How to Communicate Your Unique Story on LinkedIn

How to Communicate Your Unique Story on LinkedIn How to Communicate Your Unique Story on LinkedIn Excellent advice from LinkedIns official blog on how to handle unusual situations such as career changes, long term unemployment, temporary positions etc. on your profile.

The Floating City

The Floating City The Floating City The Floating CityMany scientists believe that climate change is making flooding more frequent and severe. Over the last 36 years, 26 flooding events in the U.S. have totaled over $110 billion in damages.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently noted that sea levels are rising along parts of the Florida coast by more than a third of an inch every yeara satz of one foot every 36 years. Others scientists estimate that sea levels could rise by six feet or more by 2100, flooding coastal communities around the world.Many government/municipal responses to flooding are predictably reactive retreat, return, and rebuild, only to await the next flooding disaster, perhaps protected with added infrastructure, such as dikes or retractable barriers.But what if a community could ride out a flood with ease, and not suffer any damage from the event? Architect Greg Henderson is convinced this is possible, especially if the community is already flo ating.Henderson is founder Arx Pax, a California-based firm that develops resilient construction technologies. Inspired by the state of Washingtons Route 520 floating bridge, Henderson designed an innovative building system that floats on precast concrete pontoons in just a few feet of water. The SAFE Foundation system can support homes, taller commercial buildings, and roads that cover an area of several city blocks, or larger. The community simply rises on top of floodwaters and returns to normal ground level, intact and unharmed, when the waters recede.How a city could be built on water. Image ArxPaxHow It WorksFirst, a shallow, permeable depression (containment vessel) is excavated that is ten feet deep and hydraulically connected to a nearby river or bay, or is simply filled with ground water. The containment vessel is lined with permeable, precast concrete blocks to preserve permeability. For example, if the water table is five feet below the surface, groundwater will naturall y fill the first five feet of the containment vessel. A nearby sump pumps water into the containment vessel until the desired depth of eight or nine feet has been reached.Depending on natural fluctuations of the water table, the rate of inflow from the sump can be adjusted accordingly to maintain the correct depth, says Henderson.Next, a floating concrete foundation slightly smaller than the containment vessel is built on top of the water. Precast concrete pontoons 8 feet x 10 feet x 20 feet in size are assembled into groups, locked together with bolts, and tensioned to make a broad, stable platform. The pontoons are made from low-permeability, 7,500-psiconcrete. The completed platform floats on the surface of the containment vessel.The platform is kept in place with a system of cables anchored to the opposite sides of the containment vessel. The cables keep the platform in the same x-y or horizontal position. However, there is enough slack in the cable to allow for vertical rise an d fall of the platform.For example, a 230-foot long cable will allow a 10-foot rise and fall, says Henderson. A five-foot extension in anchor cable length can accommodate about 40 feet vertical displacement in an extreme flood event.Residential and mixed-use commercial buildings, complete with roads, landscaping, and utilities, are then built on the platform. For added security, the superstructure is designed to use anchor bolts and hold-downs on the platform. These share the same structural grid to allow for ease of construction and the use of prefabricated buildings.If a flood occurs, the community simply rises. If an earthquake strikes, because the floating community is decoupled from the earth, the buildings are unaffected by the violent shaking of the earth below. Seismic fuses provide five-foot extensions to the cables to allow for lateral movement of the containment vessel around the construction platform during an earthquake.First Pilot ScheduledRight now Hendersons first pi lot projecta 1.5-acre mixed-use designwill get started in a flood plain area in the San Francisco westindischer lorbeer area in about one year, followed by a two-year construction period. Meanwhile, he has begun outreach with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other organizations and communities to change their reactive rebuild and retreat mindset. He is also considering a pilot project withthe Republic of Kiribati, a small island nation in the Pacific Ocean that floods every year.Henderson expects the SAFE Foundation system to last at least 100 years.Were helping developers, architects, aid organizations, and governments rethink how they can build, rather than just react, to disasters, says Henderson. We are looking for strategic partners around the world who share our vision so we can value engineer this system and get it out into the world for the people who need it.Mark Crawford is an independent writer. For Further DiscussionWere helping developers, architects, aid organizations, and governments rethink how they can build, rather than just react, to disasters.Greg Henderson, ArxPax

