Alexandra Levits Water Cooler Wisdom Negotiation Tactics for a Game-Changing Deal

Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom Negotiation Tactics for a Game-Changing Deal Theprospect of negotiation can be frightening. You may be accustomed to treating your goods and services as commodities, where the set price is the set price. Or you may have close relationships with your loyal customers and be reluctant to disturb them. And sometimesthe process might feel unnatural and uncomfortable. Nevertheless, negotiation is a partof life in most types of businesses, and your long-view success can depend upon putting these five tactics to work during the sales process. 1. Understand What’s Really Important In his bookGive and Take, Wharton faculty member Adam Grant suggests an approach called rank ordering. Grant’s negotiation research illustrated that participants achieved stronger outcomes when they ranked all their issues in order of importance. The idea is to share your rankings with the other party and compare them so each party walks away with the items that are most critical to them. This process usually involves trade-offsâ€"for instance, a shorter warranty for a reduced cost. As a small-business owner, the prospect of negotiation can be frightening. You may be accustomed to treating your goods and services as commodities, where the set price is the set price. Or you may have close relationships with your loyal customers and be reluctant to disturb them. And sometimesthe process might feel unnatural and uncomfortable. Nevertheless, negotiation is a partof life in most types of businesses, and your long-view success can depend upon putting these five tactics to work during the sales process. 1. Understand What’s Really Important In his bookGive and Take, Wharton faculty member Adam Grant suggests an approach called rank ordering. Grant’s negotiation research illustrated that participants achieved stronger outcomes when they ranked all their issues in order of importance. The idea is to share your rankings with the other party and compare them so each party walks away with the items that are most critical to them. This process usually involves trade-offsâ€"for instance, a shorter warranty for a reduced cost. 2. Hear Your Customer William Ury, the author of the negotiation books Getting to Yes and Getting Past No, recommends listening carefully to your customer, acknowledging their needs and agreeing whenever possible. Should the customer ask for something extra, probe sincerely. Why is this necessary? Instead of pushing your agenda, imagine that you are a mediator. Come back with an alternative arrangement (Ury calls this the golden bridge) that incorporates their ideas and shows that you understand their position. 3. Throw Out Your Dream Price If a customer asks you how much a deal will cost, consider starting high. Why? If your customer balks, it can be easier to negotiate down than to negotiate up. In her book The Heart and Mind of the Negotiator, Northwestern professor Leigh Thompson calls this the anchoring effect. Essentially, the first offer is an anchor that establishes a set point for the rest of the negotiation. The number that you ultimately settle on will likely be somewhere within the anchor’s general vicinity. For more where this came from, head over to the AMEX Open Forum.

7 Secrets to Making Recruiters Find You

7 Secrets to Making Recruiters Find You The best recruiters out there pride themselves on being able to find you, not the other way around. So what if they haven’t called yet? Instead of calling them and coming across as desperate, do your best to get on their radar by following these 7 tips. 1. Get Active on LinkedIn Heres a surprise: recruiters use LinkedIn more than emails. In fact they probably click on the LinkedIn site about a hundred times per day minimum. So just by being on LinkedIn youll be able to be found by recruiters. Make sure you use the right keywords on your profile, get active in Groups and Events and youll be targeted very quickly. 2. Get Active on Twitter Recruiters love Twitter as they can spray out their new roles to the market. Finding job opportunities on Twitter is very swift and takes very little effort. Follow the recruiters you know have the positions you want, by searching for your skill + recruiter + your location. Start adding value to them by doing some retweeting of their tweets, help them out with potential referrals etc. Before you know it, they will check out your online bio and see if you are keen on a new position as well. This requires you to have an employee friendly Twitter profile, clearly stating what you do and a link to your online bio somewhere. 3. Write and get read Everyone likes to write but very few get round to it and publish anything. With the advances of technology, it’s never been easier to reach out so embrace this to the fullest. You can write an article in your favorite industry periodical, a letter to the editor of the local newspaper, a post on your company blog or your own blog. The key here is to write something that will get read by the right people (in this case recruiters). Ensure that you are credited with your name, title and company at the end of your piece to make it easy for the recruiter to look you up. 4. Speak and get heard Next time you go to an industry event, try to secure a speaking slot either as giving a speech or just participating in an open forum, whatever it takes to get listed in the event’s directory. Recruiters are known to sneak in to these functions and to make contact with prolific people in the industry; public speaking is a brilliant way of being included on the hit list. 5. Get Referred Being referred by an authority in your industry is a great endorsement for you. Even if you are not exactly what the recruiter is looking for, they will be interested in you have come recommended by somebody they respect. It’s easier than you think to get referred as recruiters pester their candidates asking for referrals all the time. If you make it known to the right people that you are looking around, they will be very happy to tell the recruiter as it gives them future kudos. To make yourself seem more sought after, pretend that the referral was made without your knowledge and you “weren’t actively looking for job, but will listen to what they have to offer”. 6. Online Resume This is an optional one and not exactly a secret. Some would say don’t list yourself or upload your resume with online job sites like Monster, as you may come across as desperate. Other will say it’s the quickest way to get found. If you do it, be prepared to be bombarded with calls and emails from myriads of recruiters scouring online resources every day. To avoid irrelevant job offers, a good tip is to get the right keywords in your resume as it will be indexed and searched. And do activate the anonymous name and contact details setting allowing you to respond only to the relevant enquires. 7. Recruit Internally Get yourself involved in the internal recruitment at your company. You will be working with HR and they will introduce you to the recruitment partners they use. This is very sensitive for the search partner but if you send out the right signals, sooner or later the recruiter will probe you on your career. Sometimes they can actually help you direct; sometimes it will have to be more indirect (involving a 3rd party) due to legal implications. The point is that once one recruiter knows and rates you, they will be able to help you in one way or another. Recruiting internally is also very useful to for understanding exactly how recruiters operate and how the HR hiring process works in general. Thats it! You might also want to cast a glance at 5 Tricks Recruiters Use to Find You. Image: Shutterstock

