Alexandra Levits Water Cooler Wisdom Using Design Thinking for Product Innovation

Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom Using Design Thinking for Product Innovation Most business owners would agree that product innovation is important to their success in todays world. History is full of companies that were initially very successful but failed to innovate when the market changed, says Jeremy Brandt, founder and CEO ofWe Buy Houses,an online service that connects home sellers with potential buyers. And that informs the way his company operates. “At We Buy Houses, we continuouslyidentify ways to improve our products, taking technology weve built internally for ourselves and turning it into a commercial product for our clients, says Brandt. “Agileand similar methodologies are great for consistently moving the ball forward, he continues. Innovation is about coming up with new ideas, processes and products to stay ahead of the competition and in line with what the market needs. Once the innovation happens, its all about execution, and thats where agile plays a huge role. Design thinking is an agile product innovation methodology traditionally used by designers to solve complex problems. It is a solution-focused and action-oriented way of creating a preferred future. Over the years, design thinking has taken on many faces, but theInstitute of Design at Stanford Universityproposed a groundbreaking and now frequently used series of steps, which are: Empathize Empathize mode is the first step on your product innovation journey. Here youre trying to understand your customers physical and emotional needs, how they think about the world and what is meaningful to them. Observing what people do and how they interact with their environment can give you clues. You can engage your users by preparing some questions youd like to ask, for instance: If you are standing in line at the grocery store, what app are you most likely to view first and why? For the rest of the steps, head over to the AMEX OpenForum.

