I Told My Boss I Was Unsure About My Job - The Muse

I Told My Boss I Was Unsure About My Job - The MuseI Told My Boss I Was Unsure About My Job It took me half a year to land my first full-time job- a middle school teaching position with benefits and paid summers. I knew I didnt want to teach in a formal setting, but the opportunity was too good to pass up. Several months in, I was confronted with the realization Id ultimately expected This career track wasnt the right fit for me. Honestly, I didnt know what was. But I did know that I was drained after every nine-hour workday. So, I decided to vent to a co-worker about it- casually, in the hallway, while the kids were at recess. Except this particular co-worker was in a leadership position at the school and it was her responsibility to report to our direct manager- the school principal. As you can probably imagine, I was calleuchtdiode into the principals office soon after (yes, this happens even when youre an adult). She wanted me to reflect on how I was contributing to morale by com plaining and also understand where my feelings were coming from. So, I did what I thought was my only option- I told her the truth I was having a difficult time adjusting to the responsibilities of the job because I wasnt sure if teaching was what I wanted to do long-term. Much to my surprise, my boss reacted positively. Confessing my concerns led to a solution that completely improved my work experience- and taught me two valuable lessons.1. You Have to Advocate for Yourself at WorkYou know your strengths and weaknesses best, and theyre even more magnified when youre given responsibilities youre not passionate about. Every leader wants to capitalize on their teams strongest assets- but they need to know what those are to even begin doing so.Once I became erkennbar about the work I didnt feel confident doing, my boss and I were able to brainstorm strategies to improve my self-esteem and workload. One option included distributing laborious tasks across my team and giving me more lead ership opportunities during lesson planning and teaching. We were even able to reevaluate some of the systems we had in distribution policy based on my concerns. When it came to keeping kids on task throughout the day, for example, my main issue wasnt that my behavior management was flawed- it was that some of the systems we had in place needed some fine tuning to help me best work with my students. 2. You Have to Consistently Check in With Your Boss When Things Start to Go DownhillYour boss and colleagues cant help you unless they know you need the help. Finally admitting what was bothering me made me realize I should have done it a lot sooner and a lot more often.Our conversation led me to set personal and professional goals for myself both in this job and future roles I might have, and my manager and I designed a plan to ensure Id reach them in a timely manner.My boss and I stayed in contact throughout the year, and I remained transparent about my uncertainty with middle school t eaching even after the changes were made. So, we tried something else. When it was time to arrange plans for the next school year, she helped me land a position as a fourth-grade teacher. This meant Id be teaching half the number of students, and because it was elementary school, Id be teaching multiple subjects and not just one- allowing me to explore even more paths for myself. As we had hoped, the switch was a better fit, but I would never have known had we not frequently checked in in the first place. I know, this sounds like a career fairy tale I complained and it all worked out. In your case, that might not be a realistic outcome. If you dont have a manager you can count on to have your back, you may want to do some self-evaluation to diagnose your unhappiness and take steps to improve it. This article can help you reframe how you look at your career, and this one will help you approach your boss with a realistic solution. Whatever you decide to do, just know this before you d o it You deserve to have a fulfilling job, but its up to you to make this happen.

Just believing you are multitasking can boost performance

Just believing you are multitasking can boost performanceJust believing you are multitasking can boost performanceFor people who believe that perception is reality, they know that getting someone to believe in something is as good as making it true. This strategy can apply to politics, marketing, and as new research inPsychological Science argues, it can apply to productivity too.While previous research has found that humans are universally bad at doing multiple tasks at once, the new study found that getting people to believe that they were multitasking boosted their performance.Why the illusion of multitasking keeps us more engagedTo get an engagement boost, you just need to be told that you are multitasking. In the study, the researchers recruited 162 participants and gave them the task of watching and transcribing an Animal Planet educational video. One group was told that they would work on a single task that required them to watch a video and take notes on what was shown. The m ultitasking group was given the saatkorn task but was told that they would work on two tasks simultaneously.The reframing of the instructions worked. The researchers suggest that the illusion of multitasking works because thinking we have to do more work forces us to stay engaged. They found that people who were told to multitask showed more pupil dilation during the activity, suggesting that they were using more energy to stay focused.Multitasking is often a matter of perception or can even be thought of as an illusion, Shalena Srna, the studys co-author, said in a statement. Regardless of whether people actually engage in a single task or multiple tasks, making them perceive this activity as multitasking is beneficial to performance.Even if multitasking is all in your head, the mental reframing can influence our behavior for helpful ends. Next time you have a big task and find yourself distracted, try breaking up the activity into multiple parts to stay focused.

