so far is still a tremendous feeling. Its meant so much to landsee someone be overwhelmed with joy as they go out sailing like maybe they couldnt bef ore, he says. Its beautiful to be a part of in some way. Eric Butterman is an independent writer. Learn about the latest trends in bioengineering at ASMEs Global Congress onNanoEngineering for Medicine and Biology. For Further DiscussionIts meant so much to see someone be overwhelmed with joy as they go out sailing like maybe they couldnt before.Aleef Mahmud, Rochester Institute of Technology