5 Ways Virtual Reality Will Revolutionize the Workplace

5 Ways Virtual Reality Will Revolutionize the Workplace The latest tech buzzword is Virtual Reality (VR), and it’s set to change everything. To really understand the scale of VR in our future, think of it as an interface rather than a gadget, offering new ways of seeing, experiencing and interacting with the world. VR has the potential to revolutionize media, economy, how we live our lives, and of course the workplace. 1. Talent acquisition VR can allow candidates to step in to a simulated work environment, follow workers through their daily routine and experience various roles, as such Virtual Reality can be an effective talent acquisition tool. Taking candidates on a tour around the office and truly experiencing the role and workplace can let perspectives see if the job is truly for them. Vice versa it shows the applicant that your company is making a real investment in them and the role. This also may deter certain candidates from applying who, after their VR experience,may decide it’s not for them. This additional filter prevents companies from hiring unsuitable candidates with false expectations, and increases career commitment from new employees who have experienced the role and office beforehand. 2. Virtual recruitment Virtual reality could transform aspects of interviews like personality and psychometric testing into a fully immersive experience. For example, a sales assistant candidate could be put in an immersive scenario to demonstrate how they would react and deal with a difficult customer on the spot. For behaviour testing, a candidate can be put in a situation to see how they will interact in a social environment. This would allow better and more accurate assessments of how a candidate would conduct themselves in particular situations and whether they are suitable for the role. 3. Breakroom Still in its infancy, Breakroom is an exciting program which could revolutionize the way we use computers. Currently we work on a screen switching between multiple tabs and browsers. Now imagine easing between tabs with just the turn of your head. The application transforms the VR into a multi-monitor system removing the limitations that comes with a singular monitor screen. It also allows unlimited numbers of floating 2D monitors with a soothing background of your choice so you could be working in a Japanese garden, a beach, or up in space! 4. Immersive training Typically training programs can involve talks, PowerPoint presentations, computer based training, and videos. The problem with these types of techniques is engaging with employees. A more immersive, interactive and hands-on training will make workers more receptive to new information. With VR, employees can experience different scenarios that demonstrate various types of situations with a real-life element. Living and feeling physically involved in an experience will make it easier to process and remember information. 5. Empathy machine VR doesn’t just give you the opportunity of being in other places, it also allows you to see in someone else’s eyes, which is why VR is also known as the “empathy machine”. Walking a mile in someone else’s shoes tells a thousand words and beyond. Allowing us to understand the experience and journeys of others can change our bias, our minds, and connect humans in a deep way. Charities have used VR’s empathy machine to help people understand the suffering felt by refugees, a feeling that might not come across as strong in film or words. The NFL is using VR for diversity training. An immersive experience that allows a person to experience prejudice or harassment of a victim is far more effective than someone outlining the rules and regulations it allows people to feel and discover this for themselves. Empathy is a strong and powerful force that has a great influence on how we feel, think, and act. Whether employees or customers, humans are the most important element in every great company, and if the empathy machine can teach us all to be more compassionate, and ultimately more human, then VR can be a real force for good in the workplace.

2007 Personal Brand Award - Brett Farmiloe - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

2007 Personal Brand Award - Brett Farmiloe - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Name: Brett Farmiloe Award: Bronze Personal Brand Award Brett and his story is what Personal Branding is all about. As a college senior, with no idea what he wanted to do with his life, he hit the road to interview 75 people who had figured it out. He chronicled the career paths of these people so others could experience the interviews and insight that he was gleaning, and used them to determine his direction in life. After receiving an accounting position that he wasnt interested in, he decided to take a second trip around the nation to write about the paths of 200 passionate professionals. As I will be one of these 200 professionals, I must say Im quite impressed with Bretts Personal Brand and how he has used mentors and resources to gain knowledge as to where to proceed. His courage and determination in this way, represent his thirst for success. He realized that he was unable to solve his problems himself and took a risk to meet people who could help. He posts this journey in his blog, where you can follow his trip from start to finish. Both his creativity and risk have won him a Bronze Personal Brand Award. Congratulations Brett! Bretts Website: http://www.pursuethepassion.com/ Still accepting award applications for 2007! Click Here