Mini Robots for Medical Use

Mini Robots for Medical Use Mini Robots for Medical Use Metin Sitti, Carnegie Mellon mechanical engineering professor, has long had a fascination with miniature robots. Ever since his days of watching the film Fantastic Voyagea story involving shrinking people to get them inside a bodyhes always thought small. Hes happy to say hes seeing more of his dreams become realities in miniature robotics and is even more excited about the future.We understand model scale structures and materials much better than in the past, he says. We can now build robots that can manipulate scales nanoparticles, DNA. Basically we can use materials and devices like microscopes. Manipulation where we can assemble modulations can help us understand mechanics and behavior in scale.One area of strides has been in understanding how living movements can improve our daily lives. At his company nanoGriptech, analysis of a geckos sticky properties due to foot-hairs may lead to commercial adhesive improvements.The com pany website explains Although the forces acting on one individual set are small in magnitude, the cumulative adhesive effect if fruchtwein hairs were simultaneously in contact with a substrate would create very strong macroscale adhesive and friction forces. Additionally, geckos feet have the amazing ability to resist contamination, allowing for thousands of adhesive cycles with minor performance deterioration. Or the companys water runner robot, which mimics a lizards ability to avoid water drag, in a way a watercraft may not be able to.Many of the answers are from observing whats already out there, says Sitti. When you look at what it a gecko can do, you realize how amazing it is.One of Metin Sittis latest creations a pill-sized capsule robot capable of performing tissue biopsies and dispensing drugs inside the human body. Image CMU.eduHuge strides have been made in the surgical arena as well. What was once just for Hollywood is now giving those in medicine new capabilities. Now you can get to tough places like the brain, in the veins, the spinal cord, and inside the eye, Sitti says. We can get to really small areas and do diagnostics. Treatments like biopsies or surgical work are now happening. In fact, Sitti showed his own version of a biopsy robot to the World Science Festival in June. The size of a pill, the idea is for medical community to control the movement of it inside the body to have more awareness for possible diagnosis.The full future he believes could have the working tandem of a mini device telling you something is not right in your body, disease detection, then surgery. The ultimate level that he sees in treatment one day could be even killing cancer cells.Whats vital to Sitti is that research simply continues. Were just starting to see whats possible, he says. Some of the focus will be on better products. And some will save lives. But we need to keep analyzing.In other words, some of the most fantastic voyages have yet to be taken.Eric But terman is an independent writer. For Further DiscussionNow you can get to tough places like the brain, in the veins, the spinal cord and inside the eye.Prof. Metin Sitti, Carnegie Mellon

How to Write an Effective Internship Cover Letter

How to Write an Effective Internship Cover LetterHow to Write an Effective Internship Cover LetterThe anfangsbuchstabe phase of the internship application process begins by submitting a resume, oftentimes accompanied by a cover letterto positions and employers of interest.With these documents, applicants then have approximately 30 seconds or less to gain the employers attention. With all of the resumes employers receive on a daily basis, I can guarantee you if you dont impress them with your initial documents, you will never get a chance to move to the next level. Creating a Resume to Apply for an Internship A common question I receive from students is if they need to do a separate resume and cover letter for each employer? If they dont have a resume, to begin with, creating a resume for each employer of interest may seem like an insurmountable task to accomplish but its really not all that difficult once you get your first resume started. Targeting Your Resume Once you have an initial resume, its rather easy to make changes to target it to a particular internship/job or industry.Looking at the keywords in the position description can give you a good indication as to the type of skills required to do the job and what keywords you will want to include in your resume.For undergraduates, many internships seek candidates that possess specific transferable skills, such as communication, interpersonal, organization, computer, and leadership. To illustrate your competency you can focus on your coursework, previous internships and jobs, and any club or volunteer activities in which you have participated. Although resumes being used for specific positions and industries can be almost identical, you will definitely want to include more specific information in your cover letter.A cover letter is where you can let an employer know your interests and specific reasons why you want to work for their specific company. Oftentimes its quite easy to find this information by looking at the internship description while other times you will want to take a look at the companys website and look over their mission statement to see what the employers business is all about. By identifying what an employer is seeking in a qualified candidate, you can begin focusing your cover letter on exactly what the employer is looking for. Finding Internships Online You may also decide to search sites such as Google, Indeed.com, SimplyHired.com, Idealist.org, or other sites where you can find information about just any type of internship you are looking for.You may also check with your college to see if they offer Careershift, which provides every position on every job board that exists online. Be sure to use the Advanced Search Options on these sites to ensure that you are getting a filtered, and more targeted list of internships. You may include specific keywords, a particular industry or job function, a location plus other criteria that will help to keep the listi ngs to exactly what you are looking for. You may also sign up for sites or an employers schmelzglas or newsletter to receive information when new listings come available.This may seem like a lot of work but once you get the hang of it you will find yourself saving time by being more organized.I often recommend that students use a spreadsheet where they can list all of the internships they are interested and the deadlines to apply.Once they begin applying, they will want to keep track of those positions they have applied for. Some sites let you save these sites right on their website which also makes it a whole lot easier to stay organized and follow up. Targeting Your Cover Letter If you have several areas of interest you will want to have several resume and cover letters prepared.You will always want to have a section of your cover letter that speaks directly to the employer.You want them to understand that you know what they are about and you want to list exactly what knowledg e and skills you have to offer the company. With so many applicants for each position, it is the applicants responsibility to convey their strengths and abilities that speak directly to what the company is looking for in an applicant.

