Five reasons to learn a new language

Five reasons to learn a new language by Michael Cheary Sprechen sie Deutsch? Maybe you should…Whether you’re interested in travelling to new places, you’re looking to move your career forward through an international job, or you just want to expand your skillset, learning a new language could be the perfect way to hit your goals. And it isn’t actually as hard as you might think to get started.To help you decide whether or not to ditch the phrase book, here are five reasons you should learn a new language:To have better experiences travelling  There’s nothing quite like immersing yourself in a new culture.But even the best local travel tips and TripAdvisor reviews don’t make up for getting-to-grips with a country or city for yourself. Knowing the language means nothing gets lost in translation â€" allowing you to find hidden gems you would otherwise have never been aware of.Looking for a quiet spot for lunch? Just ask. Sick of overpaying for souvenirs? Haggle like a local. Just don’t want to get lo st as soon as you leave the airport? This’ll have you covered too.Take that crooked cabbies/rickshaw drivers/confused looking relatives of other airplane passengers holding large signs you can’t understand…Top 5 â€" Lesser known benefits of working abroadThey’re not as hard as you thinkOK, so technology has its drawbacks. But not, it seems, when it comes to languages.There are a wide range of online resources and apps out there to help you learn everything from Dutch to Dothraki â€" many of which are even completely free to download.It’s by no means an extensive list, but some of our favourite language apps include Memrise, Babbel, and the excellent Duolingo. And if you’re looking for something a little more structured, there are a variety of discounted language courses out there which could result in a recognised qualification.And, because you can download all the materials straight to your phone, you can learn on-the-go â€" no matter where you are. All you need to do i s choose which language you want to learn, download, and get to work.Commuting may never be the same again…You’ll make yourself smarterLearning a new language means more than being able to read foreign menus in a fancy accent.A number of studies have proven the cognitive benefits of being multilingual, showing that you can sharpen your long term memory and attention span as a result of picking one up.Other skills you could gain through studying include the ability to multitask and think more logically, better decision making and analytical skills, and a deeper understanding of foreign customs and culture.And that’s without even taking into account the refresher course your own knowledge of English language and grammar will go through.Finally, a way to put your present participle tense confusion in the past.Hard Skills vs. Soft SkillsSix extracurricular activities to add to your CVTo earn more moneyBilinguals get bigger bonuses. Fact.That’s because, not only are their skills in-demand around the world (more on that in a second), they’re also an excellent way to set yourself apart from the competition.Even if you don’t work in a position where your language skills are in constant use, experts estimate that your pay is generally somewhere between 2% and 10% higher than your peers across almost every industry â€" simply because you have them.And whilst that doesn’t seem like a lot in the first instance, that extra saving could add up to over £600 over the course of a year for those earning over £30,000 â€" and net you thousands of pounds  worth of future savings.Translation? You’re guaranteed to be laughing all the way to the banco.Youll improve your careerFinally, adding another string to your linguistic bow will open doors when it comes to your career.In fact, 15% of all jobs on reed.co.uk posted on reed.co.uk cite language skills as beneficial in helping you secure the role. And with English only being the third most spoken language in the wo rld, it stands to reason that you’ll be eligible to apply for more jobs globally.It isn’t just finding work that you’ll find easier either. Being fluent in other languages means you’ll be able to better communicate with people across your company, and be much more difficult for them to replace â€" effectively making yourself indispensable.And with the opportunity to travel the globe through relocating for work, volunteering abroad, foreign business trips and beyond, there really aren’t any career drawbacks to learning a brand new language.Five languages you should be learning right nowReady to love Mondays? View all of our current vacancies now.Find a job What Where Search JobsSign up for more Career AdviceSign up for moreCareer Advice Please enter a valid email addressmessage hereBy clicking Submit you agree to the Features

