Thursday, October 31, 2013

Frightening Office Wear


Written by Lauren Lind

In the spirit of Halloween, I have gathered some office wear that is just down right frightening and should not be worn in the office.

Ugly Patterned Suits


 
You may be trying to make a statement, but you’ll end up just looking like a clown. Keep the suits classy and less distracting.








Crocs

Need I say more? Please do not wear these rubber shoes to work. Ever. Unless you are a nurse, of course, then these are right up your alley.









Short-Shorts

Save the Daisy Dukes for the beach. Too short of shorts are never appropriate in the business world.










Shirts That Show Too Much Cleavage 

Cleavage, like short shorts, is inappropriate for the office.  It may have worked out for Julia Roberts, but unfortunately it won’t work out for you.













Workout Gear

Sweating is for the gym, not the office. Maintain a professional demeanor and never get caught wearing this at your job, unless of course you work in a gym.









Crazy Heels 


These are scary. Keep the heels functional and needless to say, stay away from studs and spikes. Don’t wear heels to the office that you would wear to the club.










And this...


Yeah, don’t ever look like this going to your job. Or ever, because this is just creepy. :)





Happy Halloween! Stay safe out there!

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Check Before You Push Send


Written by Lauren Lind

Have you ever sent an email or text to the wrong person? That “Oh s*&%!!!” feeling runs through your body as you tragically try to stop the message from sending. Last week my friend emailed a picture of her hilarious Halloween costume to a business professional with the same name first name of her friend Jason. Her Halloween costume was not as funny to 60-year old manager Jason, as it would have been to her friend Jason. It is important to check before you push send because the recipient may not be so forgiving. Luckily, the manager was understanding and my friend’s mistake did not cause her any trouble.

This man also was lucky when he accidentally texted his boss:

“I was really exhausted and bored at work one rainy day so I texted my girlfriend at the time: “I just want hot chocolate and snuggles.” A few weeks later I needed to text my boss about a meeting when I noticed the last text I sent him said: “ I just want hot chocolate and snuggles.” I went in and copped up to it, but he played dumb and pretended like it never happened.” (huffingtonpost.com).

It seems like a simple no-brainer that you would make sure you are sending your message to the right recipient; however, this is a mistake we all make at one point or another. A good way to decrease your chances of sending messages that could ruin your reputation or career is to not use your work email to send personal messages to people.

Remember that sending the message to the wrong person can happen in a number of ways. One includes posts that were meant to be seen only by certain people. Don’t talk smack about your job, your co-workers or your boss on the web. It will come back to haunt you. Check out these Facebook posts that resulted in the posters’ termination from their jobs.

Avoid awkward situations by being meticulous and check yourself before you wreck yourself...you’ll be glad you did.

Contributors: Huffington Post

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Make Your Life Better By Making Other's Lives Better: Volunteer


Written by: Lauren Lind


Volunteering is not only good for the community, but studies have shown that it can help protect physical and mental health. You are in regular contact with others and you develop a solid support system when you volunteer, which has been shown to protect you against stress and depression when you’re going through challenging times. Personally, I find volunteering very important and just imagine the changes we could make in the world by volunteering a small amount of our time every week to a cause. Margaret Mead once said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Here are some of the benefits of volunteering:

• It connects you to others, helping you make new friends and contacts while increasing your social and relationship skills.

• Volunteering is good for your mind and body by increasing self confidence and combating depression. Studies have found that those who volunteer have a lower mortality rate than those who do not.

• Volunteering increases happiness levels. Researchers at the London School of Economics studied the relationship between volunteering and levels of happiness in a large group of American adults. They discovered that the more people volunteered, the happier they were, according to a study in Social Science and Medicine. “Compared with people who never volunteered, the odds of being “very happy” rose 7% among those who volunteer monthly and 12% for people who volunteer every two to four weeks. Among weekly volunteers, 16% felt very happy—a hike in happiness comparable to having an income of $75,000–$100,000 versus $20,000, say the researchers. Giving time to religious organizations had the greatest impact” (helpguide.org).