How to Answer Interview Questions About Organization

How to Answer Interview Questions About OrganizationHow to Answer Interview Questions About OrganizationIts not surprising thatjob interviewersoften toss out a question about yur organizational skills. The ability to efficiently allocate time, energy, and resources is critical to nearly every position in any industry. Organization is also a necessarysoft skillfor people who work in fast-paced environments where they are expected to be excellentmultitaskers. Before you sit down for an interview, think through your response to interview questions about organization. How to Talk About Organization There isnt a single right way to stay organized, and thus there isnt one correct answer to the question.Talk about your own personal methods, what works for you, and why. Demonstrate that youve thought about your organizational methods and challenges, that they are important to you, and that you have a system that works.Describe your specific methods for staying organized in as much detail as you can.Relate an example of ways in which your system benefited you and others.Stress that you can be flexible to accommodate unexpected new problems and tasks. How to Describe Yourself You may be asked whether you would describe yourself as an organized person. The short answer is yes, but consider expanding your answer with some details that show the rationale underlying your confidence. You might tailor one of these examples to your own experiences and habits Absolutely. I like to keep a checklist and make aya that each item gets the attention it needs.Yes, sometimes a little too much so. I make sure that everything is neat and in order.I am a very organized and thorough person, which I think contributes to my success.Yes, I use several online and desktop tools to stay organized. On Monday of each week, I review my calendar and highlight the key things I need to accomplish.I like to plan my daily, weekly, and long-term work projects carefully.I make it a point to set up reminders and writeto-do lists. Then I carve out blocks of time to devote to particular tasks, so I have designated steps and the required time allocated to meet those goals. I plan ahead as much as possible, but in reality, things come up at the last minute. Thus, I make sure I can adjust and respond quickly, integrating new priorities into my daily work.I make sure I and my team members know established project deadlines, and then I set benchmarks so that we can track our progress. For most projects, I also set early deadlines a day or two ahead of the final deadline and do my best to meet that target so that the project is completed ahead of time. Prepare for In-Depth Follow-Up Questions Interviewers often follow up an initial question about organization to test whether youve really thought it through. These examples show how detailed your thinking has to be in preparing for the interview. What steps do you take to organize and plan a project?Your answer should demonstrate ho w you use organizational skills to prepare for aprojectand then focus on it.How do you accommodate last-minute changes that you have to fit in?Your answer should show that you can amend your plans and integrate new information when necessary.How do you prioritize the tasks within one project?Your response should demonstrate that you know how to plan, analyze various approaches and possibilities, make sound decisions, and succeed with your workload. How do you plan ahead of time for possible deadline changes or unforeseen challenges? Tell us about how you develop back-up plans in case Plan A doesnt work out.How do you handle a situation when your planning was insufficient?Discuss your problem-solving capabilities, your ability to multitask, how you handle competing priorities, and your ability to reorganize as needed. Provide Examples of Your Skills As you answer these follow-up questions, try to provide specific examples of occasions where you have demonstrated your organization al skills in the workplace. This will be particularly effective if you can show how your skills solved a problem or otherwise contributed to your company. Perhaps you were able to eliminate a backlog of paperwork. Maybe you established deadlines and processes for an important project that ensured its successful completion. By describing how your organizational talents have had a positive impact, youll be able to impress your interviewers as being someone who could make

Best Font Size for Resume 2017 for Dummies

Best Font Size for Resume 2017 for Dummies Best Font Size for Resume 2017 the Ultimate Convenience To the majority of non-specialists, its tough to distinguish the differences. There are many different conditions where youre likely to need to pick fonts for certain projects. Maybe something from the below can help you to cope with a few issues that were unknown or difficult for you previously. So, youve chosen a clean and crisp font for your resume, youve worked out just what information youre going to include, youve even created perfectly highlighted bullet-points for your key abilities and qualifications. You must keep in mind that employers may get very tired and weary after some hours of reading through resumes. You need to always select the best font for your CV, it ought to be well structured as it gives an overview of your abilities, skills, and accomplishments. Submit the same resume for every single job. Its crucial that the service you decide on knows for sure the yre only selecting the ideal essay writers. Again, you wish to make certain that your resume is readable. Therefore, for those who have a resume that isnt in an ATS-friendly format, it is probable you wont be contacted for an interview. Best Features Very user-friendly. If you are searching for something classic for a traditional or first-time resume, Arial is an excellent option. There are lots of pretty fonts, but should you combine them lubberly the entire work wont be well worth any attention. Additionally, it was inspired by Scotch Roman designs of the 19th century, so should you wish to be noticed, you may want to go with something different. Getting the Best Best Font Size for Resume 2017 The hiring manager only looks at a resume for a couple seconds so that youre going to want to be certain your major points and qualifications are simple for a hiring manager to spot. Professionally, our resumes are often the very first impression a possible employer gets of us. Ju st make sure, whichever format you pick, which