Research Global Recruiting Trends Report

Research Global Recruiting Trends Report What does the future  hold for recruitment? Theres no telling for sure, however LinkedIn have revealed what some of the key focuses for recruiters are for 2016, having surveyed 4,000 talent acquisition decision makers for their Global Recruiting Trends report. Here are a few of the trends that they found for the year ahead of us. 1) Quality of hire is the most important measure of performance The quality of a hire is the most valuable performance metric for talent acquisition teams, above the time it takes to fill a position and the hiring manager satisfaction. Organisations measure quality of hire  in three ways: new hire performance, turnover/retention and hiring manager satisfaction. 2) They want to hire top talent faster Social professional networks are the most popular option for finding the best candidates, above job boards and employee referral schemes. Employee referrals are seen as essential for making quality hires. 3) Employer branding will be a top priority Companies are investing more in their employer branding efforts. South Africa, South East Asia and Brazil are investing the most in employer branding. 4) Focus will be placed on  retaining existing employees Employers want to keep hold of the talent they tried so hard to recruit. Hiring internally is a good way of retaining talent. The most internal hires are made in Canada. Find out more below! Global Recruiting Trends 2016 [Infographic] from LinkedIn Talent Solutions

7 Things A Successful Woman Will Never Do

7 Things A Successful Woman Will Never Do Today, with European equality values women are making a successful career including entrepreneurship. Unfortunately, leading women tend to have destructive habits which lead to problems, stress, and unhappiness. Some of them acknowledge the problems they have; others dont even think about their behavior or actions. There are behavioral clichés which some of the successful business women have. Realizing the problem is the first step to its solution. Smoke Today smoking is considered to be normal, especially in business circles where stress is a usual component of everyday life. Women entrepreneurs smoke because it relaxes and gives a chance to discuss working issues in a non-formal surrounding. They dont have time to work on giving up smoking and mostly dont want to. It is evident thought that this is a destroying and unhealthy habit. Not only it damages your lungs but also grants you with a smelly breath, hands, hair, clothes, and yellow teeth. Smoking is also evident for business partners that you cant deal with your stress alone. This can affect your relationships with business partners. Keep your status and give up smoking. Elevate the voice Yes, there are always moments when a businesswoman wants to reveal emotions and scream on someone. This is what successful women will never do. The truth is when you raise your voice on someone, this only have a negative aftereffect. If you are not satisfied with other people or employees, talk to them, write a warning email, or find a replacement. Do not ever raise your voice. Every professional knows that emotions must stay apart of business. Go for a walk, have a cup of tea, walk to a beauty salon, jog, do boxing or find another way for getting rid of anger. Change partners often Powerful women in business is sometimes not that powerful in a relationship. If the brunch of business includes showing up in various events, the best option is to do it together with the husband. If you dont have one, then do it alone or with a partner you are in relationships with for at least a year. All the other contacts are your deeply personal information. Dont show it up because it may play against you in business. A person who has time for romantic intrigues have no time for business. Complain Successful ladies never complain. They are always happy and obtain a low-key diplomacy. They also have up to ten times more problems to think or complain about, but her elegance will prevent her from spreading them. Essay typers have already written plenty of practical advises how to deal with a desire to complain. Yes, everyone has problems, but successful people solve them instead of complaining. Argue in public Be it a personal or professional reason; a lady will never argue in public. She will find the way to avoid a fight with family, friends or coworkers to save a good mood, patience, and honor. A lady boss who is screaming on one of the employees in front of all the others or discuss personal relationships, in a way every employee knows what is going, on is not only a deeply unhappy one but also express disrespect. There is always a way to avoid the fight. Learn it and use it. Have a screaming look Unless you are a leader of a punk band, keep your business style. It doesnt mean that you have to throw away all your T-shirts with prints, but there are diplomatic rules that will help you in the business world. Create your style in accordance to your business field. If you dont have time and desire, then hire a stylist. The confidence you achieve will help you give up smoking. Work hard Yes, a successful person has a natural balance between work and rest. Great women leader must live in the office and turn into a loving mother and attractive women outside. This is a healthy decision. Don’t forget why are doing the business and don’t turn into a crazy workaholic. A serious hobby will help you to feel the taste the taste of life. Make it serious. Cooking, sewing or yoga won’t do. Travel to an exotic country for a few months, learn music, do sports, ride a motorbike, make a movie or write a book. Make something big.

