Monday, December 30, 2019

5 Minors for Mechanical Engineers

5 Minors for Mechanical Engineers 5 Minors for Mechanical Engineers 5 Minors for Mechanical EngineersYou major in mechanical engineering and are excited to learn the ins and outsbut there are other skills that can be a strong complement to that invaluable degree, and they may not be so obvious. With this in mind, here are a few minors for mechanical engineers to consider.Data Scienceprestige seewhatmitchseeBig data is hot right now and knowledge of data analytics can be a potential boost to job performance for a ME, says Alexis Abramson, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Case Western Reserve University. We are collecting more data on everyday life, she says. What used to be dealing with hundreds of pieces of data is now seemingly endless. By being able to use this data to inform their plan process and their understanding of failure, the lifetime of engineered devices can be improved. You used to have an engineer with years of experience to make a call on an inventi on but now you also have years of data to run analyses.BusinessAbramson is quick to remind that you cant usually just hide in your workand a business minor is a great way to improve interaction skills and relating to the selling of a product you might even create. Were talking about the professional softer skills you need to pick up somewhere, she says, Here you can talk about real world problemsthe market, competition, a key in for-profit settings. Also, in business classes youre practicing presentation skills and theres often an emphasis on gruppe projects which is coveted in the job market.The HumanitiesThis covers more than one minor, but Abramson likes the humanities because they often force you to improve critical thinking skills and are another place to further develop conversation skills. Many humanities minors can fit the bill but she does see English and History as two standouts. Its helpful to write papers on a topic that isnt actually a technical report, she says. You le arn to have an argument and clearly articulate it. Exactly what could help you in defending your product when you have to find a way to appeal beyond just the numbers.Image seewhatmitchseePsychologyA key factor in a successful product? Understanding the mentality of the potential user. A psychology minor could be just the ticket, says Ryan Towles, an undergraduate academic advisor for Michigan Technological Universitys mechanical engineering school. We have some students who get really interested in human factors and its often involving operating machines, Towles says. Theyre interested in how people react with controls, how do they look at signals with an interface. And it allows them to understand how the human brain relates. But it also can assist when you get ahead on the corporate ladder. In a management position it can help you get a sense of how that employee is doing and what will motivate them, Towles says.Electrical EngineeringAnd, just in case you dont want to stray from engineering for even a minor, Towles likes electrical as a leg up in many areas. It just has so many things it crosses over to, he says. Youre talking robotics, aerospace, hydroelectric, and more. Having that background will give you the advantage of speaking that language better, and also help with fitting into that fabric.Eric Butterman is an independent writer.In business classes youre practicing presentation skills and theres often an emphasis on team projects which is coveted in the job market. Prof. Alexis Abramson, Case Western Reserve University