youre targeting it for the job that youre applying to. When youre competing for a particular job or project, you want to earn the evaluation as simple as possible for them. The Unexposed Secret of Best Font Size for Resume 2017 If you have sufficient room on your resume, you ought to go with a size 12. In addition, if youre utilizing a single spacing, a huge font size will appear weirdly, so everything should stick to some proportions. Along with font types, the typical font size also needs to be carefully considered when writing an executive resume. You may have to try out a couple distinct sizes to make certain that your cover letter fits on a single page. Font types are available in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Theres a free alternative, but it doesnt appear to offer you accessibility to anything, thus were not certain why its even mentioned. Picking the proper font can look to be an impossible endeavor, especially since the re are dozens and dozens of choices out there. For example, you ought to be careful when you are selecting the font and size of the text that they ought to be normal. The info above applies primarily to instances where youre sending a conventional cover letter by snail mail or whenever youre sending an official cover letter for a Word or PDF attachment to an email message. Be sure to create your font large enough so the reader doesnt need to squint to read your letter, but not so large your letter doesnt fit well on the webpage. When youre using Microsoft Word, here is the way to decide on a template for your letter and the way to choose the font style and font size. Formatting your resume is a significant step in making a professional, readable resume. If you wish to use a sans-serif font, Arial is one of the greatest options for your resume. Essentially, the most suitable font is dependent on the goal of your resume. If you would like the very best font for resume 2019, here we are likely to bring you a few of the finest and most typical fonts you may use. Youve got to choose a trendy but in addition to simple font which could be read easily. The important thing here is to use any font thats crystal clear and simple to read. In order to earn a very good visual impression, you should have an appealing font. Utilizing a very simple font will guarantee your cover letter isnt hard to read. As a rule of thumb, the font you ought to use for an executive resume needs to be clear, scalable and legible.

Hire A-Players Like This CEO Who Grew His Company 140%

Hire A-Players Like This CEO Who Grew His Company 140%Eric Siu, CEO of Single Grain, one half of The absatzwirtschaft School Podcast, and voice behind the Growth Everywhere podcast, joins The Growth Recruiting Podcast to share how he recruits for his fast growing digital marketing agency. In this episode, youll learn how touse provenmarketing techniquesto drive amazing recruiting results. Eric discusses his role in the hiring process as CEO and gives tips on improving yur candidate conversions.The Growth Recruiting Podcast is available in iTunesShow notes124 About Eric422 About Single Grain620 Erics recruiting strategy1100 Hiring for positions outside yur wheelhouse1335 Single Grains end-to-end hiring process1444 Erics secret to getting candidates completing video interviews1641 Applying Marketing techniques to hiring1850 A CEOs role in Hiring2103 Single Grains hiring course2207 Erics advice to scaling your team2545 Improving candidate conversion like a marketer2836 Erics favorites30 53 Erics new SaaS product (clickflow.io)Resources mentioned on the episodeTripItWorkableSpark HireMomentThe Coaching Habit Say Less, Ask More Change the Way You Lead ForeverObjective Management GroupThe A-Player Hiring BlueprintLinkedIn Recruiterclickflow.ioCareers at Single GrainContact info ericsinglegrain.com or Twitter ericosiuTranscriptJosh Welcome to The Growth Recruiting Podcast. My name is Josh Tolan and today I am joined by Eric Siu, the CEO of Single Grain, which is a digital marketing agency that helps fortune 500 companies along with venture backed startups scale their revenue. Eric is a contributing writer to Entrepreneur magazine, Business Insider, Forbes, Fast Company, and Time magazine. He also hosts two tremendously popular podcasts Marketing School with Neil Patel and Growth Everywhere. Im a big fan of Erics work than I am so stoked to have him on the podcast today. Eric, whats up man?Eric Josh, thanks so much for having me.Josh For sure. For sure. Hows everythin g going?Eric Things are great, man. I trust things are good in your world.Josh Everything is good. I cant complain. So I gave the audience a little bit of a teaser about your background, but the best distributionspolitik to start is if you could give a little bit of an introduction about yourself and your company and what youre up to.Eric Yeah, absolutely. So my background, lets landsee. I worked in tech before led marketing for a angeschlossen education startup called Treehouse.Long story short, we basically were about to run out of cash, but now the company is a $100 billion company. And then from there, I had the unique challenge of, being able to save a failing company instead of a stagnant company. I decided to take the challenge because, you know, what am I going to lose right? But one year into it, I actually ended up taking over the entire company. So I own the whole thing now.And, you know, Ive just really enjoyed teaching people so, all the stuff I learned around marketing , from guys like yourself, and other entrepreneurs, I have the Growth Everywhere Podcast for that. And then Marketing School is just where I get to nerd out with my colleague Neil Patel and just nerd out on those things and kind of hold ourselves accountable to staying good at marketing as well. And then beyond that, right now we have a SaaS tool that were working on. I have my hands in many different cookie jars,cause I like working on different things.Josh Thats awesome. Yeah. Well I have to say that Im a huge fan as you know, of all of the marketing content did that you guys put out. I definitely am a big follower and learn a lot from what you guys are putting out there. So I have to ask and enlighten the audience as well. So we both went to UC San Diego. We both studied economics and it looks like you Did you minor in history as well?Eric I did.Josh Thats the exact saatkorn path that I took. So now Im the CEO of a company that is a technology company serving, the HR and recruitm ent industry and you are the CEO of a digital