3 Elements Of An Online Portfolio That Sells Your Personal Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

3 Elements Of An Online Portfolio That Sells Your Personal Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Talking the talk doesn’t cut it for most employers anymore. When finding qualified candidates for an open position or promotion, they need to see for themselves what you can bring to the role and organization as a whole. This is where online portfolios come into play. Unlike your standard binder and paper-filled portfolios, online portfolios offer an unlimited and interactive space to showcase your personal brand anywhere and at anytime. Online portfolios can tell a much-detailed story about you â€" weaving in milestones, accomplishments, and visible proof of your qualifications â€" something that a standard resume and cover letter cannot provide, says Morgan Norman, co-founder and CEO of WorkSimple. “When crafting your online portfolio, job seekers must remember who their audience is and what they’ll be looking for in a candidate,” says Norman. Rather that focusing on which work to showcase, it’s best to focus on the overarching qualifications that can sell your brand for any position. To achieve that in your online portfolio, here are three key elements according to Norman: Accountability Employers want to know that colleagues can depend on you and that you can deliver. Consider featuring projects or work detailing your role and responsibilities that solely fell on you or your team to accomplish. Strengths and Skills This part of the online portfolio can be the most extensive. First, be honest about your biggest strengths and what skills youre most competent. Then, showcase specific pieces that reveal your proficiencies with documentation. If you’re excellent at Adobe Photoshop, post your best work. If you’re good at negotiating, write out several instances where you excelled in it. Get creative â€" this maps out the unique selling points of your personal brand. Results When you’ve decided which projects to feature, ask yourself, “So what?” This will give you insight about what employers are really looking for â€" what you can do for them. Then, show evidence with facts. Write up a small blurb, case study, or link to an online source. Let them know what goals you accomplished. Your portfolio is simply a timeline of the evolution of your personal brand. On the job market, like any other market, you want to sell the best product: make it be you. What do you think of online portfolios? Do you think they can help build a personal brand to attract employers? Why or why not? Author: Heather R. Huhman  is a career expert, experienced hiring manager, and founder president of  Come Recommended, a content marketing and digital PR consultancy for organizations with products that target job seekers and/or employers. She is also the author of  Lies, Damned Lies Internships  (2011),  #ENTRYLEVELtweet: Taking Your Career from Classroom to Cubicle  (2010), and writes career and recruiting advice for  numerous outlets.

Why You Need a Resume For Engineering?

Why You Need a Resume For Engineering?The actual name of the engineering resume is the 'Ribbon' which is also a term used for the 'resume.' These are often described as 'T-Ribbons.' This is because these little guides tend to serve as a guide to the prospective engineer for the information and details that they want to get for their resume.In some cases, this might mean that a person will go back to his school years and look at what he would have done if he had more knowledge about the things that they are dealing with today. It can even mean that the person may start doing a program of study in order to get the relevant experience.One of the questions that most people would ask is why would you need to have more than one engineering resume? The answer to this question is that there are some things that would help in determining who will be eligible for the particular job. Some of the questions that would be answered by a resume would be:Current Status: This is important because it w ill help you in identifying your credentials. Many people find it difficult to understand the most recent and up to date facts of the particular matter that they are working on. With a little bit of effort, you would be able to get the information that you need.Previous Work Experience: An engineer's previous work experience would help him in understanding the nature of the job that he will be working on. Most of the job opportunities today have been modified from the original plans.Current Position: This also helps in understanding the nature of the position that the person has got himself into. This would help the person to determine whether the job is for him or not.Company: A lot of times, people would be confused with the present job situation. Theirconfusion would lead them to get confused with the companies that they are already working for.The additional information will definitely help the person to find the right job opportunity. This is because it would help him to clarif y with the company to which he belongs.

Monday Tip Hows everybody doing - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Monday Tip Hows everybody doing - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog How happy are your coworkers today? How can you tell? You mission this Monday is to find out! This is what you must do: Make a list of all your coworkers who are at work today. Put your boss on the list too, just for kicks (if shes in today). Observe them quietly for a while as you go about your work. Just talk to them as you normally would and be your regular self. Ask yourself how happy each person looks today. Write down how happy each person looks. Not on a scale from 1-10 (thats much too complicated), just notice if the person seems Unhappy, Neutral or Happy. Also write down what youve observed that led you to this conclusion. Heres what the list could look like: John Happy Has a big smile on his face and is very energetic today Mia Neutral Seems very quiet today, but not really unhappy Joe Unhappy Looks really stressed out Tina Happy Was really chatty and happy during lunch You dont have to look for what makes people happy or unhappy and you dont have to do anything about it. This exercise is about figuring out whether you can tell who is happy it unhappy at work and how you can tell. This is a great exercise because it trains your ability to focus on your surroundings. Many of us go through our work days exclusively focused on the work we do, often not noticing people right next to us who may be either very happy (and thus great company) or very unhappy (and thus in need of our help). Noticing each other in this way is a great way to build better relationships at work and this invariably leads to more happiness at work. A final question: What if you did this exercise with your family? The Chief Happiness Officers Monday tips are simple, easy, fun things you can do to make yourself and others happy at work and get the work-week off to a great start. Something everyone can do in five minutes, tops. When you try it, write a comment here to tell me how it went. Previous Monday tips. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