What to Put on a Resume - Best Structure and Order - Career Sidekick

What to Put on a Resume - Best Structure and Order - Career Sidekick What to Put on a Resume Best Structure and Order Resume/CV / https://www.edenscott.com/blog One of the most common questions I get: what do I need to put on my resume? And what order should I put it?Theres a lot of conflicting info out there about what goes on a resume and how to structure it.So Im going to share exactly what to put on a resume, based on my experience as a recruiter.Lets get startedWhat to Put on a Resume:These are the key pieces you should put on your resume:Name and Contact InfoSummary ParagraphEmployment HistorySkillsEducationCommunity Involvement (Optional)Awards/Achievements Youve Received (Optional Can be combined with other sections)Now that you know what goes on a resume in general, lets look at these sections step-by-step so youll know how to write each one1. Name and Contact InfoAt the top of your resume, put your full name and a professional-looking email address.Your phone number and street address are optional, but for most people, Id recommend putting it.If youre applying for jobs out-of-state, it might make se nse to leave your address off.Now, for formatting and designId keep it simple and clean-looking. No distractions. Not too many fonts and colors. In fact, this is good advice for how to format your whole resume.Heres a screenshot of what a simple resume header with your name and contact info might look like:You can add a bit more in terms of design, but dont go overboard.2. Summary ParagraphThis is the next section of your resume, and should go right after your name and contact info in most cases.This is a two or three sentence summary of your qualifications and accomplishments throughout your career (or throughout your education if you just graduated).Note: this is not an objective. Id advise against putting an objective on your resume. Hiring managers know your objective is to land a job in their industry that will utilize your skills, etc.So put a summary paragraph instead.If you need help writing this paragraph, heres an article filled with great  resume summary examples.3. Emplo yment HistoryIf you have held any previous jobs (including internships!), this is where to put it. And its one of the first things a hiring manager wants to see on your resumeSo it should be on the top half of the first page   visible without scrolling down.Overall, you should put it in chronological order (most recent first), and list job titles, company names, dates (you can choose to put just years, or month and year you started and ended each job just stay consistent).And then of course, put bullets highlighting what you did in each job. Id suggest 4-8 bullet points per job.In these bullet points, dont just talk about job duties; talk about what you actually accomplished. Theres a big difference.Heres an exampleRather than saying, responsible for managing 5 sales associates try to say something like, successfully led 5 sales associates to achieve 139% of team sales goals for Fiscal Year 2017.The image above is an example of a resume Employment History section with accomplishmen t-driven bullets.If you want more help, heres an article with more  resume employment history examples.4. SkillsThis is the next big section to put on your resume.You might be tempted to put it before your Employment History and people might have even told you to do this. But the only time I think it makes sense to list Skills first is if you have absolutely no work experience.Heres why Hiring managers dont want to see a long list of skills without being able to see WHERE you learned/used each skill (and how recently you used them).This is why theyre much more likely to scan your resume for your Employment History section. And thats why we put it higher up!Skills should come after that.In your Skills section, you can put a list of your top skills that are relevant to the job youre applying for,  and you can even put them under a few headers/categories if you think it makes sense for your job and industry.Theres no magic number of skills to put. Some people might only need 3-10; othe rs might put 20. It really depends on how long youve been working and what field of work youre in.Make sure you think about whats relevant for the job though; dont just list a bunch of skills that wont help you in their job.And think about keywords too this is a great place to put keywords on your resume so you can get past online job application systems.5. EducationPut the name of your school(s), your field of study, and graduation date unless you feel your graduation date will leave you open to age discrimination on your resume. If you graduated a long time ago, feel free to leave the dates off.You can also put your GPA in this section. Id only recommend doing that if it was above 3.0/4. Otherwise, leave it off.You might be asked about your GPA in the first few years of your career, but youre very unlikely to be asked about it again after that, so dont worry if your GPA is below 3.0/4. Just exclude it from your resume.6. Community Involvement (Optional)If youve done any voluntee r work or helped in your community in other ways, this is where to put it.You can list the location, dates, and your contribution/work.If you havent done any volunteering or community-related work, dont worry just dont put this section on your resume.7. Awards/Achievements (Optional Can be combined with other sections)Any time youve received awards or other recognition for your accomplishments, you should put it on your resume.However, you dont always need a separate section for it. Thats up to youIf you got an academic award, you can list it under your Education section (beneath your degree, GPA, etc.)If you received an award or recognition for outstanding performance at a previous job, you can list it as a bullet point or a note underneath that specific job in your Employment History section.So while awards and achievements are a great way to boost your resume overall, they dont always need their own section.What Should Go on Your Resume if You Have No Work Experience?Now, if yo u just graduated and have absolutely no work experience, heres what I recommend(Note that if you even have an internship, or a part-time job that youve worked while going to school, you should use the steps above! Any work experience at all is worth showing on your resume).However, if you have absolutely ZERO work experience, heres what to put on your resumeWere going to follow the sections outlined above, but move #5 (Education) up to #3 so it will be right below your Summary section.So it will look like this1. Name and Contact InfoAs mentioned earlier, you should put your full name and professional-looking email address.Your street address and phone number are optional, but for most people, it makes sense to include those too.The big exception: If youre trying to get a job in another state.  If so, consider leaving the address off.2. Summary SectionEven if you have no work experience, you can say something like, Recent Finance graduate with training in ____ and ____ seeking an opp ortunity to do ____.3. EducationIf you have no work experience, put more information in your Education section.Were you involved in any clubs/activities at school?What were some key projects you completed or coursework you did? (Specifically, key projects that related to the jobs youre applying for now).Your resume should take up one full page, even if you have no work experience, and your Education section is a place where you want to provide additional detail to fill out the page.4. SkillsYou can list skills that you learned in your studies, or skills youve developed on your own.Only put skills youre really comfortable talking about and using, because its very likely theyll ask about this in an interview.If done right, the Skills section can be a powerful tool to help you get more interviews though, for two reasons:First, its a great way to put a lot of relevant keywords onto your resume, so that you get past computerized job application systems.Second, its an easy way to show emp loyers what you know thats going to help you succeed in their job. Always re-order and re-adjust your Skills section to fit what you think this specific employer wants!More info on how to do that is coming up, but lets finish the list first5. Community Involvement (Optional)Any volunteer work or community service youve done. This shows employers that youre enthusiastic and involved in the community, which can help set you apart (while also filling up your resume).6. Awards/Achievements (Optional Can be combined with other sections)If you have no work experience, these would likely be academic achievements. Go ahead and list them underneath your Education section.So dont put this as a separate section, but do include awards, achievements and any recognition you received when you write your Education section in Step 3 above.What NOT to Put on Your Resume:Now that you know what to put on your resume, lets at a few things you should leave off if you want to get interviews.Irrelevant jo bsIf you have a long work history, considering removing some jobs that arent relevant, or were at the very beginning of your career (especially if youve been working 15-20 years or more).Note that you shouldnt remove an irrelevant job if its going to leave your employment history empty. For example if youve only held one job but its not relevant to what you want to do next, you should still keep it.Why? Its better to put a job that dont seem closely related to your current job search, than to put nothing for your Employment History.And you can always show traits like leadership, accountability, hard work, problem-solving, etc., in your past work history, no matter what job you had! So hiring managers might still find it relevant and impressive.An Objective sectionUse a Career Summary section instead, as mentioned earlier in the article.Anything that makes it more than 2 pagesUnless you have a Ph.D. and are writing an academic CV or unless youve been working for 10-15+ years your res ume should not be more than two pages.For 75-80% of people, it should really only be one page.So focus on whats most important and keep the length short.As a recruiter, Id rather see 8 specific skills that are relevant to the job Im hiring for, rather than a list of 30 general skills that youve used throughout your career but might not be relevant to the job. So make your resume laser-focused and target their needs!Spelling or grammar mistakesProofread and spellcheck everything.You are very unlikely to get called for an interview if you have a spelling or grammar mistake on your resume and nobodys going to tell you either.So you need to find it yourself, or have a friend proofread it carefully for you!Heres a little trick if you proofread it yourself: temporarily change your resume to an unusual font before proofreading. It will help you spot errors (sounds crazy, I know. But it works).Final Step: Tailor Your Resume to the Job DescriptionId recommend Tailoring your resume to match the job description before sending it out for each job.Itll take you a bit longer per job application, but youll get far more responses.Would you rather apply for 50 jobs and hear back from 1? Or apply for 25 jobs and hear back from 4?Thats the type of difference tailoring your resume can make. Heres a full article on how to easily tailor your resume for each job. (This method will save you a ton of time).Now you know what goes on a resume and how to make each section attractive to employers.If you follow the steps above youre going to have a great resume that grabs attention and shows recruiters and hiring managers why they should interview you immediately.