3 Ways to Generate Silver Linings From Regulatory Compliance Work

3 Ways to Generate Silver Linings From Regulatory Compliance Work3 Ways to Generate Silver Linings From Regulatory Compliance WorkWhen finance leaders and their teams are in the thick of routine and complex regulatory einhaltung work, they can easily lose sight of the benefits their efforts can yield - beyond keeping the business compliant, of course. The fruchtwein obvious silver lining is good governance - which, in turn, is good for the business.But what about the accounting and finance function itself? Can it derive value from regulatory einhaltung work? Certainly. In fact, several financial executives interviewed for the latest Benchmarking the Accounting and Finance Function survey report from Robert Half and Financial Executives International (FEI) were quick to highlight how befolgung initiatives have had a positive impact on their organizations.For example, a senior director of finance and administration for a public manufacturing and distribution company said that having a strong internal control framework in place has helped his staff to increase efficiency. And a controller at an automotive dealership group said that well-established compliance processes help her finance team to play offense instead of defense because they can audit and review red flag issues before they become significant problems.Meanwhile, in a separate survey from Protiviti* that examined Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) compliance trends, internal audit and finance leaders cited the following as the top two benefits their organization has achieved through its SOX compliance process an improved internal control over financial reporting (ICFR) structure (70 percent) and enhanced understanding of control design and control operating effectiveness (65 percent). Fifty percent of respondents identified continuous improvement of business processes as a key benefit.Best practices can lead to better outcomesWhile compliance costs are holding steady at most U.S. businesses this year, according to the 2017 Benchmarking report, the compliance burden for many organizations is still rising. Sixty-one percent of U.S. financial leaders surveyed said they expect their firms compliance burden to increase over the next three years.That outlook may change under the current U.S. administration, which has been taking steps to reduce regulatory compliance requirements for many companies. However, the nature of regulatory compliance work will still require businesses to commit significant time, budget and highly skilled resources to complete many critical tasks.To effectively manage the costs and burden of compliance initiatives in any regulatory environment, finance leaders should consider applying strategies that are outlined in the Benchmarking report and employed by their peers. Here are ways that leading finance functions are ensuring they can realize silver linings from regulatory compliance workEmbracing automationWhile finance functions, in general, have not been early adopter s of technologies like cloud computing, many of the executives surveyed for the Benchmarking report said their organizations are now looking to technology solutions to help reduce compliance costs.Automated systems can be configured to produce essential reports that are ready to submit to regulatory bodies. That, in turn, reduces the workload for compliance teams. Automation also helps to streamline workflows, and reduce errors that manual processes can often introduce.Another silver lining from automation is that it frees accounting and finance staff to focus on other priorities, like strategy, or to develop valuable new skill sets, like business analytics.Making compliance work a true team effortWhen there is too much incoming work for the firms core compliance team to handle, the risk of missing key deadlines and making costly mistakes runs high.Training team members from other areas to help with regulatory compliance work is one way to alleviate the strain. For example, teaching employees how to produce reports in the format used by the compliance team can make things much easier for the compliance staff.An additional silver lining When staff have strong knowledge of the basics of a key compliance mandate that the business must adhere to, like SOX, they can help the organization to drive continuous improvement of business processes related to financial reporting.Engaging outside resourcesBringing in compliance consultants is another strategy that many leading businesses use to take the pressure off their compliance teams, especially during busy reporting periods.As an example, our company recently helped a financial services firm that was short-staffed across several of its locations and facing the possibility of not being able to execute its audit plan. It needed auditors with compliance and risk expertise, and we quickly assembled a team of consultants at the manager and senior levels with that knowledge. The silver lining for this firm? With the extra s upport, it kept its audit plan on track.Without question, regulatory compliance work can be a tremendous burden for accounting and finance staff. However, by harnessing technology and streamlining processes, providing training, and securing expert resources when needed, finance leaders can help their teams to manage this work more effectively, and deliver even more value to the function - as well as the business.*Protiviti is a Robert Half subsidiary.Do you need to expand your team?Whether you need to tap specialized expertise for a critical compliance initiative or staff an interim leadership role at your firm, Robert Half Management Resources can help. Our experienced team of financial and business systems consultants are available individually, or on a team basis.Click the button below to learn more about our services.LEARN MORE