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

This is how baby boomers and Millennials differ with work ethic

This is how baby boomers and Millennials differ with work ethicThis is how baby boomers and Millennials differ with work ethicBaby Boomers sometimes believe Millennials are entitled and lazy, but this couldnt be further from the truth.Millennials have entered a professional world where their realities are wildly different from the ones Boomers knew. They prioritize things that dont make sense to Boomers because their environment has different demands.For example, Millennials expect to be fired or let go regularly, so they want work that is directly in line with their own career equity, which are the skills and experiences that help them improve their career prospects. They know their time is limited, so they dont invest in doing things outside their own path. Boomers, however, are used to working hard for a company in exchange for long-term investment in skills development and for security, like a retirement fund or pension.But employment security and long-term investment no longer e xist in the modern working world.So what are Millennials working for?Having worked extensively with Millennials at my companies, Ive found they often work incredibly hard. But first, they need to feel like what theyre working toward aligns with their own goals and aspirations. Specifically, I hired a lot of freshly graduated art history students to work as account representatives at Lofty.com. I ensured upon hiring them that I knew what they wanted to build in their careers, and ensure that their role within Lofty would amount to that end. This created a management-employee partnership. They worked hard for my company because they felt they were getting something out of it that benefitted them.This may sound foreign to Boomers. They come from a world where they were expected to pay their dues by working hard on whatever the company needed, with the expectation that the company would reward them over in the long-term. Now, Millennials will work hard when they are given opportunities that help them provide for themselves without any kind of verstndigung im strafverfahren.In order to bridge this generational divide, we have to update the old bargain in a way that Boomers can understand and Millennials can use. That means understanding where both sides are coming from in order to make the best possible deal.But first, lets talk a little further about where Boomers are coming from.Baby Boomers have certain expectations of young employees based on their own experienceBoomers entered a company and were expected to pay their dues in order to move forward. The understanding was if they worked hard for the company for several years, and the company benefited from their work, theyd be rewarded with pay raises and promotions. If they stayed with the company long enough, theyd have a pension and a 401K.This was the bargain struck between an employee and company in the old days you work hard and in exchange, well give you security and stability.Now, Boomers expect Millennia ls to work for the same bargain. They think Millennials want to progress too fast and arent paying their dues, which comes off as lazy. Boomers also assume Millennials are flighty and dont stay in their roles with any kind of commitment. What Boomers dont realize is the other end of the deal they had, the end thats supposed to be a payoff for the employee, isnt there anymora.Its a whole new world out there, and Boomers have to recognize that if theyre going to successfully manage MillennialsThey also have to understand what Millennials actually want.Because Millennials dont expect to stay with a company for the long term, their interest is in what can benefit them now.This doesnt come from an inability to commit. Its the result of massive turnover rates, an unstable economy, and a more competitive geschftlicher umgang environment.What Millennials are learning from their work experience is they will inevitably get fired, let go, shut down, or need to look elsewhere for personal growt h. They expect to leave a position in a very short amount of time, so they want to get paid competitively and want to take on more responsibility quickly. They treat work as a way to build their own professional equity and skill set as future bargaining chips so when its time to move on, theyre prepared.Professional services companies like consulting firms, investment banks and law firms have already found a way to tap into this mindset by offering skills development and mentorship. In some ways, theyre preparing their staff to move on to other companies, but theyre also getting an intense level of hard work from Millennials in the meantime. In some cases, the employee feels invested and stays long-term.Tech companies also understand the benefit of this investment and fight to recruit then keep Millennial talent. For example, Google also currently sends employees to conferences and boot camps to improve their skills. This is another way to tap into Millennial aspirations for a mutua l benefit. The team feels like theyre getting skills they can apply anywhere, and the company gets a return on their investment.While this is one example of what a new bargain could look like, its not the only one.There are other ways to tap into a Millennials aspirations, but they dont come from mind-reading.Boomers managing Millennials need to understand their employment relationship is going to be short, so they have to cut to the point. Conversations around what the employee wants from a job need to happen as early as the interview in order to continue motivating throughout the working relationship.Some questions to ask includeWhat does the employee want from us?What are we providing the employee in exchange?What does the employee want in the long term? The short-term?What do they want from their career?What kinds of goals do they have outside of work?Once a Boomer has answers to a few of these, they can start to craft a mutually beneficial working relationship with their Millen nial staff. This means having regular conversations between employee and employer about what each side wants from the role going forward and how the two can help each other in the best way.One thing I do at Codex Protocol is have monthly meetings with each employee. We dont talk about their projects or what theyve accomplished. I limit the conversations strictly to what they want going forward and how I can help them achieve that. Ive noticed in my Millennial employees, they work the hardest when Ive given them chances to do work, achieve goals, and build their resume toward what they want long term.Theres a way to build mutually beneficial relationships between generations, and it comes from compromise on both sides. When given tasks that make them feel like theyre building toward something, Millennials will work to help Boomers businesses grow. Bridging the communication gap between these two generations can lead to greater outcomes on all sides, and maybe we can finally put a sto p to all those think pieces about Millennial work ethic.Mark Lurie is theFounder CEO at Codex Protocol.This article was originally published on Quora.com.This is how baby boomers and Millennials differ with work ethicBaby Boomers sometimes believe Millennials are entitled and lazy, but this couldnt be further from the truth.Millennials have entered a professional world where their realities are wildly different from the ones Boomers knew. They prioritize things that dont make sense to Boomers because their environment has different demands.