How to Master Time Management in 4 Easy Steps

How to Master Time Management in 4 Easy Steps “Imagine there is a bank account that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening the bank deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do? Draw out every cent, of course? Each of us has such a bank. Its name is TIME” ?  Marc Levy,  If Only It Were True How many times have you got to the end of the day and then felt like it was a lost day? Most of us have got into bad habits when it comes to managing what we do on a daily basis. Have you ever had something important you needed to do and at the end of the day when you got into bed you thought, “damn it, I forgot to do x, y, z today! I’ll have to do it tomorrow.” The next day comes and goes and when you got into bed you realised once again that you’d forgotten to do what you said you would do. A week goes by and still nothing… it can go on and on. So how do you escape the struggle with time? How do you breeze through your days and weeks feeling on top of everything and making massive progress? The truth is, you can’t manage time, it’s impossible. You can however, manage yourself and manage what you do with your time, so in this bundle we’re going to share the process for overcoming the overwhelm and struggle with time and show you how to stay in control of what you need to do and get things done effectively. Four Ways To Master Time Management Mindset You have to realize that the feeling that there’s not enough time is internal â€" it’s happening inside of you and it all starts because of the things you keep telling yourself. We all have exactly the same amount of time every single day, so you have to put yourself in the right frame of mind to utilize that time to the very best of your ability. That starts by realizing that you are actually in control. In order to get in control the first thing to do is get honest and open with yourself about what’s really going on, what’s really stressing you out, what’s really overwhelming you. Declutter Once you’ve worked on the mental clutter take time to work on the physical clutter and then start creating systems and processes to get tasks done more easily and efficiently! If your office or desk is cluttered and messy it can really have an impact on your productivity â€" there are more things to distract you, it can take more time to find things, it can make you feel more stressed out by seeing the mess. In fact, a lot of the stress you experience that relates to time comes from feeling out of control. By getting organised, you are taking back that control. This one simple step can make you feel more relaxed and back on top of everything really quickly. There are 3 simples steps here: Tidy up your desk, tidy up your folders and PLEASE tidy up your computer (and stop saving everything on the desktop). Create a Plan Identify the steps you need to take in order to reach your goal. Take your big goals and break them down as much as you can and make a list of all the things you need to do. Organize those task into your plan: priorities your tasks, so you know what you need to work on now. And here’s the important one: set deadlines for each task.   What are the MOST IMPORTANT things you need to do right now? Batch The most effective way I’ve found to schedule my time is by creating ‘Mini Days”. This is where you chunk your time into 2-3 hour sections every day.   Then,   set yourself between 1-3 things to achieve within that time frame. You can schedule time to check emails, time to focus on marketing, time to focus on sales, time to create content and so on. Effectively you’re creating a business timetable for yourself.   This is a simple, but effective way to stay on track and become more efficient with your time