How to Broach the Topic of Remote Work During a Job Interview

How to Broach the Topic of Remote Work During a Job InterviewHow to Broach the Topic of Remote Work During a Job Interview When it comes to job interviews , there are certain actions you want to avoid. For example, its usually a bad idea to bring up salary during an interview unless youre specifically asked to share your thoughts on the matter. Similarly, youll want to avoid badmouthing your former (or current) employer during an interview, as doing so will make you look petty and unprofessional.The topic of working remotely, however, is mora of a gray area. These days, a growing number of companies are embracing the notion of telecommuting in an attempt to offer workers more flexibility. And if youre looking for a job that will allow you to work remotely , it pays to figure out whether that option is on the table before you get too deep into the interview process. The question is When can you bring up telecommuting in an interview, and how do you do it?Usually, you can get a sense as to whether a company is open to remote work arrangements by doing some research ahead of time. Job sites like Glassdoor , for example, publish company reviews, and if you read enough of them, you might come upon mentions of things like flexibility and working from home.Of course, just because a company lets some workers do their jobs remotely doesnt mean youll get that option. If youre seeking a management role, for example, the company might insist that you do your job onsite, since itll involve overseeing other people. Still, it pays to go into the interview process with a basic sense of what the company might be open to.Its OK to ask about remote work arrangements in a job interview, but the key is to do so unobtrusively. A good way to broach the topic is to ask the question on a general basis, along the lines of Do most of your employees work full-time from the office, or is there a lot of telecommuting? Posing the question this way will make it sound like y oure asking from a place of curiosity rather than demand.If your interviewer responds by saying that remote work is largely supported, you might choose to leave things at that. After all, if most of the companys employees get to telecommute, why would you be the one exception?That said, if not being able to telecommute is a major deal-breaker for you, you might follow up that general question with a more loaded, Do you think the role Im applying for is conducive to a similar arrangement? Its not an outlandish question to ask, and with any luck, youll get the answer youre looking to hear. That said, you might choose to qualify your question by asking Do you think the role Im applying for is conducive to a similar arrangement once Im up to speed ? This way, youre making it clear that youre flexible, and that you dont necessarily expect to be given the same freedom that companys seasoned workers have earned.One final thing While an interviewer might be somewhat non-committal about remo te work during an initial meeting, once a job offer is presented to you, you have every right to ask that the company spell out the terms of its remote work policy as it will apply to you. This way, youll be in the best position to decide whether to accept that job or go after a role thats more flexible.