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreFor example, Millennials expect to be fired or let go regularly, so they want work that is directly in line with their own career equity, which are the skills and experiences that help them improve their career prospects. They know their time is limited, so they dont invest in doing things outside their own pa th. Boomers, however, are used to working hard for a company in exchange for long-term investment in skills development and for security, like a retirement fund or pension.But employment security and long-term investment no longer exist in the modern working world.So what are Millennials working for?Having worked extensively with Millennials at my companies, Ive found they often work incredibly hard. But first, they need to feel like what theyre working toward aligns with their own goals and aspirations. Specifically, I hired a lot of freshly graduated art history students to work as account representatives at Lofty.com. I ensured upon hiring them that I knew what they wanted to build in their careers, and ensure that their role within Lofty would amount to that end. This created a management-employee partnership. They worked hard for my company because they felt they were getting something out of it that benefitted them.This may sound foreign to Boomers. They come from a world wher e they were expected to pay their dues by working hard on whatever the company needed, with the expectation that the company would reward them over in the long-term. Now, Millennials will work hard when they are given opportunities that help them provide for themselves without any kind of deal.In order to bridge this generational divide, we have to update the old bargain in a way that Boomers can understand and Millennials can use. That means understanding where both sides are coming from in order to make the best possible deal.But first, lets talk a little further about where Boomers are coming from.Baby Boomers have certain expectations of young employees based on their own experienceBoomers entered a company and were expected to pay their dues in order to move forward. The understanding was if they worked hard for the company for several years, and the company benefited from their work, theyd be rewarded with pay raises and promotions. If they stayed with the company long enough, theyd have a pension and a 401K.This was the bargain struck between an employee and company in the old days you work hard and in exchange, well give you security and stability.Now, Boomers expect Millennials to work for the same bargain. They think Millennials want to progress too fast and arent paying their dues, which comes off as lazy. Boomers also assume Millennials are flighty and dont stay in their roles with any kind of commitment. What Boomers dont realize is the other end of the deal they had, the end thats supposed to be a payoff for the employee, isnt there anymore.Its a whole new world out there, and Boomers have to recognize that if theyre going to successfully manage MillennialsThey also have to understand what Millennials actually want.Because Millennials dont expect to stay with a company for the long term, their interest is in what can benefit them now.This doesnt come from an inability to commit. Its the result of massive turnover rates, an unstable economy, and a more competitive business environment.What Millennials are learning from their work experience is they will inevitably get fired, let go, shut down, or need to look elsewhere for personal growth. They expect to leave a position in a very short amount of time, so they want to get paid competitively and want to take on more responsibility quickly. They treat work as a way to build their own professional equity and skill set as future bargaining chips so when its time to move on, theyre prepared.Professional services companies like consulting firms, investment banks and law firms have already found a way to tap into this mindset by offering skills development and mentorship. In some ways, theyre preparing their staff to move on to other companies, but theyre also getting an intense level of hard work from Millennials in the meantime. In some cases, the employee feels invested and stays long-term.Tech companies also understand the benefit of this investment and fight to recruit then ke ep Millennial talent. For example, Google also currently sends employees to conferences and boot camps to improve their skills. This is another way to tap into Millennial aspirations for a mutual benefit. The team feels like theyre getting skills they can apply anywhere, and the company gets a return on their investment.While this is one example of what a new bargain could look like, its not the only one.There are other ways to tap into a Millennials aspirations, but they dont come from mind-reading.Boomers managing Millennials need to understand their employment relationship is going to be short, so they have to cut to the point. Conversations around what the employee wants from a job need to happen as early as the interview in order to continue motivating throughout the working relationship.Some questions to ask includeWhat does the employee want from us?What are we providing the employee in exchange?What does the employee want in the long term? The short-term?What do they want fr om their career?What kinds of goals do they have outside of work?Once a Boomer has answers to a few of these, they can start to craft a mutually beneficial working relationship with their Millennial staff. This means having regular conversations between employee and employer about what each side wants from the role going forward and how the two can help each other in the best way.One thing I do at Codex Protocol is have monthly meetings with each employee. We dont talk about their projects or what theyve accomplished. I limit the conversations strictly to what they want going forward and how I can help them achieve that. Ive noticed in my Millennial employees, they work the hardest when Ive given them chances to do work, achieve goals, and build their resume toward what they want long term.Theres a way to build mutually beneficial relationships between generations, and it comes from compromise on both sides. When given tasks that make them feel like theyre building toward something, Millennials will work to help Boomers businesses grow. Bridging the communication gap between these two generations can lead to greater outcomes on all sides, and maybe we can finally put a stop to all those think pieces about Millennial work ethic.Mark Lurie is theFounder CEO at Codex Protocol.This article was originally published on Quora.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people