Taking Care of Ms. CEO Make Time for Self-Care, Passion, Fun - Classy Career Girl

Taking Care of Ms. CEO Make Time for Self-Care, Passion, Fun Hey, Ms. CEO.are you operating at your very best right now? Are you making time for creativity, self-care, passions and fun? You can’t start planning out your team, growing your sales funnel or building strategic  partnerships  until you are working at maximum capacity. If you aren’t at your best, your entire business could crumble.  As you become an entrepreneur, you need to learn that you don’t have to work like you did when you were in corporate. When I was in corporate, I was stressed out all the time and worked my butt off trying to reach goals and meet deadlines. I hustled like a crazy woman trying to be perfect and get everything done with stress, chaos, and deadlines. I raced the clock and let things go crazy. I felt like I always had to be working.  I didn’t take care of myself and was not a very happy person to be around. Now that I am a full-time entrepreneur with a business I LOVE, I have learned how to balance my success and goals by taking care of myself first. With a toddler running around, its not always the easiest. But, when I am fully operating at 100%, I know I am a better CEO, mom, and wife. 3 Things You Must Do to Be Your Best Self as Ms. CEO: 1. Self-Care It’s time to put you first. You cannot give to others until you give to yourself first. If you have no energy yourself, then you won’t have the energy to help your clients. Put on your oxygen mask first before those around you. If you are exhausted, look at how you are working. Not everything will get done and not every email will get returned until you have a bigger team. You might have to start saying no a lot more. Take time to read, take a bath, get a massage, or get a manicure. Treat yourself and enjoy your life…and don’t forget to get some sleep too! Pamper yourself. 2. Find Your Happy Place Don’t work so hard that you abandon the fun times that make you happy. When I think back to when I was younger, I loved to go ice-skating. Now when I take my niece ice-skating, I am in my happy place. What did you enjoy as a child? Singing, music, dancing, art, writing nature or play? Work this into your life. Also, make sure you have space for alone time for journaling and thinking. [Related: 11 No-nonsense tips for starting a business] 3. Perfect the Present Be happy right now. Don’t be too focused on the future. Your success is now. Celebrate your accomplishments now! Remember where you were a year ago? Think about how far you have come. Make it a daily habit to write down your successes. Choose joy. When crazy stuff happens, make that decision to have joy yourself. No one else makes that decision to be happy for you. How do you take care of yourself when you have lots on your plate?

