9 Networking Tips for Freelancers

9 Networking Tips for Freelancers9 Networking Tips for FreelancersWhile many freelance workers have a solid group of repeat customers, that might not be enough to keep them busy and make aya the bills get paid. And that means they should always- always- be networking.Unfortunately, networking doesnt come easily to some freelancers, especially if they chose that career path because theyre not highly social creatures.If youre in that boat, or you are otherwise struggling to find new clients, here are nine networking tips for freelancers that may help you meet the right people at the right times.1. Commit to building your network.Successful networking starts with getting yourself in the right mindset. You know you have to do it, so decide now that you will devote a certain segment of every day to building connections, either online or face-to-face. Then hold yourself to that schedule, keeping track of what works and what doesnt.2. Start with your family and friends.Theres no need, at fi rst, to jump way outside your comfort zone as you build your networking skills. Focus first on making sure your friends and family members are aware of exactly what you do and what kinds of jobs you can handle. Encourage them to spread the word among their own networks. Youll be surprised how much business can come your way through this simple step.3. Contact past clients.If you completed several jobs for a particular group or company, they obviously liked what you were doing. Why not reach out to them and see if they have recommendations for other potential clients? You could even offer a finders fee in return for any help they provide. This is a great example of leveraging the network you already have.4. Look for opportunities to help.By giving assistance to others, you create a community of people who will also want to help you. Overall, giving not asking is the basis of good networking, says an article from Torque. One of the best ways to get new business is to be generous with your help. Supporting others to succeed is one of the best ways to get noticed for your skills and abilities (as well as your friendly personality).5. Join groups online.With minimal effort, you can find groups of other freelancers online with whom you have much in common. (Hint LinkedIn and Facebook are great places to start your search.) Be active in your virtual conversations, learning from others experiences and offering your own bits of wisdom when possible. Again, offer help to them, and it will come back to you.6. Seek role models.While youre communicating in those groups, look for specific individuals with whom youd like to connect more closely. If youre part of a particular online community, try connecting with someone a few paces ahead of you whose work and successes you admire, recommends The Write Life. If youre starting totally from scratch, look for someone in your chosen niche. Once youve found that person, read everything they post and learn all you can.7. Attend loc al networking events.You cant depend entirely on virtual attachments if you want to succeed. Youll have to meet people in person, too. Fortunately, its not hard to find events in most communities that offer those opportunities. Search carefully and choose those most likely to fit your needs.8. Go to trade shows.Sometimes, a change of scenery will boost your networking opportunities. The Upwork blog suggests focusing on trade shows. You dont have to have just one niche, but targeting a specific industry is a great way to get to know players in that space that can connect you to all kinds of work. Instead of going to networking eventsgo to trade shows and vendor events in your industry. Youll connect with tons of potential clients, get talking points for leads, and get an ahead of the game look at whats hot in the industries you love most.9. Always follow up on your networking efforts.This advice comes from an article by TheSelfEmployed.com. Whether its sending out a couple of emails or using social media channels to approach prospects in a more informal way, be timely with your follow-up- as other freelancers will be competing for the work youre interested in securing. A quick and enthusiastic approach to follow-up can turn potential prospects into paying clients- which is the end goal.Even if you follow these networking tips, you may still be uncomfortable as you try to build your community. But remember a little discomfort is preferable to an inability to make ends meet.Searching for freelance work?Browse Open Freelance Jobs

