Barbara Shers Refuse To Choose A Liberating Game-Changer For Those Who Want It All

Barbara Sher’s ‘Refuse To Choose’ â€" A Liberating Game-Changer For Those Who Want It All Book Reviews Barbara Sher’s ‘Refuse To Choose’ â€" A Liberating Game-Changer For Those Who Want It All * ‘Refuse To Choose’ by career / lifestyle coach Barbara Sher has become a guiding light among a group of people known as Scanners: a multi-talented, curious bunch who have been suppressing their unique gifts for far too long... Read on to find out more about Scanners and how, if you are one, this book could change your life. ‘Follow your passion’ ‘Find your calling’ ‘What’s the one thing that makes you come alive?’ Does your heart sink when you hear phrases like this? Do you feel a rising sense of panic? Maybe a little shame? Chances are, you might be a Scanner. Some of us feel as though we have fifty ‘callings’. We’re passionate about at least twelve subjects at a time, and the idea of doing only one thing for the rest of our lives is a nightmare. Sound like you? Welcome to the fold! Sher calls us Scanners. Scanners, she explains, are genetically wired to be interested in many things, often at the same time. They are usually multi-talented: able to turn their hand to a range of tasks and activities and do well in all of them. They frequently have several projects on the go, and new interests and curiosities pop up on a regular basis. However, conventional wisdom dictates that a jack of all trades is a master of none. We’re taught that dropping an old project (unfinished) to pick up a new one (or three) is a weakness, and that our enjoyment of lots of different subjects is a sign of a scatty brain and a lack of discipline. Quickly, we learn that our way of interacting with the world is wrong, and our Scanner tendencies are negative traits to be ashamed of and overcome. For a Scanner, Barbara Sher’s Refuse To Choose is a an exhilarating permission slip to be wholly and unashamedly yourself. She talks us through the classic characteristics of Scanners, celebrating our innovation and curiosity, and reveals the unique gifts of a Scanner’s approach to life. With references throughout the book to well known Scanners (ever heard of Leonardo da Vinci? or Aristotle?), Refuse to Choose is a handbook for doing everything you love. Sher identifies the particular challenges faced by Scanners, and provides readers with simple and effective tools to overcome them. Some of these tools (such as the daily Micro-Nervous-Breakdown) seem a little incongruous with most of Sher’s highly practical, down-to-earth advice, but many people will appreciate her well-rounded approach to supporting Scanners of all persuasions. Our top takeaways: You stop when you do because you got what you came for: Don’t worry if you lose interest in a project halfway through. In the same way as a bee stays at a flower only as long as it needs to gather its nectar, Scanners stick at a project until they’ve got their nectar, or their ‘Scanner’s Reward’. This could be a sense of discovery, acclaim, a level of expertise, or creating something that didn’t exist before. Identifying your particular Reward allows you to focus, leaving projects feeling satisfied and before boredom and frustration sets in. Remind yourself how much time you really have: It’s easy to become paralysed in the face of dozens of interests and projects. With such a mountain of potential in front of us, Scanners often end up frozen, taking no action on any of the things we want to explore. Overcome this paralysis by using a Scanner’s Calendar: a two-year wall calendar where you can plan out all the things you want to do and learn. Knowing that you’ve set aside time for each interest means you can relax and focus on one at a time, reducing what Sher calls ‘Scanner’s Panic’. Use a Scanner’s Daybook to record your ideas (and their offshoots): A Scanner’s Daybook is a notebook designed to capture your whirlwind of thoughts and ideas, and explore them as fully as you like without committing to them in practice. Write down each idea in its entirety, and record any tangents your mind heads down on another page, always returning to the original idea once you’ve made a note of the tangent. No more despair at another stroke of genius escaping you while your attention is on something else.

