How to revisit requesting a raise from your boss

How to revisit requesting a raise from your bossHow to revisit requesting a raise from your bossWhile skill and experience are commendable traits, persistence is often what sets apart those who succeed and those who fall behind. Or in other terms Those who earn a promotion and those who remain in the saatkorn tax bracket. When youre denied a raise, it can be difficult to approach the topic again with your manager - but being diligent about your performance and your upward mobility is part of your job responsibility.As career expert Jennifer Schwab says, no one is going to give you a raise just because you call yourself a hard worker. Instead, you have to always be your greatest advocate.If youre unaya of how to approach this anxiety-inducing conversation, remember there are always dollars left on the table. And if you dont ask for em - someone else will. To earn them, you have to be willing to set up your defense case and stand by it with confidence. Here, experts shed their best a dvice on revisiting the topic of a raiseAlways ask why?If you recently thought you were a shoo-in for some extra zeros on your paystub, but your manager didnt deliver, workplace expert Amy Cooper Hakim, Ph.D., suggests never leaving their office without getting a reason. This isnt the time for arguing, she says, but for understanding Dont try to negotiate if the answer is no. Rather, ask why it is a no so that you may make necessary adjustments to your work style or product and have a higher likelihood of receiving a yes the next time, she shares.If the moment has already passed, consider booking a one-on-one with your boss to open the discussion again. This not only shows youre proactive but that you care about your work and you want to always live up to your highest potential.Document everythingEmails from happy clients? Kudos from cross-functional teams? How about words of praise from your manager? Or impressive numbers that directly illustrate your progress? Schwab has three ver y important words for you write it down.All of unterstellung provide the proof of your professional pudding and make it easier for your to negotiate when its time to talk about your salary again. Get in the habit of documenting your achievements so that when it comes time to ask for a raise, youre prepared with specifics and numbers. If youve increased organic website traffic by 30 percent, for example, those are stats you want to present to your boss, she explains.This information puts favor in your corner, but it also speaks to the future. When you bring these figures and tokens of admiration, the higher-ups will want to know how you will continue this momentum, so be prepared to explain your goals. Come up with a plan moving forward and how you want to grow the company. Remember People dont just get paid for what they did, they also get paid for what theyre going to do, Schwab adds.Express your commitment.Though your parents might have worked at the same company for decades, the millennial generation is more commitment-phobe than previous gaggles of workers. This makes businesses sometimes wary about increasing salaries since they dont want you to fly the coop after they make an investment in you. Schwab says reassuring your boss of your commitment not only to your own upward progression but of that of the company is important. Regardless of how long youve already been with a company, employers appreciate when you express your commitment to growing the business with them, she explains. So as youre negotiating, it wont hurt to let your boss know you dont plan on working for the competition any time soon.Practice, practice, practiceSure its not like the weeks before your dance recitals, but isnt it arguably more important? Career expert and author Mary Camuto says it is worth the extra time to map out your speech and run through it a few times. As you iron out what youll say, how youll say it and why it matters, this will build your courage, and keep your sel f-talk and mindset positive. Like you would prepare for any other event or stressful time, being sure of yourself before you walk into your managers office will help to ease your nerves. You are in charge of your career and revisiting the raise conversation is part of managing your career, she says.An at-home dress rehearsal with a partner, friend or roommate will also help you prepare for any interactions. After all, it is a conversation - not a monologue delivery. You want to be confident - not arrogant, non-defensive, a listener, and you want to know when to fall back, rather than to start arguing spontaneously, she notes. You can present a strong case for your raise in a professional, strategic and assertive manner. Dont weaken your case by becoming reactive, defensive, threatening or defeated Keep your own emotions in check.Be mindful of timingAfter youre initially turned down for the raise you want, Hakim suggests giving it three to six months before you go back to bat. This gives you ample time to collect your evidence, make the changes your manager thought needed attention and strengthen your esteem. And of course- never talk about money matters in the middle of a super-busy week or month, but after a big achievement or during downtime.Camuto also says this duration gives you the opportunity to study your manager and better understand the ideal way to approach him or her. You will need and want their focused attention rather than a rushed multi-tasking interaction. Plan not only your case but also your communication. Is the part you are talking with a get to the point person or I need all the detail right now person? What words might be negative or positive triggers for them?, she explains.After all, the better you know your audience, the more likely youll reap the outcome you hope for- and deserve.