6 ways to create the perfect vision board

6 ways to create the perfect einbildung mainboard6 ways to create the perfect vision boardWhen it comes to your ultimate goals, sometimes you really have to binnensee it to believe it. Whether its backpacking across another country or dreaming about your ultimate job and what it will take to get there,a little visualization can go a long way.Although theres no way to verify this, the concept of planting the seeds for success through positive visualization or guided imagery has inspired everyone from pro sports teams,Pinterestusers and the author of The Secret, a bestselling book about The Law of Attraction - or the idea that getting clear in your mind about what you want allows you to manifest that thing in reality.Lets say youre willing to give it a try - how do you actually go about crafting board that speaks to what you really want deep down?Keep your goals in mindYou have to know where youre coming from to know where youre going.The idea behind this is that when you surround yo urself with images of who you want to become, what you want to have, where you want to live, or where you want to vacation, your life changes to match those images and those desires, Christine Kane, author of the book, The Complete Guide to einbildung Boards, writes.No matter which method youre choosing, how to make a vision board that is right for you should be started with a little ritual. Sit quietly and set the intent. With lots of kindness and openness, ask yourself what it is you want, Kane explains. This process makes it a deeper experience. It gives a chance for your ego to step aside just a little, so that you can more clearly create your vision.Dont let every image fool youLife coach Martha Beck says if youre planning to fill your vision board with glossy magazine ads of red convertibles, diamond rings, McMansions and models with impossible abs, youre probably setting yourself up for disappointment - because odds are, theyre not what you really, authentically, desire.Many people hear the basic instructions - Find pictures of things you want in your life and stick em where you can see em- and create virtually identical collages a wad of cash, a handsome husband, a gorgeous body, a luxury car, a tropical beach, she writes, Snore. These images constitute our cultures idea of the good life. Even a rich, happily married beauty queen with a Porsche in the driveway and a house on the ocean will crank out this same damn vision board. This has no juice at all. To really work, a vision board has to come not from your culture but from your primordial, nonsocial self- the genetically unique animal/angel that contains your innate preferences.Dont forget that vision boards are more than just imagesBut its not all about the images - in this video, Chicken Soup for the Soul author and success coach Jack Canfield mentions that you can also include symbols, photos of yourself having a good time in the past, quotes, affirmations and pictures of material things youd a lso like. He says you can make a career vision board to keep at work, and a personal one to keep at home, among other points.Dont harp on material thingsEntrepreneur Joyce Schwarz, consultant author of The Vision Board and trainer of Certified Vision Board Coachestold Tech Insider about how the pictures are supposed to signify your goals.This is not a wish list where you put a picture of a Coach purse. The visual reminders are really crucial. Images evoke feelings, feelings are the reasons we change our lives,the reasons we change behavior, she said.Pay attention to how the images make you feel.Dont just look at it, do something about itVision boards arent rocket science. But they do require a commitment to make changes in your mindset and in your life.As Martha Beck explains, Sparking your incredibly powerful creative faculty is the reason you make a vision board. The board itself doesnt impact reality what changes your life is the process of creating the images - combinations of objects and events that will stick in your subconscious mind and steer your choices toward making the vision real.Susan Steinbrecher, CEO of the Texas-based management consulting firm Steinbrecher and Associates, writes in Entrepreneurthat Essentially, creating a vision board or using a vision journal means you are projecting your own productive endgame.But it would be foolish to believe that just because you consistently visualize something, it will magically appear on your front doorstep. Your vision must accompany steps to bring your dreams to fruition. The vision board or journal simply acts as a catalyst for change. It is always a balance between vision and action, she explains.Shoot for the starsDont let anyone tell you that your dreams are too big. Only you know what you want the most, so have no shame Load your board(s) with things that will spark your creativity, and help you come up with ways to achieve those goals. After all, lifes too short to limit yourself.

Customize this Outstanding Relationship Manager Resume Sample

Customize this Outstanding Relationship Manager Resume SampleCustomize this Outstanding Relationship Manager Resume SampleCreate Resume Henry Collard100 Broadway LaneNew Parkland, CA, 91010Cell (555) 987-1234example-emailexample.comProfessional SummaryResponsible Relationship Manager able to become a significant asset to the company when it is time to negotiate vendor agreements. Strong skills in media communication management, public relations and media event coordination. Appreciates the subtle nature of maintaining corporate relationships.Core QualificationsEvent PlanningCorporate NegotiationsInterpersonal Corporate NetworkingHigh Level Corporate CommunicationsCorrespondence ManagementReputation ManagementExperienceRelationship Manager, December 2010 May 2015Enlighten Incorporated New Cityland, CAConstantly met with executive staff to maintain the integrity of the companys external communications.Worked with marketing to review press releases before they were sent to the media. Reviewed relationship statuses with executive team prior to critical vendor meetings.Relationship Manager, June 2000 July 2007Tall Incorporated New Cityland, CADeveloped correspondence templates for executive team to use.Assisted in writing speeches and executive presentation materials.Maintained regular communication with the primary contacts at the largest clients.Education2000 Bachelor of Science, MarketingHenderson Falls College New Cityland, CACustomize Resume