Do You Want To Become An Entrepreneur In 2012 - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Do You Want To Become An Entrepreneur In 2012 - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Yesterday, a Published Profitable member called told me he was becoming an entrepreneur in 2012, buoyed by his responses to the questions Dan Schawbel asked in Me 2.0 Revised and Updated Edition: 4 Steps to Building Your Future. After many years in higher education,   Mark decided to look beyond a job during 2012 and commit to a new, entrepreneurial phase in his life. His decision was easy after he answered Dans 10 questions! As he put it, Dans questions, provided the tipping point I   needed to take a major, and, perhaps, long overdue step. The perfect end-of-year gift Marks call and decision to act, sparked by Dans questions, is the perfect end of year gift for both Dan and I. (Dan wrote the book, and I encouraged Mark to read it). More important, though, the story of the power of Dans questions is an also an end-of-year gift for you, if youve been considering becoming a published author. Heres why: Because, long after the advances and royalties have been spent, what really matters for nonfiction authors is the satisfaction of making a difference in a readers life. So, I hope this story will convince you to take action, if youve been thinking about writing a book to build your brand and help others build their brands during 2012. How would you answer Dans questions? The power of Dans questions is that they engage readers to rate their agreement or disagreement with the key attributes that contribute to entrepreneurial success. How do you feel about each of the following? I dont like conforming to the status quo. Do you often agree to avoid rocking the boat? Are you frustrated when you can see a better way? I want control and power over my life. Do you feel youre better qualified or less qualified to make decisions about your life? I am on a constant search for new opportunities. Do you find security or frustration in routine. Do you embrace, or avoid, the unknown? I like to create things. Do you find it pleasurable or stressful to solve problems? I prefer not to be managed and enjoy being in control. Do you welcome opportunities for taking responsibility for the welfare of others in your group? I hate not coming in first. Do you consider yourself a competitive personality at work and when relaxing with others? I have a strong personal vision for my career path. Do you enjoy setting your own goals and standards? Do you know where you want to be in 2, 5, and 10 years? I like the challenges of starting a new project. Do you enjoy identifying problems and trying out different solutions? Do you feel more or less comfortable when theres an assembly manual you can follow? I dont like taking no for an answer. Do you take it personally when others disagree with your recommendations and suggestions? I am a forward thinker and look to the future. Do you welcome change? Do you feel your best days are ahead of you or in the past? Allow your mind to wander as you address Dans 10 questions. Allow experiences, conversations, and memories to bubble to the surface. Dont view the questions as a chore you have to complete. Dont feel you have to finish them at one sitting. Review the questions and your earlier responses before turning out the light and going to sleep, or before starting a long drive. Be as objective as possible, butalsoallow your intuition to guide you. Consider the alternative Finally, consider the alternatives if you dont write the book you want to write, or dont start a business to invent a new type of computer or a new way to listen to music. During 2011, the world lost Steve Jobs, whose entrepreneurial drive and creativity changed things for all of us. Ask yourself, How would Steve Jobs have answered Dans questions? and Suppose Steve Jobs didnt return to Apple? Author: Roger C. Parker started Published Profitable because he believes everyone who wants to write a book should have access to ideas, examples, and tools that have been proven to work.  