IT Resume Example Learn How to Command More Attention in The Hot Tech Niche

IT Resume Example Learn How to Command More Attention in The Hot Tech Niche IT Resume Example: Learn How to Command More Attention in The Hot Tech Niche The only constant in IT is that it is evolving faster than any other niche. Just several years ago, for example, who could have guessed that AR/VR technology would move from gaming to mainstream marketing strategies? Who predicted that chatbots would take over customer service? Or that IoT would be incorporated into so many industrial and consumer niches?   And yet, the basics remain. Design, development, and programming are still the building blocks of any new technology that may come along. The key for job seekers in IT fields is continuing professional development â€" staying on top of the newest technologies and getting the training (much of it is online), to be as attractive and versatile a candidate as possible.There are critical skills that IT job seekers must have for this increasingly competitive field in 2019 and beyond, such as:DevOpsBlockchainBig DataHadoopData ScienceMachine LearningAIAWSIf you already specialize in one of those technologies, there’s just one other thing you need to do to secure a top job. That is package your expertise into a compelling resume. Below are some essential tips that will help you do just that, followed by a detailed IT resume example.Be SelectiveAs you look at IT position postings, the first thing you need to do is match your skills, training, and experience with those that are key in the posting. Narrow your search by these, and you will be going after the jobs that you actually have an opportunity to land despite tough competition.Update Your Online PortfolioSpecific hard skills are what most tech employers are after. So have a demonstration of your talents readily available. Add some new open-source projects to your GitHub profile, gather up some references and highlight those on your LinkedIn profile. Or you can publish a blog post explaining the nuts and bolts of a recent project you have worked on.New to The Job Market? Consider Career Schemes for Recent Tech GraduatesAs IT talent is in high demand, a lot o f big name companies are now trying to capture the brightest minds straight out of college, and nurture them in top professionals in-house. Participating in such schemes means that apart from a paycheck, you’ll also receive several years of training and mentorship â€" a major plus for your future career.Some of the employers offering such programs in the US and the UK include:EYPwCShell  Amadeus  Barclays  Farfetch  Free Resume Sample for IT position (Word version)Download resume example (.docx)IT Resume Example (text version) Tim SmithGeneral Job Title: Full-Stack Web Developer tim@email.com Phone: 555-555-5555 Github: timdevA full stack web developer with a history of interning at Fortune 500 companies and working with venture-backed FinTech startups. Agile specialist, creative problem-solver, with Java skills.  Front-end skills:HTML CSSJavascriptJqueryReactJSPostCSSBack-end skills:JavaNodeJSMongoDBAWSCDNSparkExpressJSPHP 7Work ExperienceFinTech Inc., October 2018-PresentFull-s tack developerHelped developed the early lending app MVP on Java. Used NodeJS and MongoDB to create back-end for storing user data.Developed the app front-end using linked list data structure.Assisted with the setup of automated tests to cover 90% of the application.Participated in daily scrum meetings and planning poker.ABC Corporation, March 2018- September 2018Full-time IT Intern and TraineeAssisted in the development of new web pages for the internal corporate project. Provided tech support to users.Developed automated test cases for the CRM application, together with the regular web team.Assisted with AWS infrastructure housekeeping: scheduled data backups, tested disaster recovery plans, fine-tuned system’s performance, learned the basics of AWS cost optimization.Took part in requirements gathering and data mapping for a major cloud migration process.Completed several in-house masterclasses including: Best Agile Project Management Practices, Fundamentals of Peer-to-Peer Code Reviews, Introduction to AWS Cost Optimization.Tim Smith Design, May 2016-March 2018Freelance Web Designer/DeveloperCreated 6 WordPress websites for small businesses in hospitality, healthcare and accounting services industries.Designed new homepage and check-out process for an e-commerce store.Provided IT support services to several business owners.My project portfolio and testimonials can be viewed at (link to your portfolio/website)EducationColumbia University: BS-Computer Science, 1999-2003GPA: 3.8; Certifications in Java, JavascriptSkillcrush Bootcamps: 2008 â€" Present: Programming CourseworkCertifications in Rust, Swift, F+Coursework in AI, AWS, AR/VR DevelopmentConclusionsThis is only one sample, obviously. But it should give you an idea about how you can engage a reader by pulling their eyes to the important skills you have developed and then how you have utilized those skills in your work experience.Note: for IT resumes, it’s best to have a separate section for your ski lls summary. This allows the potential employer to see that you have the talents they need. You may want to change the order in which you list them, based on each specific position you apply for, so that the key ones come first.Finally, as you craft your IT resume, there is a number of resume templates you can find and use to make your job application more coherent and memorable. previous article Bold and Brash a Creative Resume Template with Pops of Color next article Simplexing â€" Free Modern Resume Template you might also likeA Model Resume Example That Will Get Results