Saturday, December 21, 2019

Quotes About Hating Your Job

Quotes About Hating Your JobQuotes About Hating Your JobMany people have dissatisfaction with or hate their jobs. Some people dislike their scheduled hours or days, others dislike their co-workers. You can also hate the duties assigned to you, the clients you have to deal with, or your supervisor. Workplace satisfaction has a major impact on our overall happiness and sense of well-being. Many surveys on worker satisfaction indicate that more half of us are unhappy with our jobs. The reasons range from autocratic bosses, toxic co-workers, unpleasant work environments, and excessive demands to alienating or tedious job responsibilities. The following quotes capture the benefit of self-affirming work and the toll of persisting in jobs we dont like. Quotes About Hating Your Job Theres a trick to the Graceful Exit. It begins with the vision to recognize when a job, a life stage, a relationship is over- and to let go. It means leaving whats over without denying its value. Ellen Goodman Be thankful for problems. If they were less difficult, someone with less ability might have your job. Jim Lovell Oh, you hate your job? Why didnt you say so? Theres a support group for that. Its called everybody, and they meet at the bar. Drew Carey Working at a job you dont like is the same as going to prison every day, my father used to say. He welches right. I felt imprisoned by an impressive title, travel, perks, and a good salary. On the inside, I was miserable and lonely, and I felt as if I was losing myself. I spent weekends working on reports no one read, and I gave presentations that I didnt care about. It made me feel like a sellout and, worse, a fraud.Now set free, like any inmate I had to figure out what to do with the rest of my life. Kathleen Flinn Every job I take, within minutes Im thinking, I cant do this. I think its what makes me work. People think I just swagger in and do it. But I doubt myself all the time. Its what pushes me, what makes me work harder. The old er I get, the less I take for granted. Ray Winstone If you find what you do each day seems to have no link to any higher purpose, you probably want to rethink what youre doing. Ronald Heifetz Quitting a job can be like an exorcism where you cast out a demon. The demon is the foreign spirit who occupies you through your occupation. Bryant McGill Everyone rises to their level of incompetence. Dr. Lawrence Peter If you think your boss is stupid, remember you wouldnt have a job if he was any smarter.John Gotti Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life. Confucius Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you havent found it yet, keep looking. Dont settle. As with all matters of the heart, youll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. Stev e Jobs Id rather be a failure at something I love than succeed at something I hate. George Burns My mother said to me, If you become a soldier, youll be a general. If you become a monk, youll end up as the pope. Instead, I became a painter and wound up as Picasso. Pablo Picasso The secret of joy in work is contained in one word- excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it. Pearl Buck Work without love is slavery. Mother Teresa To find joy in work is to discover the fountain of youth. Pearl Buck Passion will move men beyond themselves, beyond their shortcomings, beyond their failures. Joseph Campbell Desire Thats the one secret of every mans career. Not education. Not being born with hidden talents. Desire. Bobby Unser Nothing is work unless youd rather be doing something else. George Halas Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy. Kahlil Gibran If you follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. Wherever you are- if you are following your bliss, you are enjoying that refreshment, that life within you, all the time.Joseph Campbell

Monday, December 16, 2019

They Asked For My Resume. I Sent It. Still, No Response.