The science behind how rewards are actually de-motivating

The science behind how rewards are actually de-motivatingThe science behind how rewards are actually de-motivatingMotivation is all over the media these days. It seems as though everyone has tips and tricks about how to get and stay motivated. But a lot of the information out there is misleading and sometimes might even result in you being less motivated.My day job involves changing individual and organizational behavior to align with best practices (mostly in health and public health) and my passion project is about motivating and supporting working moms to create a work-life balance that aligns with their values so I think about behavior change and motivation every single day.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreIt can be so discouraging and frustrating to leave an amazing day where I trained nurses and doctors about how to motivate others to better implement evidence, only get on the subway, open my phone, and see all of this misinformation about motivation flying around.For example, one of the most common pieces of advice is to reward yourself when you finish a task. The idea is you will be motivated to get the reward, which will motivate you to complete the task. Unfortunately, science says almost the exact opposite will happen.If you are motivated to complete a task because of the reward, it might change your behavior for a while, but in the long term, you are actually less likely to do that task. Giving yourself rewards for completing a task might help motivate you that one time, but if the goal is to be motivated to do this tasks over and over, rewards make you want to do it less.You are probably wondering, how can rewards be de-motivating?The spectrum of motivation Are you focusing on extrinsic instead of intrinsic motivation?Motivation experts, Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, developed a self-determination theory, which describes how and why people are motivated. Motivation exists on a spectrum. At one end of the spectrum, people are extrinsically motivated (their motivation comes from a reward or punishment). Next, people are motivated by a sense of guilt or feeling they should do something this is called external motivation.Further along the spectrum, people are motivated because they believe an activity aligns with their values, this is known as internal motivation. At the other end of the spectrum, people are intrinsically motivated, in other words, they are motivated because they love doing the activity.Essentially there are 4 points along this motivation spectrumExtrinsic (rewards or punishment)External (guilt)Internal (aligned with values)Intrinsic (you love doing it).How extrinsic motivation can work for you in the short-term and against you over timeIf you are not feeling motivated, you might have been doing a task for a reward or fear of punishment, which may have worked for a while, but doesnt seem as motivating anymor e. This kind of extrinsic motivation can change behavior pretty dramatically in the short-term, but its unsustainable over time.A great example of this is kids learning to read (can you tell I have a 5-year-old?). Imagine you tell one kid (lets call him Jack) that you will give him a sticker for every book he reads extrinsic motivation. With another kid (Liam), you tell him to read the books that he loves whenever he wants since most kids get pleasure from reading, this is intrinsically motivating. Research shows that Jack (extrinsically motivated) is going to read way more books than Liam (intrinsically motivated) early on. This is the reason that so many schools have these sticker reading programs it gets kids to read more.Whats way more interesting and important is what happens over time. Jack will probably read more books than Liam. But during this time, Jacks mind is equating reading with the reward. Even though he once loved to read for the sake of reading, eventually his b rain rewires so that he likes reading because of the reward he gets. Once that happens, he wont want to read unless he gets a reward, and the rewards will need to get bigger and bigger over time to keep him motivated. Meanwhile, Liam continues to enjoy reading, because he likes the act of reading, not because he gets a reward.By trying to motivate yourself with a reward, you are shifting your motivation towards the extrinsic end of the spectrum. If its a one-time unpleasant task, go for it. But if you want to sustain your motivation, you might want to think again.How can you shift to being more internally or intrinsically motivated?If you are feeling stuck in your motivation, think about how this task aligns with your values (i.e., internal motivation) or is related to activities that you love doing for the sake of the activity (i.e., intrinsic motivation), not for the end product (i.e., external motivation)?Exercise is such a great example for this spectrum. If you give yourself a reward for exercising, your brain thinks the benefit of exercising is to get the reward. Instead, can you focus on how much you enjoy exercising, like the act of running and feeling your feet hit the sidewalk? If you dont really enjoy the activity, could you think about the ways that exercise aligns with your values and priorities you want to be and feel fit. If thats still a stretch, start small and shift to doing it because you should you know that your current lifestyle is making you at risk for a host of health problems.How can you get and stay motivated?Pick a task you have been struggling with and are not very motivated to do.Where does it fit on the spectrum?Create a plan to move down the spectrum of motivation.Talk to people about motivation you would be surprised by how many people struggle with motivation and the more people on board, the better you can be about holding each other accountable.Think about when are you using rewards or punishments to drive behavior (for y ourself, your employees)? Is there another approach you could be using?Good luck getting (and staying) motivatedJulia Egan has a Ph.D. from Penn State in human development and is the cofounder of Balancing Bravely, a resource for working moms striving to create a work-life balance that allows them to thrive. Grab Work-Life Balance guide to get you on the path to success to advance your career, achieve financial freedom, balance work and family, and find a little time for yourself.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people