My biggest I never thought of it in that way before! realization

My biggest I never thought of it in that way before realizationMy biggest I never thought of it in that way before realizationI wolfed The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson in something like 45 hours, and the realization finally sunk homeUp to that moment, I welches convinced that you need to be a superhero to succeed in life.You know, success is winning a gold medal at the Olympics, living in a multimillion dollar home, driving expensive cars, traveling the world in first class and living in 5-star hotels, being a saint whose compassion, miracles and acts of mercy immediately spell sainthood, finishing two PhD faculties within three years and so on.Those are BIG things. A common mortal canleid reach them, can he? If he reached any of those, he had to possess a lot of talent, luck or both.Success welchesnt for meBefore I had read The Slight Edge, those were my thoughts about success. Hence, I never really tried to be successful. Im blessed with many talents, solid health and relatively high IQ, so I had some successes under my belt, but at 18 years old I decided in my heart that success is not for me. I just was not good enough.Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day. - Jim RohnAnd then I read that book, and it challenged my beliefs about success. There is also another accompanying piece of the books messageFailure is simple errors in judgment repeated over time.I examined my life against those two statements. I found a small discipline behind every success in my life.Old winsI was admitted at a university as third to last on the list. I didnt crush it on entry exams. I struggleuchtdiode immensely the first year. I had a few re-sits. At the fourth year, I was (barely) among the top 25% of students and got a small scholarship.The discipline I attended almost every single lecture and classes. My peers, who were much brighter - didnt.I finished high school with flying colors. I was a good student, but I didnt prepare myself especially hard for the final exams.The discipline I avoided the knowledge gap during the vacations before the final year. I studied for an hour a day whole vacations. I had no idea how I found motivation for that it wasnt my style at all. But thanks to that, I preserved my current level of knowledge and didnt have to catch up in the last year.At the moment when I read the The Slight Edge, I could do well over 100 pushups. I led a sedentary life and was slightly overweight, but I was also fit like very few of my peers.The discipline I did a single series of consecutive pushups every morning.I substantially improved my command of English. My English was mostly self-taught. I had been taught this language in schools for 10 years, but in each level of schooling I had been starting from scratch, always in basic group.The discipline I read books in English.I was happily married. At that moment, I had been married for almost 12 years.The discipline I said I love you to my wife almost every day, some times more often. As a teenager, I missed this expression in my familys life and decided that when I start a family, I will say this as often as possible.None of those actions was especially hard to do. The common factor was that they indeed were done consistently over long period of time.Old failuresI found an error in judgment repeated over time behind every failure in my life.I was overweight, because I consumed all too many sweets. I had eaten a donut about every other day. This is a real caloric bombI didnt advance in my career because I was doing only enough to get by. That was a small error in judgment, but the effects were devastatingly significant. I wasnt promoted even once in my 8-year long career.I had been earning over two average salaries, but I wasnt able to save more than 23% of income. I saved only the leftovers at the end of the month. Its not the brightest saving strategy.It finally dawned on meTo achieve success you need to do simple and easy disciplines consiste ntly over time.ReflectionI grappled with the books message for about a month before I took a single action.Its not like I was awake at night thinking about it. It just never did leave the back of my mind.I pondered Is it really possible that success is so simple? Does the author tell fairytales or is this applicable in reality? Can I really have so much control over my success? Is it worth it to give myself hope and try to achieve success?I examined my past. I examined the life stories of my friends and relatives.Yes, it really seemed to be so simple. Ive never thought of success in that way.ActionI couldnt rid this realization from my mind. So finally, about a month after reading The Slight Edge, I sat down and did what the author advised. I wrote down some goals in six areas of my life (health, career, relationships, finance, education and personal development) and brainstormed a few daily disciplines I could practice to attain those goals.The very same day, I started about 10 dis ciplines. By the way, if you ask any expert on habits building, this is a recipe for disaster.My success ratio in sticking with those small disciplines (none was bigger than 10 minutes a day) was about 90%.Oh, one more thing, up to that moment, I avoided at all cost any planning in my life. The last time I wrote some goals down was about 16 years prior. I stayed away from any personal development stuff and had been reflecting seriously about my life only once a year on my church community retreats.I avoided dreams and self-analysis for 16 years, but I still brainstormed daily disciplines within 15 minutes or so and was able to stick with them for months.EffectsAfter a month of practicing speed reading for ten minutes a day, I doubled my reading speed. I was excited as a kid in a candy store. I LOVE to read. Suddenly I could read twice as much in the same time span.In the first month of my personal development journey, I overcame my shyness enough to open my mouth and utter some word s to one or three strangers. That was impossible I was so shy that, when I had been trying to approach a stranger, I felt physically sick. A lump in my throat. Mad butterflies in my stomach. Sweat on my forehead.I didnt notice many more results at first, but I was able to stick with my disciplines. In fact, I enjoyed them, so I decided to continue and expand my personal development program.MoreI started about a dozen more habits.In less than half a year, my savings ratio consistently hit a two-digit level. By the way, in that period my wife lost her job that provided about 25% of our income.After 7 months, I lost over 11% of my body weight and reached my dream weight. I beat numerous fitness records in the process.I discovered I wanted to be a writer and started to write consistently. In April 2013, 8 months after reading The Slight Edge, I started writing my first book.At that time I had already been able to talk to strangers on a regular basis. I met a new friend that way. We are still friends.Consistency and the compound effectMy results got only better with time. In January 2014, I released my 5th book and it became my first bestseller.In July 2014, we bought a house. That hadnt even been on our radar two years ago.I got a small salary raise.I kept my bodyweight in the intended range of 138144 lbs.I got sick only twice since July 2013.I met new friends online, all over the world.And todayIts over 5 years since I read The Slight Edge.I published 15 books. My works were featured on Forbes and Business Insider.I passed a few professional exams and got a few certificates. In 2015, I changed my day job. The new one is 35% better paid. Despite this, my book royalties in the last couple of months significantly exceeded my salary.Our income almost doubled. My saving ratio was below 2-digits last time in April 2015.I became a digital coach. This January, I obtained a certificate. Last month, my coaching income was about 20% of my salary.I beat over 180 personal fit ness records.Success is a few simple disciplines repeated over timeI can barely wrap my mind around how much I accomplished in the last 5 years.I look forward to the future with anticipation. I have no idea where my simple disciplines will lead me to in the next 5 years.P.S. The Slight Edges message captured in a single chartMy journey on that chart. Im on the upward curveMichal Stawicki isa coachand self-published author writing about how to expand beyond your limits so you can regain control over your life (based on my personal experience).