marketing agency. So we both didnt go down the economic path. What really led you into the marketing world?Eric Honestly, coming out of UC San Diego, this is like right after the whole financial crisis. So the only job I could get, and I live in downtown LA right now. Im actually looking at the building that I first started working in. Its the Wells Fargo Building and you know, the first job I got welches a dead end data entry job and I was like, man. I remember Mike Judge who created Silicon Valley and Beavis and Butt-head. He was the commencement speaker and coming out of college I was like, Man, this is it, huh? Like you sitting in a cubicle like this is it. And thats exactly what happened to me. Then, I knew it wasnt for me anymora when there was a guy that was nine years older than me, graduated from Harvard and he was just sitting there. And, his life was just looked like it was over, right? So, my friend told me about digital mark eting and I ended up getting into that and then, I just think kind of compounded from there and I never looked back.Josh Thats awesome. I mean, youve just been all over the place. Ive seen you traveling, youre speaking How many different countries have you been to or can you even keep track anymora?Eric Oh man, if I open, TripIt, Im sure Ill find out. But I can tell you this year, I was gone 32% of the year.Josh Thats nuts. Thats very cool. That Im sure youve seen some pretty cool places. So Single Grain, digital marketing agency. You said you took it over when it was a failing company. What does the company look like now? How many people do you guys have? What does growth look like and what are the goals going forward?Eric Totally. So, the numbers I can speak to, we have 30 people. And were adding another like three, four people next month. So things are growing, in of kind of growth rates on the employment side, its going pretty quickly. And then, you know, I think were closing t hings out 2017 versus the belastung year. Grew about 140% and adding another three or four people next month.Josh Thats awesome. And then going forward, I mean, are there plans to really scale head count at Single Grain? I know you talked about the new SaaS tool that youve been building out and starting to market that. So. So what are the plans in 2018 and going beyond that?Eric Yeah, the plan for Single Grain. I think weve been fortunate where, you know, this is funny because I kind of, you know, I had a debate with my team. Two people from my team were saying, and were putting all this money into content marketing, but whats the ROI? And then I broke it down for them.All of our clients are from content marketing, everythings inbound, but had guys like, you know, its good that we have inbound, but sometimes its feast or famine, right. So I said, hey guys, we need to build, were going to build a sales team and in 2018 so we can really scale things up so we can have like, we can kin d of diversify a little bit. So thats a really big focus. But at the same time, weve really added a lot of kind of senior bench strength, especially the last couple of months. So Im really excited to see kind of where that goes and what manifest from that in 2018. So Im really excited about the team at Single Grain.And theres the SaaS product, you know, thats something, because, Im not married or anything like that, no children, I can burn all the way until you know, midnight every single night. Just working on that.Josh Thats awesome. So as, as the team is growing and as youre hiring more and more people. I know you said youre looking to bring on at least a few people right now and Im on your site right now and Im looking at your careers page to see a handful of openings. So when you look at your recruiting, are you the one thats handling all the hiring as the CEO of a 30 person organization or do you have other people that are involved?Eric Yeah, great question. So my, ops guy r ight now, hes kind of the first line of defense and then were also bringing on kind of an operations associate to, kind of be another one. We actually might consider, Im just thinking a couple of months down the road, maybe Q3 or Q4, well probably be looking at an HR person/recruiter. But, to answer your question directly. Im basically involved in all hiring decisions. I dont think Im going to let that go, maybe until, a hundred or 200 people because I want to be able to make the final call and ultimately its my fault. Right. Like if, we make the wrong hiring decision, Im going to put it on myself at the end of the day. So at least I want to have some kind of touch on it because I think I have a good sense for who we should have and you know, I think everyone thinks that. So thats just kinda the way it is with me too.Josh Yeah, thats for sure. And, Im assuming thats because, I mean obviously you have a good feel for skill platzset, you know, youre a digital marketer, youre hiring f or your digital marketing agency. So Im sure you can vet that out pretty well, but I would imagine that you want to have your touches on the hiring process for as long as possible so you can continue to make sure that the people youre bringing on board match like the characteristics and personality traits. Mainly like from like a cultural fit standpoint for the people that youre bringing on.Eric Yeah. You know, people, I think people will talk about culture like this, you know, that you can kind of just brush over and I think you and I have probably realized over time that this closer thing is, is really important. And so, you know, sometimes its, you could have, the person with the right skills, but theyre not the right person, right? So wrong person, right seat, those people need to go. But if a person is the right person, the right cultural fit, and they might be in the wrong seat, so at least you can move them to another seat. But I think its really important because if you have some guy that can, you know, a really good individual contributor, but hes, toxic and makes other people feel bad that its a lot and I think that kind of, makes the company, youre kind of incurring this debt for the long-term and you dont want to be doing that.Josh Definitely. And so, at your company, are there specific characteristics or personality traits that you individually look for in a potential hire?Eric Yeah, I think number one for me just kind of stems from the top. I think is growth, someone thats really growth-oriented. So I can tell really quickly, how do you learn how you go about getting better, right? You can