They Asked For My Resume. I Sent It. Still, No Response.They Asked For My Resume. I Sent It. Still, No Response.INBOX I was contacted on LinkedIn by an IBM recruiter who said she was recruiting for a Senior Engineering Lead, and she asked for my resume. I sent it over to her as requested, but Ive not heard back from her. Im not really sure what to make of this. It feels like Ive been rejected for a job I didnt directly apply for.This scenario definitely started off on the right foot LinkedIn did the exact job its supposed to do it served as a platform for the recruiter to search for and find YOU. Then, the next thing we want to see happen is exactly what did happen you had direct contact with a human being. But, after that the line just went dead. Lets talk about 3 quick moves you can make to revive the opportunity in order to land the job you want.Send A Friendly EmailWhat I suspect happened here is that the recruiter sent out a mass schmelzglas for this role, and everyone was exci ted to respond. Perhaps the recruiter identified a handful of top candidates who tightly matched the job requirements, and you werent among them. Its just reality that recruiters frequently do not make the rounds again to contact everyone who wasnt selected. Or its possible the recruiter was deluged by people who happened to respond before you did, and hasnt gotten to your email. We cant jump inside the other persons mind. We can only try to find out.Before you fire off an email to the recruiter, breathe, smile real big, and keep your attitude super-positive. No annoyance. No blaming. No desperation. Say, I hope youre having a great day I previously sent my resume per your request last week. Have you received and reviewed it? If it happened to get lost in the shuffle, Id be happy to resend. If youre open to a call for 5 minutes this week, Id love to learn more about the Senior Engineering Lead.Dial Things UpIf the follow-up email is only honigwein with crickets, lets step things up. Check the contact information on the recruiters profile to see if her phone number is there. Google her name, her city, and IBM and see if you can uncover her number that way.Heres a ninja trick thats really effective. Call the particular location of IBM after hours and find her through their automated phone system. I especially favor this method for another reasonA call can be an interruption to the person on the receiving end. Should she answer in the middle of the day, the significance of your name might not immediately ring a bell for her. She may not be at her desk able to look at your resume immediately, and shes likely to give you the brush off.However, calling after hours and using the automated phone system means you can leave a voice mail directly for her that she will pick up. After-hours means just after 5 or 530 their local time doing this at 11 pm would look unprofessional, since voice mail is usually time-stamped.The voice mail you leave is largely similar to the em ail you sent no need to fabricate completely different language. Make sure to smile and sound pleasant.Re-Direct YourselfOne of the elements that makes job search long and laborious is the frustration we feel when something seems great at 1st, but then dies out. Thats a normal and natural feeling. Feel it fully. Then end it quickly. Re-direct your energy towards the next opportunity.This opportunity fell into your lap you literally didnt do anything to make it come to you in the 1st place. Therefore, its not as if this interaction set you back in your search at all. Positions come and go for a variety of reasons that youll never find out about. Should this recruiter re-appear, great. But dont wait for it. Dont hold out any expectations. Just regard it as a pleasant surprise.To feel like you have more control over the process, make sure that for every role you want to apply for, you identify the recruiter, senior HR person, or functional decision maker. Initiate real human contact w ith each relevant person, and be specific why youre interested in that particular organization, what exact expertise you offer for the role, and ask if the person is open to a short phone call this week. Thats the best practice when it comes to job search, and being consistent about it will increase your chances.U.S. labor statistics say the average time it takes to land a job is 24+ weeks. But theres a way that jobseekers age 50+ are consistently getting hired within just 8 weeks. This video case study shows you exactly how. Register today.