What to Do When Everyone in Your New Office Hates Their Job

What to Do When Everyone in Your New Office Hates Their JobWhat to Do When Everyone in Your New Office Hates Their JobYoure settling into your desk on your first day at your new job, excited to get started. But as your new co-workers trickle in, they offer up less-than-enthusiastic welcomes.Once youve been here as long as we have, you wont be smiling like that.So howd they convince you to take this job?They work us to the bone here.Within just a few hours, its clear that everyone you work with hates the place. You immediately wonder if you made the wrong choice by signing that job offer. If everyone hates the job so much, its only a matter of time before you start to feel the same way, right? Suddenly, all that excitement you had about your job starts to slip away.Even if the culture of your new job overwhelmingly reveals that everyone desperately wants to escape the environment you just willingly signed up for, you dont have to give in to the same mentality. Here are a few ways to s tay as positive as possible and keep an open mind, so you can form you own conclusions about the company and your future as a part of it. Actually Get to Know Your Co-WorkersYouve probably seen it (or an iteration of it) on Pinterest in a pretty font with a tranquil background Everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about. While it can be a good reminder to keep your cool when you encounter a grumpy cashier at the grocery store, the same holds true in the office. A persons negativity can seemingly center around one thing (in this case, how horrible work is), when the source of it is actually something entirely different- like a pending divorce or struggles with medical issues. It can even be work-related, but unrelated to you Maybe a co-worker doesnt think her current position is the right fit, so she applied for a job in another department- but got turned down. The point? Take the time to get to know your co-workers. Sure, you may find out that they just truly dont like thei r jobs. But you also may find out that something different is fueling that dislike- and theres no reason for you to adopt the same negativity.Find that One Source of SunshineOK, so youre telling me that every person in your office is inconsolably unhappy? I dont buy it.I worked in a customer service role for several years, and if theres one type of gig that seems to manufacture unhappiness, its customer service. Fielding a constant stream of unhappy calls is grueling. But you know what? Even though it sometimes seemed like the majority of the employees there were unhappy (and vocal about it), there were a handful who could keep the groups spirits up, no matter what. They were excited to be at work, determined to fix their customers problems, and did it with a smile on their face. Did they have challenging, frustrating days? Sure. But in a crowd of disgruntled staffers, they were a constant source of positivity. You may have to venture outside of your department to find a positive em ployee or two. But once you do, youll not only have an escape from the black cloud of negativity that is your team, but youll have a different perspective of the company- so you can form a non-biased opinion.Revisit Your InterviewAssuming you engaged in a smart, well thought-out job search, you didnt just land this job by chance. You purposefully applied, asked insightful questions in your interview, and carefully considered whether this job was a good fit for you. And by your signature on the dotted line of your offer, you said it was a go. Constant negativity from everyone you encounter can certainly be a red flag, but you have to remember the reason you chose this position in the first place- that it involved work you were excited about, the potential to move into a higher-level position, or valuable experience that can get you hired at your dream company one day. Plus, not everyone is so diligent during the job search. Theres a good probability that some of the people that youre encountering really arent the right fit for their job- so of course theyre not going to be a bucket full of smiles. But if you are the right fit, you shouldnt have to worry or take their negativity as a sign of things to come you will be just fine. Dont let the naysayers make your decision for you. Sure, there are certainly work environments that are truly negative- and if you find yourself in that position, you may want to reevaluate to determine if thats where you want to be. But assuming you made a thoughtful decision about the position, its important to look beyond the negativity and search for the positive- or be the source of it yourself. Photo of unhappy people courtesy of Shutterstock.

Retirement, Veterans, and Post Military Employment

Retirement, Veterans, and Post Military EmploymentRetirement, Veterans, and Post Military Employment