The Over 40 and Overqualified Job Seeker

The Over 40 and Overqualified Job SeekerThe Over 40 and Overqualified Job SeekerThere are a lot of unfounded beliefs for job seekers when it comes to landing employment especially for those who are older and/or overqualified. These are two of the biggest concerns we hear from job hunters 40 and over. Im not being vorstellungsgesprched because of my age. Im not being offered a position because Im overqualified.The first thing to look at when they voice these concerns is the rate of job interviews they are actually landing. The average interview rate is 10 percent when you are applying for jobs and we find that in most cases, those 40-plus job seekers are achieving at least that percentage.So the question is this, are they really being passed over because they are older or overqualified?In some cases the answer is probably yes, they are viewed as too old or experienced for the available position. However, this is also true for those candidates that are perceived as too young or inexpe rienced or even factors like belonging to controversial groups or attending the wrong college yes this happensAlthough some are fair and others are biased most hiring managers use certain criteria when they evaluate potential candidates so unfortunately some applicants will be excluded based on these criteria.So how does an older job hunter minimize their chances of being the one passed over? By strategically sharing their hintergrundDont show more than 15 years of work experience on your resumeDont include college completion dates unless youre a brand new graduateJust doing these two things will go a long way to present you as an attractive candidate.How do you avoid the chances of being perceived as overqualified job seeker? Only present information that is relevant to the job you are pursuing i.e. you are targeting jobs as an accounting specialist dont emphasize your work as an accounting manager, downplay your leadership background and play up your skills in hands-on executio n.Using these few tactics, job hunters 40 and over can minimize the chances of being perceived as too old or overqualified.Over 40 and need help beefing up your resume? Were the best at what we do let us prove it contact us today to get started