5 Essential Keys to Having A Safe Workplace

5 Essential Keys to Having A Safe Workplace Photo Credit â€" Pexels.comIt is a well-known fact that a company’s success stems from and relies heavily on the well-being of its employees. In most cases, this encompasses a variety of aspects, all of which amount to a basic human right: the right to feel safe and secure at your workplace.No two industries are the same â€" there are those that generally present greater safety risks, with the usual suspects being the construction, agriculture, mining and transportation industries.As a general rule of thumb, it is usually advisable to avoid succumbing to the tendency of underestimating the perils of a hazardous environment. Regardless of the specifics of a workplace, here are a number of measures that will help you instil a feeling of safety for each and every one of your employees:1. Perform risk assessmentevalevalEvery employer has the legal and moral obligation to perform risk assessment and thus to identify the hazards that employees are potentially exposed to when carrying out their duties. With this checked off your list, you will then need to decide on the control measures that should be implemented, record the data and update it when needed for optimal efficiency.This task is a core step towards efficiently developing a health and safety plan that will grant you and your personnel peace of mind, as well as a boost in productivity.2. Offer proper workplace safety training for your employeesIt is vital not to skip this all-too-customary informing procedure and provide your employees with the appropriate training concerning workplace safety. Even if many guidelines might seem obvious and commonplace, it is of paramount importance that every employee is kept up-to-date regarding the hazards that may endanger them.You might also consider constantly refreshing and updating the information, especially if any changes occur or if any employees return after a long leave of absence.3. Develop a culture of safetyRather than simply assimilating the usual regulatio ns, your employees need to understand the risks inherent in their job positions in a more organic fashion. This can only happen if you personally get involved in the process, by gently reminding everyone of the hazards and risks pertaining to a certain action or by correcting an employee’s behavior if it has the potential to be harmful to themselves or to others.It’s generally beneficial to encourage positive actions towards maintaining safety and to remain open to suggestions and ideas on how you can further improve workplace conditions.4. Abide by National regulationsDepending on its location, every company must function in accordance with the rules issued by the national regulatory organization pertaining to that country.evalFor example, in the United States the governing organization is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which periodically updates the standards that companies need to stand by. Of course, every country has such an organization in place and you can easily be kept up-to-date by simply subscribing to or regularly visiting their website.eval5. Always stay on top of the gameSerious accidents have taught us all that it is best to nip an unpleasant scenario in the bud, rather than actually letting it flourish and dealing with it afterwards. You can do that by putting your best efforts into raising awareness among your employees and by keeping up-to-speed with relevant information in the field, as it is released by authorized agencies. It is also crucial to have experts conduct professional inspections on susceptible workplace machines and environments. And above all, it is recommended to keep track of all nonconformities and accidents as they appear so as to better control the trajectory of these risks.In order to create and maintain a blossoming work environment you will need to take every step needed to ensure the safety of your employees. Not only will they be kept from harm, but by feeling valued as people, they will be mor e content and thus become more efficient in their daily tasks.evalNo system, no matter how well-thought or how strictly applied, will be able to predict the truly unpredictable. That is why you need to be in charge wherever the situation allows you to and to do the best you can to offer first-rate working conditions for all your company’s staff members.

Weighing Self-employment versus Working for a Large Company - Sterling Career Concepts