Why You Need a Company Gift Policy and a Sample Policy

Why You Need a Company Gift Policy and a Sample PolicyWhy You Need a Company Gift Policy and a Sample PolicyA gesundheitsgefhrdender stoff policy provides guidance to company employees about what is and isnt appropriate to accept as a present, offering, advertisement, award, or token of appreciation from a customer, vendor, supplier, befhigung employee, or potential vendor or supplier. The toxikum policy states whether employees are allowed to accept gifts both within and outside of the work premises. If a gift is allowed, the gift policy defines the acceptable value and type of gift permissible to employees. The gift policy defines who may give a gift to company employees. Finally, the gift policy defines under what circumstances an employee may accept a gift. The gift policy defines any exemptions to the policy exceptional situations or circumstances in which employees may accept gifts that are otherwise bedrngnis allowed. Usually, exceptions to the stated expectations in the gift policy require the presidents signature (or that of aleidher senior-level employee). Code of Conduct Requires an Employee Gift Policy No matter how well-meaning or well-intentioned a gift, the potential exists for impropriety or the appearance of impropriety to be present because of the existence and acceptance of the gift. A gift policy ensures that employees adhere tothe company code of conduct. Codes of conduct generally state that all employees demonstrate a commitment to treating all people and organizations, with whom they come into contact or conduct business, impartially. A gift policy requires employees to demonstrate the highest standards of ethics and conduct in relation to potential vendors, suppliers, and customers. It ensures that employees practice equal treatment, unbiased professionalism, and non-discriminatory actions in relation to all vendors, suppliers, customers, employees, potential employees, potential vendors or suppliers, and any individual or organizat ion with whom they come into contact. In Support of Gift Policies In earlier business days, at a large manufacturer, the gifts accepted by the purchasing agents and others were the stuff of legend among the other employees- and yes, the vendors were buying access to sales and preferential treatment. In return for their purchases of the vendors products, the vendors spent elaborate sums of money to wine, dine, send the purchasing agents on trips, and generally, provide lavish gifts for them and for some of the manufacturing company executives. It is unknown what kinds of gift policies were on the books at the time, but if policies existed, they were not followed. Getting into the purchasing department became a standing joke among people who wanted to make more money. In a second example, a company that had in place a comprehensive gift policy is illustrated. The policy was written, every employee was trained, and the culture rewarded appropriate conduct and adherence to the polic y. Vendors and suppliers were informed of the no gifts gift policy. Some chose to ignore it, especially during the holiday season, but most complied. When the policy was ignored and a gift arrived for an employee, the standard practice was to raffle it off to all employees if it could not be shared among the staff. The proceeds from the raffle went to charity so employees felt good about participating if they so desired. (They only participated if they wanted the item such as the annual Omaha schachtel of steaks and other goodies that arrived each year from a particularly persistent vendor.) Food gifts, baskets, cookies, candy, and other gifts that employees could share were centrally located- and all employees had access and shared. This is fair and equitable treatment of employees. It truly is not fair in a workplace for some employees to benefit more than the rest of the employees because of their position or proximity to vendors. The difference between the employee behaviors in the two companies is why the adoption and sharing of a company gift policy are strongly recommended. Following is a company gift policy that you may use as a model when you craft your own company gift policy. Why Your Company Has a Gift Policy (No-Gift Policy) To avoid a conflict of interest, the appearance of a conflict of interest, or the need for our employees to examine the ethics of acceptance, many companies, and therefore their employees, do not accept gifts from vendors, suppliers, customers, potential employees, potential vendors or suppliers, or any other individual or organization, under any circumstances. Many companies codes of conduct require that all employees demonstrate the organizations commitment to treating all people and organizations, with whom we come into contact or conduct business, impartially. (Your company) employees demonstrate the highest standards of ethics and conduct. Employees practice and demonstrate equal treatment, unbiased professionalism, a nd non-discriminatory actions in relation to all vendors, suppliers, customers, employees, potential employees, potential vendors or suppliers, and any other individual or organization. Company Gift Policy (or No-Gift Policy) Standards and Requirements As one effort to demonstrate our commitment to these standards and behavior, all employees must abide by the following no-gift policy requirements. No gifts of any kind, that are offered by vendors, suppliers, customers, potential employees, potential vendors, and suppliers, or any other individual or organization, no matter the value, will be accepted by any employee, at any time, on or off the work premises. By gift, your company means any item including pens, hats, t-shirts, mugs, calendars, bags, key chains, portfolios, and other tchotchkes as well as items of greater value. This no-gift policy includes vendor or potential vendor or supplier-provided food, beverages, meals, or entertainment such as sporting events.This no-gift policy includes any business courtesy offered such as a product discount or any other benefit if the benefit is not extended to all employees. Gift Policy Exceptions Exempted from this policy are gifts such as t-shirts, pens, trade show bags and all other tchotchkes that employees obtain, as members of the public, at events such as conferences, training events, seminars, and trade shows, that are offered equally to all members of the public attending the event.This includes attendance at and food, beverages, and tchotchkes provided at events, exhibitor trade show floor locations, press events, and parties funded by conference or event sponsors.Exempted are cards, thank you notes, certificates, or other written forms of thanks and recognition. Exempted are food, beverages, and moderately priced meals or tickets to local events that are supplied by and also attended by current customers, partners, and vendors or suppliers in the interest of building positive business relationships. T his moderately priced entertainment is provided as part of a working meeting or session to benefit and advance positive working relationships and company interests. These activities are expected to be reciprocated by our company in turn. Employees are required to professionally inform vendors, potential vendors and others of this no-gift policy, and the reasons the company has adopted the policy. Employees will request that vendors respect our company policy and not purchase and deliver any gift for our employees, a department, an office or the company, at any time, for any reason. If an employee or department receives a gift If feasible, the gift is returned to the vendor.If not feasible to return the gift, the gift must be raffled off to all employees. Proceeds from the raffle will be donated to a charity that the philanthropy committee has identified for the calendar year. If employees are uninterested in the raffled item, the gift will be donated to a designated charity.Plants o r flowers will be displayed in the lobby, or at another central location where all employees may enjoy their presence.Gifts of food that may arrive during the holidays, and at other times of the year when gift giving is traditional, belong to the entire staff even if addressed to a single employee. Under no circumstances may an employee take a food gift home food gifts must be shared with and distributed to all staff, with email notification, during work hours, in central, worksite locations. This policy is supplemental to other company codes of conduct, ethics, standards, values, and policies in the employee handbook and in other company documents. If any employee has questions about and/or needs clarification of any aspect of this policy, the employee should check with their supervisor. If the supervisor is uncertain, menschenfreundlich Resources is the arbiter of the gift policy to ensure consistent employee treatment across the company. Any exceptions to the gift policy may be made only with the permission of the company president. This policy takes the place of any earlier policy and is effective (date of policy). All employees must acknowledge that they have received and understand the company gift policy. Corporate gift buying essentials. Visit the sample policy directory to see all of the sample HR policies that are available on TheBalance.com.