The Little-Known Secrets to Resume Bulider

The Little-Known Secrets to Resume Bulider Where to Find Resume Bulider Additionally, a CV will arrive in handy if you would like to go international. Homeless indicators and resumes arent the exact same. While My Best Resume offers you the wording, it cant supply you with all the details essential to create your job application standout. Infographic resumes become more and more popular. What is Truly Going on with Resume Bulider You simply have to sacrifice some things at the abflug. Your present job title Lets start at the start. In place of counting your resume words you want to ensure every word counts You should have the ability to speak comfortably about each word on your resume. Resume Bulider Features Even when you were doing the precise same responsibilities, odds are there are at least 10 bullets it is possible to utilize to define your range of work. Your objective is to quantifiably prove that youre able to. The target of your resume is to secure you the int erview. Include a target when you chance to be seeking a specific job goal and when you comprehend the particular name of the position youre attempting to get. As soon as your profile is completed, you are going to have access to the Resume Builder. While resume templates might be simple to follow along with the template presented may notlage be best suited for your distinct employment background. Selecting the right resume format is vital if you would like to receive the desired job. A free of charge continue template is a schriftart of basic sample for a work application an individual may have to develop. A substantial number of occasions the ideal job candidate is screened out because of poor continue. Remember that employers will be sifting through a great deal of applications. Its rather simple to apply jobs online with very simple steps as there are a range of sites, which provides the jobs that you may want to submit an application for. As you most likely know, fin ding a new job requires you to create a sale. To truly have a professional resume made, you will need to devote an appreciable amount of money. You might now try to find a job sitting down comfortably at your house. Consider it a chance to produce complete bullshit appear appealing and professional. You should design your own motivation system to assist you prevent mistakes due to boredom. Whether youre an adult trying to find a new career or a student hoping to work out career and college choices, the highly effective on-line tool provides all of the career and educational resources you should make it happen for you. The important thing here is to demonstrate you have experience interacting with many different people (use the job posting as a guide for crafting an appropriate bullet point). You should include things like projects that demonstrate your capacity to address real world troubles and your interests. What Resume Bulider Is - and What it Is Not Hiring managers and recruiters skim resumes to determine if they wish to interview you and interviewers skim to determine what to speak to you about. Make sure that your employers see that A possible employer doesnt need to understand about clubs or organizations which arent related. With the appropriate shipping, employers and hiring managers wont be in a position to quit reading. Odds are, in case you have ever applied through an on-line portal, youve encountered applicant tracking systems (ATS). A fantastic technique to make sure your resume is flawless is to enlist the assistance of a specialist job application writer. Technology is the wonderful equalizer. Therefore, its much better to adjust your resume to every particular job opening. If youre looking for a new work or mean to shift your present job then you wish to make your job application in as much places as you can to boost your presence in the front of the probable employers. Any job or experience that makes it possible to a nswer that question ought to go on your resume. Your resume is intended to demonstrate your experience applicable to the job which youre applying for. Hiring for your specific role isnt their principal job. Resume plays a crucial role during the selection procedure for work. Locating a job may be tedious procedure, especially whenever youre on the hunt for a remote one. Applying for a new job gets more automated annually. Broker will assume that its dead and offer the message to consumer 2. Whether you have experience in your usual day-to-day job or you must be slightly more creative make sure you demonstrate how truly great youre at delivering exceptional customer service to each customer, daily. Knowing the Fair Information Practice Principles and the way they ought to be implemented is crucial to abide by the numerous privacy laws that protect personal info. Yes, its tough but its well worth it The New Angle On Resume Bulider Just Released Hiring Managers cannot afford to employ someone that lacks the essential skills, qualifications, and experience whenever there are a lot of applicants out there. You desire all your abilities and languages on the peak of your resume so that recruiters can go down the checklist which they have. If youre a student or fresh graduate, you most likely do not have sufficient details to fill over two pages anyways. You will be surprised to understand a massive number of graduates cannot discover function due to the insufficient work experience. Todays job seeker can pick and select an online resume builder from a selection of sources online. What will is how simple it is for recruiters to parse through your resume and discover the information they are searching for. You probably shouldnt be listing each and every job youve ever had. Resumes are absolutely foreseeable in features and info, however, several choices have to be produced. The Appeal of Resume Bulider Strong Understanding of the Industry If you ha ve a look at the resume sample, you are going to observe there are a number of terms which you wouldnt normally know unless you were somewhat knowledgeable about the business. Needless to say, you require some expert help in developing this kind of awesome resume for your LinkedIn profile. Including a potent summary section at the peak of your resume is the very best approach to acquire your next boss excited to meet you and would like to call you in for an interview. The entire page doesnt need to get crammed full.

Life Balance Does a BYOD Policy Blur the Line - Spark Hire

The Work/Life Balance Does a BYOD Policy Blur the Line - Spark HireA bring your own device policy allows employees to do exactly that bring their own preferred device to work. One of the advantages of such a policy is that employees can seamlessly integrate their work and personal needs on one device, whetzu sich a phone, laptop computer, or tablet.Today, many employees count this among the things they look for in an employer. Does their employer allow for them to mesh their work and personal life in a convenient way? Can they work from home when necessary? Is their manager flexible about the needs that might rise from having a familyperhaps coming into the office late in the morning and leaving early to accommodate day care hours? Does their employer have reasonable vacation policies? For many, a BYOD policy fits nicely into the file folder marked Work/Life Balance, and inevitably, it further blurs the lines between what time of the day is for work and what is for personal use.As ma ny companies hurtle towards a liberal BYOD policy, the work/life balance needs to be taken into serious consideration. Is constant access to email and the company network the best thing for all employees? What new expectations come into play thatwerentpreviously in a typical eight-hour work day? Will constant access help employees feel less pressure about getting things done while in the office? Or will it only increase the stress about the work theyre expected to accomplish?There certainly has been a lot of press concerning this topic of work/life balance lately. With Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer banning any kind of work from home option for her employees, news outlets, bloggers, and interested citizens have all been crying out with their two cents. Many decry that its a move backwards for an evolving workplace. In the internal email that was leaked to the press, Mayer explains the reason in terms of the importance of face-to-face collaborationTo become the absolute best place to work, communication and collaboration will be important, so we need to be working side-by-side. That is why it is critical that we are all present in our offices. Some of the best decisions and insights come from hallway and cafeteria discussions, meeting new people, and impromptu team meetings. Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home. We need to be one Yahoo, and that starts with physically being together.Like Mayer, whose decision is really more about the type of company (and culture) Mayer is planning to rebuild, as Amanda Augustine, job search expert for TheLadders comments, other companies should be equally intentional. Many companies are finding themselves deep in the nitty gritty of a BYOD policy, outlining how to account for security concerns. As they sketch their written policies, companies should also evaluate the culture theyre encouraging with a BYOD policy. Whats best for Yahoo may not be whats best for you. But in the ever-evolving workplace, its defini tely worth taking a look at.Does a BYOD policy change your expectations for employees as far as how much work they should accomplish in a given day? Comment belowIMAGE Courtesy of Flickr byDells Official Flickr Page