kind of see it.I remember I was asking this one guy, I was like, So tell me how do you learn, how do you get better?And hes like, I dont really learn, I dont follow anybody, you know? I was like, Who do you follow in marketing, Dah, Dah, Dah.I dont do that, you know, because I dont see the need to whatever.Well thats pretty damning, right? Like, if youre not tr ying to get better then you know, probably thats good for you, but not the right fit for us.So we look at growth and we looked at people that have it. I think thats the first thing.And then also people that have really long-term einbildung. So, Ill ask people and sometimes people totenstill cant answer me directly. I dont know why, but just tell me like if you were to reisepass, you know, whats one thing that youd want to do to consider your life success, right? Could be like find your mom a home or something like that. So I really want to get kind of an idea of what they think, what theyre aiming for and then try to align with that also and try to get, help them get there too. So I think thats important to have that long-term vision.Josh Yeah, I mean I think being growth oriented is, is huge. I definitely vet for those same things. Like in our hiring process, I always ask two questions during an in-person interview. One, I want to know like if the person has any personal goal set, even it could be outside of work, like it could be learning to play the guitar, but I want to see like how they go about setting a goal, what theyre working on, um, because I want to make sure that theyre motivated.And then I also like to ask, what is the hardest youve ever had to work for something? Because I like somebody to take me through the process of, like, they set a goal, it was maybe a big mileshre that they had to achieve. They had to work really hard and I want to know like what they consider hard work, because I want that type of person in our organization, somebody that like can set a really high level goal. Maybe its a three year goal, but something that they have their eyes on and theyre really motivated to achieve it. I love asking those questions.Its interesting that were both aligned on, on that same type of thing in both of our hiring processes. So looking at your jobs right now, I see Paid Advertising Manager, a Sales Development Rep, which I imagine is parte of building out the sales team and a few other types of roles. So, youre not just hiring marketing people, right? Like youve got the, the advertising manager, youve got the salesperson, youve got an executive assistant. So youre from a marketing background and youre involved in the hiring process for unterstellung roles that are non-marketing roles. What do you feel like are some of the things that youve learned when youre hiring for these roles that like you might not necessarily have ever done this job before or really know the skill that it takes to do this job.Eric Yeah, thats a really good question. I think thats the thing, right? Like, for us, at least for me, you know, being a non-technical person, how do you hire developers and how do you manage them? Right? So I think it all starts with, kind of what are the tasks for us, right? Because every single job is a list of responsibilities and tasks, right? But I think at the very least, if you can map that out in the very beginning , thats super important and if you dont know what those roles and responsibilities are, you can do, what I used to do. I just go look at the job description and then what I would do afterwards is I would, plektrum up some of my friends, that are developers or are in the CTO position and ask them, does this make sense? Is this outdated? What else should I be looking out for? And sometimes I might have them come help vet.Ill give you like a kind of more tactical example from a sales perspective, before we were kind of just hiring off of gut feeling. You know, did they play any sports, can they do a role play with me, are they coachable. Right? Those are all important. But what we did was we added a sales assessment. I forgot what its called, but its, Ill have to share it with you afterwards (Objective Management Group), but theres a sales assessment we use that is really spot on when it comes to, hiring people were looking for consultative sellers and for every single person that weve put through that test, some people say theyre too emotional. For some other people theyre not a closer, but theyre a great hunter. Right? And you find out through the interview, you basically tailor the interview questions around that and you find that to be really true and you can drill in.Without going too much into the weeds, for developers, you could ask your developer buddies, are there any kind of code test or challenges that you can run these people through to see if they fit. And then, you know, sometimes what I do with people is Ill also run them through aa project, right? So, you know, one or two week project, you know, if its a designer/developer and we see how we work together and if it goes well then lets, lets think about full-time, if not well then you know, thats OK.Josh Thats awesome. Thats really good advice here. So as youre going through your current hiring process, and Im on your careers page right now, it looks like you guys have an ATS, are using Workable fro m what I can see, what does the hiring process look like from end to end for you guys? Where are you sourcing people? Where are you posting your jobs? Where are you finding them? How are you screening them through the process? What does that end-to-end cycle look like?Eric Yeah. OK. So lets see. For the SDR kind of role and the executive assistant kind of role. I think the more mid level or you can even say junior to mid level roles, we could actually, you know, put a job posting up on Workable and it will post to, 15 different job boards.And then what well do there, I think this is what a lot of people do is usually, well put in the job description, something like if theyre applying for a sales job well say you must put sales is cool in the subject line or else your application will be disqualified. We find that about 92 to 98 percent of people do not follow directions. If they cant follow directions, and be detail oriented in the beginning, probably not going to be a good fit for your company. Right? So right out of the gate we can just disqualify a ton of people make life a lot easier.And then after that, we will, if its like an executive assistant or mid level role, or even like an intern for example, what