• Being a volunteer can help advance your career by providing career experience and teaching you valuable job skills. It also doesn’t hurt to have volunteer activities on your resume. Showing that you give your time to help others makes you more appealing to employers.

• It brings a sense of purpose, fun, and fulfillment into your life.

These are just some of the many benefits of volunteering. Here are some great websites to help you find opportunities near you helpguide.org, volunteermatch.org, volunteer.colorado.edu, bouldercounty.org, and metrovolunteers.org.

Contributors: helpguide.org - Joanna Saisan, M.S.W., Melinda Smith, M.A., and Gina Kemp, M.A. 

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

A Guide to Working For Nonprofits: Stories and Tips From Fellow Buffs


Written By: Lauren Lind

Jessica Yanker, senior at CU-Boulder, is currently studying international affairs with a minor in economics. She has an emphasis in French and studied abroad in Paris last semester. This CU Buff has decided that she wants to go the nonprofit route and has given us an insider’s perspective on interning for a nonprofit. Here is what she had to say:

Have you ever felt like your current job or internship is not fulfilling enough? If you are like me, the only way to feel satisfied at any job is to know that you are making a difference and impacting others. This is why I chose to intern at Global Education Fund this semester, a nonprofit organization seeking to end poverty around the world through education. GEF's mission has exposed me to a huge global issue- the lack of education opportunities for girls. In countries like Kenya, India, and Guatemala, where GEF operates, girls often don't have access to primary and secondary education because they are forced to work and help around the house.

Currently, nearly 93 million children around the world are not in school simply because they do not have the resources to do so. I have really enjoyed working with GEF and learning about how they are seeking to close this education gap by working with NGO partners in the countries where they have programs. Since this organization is so small, I have been able to learn new skills in a wide variety of areas including social media, event planning, and administration. This has been very rewarding because I tend to get bored easily if I am only assigned to do one type of task. Working for a nonprofit, there are new challenges every day, but to know that what you are doing is helping the lives of others makes it all worth it. I can’t imagine getting up in the morning every day to go to a job I am not passionate about. This is why I have chosen to intern at a nonprofit.

If you too feel like nonprofits are for you, check out idealist.org and find jobs, internships, and volunteer opportunities from 100,000 different nonprofit organizations. Also, apply for the CU-PIIE Program. With the CU-PIIE Program, if chosen, you will be able to choose to work at one of our pre-selected nonprofit organizations within the State of Colorado. A complete list of opportunities for summer 2014 will be given to the top applicants from the general application process. The deadline to apply is November 22, 2013.


Contributors: Jessica Yanker

Thursday, October 17, 2013

How to Use LinkedIn As A Successful Networking Tool


Written by: Lauren Lind



Before last year I thought LinkedIn was just for old people and those who have been in the workforce for a long time. However, this is not the case at all. The truth is, LinkedIn has some great opportunities for young people entering the business professional world and the sooner one creates an account and gets going on LinkedIn, the better. Many times, getting a job is about who know compared to what you know, so with that said, here are some ways in which college students can use LinkedIn to their advantage and successfully network their way into the business professional world.


Here are some great reasons to use LinkedIn:

Find a job. Once the profile page has been filled out with details, users should set email alerts so that they can receive recommended jobs specific to them. They can then look on their homepage to find jobs they should apply for.

Connect with all your colleagues, friends, and other students. One day your fellow classmates will in fact be professionals and you will have already started networking with them. Build up your network as much as possible and import your email list to see who you know is on LinkedIn. Use your connections to then connect to other professionals.

 Research companies and stay ahead of the competition. LinkedIn allows for students to check out the pages of their desired employers. Students can conduct a research on the location of the company, what the hiring process is like, and people’s opinions on the company. Performing this kind of company research on LinkedIn helps you stay ahead of your competition and increases your employability.

Have people recommend you. Get as many recommendations as possible on LinkedIn from your connections. This will make you stand out and you will have a better chance of gaining employers’ attention.