GE to Shutter Only U.S. Solar Panel Factory; Layoff 82

GE to Shutter Only U.S. Solar Panel Factory Layoff 82GE to Shutter Only U.S. Solar Panel Factory Layoff 82GE will close its only U.S. solar panel factory in January and shutter it completely by June, 2010. The reason is a familiar one in the solar panel industry production costs overtook sales prices and supply remains dim in part due to the recession. The 82 employees at the facility in Delaware will be laid off with severance packages. This comes on the heels of news last week that Evergreen Solar was moving its solar panel production from Devens, Mass. to China due to much lower production costs there.More power to China. And to its continued drive to become sustainable economically and environmentally.

Mid-2014 Retail Recruiting Outlook

Mid-2014 Retail Recruiting OutlookMid-2014 Retail Recruiting OutlookMid-2014 Retail Recruiting Outlook CleaverRecent retail sales trends may have you thinking that its business as usual in retail recruiting.Thats likely because, despite all the algorithms, automation and anonymity of digital sales, 93.8% of retail sales still occur in bricks-and-mortar stores, in a transaction completed by two people, according to the US Census Bureau (based on first quarter 2014 sales.)But ask retail industry consultants, experts and academics about the direction of retail recruiting and theyll tell you that ecommerce and traditional retail are on a convergence course.Why? Because mobile technology is about much more than letting consumers comparison-shop it is actually reshaping retail skill sets and retail hiring.When retail sales associates pull stock from the shelves of their stores to fill orders sent in by customers in other states, their jobs are merging with fulfillment and customer service positions, says Ellen Davis, executive director of the National Retail Federation Foundation, which is ramping up research on retail careers.Retailers are staffing for digital, she says. These are positions that didnt even exist five years ago. The retail hiring trends and challenges will get more difficult.Here are some of the biggest trends reshaping retail recruitment and retail career paths.Digital, Digital, DigitalInformation technology is evolving from the cube farm and onto the selling floor.The trend is being driven by innovations that change everything, such as mobile point-of-sale via Ipads equipped with credit card swipers, says Davis.Todays sales associates must know these technologies as well as how to use them to better help customers, rather than solely focusing on the screen and ignore the customer thats right in front of them.Even store security staff are affected by digital. If you go to paperless receipts, that flows through to security, asset protection and other functions, says Davis, who points out that emailed receipts cant be checked at the door as proof of purchase.A Budding Relationship with ITRetail IT staff is no longer managing just the bits and bytes of inventory and financials. They must be adept at collaborating with every department at headquarters and with support staff in the field.Deborah Fowler, director of the retail management program at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, says that information technology and analytics is the gist of the schools curriculum.Students quickly learn that category management is less about being an expert in that particular product category and almost all about how to read numbers and trends to stay a step ahead of consumers.But the upside of that quant immersion, says Fowler, is that everyday retail analytics is a skill that is both highly transferable and much in demand.Everything from ordering to display design is now dictated by headquarters and digitally tracked, so theres little left for st ore managers to do except hire, develop and retain great employees which was always their most important job anyway, says Fowler.A retail store manager is really a human resource director, she says. The great store managers have to be people-oriented, looking not just to help customers, but their own employees.The Importance of Employee TrainingRetailers are starting to focus on employee training as a strategic advantage, says Davis.Training has often been haphazard at retailers, partly because at the store level, the work is both repetitive and intuitive complete transactions and win customers.To ensure that the gee-whiz elements of mobile technology dont end up hijacking the customer experience, some retailers are blending sales and customer service skills with technical updates, says Amanda Nicholson, associate dean for undergraduate programs at the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University.For example, savvy employers train sales associates not just in how to use an i -pad-based inventory system, but also, how to make sure the sight of the iPad doesnt discourage customer inquiries.And that combination is proving attractive for candidates who want reassurance that they there is room to grow in retail jobs, she adds.Training is key, says Kevin Knapp, recruiting and talent director for The Container Store. Though the chain of 66 stores sells relatively simple storage and home organizing products, its staff are complete hundreds of hours of training each year.As part of their new hire training, employees learn details about the products. Even more important they need to cultivate the art of careful listening for the problem that the customer is truly trying to solve, and how to offer creative solutions.We create an air of fun and success, says Knapp. We want this to be a passion, and that is achieved both through training and through fun events that recognize personal events in our peoples lives.The Container Stores approach works it picks only 3% o f the 70,000 applications it receives annually.Building an Employer BrandThe one thing retailers cant train for is employee attitude.Employees who love the employer brand and what it stands still are the ones with the special sauce. Retailers are turning social media dynamics into successful recruiting hook for reeling in employees of all ages and life stages.Someone who loves the product understands what the customer likes, and its a lot easier to sell what you like, says Davis. Literally, it becomes a peer to peer customer experience, like shopping with a friend.Retailers are realizing that their brands are fodder for social media, the ultimate network for finding clones of their most successful staff.They are trying to figure out how their marketing brand and their employer brand are in sync, says Davis.Understanding what metrics validate the employer brand thats a shift when you are used to inventory and sales numbers. It takes longer to figure out what a successful employer br and looks like.