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Finally, something awesome every generation can agree on

Finally, something awesome every generation can agree onFinally, something awesome every generation can agree onWhats cooler than being cool? Being awesome or nice apparently. YouGov found when it polled 1,200 people across generations that generally when asked what something good or generally favorable is, Baby Boomers, Gen X, and Millennials have the saatkorn three go-to words.In order of popularity awesome, cool, or nice.Its rare that you have parents using the same slang as their children. But beyond those words, generations tend to fragment in how they express something is the awesomest or is it the dopest?Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreThe lingoEighteen to 24-year-olds are still down with awesome, cool, and nice, but theyll also go with a lit, (23%) sick (16%) or fire (12%.)Baby Boomers like superb (17%) and neat (22%).And Millennials, of course, are down with dope.Gen X ers dont really have any words that distinctly belong to their generation, but theyve been known to use fire (4%) and fresh (5%).Now thats groovy.

Friday, December 6, 2019

What You Should Know About Resume Now Login

What You Should Know About Resume Now Login How to Get abfluged with Resume Now Login? Login Login below in case you have already produced a profile on Atlanta Broadcasting Network or desire to examine the position of an application. Please be certain that you enter relevant contact details. When its by email, you might be advised about what format you need to use for your resume, what things to include in the topic line of the email message, and by once the employer should receive it. If you need assistance or more details, visit USAJOBS Support. The Bizarre Secret of Resume Now Login If you dont observe the position you wish to apply for below, its suggested that you use USAJOBSs built in search. You may begin and complete the on-line application process even in the event that you live outside of Canada. Pay attention this to use your discount, you want to go into a code before you proceed to the checkout. With WebStarts you dont will need to understand any code to create a lovely site. All About Resume Now Login Nonetheless, odds are youll have a minumum of one phone interview during the hiring process for employment. The capability to edit your resume from any place in the world is a remarkable asset that you are able to utilize to assist you land that upcoming great job. Our professional experts can help you get the job that youve always desired. You may also choose to get notifications if a new job which matches your skills becomes available. To provide the greatest female orgasm you can, you must train yourself and gain some amount of self control. zupflmmel a job category below to get started exploring our set of thousands and thousands of high-quality resume samples. If you wish to present your partner the finest female orgasm you are able to make certain you make love to her in a consistent rhythmic method. 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Sunday, December 1, 2019