Soft Robotic Muscle May Lead to Lifelike Robots

Soft Robotic Muscle May Lead to Lifelike Robots Soft Robotic Muscle May Lead to Lifelike Robots Soft Robotic Muscle May Lead to Lifelike RobotsResearchers at Columbia Engineering believe they have cracked the code to one of the biggest challenges in creating untethered soft robots, a breakthrough that could add new functionality and capabilities to tomorrows machines.A group in the Creative Machines Lab led by Hod Lipson, professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia University, has developed a synthetic soft muscle tissue that doesnt require an external compressor or high-voltage equipment to expand, as previous artificial muscles had. Soft robots are of special interest for situations from factory assembly lines to medical care to home care, where robots are in direct contact with humans.Without a strong soft muscle, there is a limit to how much you can do with soft robotics, Lipson says.The self-contained soft actuator exhibits characteristics inherent in natural muscles but is three times stronger. It has a high strain, up to 900 percent, and can lift weight about 1,700 times greater than its own. The actuator is electrically activated and lightweight.To achieve those characteristics, a quest that has eluded many researchers in the past, the team used a simple combination of inexpensive, readily available and environmentally friendly materials.Composite material for the soft actuator is prepared by mixing ethanol with silicone elastomer. Image Columbia UniversityThey started with nonhazardous silicone elastomer, which costs about three cents per gram and is easy to 3D print, and embedded it with tiny micro-bubbles filled with ethanol. When heated by a low-voltage current running through a thin wire, the alcohol begins to boil at 78.4 Celsius and releases gas. That causes the silicone material to expand. Lipson cannot point to any systematic study that led the team to the result. It was a matter of trying various materials with a variety of elastic and oth er properties. The researchers were looking for materials that were easy to fabricate, food-safe and biocompatible.I have to say the end result is almost trivial. What we found is something you could do years ago. There is no high tech in it, Lipson says. Its sort of lots of tiny steam engines embedded into a material. When heated up, they all produce a vapor and expand. One thing thats important to us is that its 3D printable, which brings together two important trends actuation soft robotics and printable robots.Most soft robots in the past have been connected to large compressors, moved only tiny amounts, and produced weak forces.Our soft functional material may possibly revolutionize the way that soft robotic solutions are engineered today, says Aslan Miriyev, postdoctoral researcher in Lipsons lab and lead author of a recent paper describing the study in Nature Communications.Although a field of interest for decades, Lipson says soft robotics has been stuck in a corner of what is possible in robotics because we didnt have the right kind of manufacturing tools, so 99.9% of all robots today are rigid machines made out of steel or metal and are very different than biology. In biology, everything is very soft and has incredible capabilities that we dont have with real robots.The researchers 3D-printed the muscle in the shape they desired and activated it by passing low current through a wire coiled within it. Using computer controls, the autonomous unit can perform a variety of motion tasks.It can push, pull, bend, twist, and lift weight, Miriyev says. Its the closest artificial material equivalent we have to a natural muscle. The team mucksmuschenstill needs to solve two other major challenges. While the muscle is very strong, has high strain, and is lightweight, it is also slow.You cant play the piano with a muscle like this, Lipson says. It takes anywhere from ten seconds to a minute to expand to its whole capacity.The second issue is longevity. Unless enc losed in a hard shell, which is not desirable, it begins to degrade over time, a bit like natural muscle, Lipson said. These are things we still need to solve, Lipson noted.The team is also working to make the material slightly conductive so that current will pass throughout the entire muscle and