VetJobs A Job Board Just for Veterans and Their Families

VetJobs A Job Board Just for Veterans and Their Families There are many specialty job boards available based on professional and industry niche. But did you know that there is a job board dedicated solely to former members of the military, and their spouses and children? I spoke to Ted Daywalt, founder of  VetJobs, to learn more about this unique job board.Q. What is VetJobs?A.  Founded in 1999, Veterans of Foreign Wars-sponsored VetJobs has grown to be the leading military-related job board on the  Internet. The jobs  database is available to anyone who visits the site, but to post a  resume  a candidate must have been in the military, married to or a child of the military, or an  employee  of the Department of Defense, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Public Health Service or the Merchant Marine. Since 1999 veterans worldwide have found quality jobs with the thousands of employers who use VetJobs to reach the veteran market. VetJobs is ideal for employers who seek candidates in  information technology, program and  projec t management, consulting, sales, linguists, logistics, transportation,  human resources, insurance,  construction, manufacturing,  engineering, finance,  health care, accounting, senior executives, overseas work and candidates with security clearances.Q. How does VetJobs work?A.  VetJobs is a traditional job board. Candidates post  resumes  and apply directly to employers. There is no charge for veterans or their family members to use VetJobs. Employers pay a nominal fee to post jobs, search the resume database, sponsor newsletters or post banners. VetJobs provides tremendous support for candidates in the Employment Assistance section and has a leading career test that is free for veterans and their family members.A major reason VetJobs works so well is the site is partially owned and sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (VFW). VetJobs is also endorsed by many other veteran service organizations including the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), Veterans of M odern Warfare (VMW), Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH), Association of the United States Navy (AUSN), Hope4Heroes (H4H), United States Army Warrant Officers Association (USAWOA) and the Student Veterans of America (SVA).Additionally, VetJobs is not limited to junior military officers or transitioning military. There are 21 million veterans in the United States, of which 11.6 million are currently in the work force. When you add their spouses and children, VetJobs is servicing an estimated 35 million person marketplace.Q. What was the inspiration for VetJobs?A.  I got the idea for VetJobs when an Army sergeant major gave me a call in the spring of 1999. He had recently retired and had paid an outplacement firm $5,000 to help him find a job. The sergeant major was trying to get his money back, but could not. This incident led me to conduct extensive research on job and recruiting sites catering to the military market. The research indicated there was a gap in sites that assist ed employers in identifying transitioning military and veteran candidates. In launching VetJobs, I wanted a site that assisted all ranks from E-1 to O-10, and assisted all elements associated with the military and their spouses and children. The initial site was launched on Nov. 11, 1999, Veterans Day.Q. Whats your favorite feature on the site?A.  The Employment Assistance section is my favorite. Recognizing that not every person who uses VetJobs will find their perfect job on VetJobs, I want the candidates to be armed with the information they need to successfully find the type of job they seek. The Employment Assistance section provides a list of vetted job boards by discipline, state, comprehensive and aggregator sites. There are excellent articles written by experts on how to find jobs, conduct job searches, write resumes, pass interviews including the behavioral interview and how to manage difficult situations such as being laid off or handle a disability.Q. Can you share a suc cess story about someone who landed their job using VetJobs?A.  VetJobs has had thousands of success stories. A classic was a Navy spouse who got an executive job with a big box store. When her husband who had 21 years in the military learned what she was making, he retired to follow her!A longtime member employer shared this story, We hired our first VetJobs employee in 2003. He is still with us and loves his job. We love working with him and has become a valuable member of our team. Since then we have hired several more from VetJobs, each with their own special skills and talents. These folks present to our clients maturity, credibility and a work ethic we seldom see in the commercial world. They in turn receive respect for these qualities and their service to our country. We are pleased that we are able to provide a job where they can expand upon their military training and keep up with technology.