Three Things No One Tells You about Social Media - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Three Things No One Tells You about Social Media - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Social media allows us to connect with professionals and amazing people all over the globe. Millions of people use networks like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to connect daily and build their personal and business brands. However, there are three things that few people mention when it comes to using social media for personal branding. If you are not a people person in real life, you are probably not going to do very well on social media. Contrary to what you may have been told, social media is not about advertising or even technology. The core of social media is the ability to build relationships. Social media is about people. If you do not like people, enjoy connecting with people, have the ability to understand what people are attracted to, etc., you are going to have a very difficult time building your personal brand online without professional help. The rules of engagement online are the same as those in person. Therefore, if you are pretty horrible with the in-person rules, you are bound to violate relationship-building etiquette online. Hiring a professional to manage your social media accounts can be risky. Your online and in-person persona must be in alignment to build and maintain a strong brand. Social media users are like bloodhounds that can easily sniff out personal brand inconsistencies. If you hire a firm or assistant to help you they must understand your brand, have the ability to speak in your voice online, and be kept up to date on your activities. Otherwise, they may post erroneous information, take a stand on a controversial topic that you don’t agree with (and likely would even want to address), or post items that are inconsistent with your brand. Be sure to do your homework and ask any professional social media manager(s) for references, past case studies and about their approach. If they do not ask you extensive questions about your brand, move on. You will never learn everything you need to know about social media. Social networks are consistently updating in an attempt to stay competitive, relevant, and to increase advertising dollars for their stake holders. For this reason, information that is valid today may be incorrect tomorrow. Simply subscribe to feeds of two to three of your favorite social media blogs and check regularly for major updates. Author: Crystal Washington is a social media marketing strategist, speaker, co-founder of Socialtunitiesâ€"a social media instruction brand that trains Gen Ys-Boomers on the strategic use of social media, and the author of The Social Media WHY: A Busy Professional’s Practical Guide to Using Social Media Including LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Google+ and Blogs for Business. She is hired by corporations and associations around the globe to provide keynotes, workshops, and webinars.

3 Ways to Burn Your Belly Fat Fast - Classy Career Girl

3 Ways to Burn Your Belly Fat Fast As career women, we always prioritize getting things done more than anything else. Working late is the norm, over-eating happens, and a chocolate bar makes a convenient and pleasant snack from time to time. While busy climbing the career ladder, one thing we sometimes overlook is our body shape and the belly fat which creeps on our body silently inch by inch. As a Chinese living and working in the US, I rely on the Asian food wisdom to keep my waistline in check. Even though I don’t have much time for the gym, food weighing or calorie counting, my weight has been well maintained for 7 years thanks to our ancestors’ wisdom. I’m going to share some basic tips with you, and I bet you’ll be amazed at how fast they can help you shrink your inches. 3 Ways to Burn Your Belly Fat Fast 1. 24-Hour Hydration Think about what the Chinese people eat steamed rice, a lot of soup, and a lot of tea, and you’ll see how important hydration is in the daily eating. First of all, cooked rice is 70% water, and if you look at the calories, 100g cooked rice is only half the calories of bread and ? the calories of noodles of the same weight. What do we know about the large-sized and intensely hydrated food for sure? They make us full. For a typical family, dairy-free and moderately seasoned soup is consumed at almost every meal. An interesting way of eating rice is to add the soup into the rice bowl. It further inflates rice, makes it bigger and, most importantly, enriches it with flavors and makes it tastier. In fact, when I can’t have rice during lunch break at work, I’d include a cream-free soup like the chicken noodle soup â€" into my lunch and dip the bread into it when eating. The effect is similar. Tea LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT! Don’t mistake it with the Starbucks green tea frap, it’s the pure, natural and aromatic tea leaves in hot water. Besides hydrating you (despite the caffeine!) and boosting energy, tea contains a vast amount of antioxidants that help you shut the door of boatloads of cancers. Also, scientific findings support that tea consumption is inversely associated with weight status. The bottom line: hydration makes you eat significantly less, making it easy to create a daily calorie deficit a few hundred calories. Quick takeaways: Drink more soup, moisturize your food, and fill your tea bottle to burn belly fat. [RELATED: 9 Surprisingly Healthy Foods For a Healthy Life] 2. A Different Approach To Dessert Chinese people have loved confections from ancient time, and there are thousands of those recipes documented in history. However, only sweet isn’t enough, and to make a good dessert, it has to be gentle, aromatic and rich in natural flavor. This has led to the moderation of sugar usage because as a type of seasoning, sugars purpose is to elevate the food’s natural flavor rather than taking over or killing it. By this standard, most of the grocery store desserts in the US would be rejected out of the door of most Chinese families. Besides, drinking tea with desserts in China is as common as adding cream to coffee. The ancient Chinese believed that tea helped to cleanse the body’s fat and grease; modern science has further proven that it mobilizes fat from fat cells, and releases fat into the bloodstream and make it available as energy. Quick takeaways: Only eat high-quality desserts â€" pricier means less frequent, better quality, and better experience and pair tea with dessert. 3. Cut Back on Dairy   Throughout history, the Han Chinese people (91% of the Chinese population) have had a very limited intake of dairy products. According to Physician Committee for Responsible Medicine, researchers found 92.3% Chinese people tested had lactose malabsorption. I’m one of them as the majority of my Chinese friends. Is it bad? Not really. There are loads of calories and fat in dairy products, and minimal consumption of them isn’t a bad idea at all. In reality, scientific findings of them have been quite negative lately due to their strong associations with many health risks, including weight gain, inflammation, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, as well as issues related to immune, reproductive, and central nervous systems. What about calcium and bone health? According to Physician Committee for Responsible Medicine, consuming more than approximately 600 milligrams per dayâ€"easily achieved without dairy products or calcium supplementsâ€"does not improve bone integrity. Fun fact: Even though people rarely drank milk throughout the Chinese history, it made great face masks for the smooth, radiant and pearl-like skin and was widely embraced by the court ladies, empresses, concubines, and upper-class women. Quick takeaway: Cut back on dairy products. Choose one of the above and implement into your daily routine and youll be one step closer to burning that belly fat away as quickly as possible.