Do HR and Recruiting Have a Language Problem

Do HR and Recruiting Have a Language Problem With a title like that, youre probably expecting me to rail against some of our favorite HR and recruiting buzzwords. And as frustrating as style-over-substance buzzwords can be not to mention how much fun it can be to toy with them I actually have my sights set on a different language problem that exists in recruiting and HR. Really, the language problem Im talking about isnt one specific problem. Its more of a general trend, comprising a constellation of different linguistic issues, and all of ansicht somewhat separate problems overlap. To start, they all stem from the way we use language when it comes to talking or thinking about talent. More importantly, all of these problems lead to the same result critical misunderstandings between employers and employees.The point of language (for the most part) is to communicate to transfer some piece of info rmation from one person to another. But there landseems to be a general trend in HR and recruiting towards using language to do the exact opposite to obscure valuable information instead of share it.As I said above, there are a few different iterations of the overarching trend, and in this post Ill address the three types of language misuse that Ive seen most recently. That being said, Im sure these arent the only ways we mess up. We is the keyword in that sentence we all make these mistakes, and youll see that the three examples Im writing about are pretty widespread. Also note that, because the language problem is so pervasive, it affects pretty much everyone who takes part in the hiring process HR, employees, recruiters, candidates, etc.1. Talking About the Big Picture, but Rarely Mentioning the BrushstrokesAs Great Place to Work CEO China Gorman pointed out over at TLNT, the American Psychological Associations (APA) 2014 Work and Well-Being Survey brought the disheartening news that only 52 percent of employees trust their employer or, to use the surveys exact words, believe their employers are open and upfront with them.And it turns out that trust is tied to employee engagement, the feverishly pursued dream of (nearly) every company. To quote the APA study, Employees experienced higher engagement when they had more positive perceptions of their employers involvement, growth and development, and health and safety practices, and you cant have positive perceptions of an organization you dont trust, can you?Gorman rightfully points out that we we should focus on trust before we worry about engagement, and what surprised me most about this suggestion welches that it was news to me and Im sure it was news to a lot of people. But shouldnt I have already known that trust was a building block of engagement? Why did that never occur to me?I think its because, in HR and recruiting, we have this tendency to talk in terms of the big picture while glossing over the brushstrokes the little components that actually build the picture, without which we cant even have a picture. We talk a lot about engagement, but thats an immense concept. The APA survey operates on the following definition of engagement a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind that is characterized by vigor, dedication and absorption. There are a lot of moving parts in such a comprehensive state of mind, but we rarely take the time to talk about those parts.And, when someone asks, Well, how do I achieve employee engagement? the answer is almost always Culture But thats an even bigger concept than engagement culture is the sum total of all the people in your office, who are themselves the sum totals of everything in their lives, and so on, and so forth. Thats a lot to deal with, but we arent dealing with it. Were trying to build houses without buying bricks (or whatever material you want to make your metaphorical house out of).If we want to do more than bang our heads a gainst walls, we need to follow Gormans lead in breaking down these bigger pictures into their smaller concepts. Engagement is a massive and intimidating concept trust is something we pretty much all understand. Lets work with the things we know now to build the things we dont know yet.2. Our Specialized Terms Can Be BafflingEvery industry has its jargon, and that jargon can be difficult for outsiders to understand drop me off in a biotech lab, and Ill spend the day slack-jawed and utterly numbed by the sheer weight of specialized language.But the HR and recruiting industries are different from biotech whereas an employee in a biotech setting is going to be dealing with other biotech employees who speak the language, HR professionals and recruiters often work with people who are not part of the industry. Therefore, these people dont quite speak the language.So maybe youre an HR person charged with onboarding the new accountant. Maybe youre a recruiter looking to source a Web develop er. Whatever the case, youre regularly interacting with people from outside the profession. Whats more, youre using very different language to talk about the same experiences. What you see as dispositioning, for example, the candidate sees as not getting a job.I understand the draw of jargon it can be useful to have a shared code but jargon isnt always necessary, and Im not certain its a good choice when your industrys whole purpose is working with outsiders. Plus, using terminology like disposition moves us away from the menschenfreundlich beings we work with and into the realm of corporate abstraction. Not to say that you should tell candidates you are no longer considering them for a job by shooting them a sorry, bro email. But alienating, disorienting corporate speak is little better than the black hole of the ATS.3. Disconnecting Words from the Real WorldMuch has been made about whether or not paper resums are obsolete Ive made some of the commotion myself, with HireArts hel p but Im sure there is one thing we can all agree on resums never tell the whole story. Thats why interviews exist.Despite this being nearly universal knowledge, we still rely on ATSs that filter candidates according to keywords. We make lists of words that hiring managers want to see on resums. Its kind of insane, because its like we have so much faith in the power of language that weve taken it to a terrible extreme privileging language over the actual information it represents.Eventually, the connection between language and fact is totally severed. The Careerealism post I linked to above was based on a survey conducted by the Harris Poll. That survey asked hiring managers and HR professionals to rank the best and worst words for job seekers to use on their resums. Not skills. Not experiences. Words.Will the words someone uses on a resum prove their worth as a potential employee? Absolutely not, but weve gotten to a place where we confuse the words with the skills theyre meant to represent the old map/territory fallacy. Yes, language is an awesome tool for communication, but its supposed to be just that a tool. A means, and not an end.So What?Language problems are potent they create misunderstandings they spread misinformation they lead to inaction or actively detrimental actions. As HR and recruiting professionals, we either dont pay enough attention to language, or we pay too much attention to it. We need to strike the right balances. We need to break concepts down into manageable, actionable pieces. Our language needs to be human and humane.Of course, we cant just rewrite the HR/recruiting script and start anew tomorrow. These language problems are ingrained in us. What we can do, however, is take a more careful, considerate, and critical approach to the words we use as well as the words people around us are using.