The Sharing Economy - What Baby Boomers Need to Know - Career Pivot

The Sharing Economy - What Baby Boomers Need to Know - Career Pivot The Sharing Economy Copyright: batsheba / 123RF Stock Photo Let’s cut to the chase. The sharing economy is here to stay, and the Baby Boomers stand to benefit most from this massive economic shift in how we as a society choose to consume. The sharing economy is an umbrella term that encompasses thousands of online services that allow people to turn underutilized assets into income-producing ones. These assets include your home, car, spare time, hobbies, and more. And, these online services, of which there are thousands, include Airbnb, Uber, TaskRabbit, and more. And by sharing, we don’t mean the benevolent kind at Woodstock ’69 where you and a circle of friends are ‘sharing’ a couple giggle sticks. When you boil the sharing economy down, it’s not really about sharing, it’s about access. You, the person with excess assets, are allowing access to those assets for a pre-determined fee. Simple as that. But Boomers aren’t really used to access. For the most part, they embraced an ownership mentality over access. What’s mine is mine! And, because most Baby Boomers lived very frugal lifestyles growing up, they’ve compensated later in life with a wave of unprecedented consumerism. This isn’t a bad thing. It’s just different. Now, something elsedifferentis happening. You can thank your Millennialchildren for this after you tell them to pull up their pants! The Shift from Ownership to Access Let’s illustrate this economic shift with some rhetorical questions that have given rise to the sharing economy. Why would I own a car when it sits idle for 90% of the time? Or, if I own a car, why can’t someone else use it when I’m not? My kids have left, I have empty rooms in my house, why wouldn’t I rent those out?I want to stay social, so why wouldn’t I offer tours of local attractions to tourists? If I can’t drive myself, why wouldn’t I use Uber as a cheaper and more convenient alternative to taxies? And so on. This is where access has overtaken ownership. The consumerism of past generations has created significant abundance. And Millennials have looked at that abundance, and asked: How can we capitalize on this? Enter companies like Uber and Airbnb, who have created marketplaces to ‘share’, at a cost, your underutilized assets. When you aren’t using something, someone else can now. The business model is simple. Dear Baby Boomers: Business is Booming! Let’s take a quick look at some figures for context. Listen to the most recent episode PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) predicts that the sharing economy will grow from a value of $15 billion in 201 to $330 billion by 2025.Consider that Airbnb has over 2 million listings worldwide, and that the largest hotel chain, Starwood-Marriot, has only 1.1 million rooms. How many people are taking advantage of this opportunity? According to TIME Magazine, 1 in every 5 American adults has earned some form of income in the sharing economy. Another study by JP Morgan found that sharing economy workers boosted their income by 15% through this flexible work option. Enough with the numbers, you’re all smart people, let’s discuss the specific implications for Boomers. So What Does The Sharing Economy Mean For Me? Asks the Boomer… “Aging boomers and the sharing economy go together like peanut butter and jelly” â€" The Globe and Mail, November 20, 2015. In reference to the sharing economy, Forbes Magazine declared that this economic shift is “better for Boomers than Millennials.” There are many reasons for this worth noting. The first is a desire tocontinueworking coupled with increased household debt. It’s a new reality that Boomers are working longer, and the vast majority plan on working in some capacity after retirement. Boomers are doing this for many reasons, but many are doing so because of increasing debt loads. Secondly, the sharing economy is, at its core, the embodiment of employment flexibility. Take Uber for instance. If you’re a driver, you can work whenever you want for as long as you want simply by turning on the app and accepting rides. Simple as that. Uber isn’t going to call you up and say “hey John why weren’t you at work today? We had that quarterly meeting!” And for Airbnb, you rent out a roomwhenever, and to whomever, you want. You can do this one day a month, or 30 days a month, it’s totally up to you. And thirdly, there are little to no barriers to entry in the sharing economy. You can become a small business owner, with no overhead, literally overnight. These sharing economy platforms have done all the heavy lifting, the marketing, and attracted a pool of customers. All you need to do is register. How’s that for a low barrier to entry? But don’t listen to me, check out what your peers are already doing. According to Uber, 25% of its millions of workers are 50+, and more drivers are 50+ than under 30. It’s easy to understand why Baby Boomers are flocking to the sharing economy. Over the next few weeks, we will delve deeper into specific platforms that may be your next flexible income opportunity. In the meantime, check out our many free resources on the sharing economy at the Casual Capitalist. And don’t forget to share this article! Author bio: Glenn Carter is a family man, investor, and full-time employee based in Montreal, Canada. Glenn is sharing his experience as an entrepreneur with others through his website The Casual Capitalist and his books. Glenn has learned from the best in the entrepreneurial world that you don’t need silver bullets to become financially independent, you only need discipline and action. Glenn is here to help you with the latter. But please, let’s be casual about it. 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Bad astronomy - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Bad astronomy - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog Philip Plait debunks weird, pseudoscientific claims at his excellent webiste badastronomy.com. Heres his take on what its like to stand up for science: Have you ever gone to a carnival, or a fair of some kind, and played the game Whack-a-Mole? Its a table with holes in it, and little mechanical rodents pop their heads out for about a half a second. You have to hit them with a mallet. If you wait too long, they duck back under. But every time you hit one, one or two pop up again. No matter how many you whack, there are always more. Pseudoscientists are like those moles. You can whack one down, but then another springs up He does an excellent job of it. For a taste, read his debunking of the claims that the Apollo moon landings were faked. 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