Top 4 Industries Using Linux

Top 4 Industries Using gnu/linuxTop 4 Industries Using LinuxLinux is fast-becoming the operating ordnungsprinzip (OS) of choice for many organizations that operate servers that host rechnerwolke and big data applications, according to studies by the Linux Foundation and SUSE.Startups and smaller businesses often choose the open-source OS for their operating servers because so many distributions are freely available. There are hundreds of Linux variants, but only a fraction run the servers a typical Linux system administrator would be responsible for monitoring or maintaining. Unix is the dominant family of web server OSes up to 15 variations of Linux account for more than half the discoverable Unix-hosted sites.The most popular commercial product with larger companies is Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) because its proprietary, offers tech support, and can readily show its compatibility with the newest processors. Some organizations start with RHEL, CentOS, Ubuntu, Debian or OpenSUSE, and then modify the system to suit their own requirements.If you want to focus on Linux system administration, heres a primer on where to look for jobs. Big companies are showing a growing commitment to the use of Linux systems in behauptung four industriesInternetMajor players like Amazon, Google and Netflix all rely on Linux for delivering services. A Linux system administrator at Netflix or another company who uses Amazon Web Services would have intimate knowledge of Amazon Linux AMI. Facebook and Twitter each use a Linux variant that has been tweaked in-house. For these types of organizations, open-source Linux distributions can deliver a lower cost of ownership than even the lowest-priced proprietary cloud options because of the many servers needed to offer Software as a Service on a global scale.FinanceWall Street, for some time now, has been a good place for job seekers to look for openings in Linux system administration. A number of markets trade using solutions built on a Linux stack, including the NYSE Euronext, London Stock Exchange and Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Financial exchanges rely on Linux for one of the same reasons Internet companies do Communications architectures are stable when handling large numbers of simultaneous, roundtrip messages quickly.InsuranceLarge insurance companies also build operating environments on Linux. AIG, for example, uses Red Hat and SUSE variants in its architecture. Health insurer, Cigna, was named Innovator of the Year last year in the Red Hat Innovation Awards. Scalability and tight security top the list of reasons some insurers are choosing Linux today.HealthcareRed Hat skills come in handy for Linux system administration jobs at healthcare organizations such as Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Many Debian pure blends - subsets of the Debian GNU/Linux distribution - address the specific needs of healthcare providers and researchers by packaging the kernel with drug databases or electronic medical reco rd systems.Other industriesGovernment, education and military are other sectors increasing their reliance on Linux system administration. Expect to hear more in the future about innovative companies using Linux systems to support advances in autonomous vehicles, wearable devices, and other smart combinations of hardware and software. The trend toward increased use of Linux in the enterprise is good news for technology professionals with Linux skills - and especially those with a background in Linux system administration.Check out our Salary Guide to see the starting pay for Linux pros in your city.