3 Ways to Transform Your Money Mindset for Success - Classy Career Girl

3 Ways to Transform Your Money Mindset for Success If you want to be successful in your career or business, I have a little-known secret for you. It’s not what you do to get ahead, it’s how you think.  You can’t get your career unstuck or grow your business if you are not in the right mindset. If you take all the actions but don’t work on your mindset, you will not get the success you want. 3 Ways to Transform Your Money Mindset for Success 1. Practice gratitude More often than not, we tend to get wrapped up in what we don’t have. We’re constantly wishing for more, comparing ourselves to others, and feeling not good enough because we believe we’re lacking something. Thoughts like this keep you from achieving financial success because it feeds a negative thinking pattern. Here’s how to combat that. Be thankful for what you do have. It doesn’t even have to be money related! It can be your pets, your husband, coffee, whatever! If you’re having trouble getting started, I always recommend being thankful for your health. That’s something people tend to overlook and not everyone is lucky enough to have. A tip to make this routine is to think of five things every morning while you have your tea or coffee. When I do this, it never fails to make me feel blessed and motivates me to continue working on achieving even more. If you’re someone who needs to physically write things down, you can use The Five Minute Journal or the app, Blessed. Both essentially do the same thing, get you ruminating on what you’re most thankful for. This will boost your mood, get you to stop moping and focus your energy on all of the possibilities you have to improve your life and finances! 2. Know where your money is going Avoiding your bank account is not going to make anything better! I know we like to tell ourselves if we don’t see it, it’s not happening, but if you’re unhappy with your financial situation, this is exactly why you should be heavily involved. Wondering where your money is going but not actually tracking it will only lead you to continue making uneducated and poor decisions with your money. As a result, you stay in financial distress and this propels your limiting money belief that you cannot get out of this situation. Here’s how to fix it. You can track your money using a notebook (I use my planner), make a spreadsheet, or use the Mint app to automate your tracking. It’s easy to use if you don’t want to deal with tracking every little expense, so there is no excuses. Whichever method you choose, make sure you know exactly how much is coming in each month, and what your recurring expenses are. Before I did this, the numbers in my mind were very different than what they were in reality. Writing it down definitely helped me realize where exactly my money was going. It also helped me decide what I could spend less on (I’m looking at you, Starbucks) instead of just assuming where my money went. This helps transform your money mindset from anxious and fearful, to in control and optimistic. Even if you hate what you see when you first do this, at least you’re now monitoring and taking action to improve! 3. Include self-care in your budget It’s super easy to skip self-care when trying to watch your spending. Especially if you’re always trying to take care of others first, you may put yourself on the back burner more often than you’d like to admit. While it may seem like you’re doing good by saving a few bucks or putting others first all of the time, you’re actually keeping yourself in a limiting money mindset belief. By doing this, you’re telling yourself that you’re not worthy of pampering, or maybe you are, but only after you’ve taken care of everyone else. Neglecting yourself will not lead you to a healthy money mindset! [RELATED: How to Create a Self-Care Routine] Here’s what to do. Make a list of non-negotiable activities you will do to in the self-care department and allocate an amount from your budget towards this. If your weekly manicure is what makes you feel happy, put it on the list. If you want a massage once a month, divide the cost by four and save 1/4 each week until you’ve saved up enough. Not only does this take care of your mental health, it also elevates your money mindset. By practicing self-care, you tell yourself that you’re valuable, that you deserve to be taken care of, and as an added bonus, you’ll also feel rejuvenated to keep working efficiently!

Careers That Dont Require You To Work A Regular 9 to 5 - CareerMetis.com

Careers That Don't Require You To Work A Regular 9 to 5 Many people around the world seek for that little bit more than just a regular 9-5 job. That might be because you want to travel the world, or even because you want to settle down and have a family, with the option of being at home as much as possible.This doesn’t have to mean that you’re left jobless either, as there are many different career routes that you could take which will allow you to have a bit more flexibility and control over your career life. Check out these fabulous careers that don’t require you to work a regular 9 to 5.Source : Unsplash.com1. Personal trainerevalIf you’re the type of person that loves heading to the gym for those all important gains, then why not consider becoming a personal trainer?evalIf you’ve worked your butt off to transform your body, then helping others might just be the right option for you.While PTs can work regular 9-5 jobs, you must also consider that the people who want a PT are likely to want you at an unusual time, meaning that you have that chance to be at home with the kids, or even out and about minding your own.2. NursingYou may think that nursing is a regular 9-5 job but in fact, it’s the complete opposite. People don’t only fall ill between regular times of working, and there is always a need for nurses.Also, if you become what’s called a ‘bank’ nurse, you can totally pick and choose the jobs that you want to take. Prefer working nights because of convenience with your partner’s schedule?Just take the work that offers nights. The freedom that you have is unlike no other. You can even learn to be a nurse with an msn program online,which will allow you to continue your regular job until you’re qualified.3. Freelance workWhether you’re a graphic designer, a content writer, or even an artist, freelance work is one of the largest growing careers around the world.While there does pose a risk of ending up with little to no work from time to time, you’re also opening up a world of possibil ities when it comes to your earnings. You decide your rate of pay with your clients, and also decide how much work you take on too.evalAnother bonus? It’s completely up to you when and where you work, so the freedom that you’ve got as a freelancer is amazing. Consider freelance work, you won’t be disappointed!4. PhotographerPhotographers make their living by capturing special moments for people. From family photoshoots to wedding photographers, you have so much flexibility if you’re a photographer.Imagine being able to let your creative juices flowand simply take pictures for a living?If you’ve got the flare for making people’s visions come to life within a picture, and you love weddings then this career choice might just be the one for you!