LinkedIn is global. For those who want to travel or work overseas this is a great tool to help with global networking.

It is important for students to fill out their profiles completely and with details because your profile will appear in more searches and your chances of attracting companies will increase greatly. Make sure to put in keywords that pertain to the job you have or the one you’re searching for because this will increase your likelihood of appearing in more searches an employer or a recruiter might do.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Technology in the Workplace: Apps to help you


Written By: Lauren Lind 

Having a computer at work along with a smartphone, can be a blessing and a curse. There are times when checking your Instagram, Twittter, or Facebook is a lot more appealing than finishing up work tasks. However, what if you used apps to help you instead of hinder your productivity at work?

Here are the top five apps that I found to be most useful for work purposes:

1. Evernote allows you to create text, photo, and audio notes as well as
clip web pages including text, links, and images. It also gives you the ability to  synchronize your notes across your devices and search for text within snapshots and images. Their motto is “Our products help you remember everything, communicate effectively and get things done.”
2. Wunderlist “is the easiest way to manage and share your to-do lists. Whether you’re planning an overseas adventure, sharing a shopping list with a loved one or running your very own business, Wunderlist is here to help you achieve great things.” The functions of this app include a simple interface to help you track your plans, collaborate with friends and collegaues on group projects, and access your information from multiple devices.
3. Zoho Docs gives you the ability to work on office documents using your phone.  The mobile app allows you to view your private documents as well as shared documents, including recent documents, spreadsheets, presentations, pictures and more!
4. Time Doctor can boost employee efficiency is Time Doctor. “This simple desktop app monitors all on-screen activities and logs how much time is spent on any given task. The program surveys everything from the background and periodically shoots out messages to remind employees to stick to their tasks. As a result, the app keeps employees focused on work rather than on distracting activities like watching YouTube videos or browsing through Facebook”. – Ian Aronovich, Co-founder and CEO, GovernmentAuctions.org
5. iDoneThis serves as a daily digest with what everyone on the team got done for the day. You just reply to an evening email and the app does the rest of the work for you. Their slogan is, “ The freedom to just get it done.”

These apps cannot only be helpful in the workplace but I believe can also aide in group projects. These apps can also help organize one’s personal life and work life onto a template. As we can see, there are a wide variety of apps out there that can be more than social media or game-related. Technology can be a fantastic tool in the workplace to increase organization and efficiency.

Contributors hiredMYblog.com and Tech Cocktail

Monday, October 14, 2013

Listen while you work: What music does to your productivity

Written By Mikael Cho 


Damn. I forgot my headphones.

Nothing has a more negative impact on my day than showing up to our office without them.

Like most people, music is a huge part of my life and my tastes are constantly changing based on how I feel or what I’m doing.

I listen to the most music while I work, sifting through playlists, from jazz, to indie pop, to electronica, on what seems to be a never-ending search for the perfect tunes to keep me in the zone.

When I looked back at all my favorite playlists, I wondered what effect music has had on my work and more specifically, which types of music have had the most impact.

I thought it’d be interesting to take a dive into the science behind the deep power of music to find out if it actually helps you work better.

Why you love music
Whether you’re listening to the driving beat of a Daft Punk song or the opening chords of a mellow Jack Johnson track, both have an effect on your brain that is not seen in any other animal.

When you listen to music, a part of your brain called the nucleus accumbens activates. This triggers the release of the “pleasure chemical” dopamine, that lives in a group of neurons in your brain called the Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA):

This pathway in the brain is called the Reward System and Dopamine is strongly associated with it. Dopamine is the same chemical that gets released when you eat your favorite food or when you get a new follower on Twitter, causing you to want more, more, more.

This is why Dopamine is also responsible for the saying:

“Two cheeseburgers equals one orgasm.” - PBS

The amount of dopamine that gets released and the feelings of pleasure we get from it are also largely dependent on the element of surprise.