A Fair View of College Freshman Resume

A Fair View of College Freshman Resume The very first thing you ought to do in order to create the High School Student Resume resume is picking a paper. There are variety of examples and various forms of Free Resume Templates which can be found which may be downloaded free. Hence it is critical to go for an ideal format for an IT professional CV. Web templates will supply you with the uncooked format of continue. In just a couple minutes, our resume builder will guarantee that youve got a well-written, attractive resume prepared to go. Writing a resume may be an intimidating job. You might decide to quit your job for various explanations. Our enormous variety of downloadable resume templates is wholly free for all to use and an excellent resource to kick off the writing process. Start by brainstorming everything which youve been involved in and place it in order. Make certain you get the info youre looking for. Its important that whatever that you place on your continue is crucial to the work that youre applying. In case you have any part-time work, that will go a ways towards a wonderful experience section. All About College Freshman Resume Learning how to do a resume when dont have any work experience is a lot easier if you may demonstrate some seasonal or short-term work experience. As youre considering your resume objective, consider the abilities and essentials of the particular job. You dont need to incorporate every job that you have had since college. Even in the event that youve never held an official job, its still true that you have life experience thats applicable to the work search. Have a look at the work description to acquire clues on what a provider is searching for in an employee. To begin with, consider the job description to see whether it indicates the kind of skills the provider is seeking. Lets walk through three unique resumes for different sorts of post-college jobs. Since in fact, there are thousands of skills out t here, its not possible to name all of them here. For students that are new to the work market, interests and activities are a superior means to show employers you have skills they are searching for. For an entry-level job at a financial institution, cash umgang skills will be required. Everyone has desirable abilities and experiences to provide employers including you The Battle Over College Freshman Resume and How to Win It Irrespective of whether youre writing a college freshman resume or a graduate resume, the sample below is a great template you may use to make your own advertising and marketing document. Your college freshman resume is only a snapshot of the commencement of your educational journey. Read below for ideas on how to compose a strong college resume. Whether its a freshman college resume or a graduate resume that you require, its a fantastic time to think about precisely how to make it right. It is crucial to tailor the college admissions resume to the parti cular program, just as it needs to be tailored when applying for a certain job. College Sample Resume Templates are extremely common as everyone wants a work right after obtaining a degree. Writing a winning college student career objective is a rather effortless means to bolster your application for this internship or job youve got in sight. Landing a large internship for a college student is an excellent means to get ready for the challenges of life after the university. However tempting it may be to stretch the truth, lying on your resume is always a poor idea. There are many different matters you may choose to add to your resume. In any case, there are two or three good reasons why you might wish to have one when in college anyway. The thing is that in order to acquire an internship, you should have a compelling resume.