7 Tips for Low Budget Employer Branding

7 Tips for Low Budget Employer Branding Employer branding, yes, it’s very important and you probably figured that out by now. If you didn’t, let us be very clear: employer branding is here to stay! It’s not a marketing hype or buzzword, no ma’am (or sir). Your employer brand is equally important as your brand in general. Let’s create a baseline: what are you doing at the moment about your employer brand? Nothing? Not likely, but possible, however unnoticed you might have been doing something about it! Check out these  10 Employer Branding Stats You Need to Know  to see why you need to invest in your employer brand. Are things making more sense now? Good! Then it’s something we’re going to work on! Read on, dear friend. 1. Stories to tell So, you’re aware of what you’ve been doing and what you’ve been lacking in doing. Now, what kind of stories do you want to tell? Is your brand in general ready for some more clarification? Or are you stepping up and finally creating actual visions, missions, and values. Whatever the reason, the stories should be human. If you’re creating a fairytale, no one will buy what you’re selling. People want to feel connected with your story, that’s how it sticks! 2. Social media skills Are you visible on social media? Let us tell you right now if you’re not: that’s totally OK. As long as you have at least a few, or one channel where you provide excellent content on. Quality over quantity is the key since the number of posts on a channel are sometimes absolutely ridiculous! You don’t want to post because you have to, but because the content is good. Hallelujah. 3. Hand it over! Get your employees involved by simply giving them access to one or more social media channels. Yes, some guidelines on what to post (and especially what NOT to post) could be handy, but not necessary. If you completely trust your employees, there’s no need for extra restrictions, so you should just let them be! That’s right, we’re referring to a good old Beatles-song, but there’s definitely some truth in there! 4. Visuals = life Whether it’s in videos, images, boomerangs, snaps, stories, all shapes and sizes count! As long as the content is visually OK hear, hear: no need for perfection! Behind the scenes snaps with a bit of a shaky hand can be the best kind of content, since it’s genuine. I’m sure we’ve mentioned it before, but here it is again: you’re NOT a fairytale, so don’t strive to become one. 5. Create culture Yes, you have some people involved, great job! This will immediately give your employees a creative boost, with some team building and cooperation included as well. Here’s where the magic happens, because where do you start? With your own personal story! Your cool kids will be enlightened by each other since they’ll figure out things they never knew about each other. Here’s to some proper bonding! (But also create some cool content, obviously) 6. Look back improve So, once you’ve done all the above, it’s time to evaluate! You’ve given your employees some freedom to post content, but how did it perform? This circle of improvement should be repeated every now and then. Just so you know where you are with your employer brand. Wait, what? Yup, you’ve heard it right, you already nailed it! Without even mentioning it too many times, you already started developing or improving your employer brand hoorah! 7. Final thoughts To conclude: these simple low budget tips should help you to improve your employer brand. As a bonus point, you’ll encourage your employees to work together, share their own personal stories and strengthen your teamwork in general! Just hand it over already!