For instance, when you stumble upon a new song that you love, more dopamine is released and you get even more excited than if you were to listen to one of your favorite songs that you’ve heard multiple times.

Music was meant to keep you alive
From the perspective of evolution, there’s something deeper about why you feel pleasure when you listen to music.

Neuroscientist and musician, Jamshed Bharucha noted that creative domains, like music, allow humans to connect in a synchronized way, helping us develop a group identity and makes us more likely to work together - which was an immensely important advantage for keeping the human species alive.

This development of group identity through music was seen in a recent study of preschool children.

The study paired children together in sets of two and showed them toy frogs. The researchers said these toy frogs needed to be woken up by either a song or exercise.

Psychologists then split the children up into two groups of 24 sets of children.

One group sang a song as they walked around a collection of toy frogs while the other group walked (or crawled) around a separate set of frogs without any music:


Afterwards, the children were presented with tubes filled with marbles. When the children were given their tubes, the bottoms would fall out, causing the marbles to fall on the floor.

The researchers noted if the two children paired together would help each other to pick up the marbles.

The results of the study showed that children who sang the song together, were more cooperative in helping to clean up the marbles.

The researchers concluded that music may have evolved as a way of fostering a sense of community and developing immediate empathetic concern.

Music’s power is deeply rooted in our brains and developed out of a need to empathize, create harmony, and more importantly, survive.

Does listening to music actually make you better at your job?
Music has a powerful relationship to our primal need of connecting with others, so how does this translate over to listening to music while you work?

Music helps you finish boring tasks faster
If you’re not looking forward to cleaning out your email after getting back from a vacation or filling out that nasty excel spreadsheet at the end of the month with your finances, music can help.

Because listening to music you like is pleasurable, it will not only make the task seem more fun but as research shows, it can actually help you complete the task faster.

In a study published in the journal of Neuroscience of Behavior and Physiology, it was found that a person’s ability to recognize images, letters, and numbers was faster when rock or classical music was playing in the background compared to when there was no music.

A similar effect was noted when workers on an assembly line listened to music. The workers who listened to music were more happy and efficient and made fewer errors.

So whatever type of music you like, as long as you’re listening to something, you’ll enjoy repetitive or boring tasks more and get them done faster.

Press pause when learning something new
When you’re presented with new information that’s complicated, it takes more focus and mental energy for you to grasp and apply that knowledge.

For instance, if you’re learning how to drive a stick shift car or writing your first lines of programming code, it’s best to shut the music off.

In 2010, researchers at the University of Wales Institute showed that when adults were asked to complete a relatively complex task of recalling a series of sounds presented in a specific order, their performance decreased while listening to music.

The study concluded that your ability to learn something new that is cognitively demanding decreases when you listen to music.

So when you’re tackling something new and complex, put your headphones down and learn without distraction.

If you’re good at what you do, music works
The magic of music comes into play the most when you’re an expert at what you do, even if it’s something as challenging as surgery.

A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that surgeons worked more accurately when music they liked was playing in the background (music that they didn’t like was second best, and no music was least helpful of all).

If you’re working on something that you have done many times before, even if it’s complicated, your performance can increase and errors become less likely when you listen to music you like.

The perfect mix tape: How to use music to create flow
While musical tastes vary greatly, listening to your favorite type of music, whatever it is, lowers feelings of tension.

Author Stephen King said that he preferred to work while listening to hard rock music (which for some of us, would be too noisy to concentrate on anything).

Whether it’s hard rock or acoustic jams, as long as the music makes you feel like doing things that’s what you should choose to listen to.

Choose music you’ve heard before
If you’re listening to new music (especially with lyrics) while working, your brain may release too much dopamine especially if you find a song you love.

You’ll start to focus more on the music rather than the work you’re actually trying to do.

When you learn something new, dopamine levels increase and can cause you to lose focus and interest in your work because it’s not as interesting (and therefore not as pleasurable) as the new song you just discovered.

Stick to your favorites list when you work but, if you must have something new, play songs that have little or no lyrics.