What Is the New Office Dress Code for Working Millennials - Sterling Career Concepts

What Is the New Office Dress Code for Working Millennials What Is the New Office Dress Code for Working Millennials? First impressions are key in business, even in the vastly changing landscape of the workforce.  As found by researchers  at the University of Western Ohio, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” Their study showed that even when their own experience contradicted a first impression, the latter ‘stuck’ which is why getting your dress code right is so important. These days, the old ‘suit-and tie does the trick’ adage won’t necessarily work if you want to mark yourself as an innovative professional. If theres one rule for millennial workers, it is that each industry and office has its own dress code  and getting it right  involves working out what that is and adapting to it fast! Casual is the New Cool In a survey by OmniPulse  of over 1,200 working adults, it was revealed that casual dress is the new norm in most workplaces. In fact, around a third of respondents were blatantly resistant to formal office attire. These days, some offices with millennial-aged (or younger) workers are seeing staff blur the line between what they might wear to a meeting with superiors and what they  might don to an outdoorsy event. Thus, layered outfits, accessories with a ‘wow’ factor, and cool headwear are seen as perfectly acceptable whenever they are put together with aplomb. The bonus for workers in casual offices is having more clothing to wear to social events. These outfits tend to be creative but not so ‘way out’ that they stand out from clothing worn by colleagues. To add a bit more spark to the same outfits on weekends or for concerts and festivals, accessories, jackets, and hair and make-up can be used as a form of self-expression. Catering Outfits to the Corporate Culture Clothing has become so individual that recruiting counselors and life coaches sometimes advise jobseekers to check out a prospective company’s social media sites and website to figure out what to wear to an interview. For instance, those applying to work in a creative role (think graphic design, fashion or animation) are usually expected to express their artistry through their dress. Thus, bright colors, retro suits and unique statement pieces (think necklaces or belts) will let hirers know that applicants live and breathe artistry in their daily life. Embracing the Suit and Tie with Pride Despite their penchant for informal wear, jeans, leggings and loud colors are still considered unacceptable in some realms. For instance, those in the finance, administrative or legal sectors will still usually be expected to attend to clients in a suit. For millennials, the artistry lies in playing with shape and accessories. Thus, a slim fit suit coupled with a designer bag attached to a mini bag is one way to add a dash of sartorial flair to an otherwise serious situation. A recent Randstad report has revealed that  79% of all current employees  define their current office dress code as either business casual, casual or non-existent. This is a big shift from the situation just a decade ago, when more formal wear was the order of the day at most offices. Today, dressing too formally can actually work against you, branding you as somewhat dated in this more flexible, diverse world. To work out whether a formal suit or a designer ensemble is the order of the day, check out social media to reveal what everyone else is donning daily. You don’t need to copy their style to the letter, but you should adapt to it at least to the same level of formality or playfulness. Do this by researching into dress codes at a new office, go formal if you must, and lastly, express who you are even if it is through a simple accessory like a bag or a pair of cool glasses.

What A Project Manager Resume Template Can Do For You

What A Project Manager Resume Template Can Do For YouIn this article, I am going to share with you a Project Manager Resume Template. It is very important to include in your resume all of the project-related things. This is what will help make your resume stand out and give you an edge in the job interview. However, the resume is only half of the job.The second part of the job is to convince the employer that you are the right person for the job. So be prepared for some things. A Project Manager Resume Template is a great tool for doing this. You are going to have to learn how to make it stand out from other resumes. This is not an easy task.A Project Manager Resume Template can help you by providing some information that no one else will have because it will highlight everything about you that makes you the right candidate for the job. It is important that you do not over simplify things.What a Project Manager Resume Template does be using its text-based format to give the reader so mething to think about and add some color to the resume. It will display your skills, experience, and achievements in a way that your reader will see them in a different light. For example, if you worked on a project for one year but you were only responsible for monitoring the project for one week, you would probably have it on your resume.So, a Project Manager Resume Template helps you make sure that your resume has a complete look to it. It will make it so easy for a potential employer to see the project you worked on, the position you held, and the company you worked for. You can go to a professional resume writing service for help in preparing a good project manager resume.A Project Manager Resume Templatewill also helps to add a new perspective to your resume. It will let a potential employer know that you are dynamic, creative, and a team player. In many cases, a Project Manager Resume Template can also add a little bit of personality to your resume.There are two ways that a Project Manager Resume Template can help you. First, if you want to give your resume an extra edge in a job interview, it will show off a project you worked on. It may even help you land the job without actually needing to do a lot of work to do it.Second, it can help you write a resume that can make you stand out in the crowd. If you use a project manager resume template, you can also add a personal touch to it that will make it look like the resume of a professional. Then you will make yourself stand out from the crowd of applicants.