9 jobs in the IT industry that require zero lines of code - Debut

9 jobs in the IT industry that require zero lines of code - Debut This article was written in collaboration with Fujitsu. Explore exclusive graduate opportunities at Fujitsu  by downloading the Debut app.   When you think about working in IT you probably think this: or this maybe even this. The reality is, it takes a load of people from all sorts of backgrounds and talents to run any company. The same applies to the IT industry. Besides, IT companies tend to be the most innovative, open workplaces in the world. So, the kind people  over at Fujitsu are inviting you (metaphorically) to step into their office. Only 17% of Fujitsus 2016 graduates studied an IT-related degree, so if youve never considered applying for a job in the IT industry we encourage you to think again. 1.  Sales If youre the kind of person whos extremely result-oriented, love being with people, and have a competitive streak, finding a role in the Sales or Commercial department will suit you best. Ideal role: Business Development Executive Fujitsu have  Sales roles open here. Usual responsibilities include creating new sales leads for a business (as in, going out, meeting new people and fostering new business partnerships), client management, sales project delivery and preparing and delivering client briefs. 2.  Marketing Not all marketing is digital. Trust us. The billboards, Tube advertisements and newspaper campaigns tell us otherwise, after all. Fujitsu also have to think differently, as most of their marketing is B2B; not B2C Ideal role: Marketing Manager Fujitsu have  Marketing roles open here. There are so many different areas of marketing you can specialise in. Whether you want to go for something niche, or become a master of all trades, succeeding in a marketing role requires you to be analytical, organised, and a great lateral-thinker. 3. Human Resources Arguably, the most important asset any company has is its people. Therefore, it must surely mean that the human resources department is the most important department of all. (Arguably! Dont sass us, other departments.) Ideal role: Head of Happiness You may have seen this relatively new role on some job boards. Some tech companies are focusing on improving overall employee happiness by introducing things like Wellness Wednesdays, office dogs, and other company perks. Beyond that, a Head of Happiness will be in charge of employee personal development. 4. Social Media Community Management Any good IT company needs someone to be their designated online voice. Even more importantly, someone who would be able to foster a community of loyal consumers or users. This is a task that doesnt necessarily require CSS, but a good knowledge of when to apply the right GIF to the right situation. Ideal role:  Content Creator If youve ever been interested in blogging, podcasting, tweeting and vlogging, this role would be perfect for you. Its a real skill to be able to create, slice and distribute content to the right people at the right time. A worthy challenge for any creative types. 5. Customer Service Speaking of community management, any IT company knows the headache that is customer support. This doesnt necessarily require a lot of technical skill. However what it does require is a whole lotta patience. Ideal role:  Customer Experience Associate Fujitsu have  Business Management roles open here. If youre good with people, nay, if youre  great with people, this role could be suitable for you. Yes, itll be tough. But the people skills itll teach you will be unparalleled, and itll teach you how to be calm under pressure something you can apply to any future job situation. 6.  Operations Logistics Operations and Logistics sounds vague, we know. But think about it this way: somebody needs to make sure the company is running the way that it should. Its a department that oversees everything, and makes sure that a company is running as efficiently as possible. Ideal role:  Operations  Manager An Operations Managers role is to analyse a companys performance, and provide solutions to improve said performance. If youre analytical, love a good spreadsheet, and extremely organised, this career path would catapult you into operations stardom. 7.  Design Its not enough for a company to do great things. They have to look pretty darn swish in the eyes of the user! The design department not only handles smaller jobs such as social media graphics, but huge jobs like billboards too. Ideal role:  Graphic Designer A graphic designers role is highly important. Potentially, you could be involved in defining the entire branding of the company. Colours, fonts, and icons are one thing. But what you could influence means so much more: why your company exists and how it should be translated to the public in a visual way. 8. Public Relations Every company needs a savvy Public Relations team to ensure their firm gets adequate, awesome coverage in the media. It doesnt only mean creating press releases or courting journalists, its about coming up with news-worthy campaigns that publications will absolutely want to write about. Ideal role:  PR Manager A PR Manager has a highly important job. PR can take a company from good to great as they control exactly how the company is perceived externally. An ideal PR Manager needs to be highly organised, creative, great with people and able to handle crisis situations. 9. Project Management We admit. The term project management is pretty vague. But thats the beauty of it! Ideal Role:  Project Manager Fujitsu have  Project Manager roles open here. Project Managers are given  the responsibility over a specific project, ensuring that all of the planning, control and execution of each individual task is done to perfection. A project manager needs to have a superhuman eye for detail, an analytical mind, and, most importantly, no coding experience required. See? You dont need to code in order to work for a company like Fujitsu. We encourage yall to keep an open mind when it comes to kick-starting your careers. Who knows? Your dream job could be in a place you dont see coming. Feature Image ©  WOCinTech Images   © Unsplash, Giphy Download the Debut app and apply for non-coding jobs at techy places like Fujitsu! Connect with Debut on Facebook and Twitter

Interview Mistakes are for Dummies. Cut the Crap, Get a Job!