gently heat everything. For the study recently published, the researchers used an attached wire because thats the simplest way to actuate it, but the team believes there are better ways to apply heat. If the material is conductive, then you can just print the whole thing without worrying about the wire so that makes it simpler also, Lipson said.As for a timetable or roadmap, Lipson says, Im a delusional optimist. I thought when I started my career around 2001 that it would take me one or two years maximum. It has turned out to be a bit trickier. We have goals but the path is uncertain. For most projects we are sailing west. We dont know where we end, but the direction is promising.Nancy S. Giges is an independent writer. For Further DiscussionWithout a strong soft muscle, there is a limit to how much you can do with soft robotics.Prof. Hod Lipson, Columbia University

If You Read Nothing Else Today, Read This Report on Registered Nurse Resume Examples

If You Read Nothing Else Today, Read This Report on Registered Nurse Resume Examples Registered Nurse Resume Examples Ideas Therefore, if youre asking for a Head Nurse profile and right now youre at Supervisor-Nurse level. Many processes in hospitals are automated. Nurse resume cover letters are required to help the resume and provide as many details about you as possible. Our resume builder makes it simple to create a well-written resume in a few minutes. Select the most suitable format if youre altering your career. Explain why you would like to go into a particular specialty and the actions you intend to take to get there. You will surely require a resume to promote by yourself for operate in a business enterprise. Registered Nurse Resume Examples - What Is It? Also, its important that youre completely honest in your resume. Savvy resumes are anchored by a thorough summary that enables the reader to rapidly find salient info about the applicant. Career goals for nurs es are determined by the person. Membership indicates that youre serious about your future in the health care profession. In some places, the work market for nurses are often quite tough. There are lots of nurses looking for work, but notlage all them have the identical education or specialization. The best way to locate an RN job is to search online for an appropriate position. If youre looking for your very first job for a nurse, cast your net over a bigger ocean. Your objective statement should have the ability to show employers that youve got the skills, expertise, and experience they are searching for in the nurse they attempt to hire. As a nurse, your main focus ought to be to obtain experience. Before you compose an objective, take into consideration the sort of nursing job that you need and the particular job that youre applying for. Your resume objective is your opportunity to tell a quick story about yourself. There are many advantages of being a pediatric nurse. E ducating patients and their families another major job of being a true RN. The hospital is the place best related to nursing work. however, it isnt the only avenue where you could find employment. If youre still at school your university may likewise be able to supply you with sample nursing resumes, from which you are able to pull other suggestions to use. In other words, by applying a couple of expert strategies, an NP in the middle of a work search can observe an immediate increase in interviews and resulting job offers. Actually, mentioning the license number could just create the recruiters job very very simple and could function as a distinguishing element for you. Any advice on the work market is going to be of fantastic value to you. Once you are finished making your resume, now you can apply on the ideal online job websites. Parse the work description for the particular qualifications the employer seeks. Though the nursing field demands specific technical abilities, employers look want different abilities, resume soft skills-the type of objective that make you a superb employee. When it has to do with privacy reasons, avoid including your true number since the majority of the employers will normally request a duplicate of the license later in the hiring process. Maybe you were lucky to land an excellent job in an excellent firm that knows the procedure to manage its workers.