Weighing Self-employment versus Working for a Large Company Weighing Self-employment versus Working for a Large Company As you navigate your career path and decide what is best for you, there might be a time where you consider working for yourself rather than pursuing a full-time job. Whether it’s starting your own business or taking the extra step with your side hustle, a self-employment opportunity might present itself. Is it worth it though? Each scenario has its pros and cons, and every person differs in what they value most about employment. If you find yourself in the in-between, trying to figure out what step to take next, weigh the pros and cons of working for yourself versus a company in order to make an educated decision and with careful consideration. Self-Employment: Pros The first (and maybe most obvious pro) is being able to be your own boss. By working for yourself, you allow yourself to make all the decisions of your work, whether that be creatively, financially, or personnel-wise. This is your chance to control your own destiny and can be a great way to improve your leadership and entrepreneurial skills. Of course, if you go this route you must ensure you’re knowledgeable enough in your field/industry to trust yourself. However, being able to control yourself is definitely a great power to have. Many self-employed people find themselves fortunate enough to potentially make more money than full-time employees because they aren’t bound to an annual salary. Depending on the industry, you’re able to exceed the market salary for income through the venture of your business. Finally, being able to flex your work schedule and make it fit around “real life” is extremely valuable. Not having to commit to a 9 to 5 job or going into an office is great for many people, and if this fits your kind of lifestyle, you may want to look into working for yourself. Self-employment often means working from home, which can yield to a better work-life balance. Self-Employment: Cons While the perks of self-employment may seem great, there are some cons to consider. Starting with the potential risk that starting your own venture can come with, it’s important to realize that getting your work off the ground can be a difficult task and will take time to develop and grow. No business is going to explode overnight, so being able to survive and withstand a potential shaky start, in the beginning, is something to be aware of before you commit to this direction of your career. As mentioned previously, self-employment can be great in terms of flexibility, however, it can also be quite consuming and take up more time than you realize. While working full-time can offer things like paid time off and maternity leave, working for yourself has no “off the clock” and can often push you hours of work over what you intended. This kind of job will have you up early mornings and late at night, making sure everything is perfect. Large Company: Pros Compared to self-employment, working for a larger company can offer more perks and can take some stress off as an employee. More specifically, in terms of stability and structure. Rather than being the lone soldier, large companies offer set expectations regarding roles and responsibilities as well as standardized policies that all are expected to abide eliminating the risk of confusion. For example, items like timed work shifts and dress codes. These can allow for more planning and expectation into an employee’s day-to-day. Many people enjoy sticking to a dress code as it helps them feel and look their best. So, be sure to take note of company policy to incorporate these specifications into your everyday appearance. Take note of expectations regarding wardrobe, and even grooming habits. You can likely find your company’s dress code in an employee handbook, and look to an employee you admire for their professionalism. Typically, men are able to create various outfits by mixing and matching different pant and shirt combinations. Ladies, don’t feel that this means you need to have endless clothing options. Truthfully, you can get by with these 10 work outfit basics. In terms of grooming, to ensure that you are fulfilling any and all expectations, take note of the products you’re using. If you find your look difficult to keep up with, research skin-protecting shave products that are known for precision and longer-lasting results. This will hopefully reduce the number of times you have to shave on a weekly basis, making any personal style preference maintainable. Additionally, unlike running your own show, having a work environment at a full-time job can ease your stress and open your horizons to new people and new experiences. Having coworkers and a community around you will help you grow professionally and personally and who knows, you might just make new friends that can last a lifetime. Not to mention, large companies tend to offer salaried positions which have great benefits to help in planning for your future. Self-employment opportunities are less like to have standardized benefits like insurance, paid time off, and maternity leave options. These are all high-value benefits that should be top of mind as you weigh your options. Large Company: Cons For some people what may be the biggest con of working for someone else, is having a boss or hierarchy within the company. Reporting to someone is not the most ideal situation for many people but making do with what you have is truly all you can do. Becoming acquaintances with your boss is never a bad idea and connecting with them on a personal level will only help you grow in your profession. Although the power structure might turn some people off, many people like having the structure, so just like many of the points discussed today, it’s completely dependent on your personality and preferences.

Film Production Resume Template

Film Production Resume TemplateA film production resume will highlight your career so it is important to write one. It is not enough to simply state your most recent job and date of employment. You need to highlight your experience, education, and skills as well.The resume should contain the information about your past employment and your hobbies. You should list all of your jobs and qualifications. In addition, the resume should cover your educational history, industry and skills you've learned. For example, you may have studied fine arts at a college or university. By including this information, you will be able to highlight this accomplishment to show that you are the person they are looking for.When applying for a good job, it is important to provide a variety of different qualifications. If you have a bachelor's degree, but you have been working for ten years, it may not be obvious what you did in order to acquire this degree.To help you express your experiences in an organized manner, you can summarize the events as a few sentences. Do not say 'I was raised in a family of 10 children.' Simply state your experience in a couple of sentences and choose a more interesting or unique way to describe the experience.To avoid spelling errors, you may want to use a combination of a first and second person to describe your skills. Do not just state your skill in the third person.The entertainment industry is very diverse. Your resume should focus on your experience in one specific area. Examples include writing a story, directing a television show, or editing a film.A film production resume will help you present yourself to employers. When you work with clients or work with agents, you want to present yourself in a professional manner. This can be done by using this resume template.