Instrumental music works best
There are a few types of music that have proven to be effective in establishing flow for most people.

Classical or instrumental music has been shown to enhance mental performance more than music with lyrics.

For strong focus, music that has little variety and little to no lyrics are best.

Tip: For creative tasks, the noise from a coffee shop can be enough to do the trick says a study published in the Journal of Consumer Research. Moderate background noise (about the volume of a vacuum cleaner) can create enough distraction to allow you to think more imaginatively:


Source: Coffitivity.com
While music helps you breeze through simple tasks and things you are well-trained to do, when it comes to taking on something new that’s challenging, it’s best to ditch the tunes until you know your stuff.

Everyone’s experience of music is different but now that you understand the why and how of its effects, hopefully your quest for creating the perfect playlist will be much easier.

To view this post on oomph For more articles like this as soon as they’re published, enter your email here or head over to the ooomf blog.

Friday, October 11, 2013

Employer’s Pet Peeves About Students


Written by Lauren Lind

Last week was the annual Fall Internship & Career Fair put on by Career Services. I talked to Enterprise Holdings, Jackson National Life Distributors LLC, and Copper Mountain about what students can do to improve regarding the overall Career Fair Experience. Rebecca Lupp, Talent Acquisition Manager at Enterprise, shared with me some key insights. She said “Students should talk to as many companies as possible. We pay to come to the Career Fair and want to talk to students! Many of students limit themselves by not being open to the various possibilities that each company has.” Even though a company might be focused specifically on Insurance, they might have openings within different departments such as marketing and finance. She also said, “The worst thing that will happen if you apply for a position is the company saying you are not the right match for them, so students should not be scared to go for it.”

Rebecca also mentioned that the CU campus is very casual and that students need to dress more professionally for a Career Fair setting which is a pet peeve that Jackson mentioned as well. Katie Youll, Senior Recruiting Coordinator, stated that as a student she didn’t fully grasp that meeting companies at a Career Fair makes your first impression on them. Dressing professionally, making eye contact, reaching out and shaking the employers hand, and being outgoing are all attributes that would help make a good first impression.

Talking to the Copper Recruiters I found that employers would find it helpful if when Students introduced themselves, they also said what their major was. The women I spoke to also told me that if students were not looking specifically for something to do with their major, they should let them know that. The employers are focused on not only what they can offer you, but also what you have to offer them. It’s a two way exchange, so be personable and honest when talking to the recruiters. Show interest and be engaged in the conversation.

Thursday, October 3, 2013

That's Not My Name!


Written by Lauren Lind

Laura, Lindsey, Laurel, Lawrence, Karen, Warren, Girl....you name it, I’ve been called it. We all know how it feels when someone forgets your name or decides that your name is different from what it actually is. It makes you feel annoyed and as if you are insignificant to them.

Dale Carnegie was an American writer, lecturer, and the developer of famous courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, public speaking, and interpersonal skills. His sixth principle from his book How to Win Friends and Influence People is “remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” He also said, “If you remember my name, you pay me a subtle compliment; you indicate that I have made an impression on you. Remember my name and you add to my feeling of importance.” This skill  can be very useful in the business world.

Here are some tips to remembering someone’s name:

°Look and listen, be ready to hear that person’s name.

°Form an impression of that person, notice what stands out about them.

°Repeat their name a couple of times in conversation, but don’t over do it.

°Make an association between that person’s name and an image that is already familiar to you. For example if you meet a Payton, imagine them playing football with Payton Manning. You can make these associations bizarre, in fact the more bizarre the better because you will be more likely to remember their name and they will never know what you are thinking.

If you do happen to forget someone’s name, politely ask them to repeat their name and remember it for the next time. It’s also important to not over use their name. I personally find it annoying when I’m having a conversation with someone and they use my name in every sentence because that makes them seem insincere. Find a balance between over use and completely spacing what their name is. You have the ability to make a positive impression on others by simply remembering their name.