Top Resume Writing - Learn How to Improve Your Skills in Resume Writing

Top Resume Writing - Learn How to Improve Your Skills in Resume WritingThe Clever Titles for Resume Writing Course is a popular course with an interesting premise. This course provides an interactive way to boost your writing skills and have your resumes with the perfect impact. You can select from a wide variety of topic to write about and you need not to worry about failing because of poor writing skills. You can choose from unique content to meet your needs.The course offers numerous topics and to ensure that you don't miss out on a topic, you can use the course's search engine to search. You can choose from a variety of topics that you can include in your resume. Your resume will be an effective tool to promote your business and will help in getting job interviews. You can promote your professional achievements and expertise to prospective employers.The course is a compilation of an extensive number of articles on the latest tools, procedures and resources to improve your resume. The materials provided here are ideal for improving your skills, expertise and experiences. You can choose from different categories to focus on your resume. You can use the modules of the course to build up your competencies. These modules are unique to the course and you can be assured that you get a sufficient amount of content for your resume.The course includes such useful articles as 'How to Write an Expert Resume', 'A First Look at the Top Resume Tips'What to Do After You Have Finished Your Resume'. You can create a unique resume by adding your creativity. You can put your unique skill, expertise and experience to market and also include relevant information. The content of your resume will reflect your character and personality. You can list your accomplishments and the resources that you gained through these achievements.You can create a document in an easy-to-read format and make it more impressive. You can use colors to highlight certain aspects and develop the whole com position of your resume. You can use the format of the course to link your career objective to skills and expertise.The layout and module's design are conducive to the reader and they can easily read and appreciate your resume. You can incorporate graphic images and multimedia files in your resume. In this regard, you can also use the course to list the additional information that you can add to the resume.You can use the course to promote your unique talents and creative ways of working. You can use the course to enhance your competencies and your professional knowledge. In addition, you can take the course to build up your competencies in presentation, presentation skills, how to write effective job descriptions, and how to write effective cover letters. You can use the course to increase your level of expertise.This course has a large collection of useful content that you can make use of for increasing your knowledge and skills. The course also covers job interview strategies and answers the question, 'how to prepare for a job interview'.

Should I Include References on My Resume?

Should I Include References on My Resume?Do you really know what the rules for including references on your resume are? Do you know why your employer may want to see your previous work history if you are applying for a new job? These are some of the questions that you should be asking yourself and your potential employer before making your decision about whether or not to include references on your resume.References are important when you are applying for any type of job, but in particular if you are applying for an entry level position in a company that will be hiring immediately. When it comes to recruiting, people are more likely to want to see your references as soon as possible, because it can put them in the wrong frame of mind. They may think that you are lazy or incompetent and they may pass on you for someone who does include references on their resume. If you use this as an excuse when you are being interviewed, it will cost you the job.The truth is that it is far more impo rtant to be confident in your abilities than it is to have references. Many people who do not include references on their resume because they did not feel that they needed them are not really honest with themselves. They think that it is okay to write about their experience from a job they never had. However, if you do this, it will show that you are insecure, and this can destroy your chances of getting hired.You also want to remember that references that are included on your resume must be current and active. It does not matter how long you have been employed at the company, if your references are not current and up to date, they will not be any good to the recruiter. In addition, make sure that the references include all of your contact information so that the employer can call you or get in touch with you in the future. Some employers do not even consider this information, but it is very important.If you want to include references on your resume, then you should include your con tact information at the end of your reference section. In addition, you should list any other accomplishments that you may have had while you were employed at the company. These should be listed in the same format as your references, and they should include dates and places where you worked.If you do not include references on your resume, then your potential employer will be putting your resume in the 'cold' pile, which is just what you do not want. You should not have to go through a whole lot of emotional and psychological harassment by the hiring manager when you don't have references on your resume. It will cost you the job and it will put your future self at risk.References on your resume can be very important, so you should use them carefully. Make sure that you understand what is expected of you, what the rules are for doing so, and that you are going to include them so that you can be successful.