Why Employee Retention Is Important When Hiring Teachers

Why Employee Retention Is Important When Hiring TeachersEmployee retention is a costly issue for any business, but it becomes even more prevalent within schools. A study released in April of 2015 by the National Center for Education Statistics found that 17 percent of new K-12 teachers quit in the first five years. Whats more, a July 2014 report by the Alliance for Excellent Education revealed schools lose between $1 1000000000000 and $2.2 billion annually as teachers switch schools or leave the profession entirely. One way to boost employee retention rates for teachers is to perfect the hiring process. Here are some steps you can take to ensure your next education hire will stick around for the long haulMake video interviews the first layer of your hiring teachers process.Bringing each candidate in for a face-to-face conversation is both time-consuming and costly, particularly if you have talent coming in from out of state. Instead, use video interviews to quickly assess a higher vo lume of potential new team members. With this technology, youll be able to hear from more candidates, thus weeding out less-than-stellar picks. This way, youre left with only top-tier talent, naturally boosting employee retention.The Tulpehocken Area School District relies on this technology as part of their talent acquisition strategy. Ed Albert, the schools superintendent, spoke about the districts use of video interviewing technology, saying, Its just another layer of the interview process to make sure we get the best person. So far, theyve completed 166 interviews and hired 12 individuals by incorporating video interviews into their hiring teachers process.EmployeeRetention is a costly issue for any business, but becomes even more so within schools.Click To Tweet Incorporate practical elements into your process.Its important to speak with would-be educators about their experience, philosophies on teaching, and more. To be sure a professional will remain with your school for year s to come, add a few practical elements to your hiring process, as well. One great idea to increase employee retention would be to include the requirement of writing statements of teaching philosophy. This will help weed out the competition, and is especially helpful to determine a candidates teaching ability versus their research skills. Some highly qualified candidates studied at research universities, making them knowledgeable, but not so great at teaching in the classroom.Before hiring teachers, you may even want to have candidates teach a practice class or write up a lesson plan. They should also spend time in a classroom with a veteran educator. This will enable you to get a better sense of how a candidate actually performs in a classroom setting.Adding practical elements to your hiring process, will ensure hires stay.Click To Tweet Track hiring analytics for better retention.Learn from both the successes and failures of your past hires by tracking your hiring analytics. When you make note of how long your hires last and delve into what your most successful teachers have in common, you can use these facts to inform your future hiring choices. If you begin to notice, for example, that you struggle to keep new teachers at your school, you can take a look at why this might be. Perhaps youre not giving your educators enough support or resources. Newbies might struggle to thrive in this environment. This enables you to adapt accordingly in order to boost teacher retention rates.While employee retention and hanging on to quality educators is still a significant issue for schools, re-evaluating your hiring process, implementing key pieces of technology, and tracking both hiring successes and failures can help to ensure that your next great hire remains in place for many school years to come.