well do is we will say, Hey, are you open to doing a video interview? Because what weve found in the past is instead of just, we used to send them links, people just kind of go away. Getting that micro commitment from people saying, would you be open to doing a video interview, through our video interview, app, Spark Hire? Yes, we use Spark Hire. And theyll say yes. And from there,we have a template in the ATS and theyll basically run through that. If they pass through that, then theyll go to the next step which is an in-person and then, thats with, my ops guy and maybe someone else. And then the next level is me. And then finally its, reference checks, background checks, and the offer.Josh Nice. Nice. So it sounds like you guys have a pretty systematic approach. I think thats for a smaller company, sometimes thats rare because either things are growing too fast and they cant get things in order or theres just not enough focus or importance put on a hiring process. But it sounds like you guys are doing a lot of stuff to make sure that youre ending up with the right people.Eric I think its one of the fruchtwein important things you can do. Right? Or one of the most important things. Like its all people at the end of the day, I dont care if you tank, whatever, like everythings tech nowadays anyway. So like if you cant get your people process down, Im still not happy with our process. Im still trying to tweak it every single day. I look at it like weve got to make sure its more consistent, whatever. Cause if you, have bottlenecks in that process and you have a couple of bad eggs come through because your process wasnt buttoned up, then that can cost your company, six, seven, eight figures, nine figures in revenueJosh For sure. Yeah. I mean hiring, especially at a startup company or an early stage, young company, a bad hire can seriously bankrupt the business. Its that important where you really need to make sure youre making good, quality decisions and not only getting the most skilled people, but also the people that, you know, have the right personality and characteristics that youre looking for to help the company grow.So being a marketer, I think that there are so many things that were marketing comes into recruiting, right? Marketing and sales. So with your marketing background what are other things that you have used to convert candidates at a higher rate or get them more excited about working for your brand. Like what things from your marketing background are you applying to hiring?Eric Yeah. Were continually trying to improve our career stage, right? So what were doing right now is were going to have a were making a video because weve built out video production capabilities just to give people a sense o f what its like to actually work at Single Grain. I think its cool that they can see the clients that we work with, but I think its really important, like we have a pretty good class or a review. I think its good to call that out because the fact of the matter is theyre spending, what, eight hours a day plus sitting with a bunch of people. They want to make sure that they actually liked those people. I think thats really important. I think also the reason why I also want my touch on every kind of every candidate at least right now is so they can understand what my vision is, and what I see happening with the company, and they can tell that I also care about their future as well. Its not just about, Eric wants to hit his goals all the time. So I think its that mutual kind of trust. I think thats really important and the more trust you can show the people, the better. Im not saying were perfect by any means, but its something that were always trying to optimizeJosh For sure. I think t he other thing thats really key about,you being involved in the hiring process and at Spark Hire, I take a lot of pride in this as well, is I use these touch points with the candidate because theyre interviewing you as well, right?So you want to make sure that youre putting everything out there are being transparent with them about like what the growth path looks like at Single Grain and where you can see them going and why, you and other people that are working at the company. You think its a great place to work.So I think like the touch points that you have with a candidate are probably the most critical because theyre looking at you as the leader and the visionary for the company. So if they feel like youre somebody that they can get behind, its definitely a company that, theyre going to want to join for sure. So I think its really important to get involved early. Because you dont like somebody like fester in their own thoughts about what the company and what the vision is like u ntil they meet with you at the very end. You can like kind of get ahead of that.Eric Yeah, totally. The other thing Ill add too is you bring up a good point. Like having the CEO involved is really important. I think also at the same time, I think video interviewing is important, but just keep in mind when youre talking to you kind of, senior level, executive level people, sometimes you might have to have that touch point, that CEO touch point first. You might not even be able to use the video interview. In our case, obviously they are really good people, theyre getting people looking for them all the time and they dont want a video interview.Josh You definitely have to adapt the hiring process to the people that youre recruiting. I think theres no doubt about that. Different roles are going to require different processes, whether its a more intense process, sometimes youre going to sacrifice speed. It really depends on the positions that youre recruiting for and what youre going for in your hiring process. So obviously you guys put out a lot of great marketing content. I follow like, everything you guys put out. But I know you also created a course on hiring. So what made you decide to put out some content on the subject matter of hiring when everything else is pretty much about marketing?Eric Yeah, so this goes back to not having as good a process, right? So when I first took over this company, again, it was a failing kind of SEO company and we decided to pivot into content marketing as the other service, right? Because its easier to go from SEO to content marketing because, you know, the SEO skill set can be easily moved over. But, anyway, long story short, I got a recommendation for someone that could become our director of content. I didnt really do a good job of vetting that