Interview Mistakes are for Dummies. Cut the Crap, Get a Job! Interviewing: Attitude and Other Job Search Mistakes Why is it that the single most important moment of your job search has the most avoidable mistakes that prevent you from winning the job? There are more resources on the web and in the book store about job interviewing techniques, pitfalls and tricks, yet I continue to be shocked and dismayed at the performance in interviews. Yes, it is a performance, and a very critical one. No, I’m not saying you need to act or be someone you are not. Quite the opposite. You need to be the most “prepared-to-interview” example of yourself. Understand what Interviews are For: The interviewer is not just listening to your answers. They are examining your behaviors and comparing them to their vision of the “ideal candidate.” From your hand shake to your interview closing to your follow up…all of it matters. They are watching you to see if the skills you exhibit in the interview are close to what they need in the day-to-day job. If you are not prepared, then you won’t be well-prepared for a critical meeting. If you are late with some excuse like “there was an accident on the highway” then you will be late for work. If you don’t make eye contact, then you won’t make eye contact with peers and customers. You get it. So it’s important to know what to do and what NOT to do every step of the way. In this short space, I’m going to share the most common pitfalls that interviewers fall into so you can, at least, recognize when you are heading to the edge of the cliff: #1 Being Late. This includes phone meetings, informational meetings, or the first interview of the day. Rule: if you are not ready by the phone or in the waiting room by 30 minutes prior to the start time, then you are late. When you are late, the perception the interviewer is building is that you are not committed, do not have good time-management skills, and you would be late to meetings once hired. #2 Being Unprepared. Two areas are key: (1) Prepare for the questions, bring good questions and (2) Bring the right things to the meeting. Rule: Always bring printed copies of your resume and cover letter and the job description. Always bring paper and 2 pens (back-up). When you are unprepared the perception created is that you did not take the time to research their company, the job, you have no insightful questions, and that you might be unprepared for key events once hired. #3 Having an “Attitude” This comes in many shapes and sizes and can sabotage your entire interview. The most problematic attitudes are egotistical, negative about a prior manager, company or experience, and the victim. The egoist claims to have no weaknesses or gaps in their skills relative to the job, and believes they are the perfect person for the job. The negative interviewer either blames their exit from a prior company on that company or manager’s weakness, or admits to something they don’t like to do in any job. Finally, the victim deflects all accountability, is not self-aware of their strengths and weaknesses and has a good reason why something external was done to them. Rule: Hiring managers and interviewers want to hire happy people. Remember, they are watching if you would be a fit for their existing team and culture. In summary, change your interviewing approach, stand out and “Cut the Crap, Get a Job”. (pre-order my forthcoming book of the same title here)

Learn How to Do a Resume For Free

Learn How to Do a Resume For FreeDo you know how to do a resume for free? If you're like most people, you have no idea how to do a resume without spending a lot of money or time. It may be time for you to learn some new skills and you may also want to learn the simple tricks and tips that allow you to get the job.Free resume writing services are not the only answer. There are lots of places on the Internet where you can get a resume for free. You just need to take advantage of the different sites that offer such things.Once you learn how to do a resume for free, you can then purchase unique resume templates that are ready to go. You can then download the template onto your computer, which will allow you to create your own personalized version of a typical resume. No matter what type of job you are applying for you will be able to get the job quickly with a great resume.Free resume writing services are available in many different formats and companies offering such services make it po ssible for you to obtain a great deal of information for your resume. They also provide templates that are easy to read and understand. The best thing about these services is that they are not costly. You just pay for what you use and the rest is taken care of by the company itself.If you've tried free resume writing service and found that you're still not getting a great deal of information you can then start using a professionally written resume. Some of the most effective resume templates available will provide you with suggestions and information that will help you write your own resume. It's important to make sure that you understand exactly what is being provided when you use one of these services.In many cases you will find that there are disadvantages to using free services. When you begin to use a template that is offered by a free resume writing service that has been professionally written it can turn out to be a much better alternative. These types of services make it pos sible for you to create your own personalized resume using the resume templates that they provide.Once you have created your own resume you'll need to take the time to send it off to any possible employers you might be interested in. A professional resume that was created by a professional service can be a big step forward for getting a job. You will be able to receive a response and you may even get that first interview with a prospective employer that you were hoping for.Whether you are trying to get a job or already have one, you should try one of the free resume services. With the help of these services you can get the job and then use the same service to send it out for more interviews and finally get that first job as well.