5 Ways to Breathe Life Back into Staff Meetings

5 Ways to Breathe Life Back into Staff Meetings While meetings may be important opportunities for managers and staff to communicate, it seems that companies often dont fully utilize them. Arecent study by Meeting Kingfound that around 40 percent of work time is spent in meetings, and around 25-50 percent of time is wasted, which means that, at worst, employees could be spending up to a day in ineffective meetings eachweek. What they also found was a correlation between time spent in meetings and feelings of exhaustion and increased workload, which could be demotivational. Its not that we should throw out meetings,as the study foundthat 92 percent of us value meetings as an opportunity for communication. Rather, its that meetings tend to be missed opportunities. Itdoesnt have to be this way, and I have outlined five tips to breathe life back into your meetings.1. Make Them ShorterThis SalesCrunch s tudy shows that attendee attention levels begin to severely drop off after about 30 minutes, meaning peopleare getting bored. In the first 15 minutes employees are 91 percent attentive, and this drops to 64 percent attentiveness after 45 minutes. Asimple way to reinvigorate your meetings is to keep them to 30 minutes maximum.2. Chaired AgendaPreparing and sticking to an agenda can seem quite constrictive for many a meeting leader, who may feel it cramps their style. Onthe flip side, both this Give Morestudyand the aforementioned Meeting King studyfound that most people find it frustratingwhen there is nochaired agenda.Make properly chaired agendas with action points/takeaways sacrosanct, and this will help boost meeting engagement levels.3. Stand-Up MeetingsThere are obvious health benefits to holdingstand-up meetings instead of slumping in a chair for an hour, but standing upcan also reinvigorate your meetings. Stand-up meetings aretypically shorter generally clocking in at about 15 minutes so they operate within the prime 91 percent attention level. This keeps the meeting focused, and it can help to eradicate distractions. You can holda succession of three or four short, more efficient, high engagement meetings in a week, rather than a single, draining two-hour slog.4. Change the LocationHave you heard of the phenomenon known as Sick Building Syndrome,where people have sick symptoms related to a workplace, but no identifiable cause? These symptoms include aches and pains, fatigue, and poor concentration, none of which will be conducive to your meetings. Once the SBS sufferers leave the building or room, the symptoms disapear. Why not change your meeting location from time to time. Perhaps hold a meetingoutside if its a sunny day, or at the canteen, a local coffee shop, or any place thats a little different fromthe norm to beat SBS and reinvigorate a stale meeting environment.5. Add Some Humor to Your MeetingsOne of the best ways to liven up a dull meeting is to inject some genuine fun, levity, and humor. Try and platzdeckchen a fun, lightheartedtone at the beginning of the meeting, andencourage funny employees. Their jokes can help to reduce tension and add some levity to dire proceedings, making the whole meeting more fun. Those kind of employees can lift environments and meetings with a joke, and they are a gift to your meeting.Id love to hear what suggestions you may have tobreathe life back into your meetings.