person. I fully blamed myself, but we actually ended up losing four clients and we ended up losing two people because of that person. And we lost about $800,000 or so in that range in terms of revenue and were already failing, and we were falling even more.So I was like, OK, we know we got to have some kind of process here for, for hiring and you know, if I can get this course out, at least I can send it to, people on my team. And then you know have them, go through with it because I think hiring is, people talk about marketing and growth hacks all the time. I mean that, that is your growth hack. Hiring great people, having a great culture. Thats the biggest growth hack to meJosh For sure. And its your biggest spend, so you make sure you better make sure you do it right. So it sounds like a really big pain point in your own experience is what really inspired you to create that so others didnt have to go through that. So, if people want to download and theyre interested in subscribing to that course, like without giving too much away, are there any like actionable things that people will learn from the training or any teaser you can give about it?Eric Yeah, so we definitely have an intern process in there. We even have a firing process in the bonus sections, but basically, its how do you, when you think about your hiring, you have to have in terms of systematizing things, do you have a role scorecard, right? What other kinds of templates and you have that makes process a lot more easier. And I hate using the word streamlined, but it is streamlined, right? So its basically, here are the processes that you need to create a template that you can swipe and deploy. From there you should be able to create a button up process just for your company. Were just giving you the blueprint there. So thats why we call it Yhe A-player Hiring Blueprint.Josh Awesome. So it sounds like youre just giving people basically a framework to work within, so typically youll work with your clients to give them these growth frameworks to scale their revenue through marketing. But, this course seems to be all about putting a similar framework in place to make sure that people are going about hiring the right way. So thats awesome. Thats really good of you guys to do that. So I definitely recommend to the audience to check that out. Some really good content. Im sure youll be able to take a lot away from it.So, couple more questions. So what advice for other CEOs that are maybe at a company similar to your size, maybe theyre smaller, maybe there bigger,but as theyre looking to scale their team and theyre starting to hit some growth stages where theyre going to be bringing on more and more people. Are there anything, is there anything that you can give them as far as advice? Should they be like dedicating specific time to their recruiting? Like as a CEO begins to really grow their company, what should they be doing? What should they be thinking about? Whats most important?Eric Yeah. You know what, I actually got this tip yesterday as I was interviewing somebody else. Hes known for kind of saving companies. He the recent company he just joined, he br ought it from $75,000,000 to about $250,000,000. And hes just saying this like blocking out time each week, to focus on providing value to your network. And then what he also does there is he also asks people like, Hey, who should I be talking to? Were kind of looking for this role.But the idea is basically hes helping people first asking, How can I help? And he has a very methodical process and how he just stays in touch with people he wants to continue to have a strong relationship with. But then from there, he has the equity where he can just ask. And what happened was when he came into this company, he brought 20 people that he knew, 20 people that he worked with at other companies. Or, kind of referrals as well and they built on a completely new senior team and a management team too.When youre able to make deposits in the bank early, especially for us, earlier in our careers right now, or we should say, yeah, I still think its pretty early, but making those deposits and then la ter going to withdraw those at the bank, youre going to have exponential returns because youve helped people now its in their interest to help you.Josh So its like a long-term nurture play.Eric Yeah, exactly. And I think, earlier what I did was I also said I forgot where I read this from, but, spending at least an hour or two every single day just focused on recruiting. Whether its, you know, going on on Linkedin, messaging people, I find Linkedin to be great when youre kind of laser targeting people. I just use Linkedin Recruiter and the response rates are pretty good.We actually have a ton of candidates, from a, content marketing role that we were looking for, but thats something where you can just record a screencast using something like loom and then handed off to a virtual assistant and they could just send your templates and youll probably have people responding to you.Josh Thats great. So I liked that you bring that up because that leads me into my next question.Theres a lot of people that are working in talent acquisition that dont have, marketing experience like you do and it sounds like youre doing a really good job at converting people through your hiring funnel specifically.Like, as you just mentioned, getting a good response rate on Linkedin inmails. I dont think that every talent acquisition professional out there can say that and its probably because the way that theyre writing these templates or the ways that theyre going about doing these things and as far as targeting people.So is there any advice that you can give to people that are in recruiting that dont have this marketing background? Like, how can they get better at this as far as like marketing their jobs, marketing the company, um converting candidates through the funnel. How can they improve? What are some of the things that they should be doing or following?Eric Yeah, its a good question. So I think about sales. We get sales emails all the time, right? How do people actually get your attention? So, what I noticed recently, and Ill just give a sales email or a podcast interview example. I think I saw an episode on Shark Tank where somebody was, I think, I think the product was like oatmeal or something. I was like, oh, thats really cool. I want to get these people on the podcast. But instead of saying, something too generic like, wed love to interview you for this, like some really generic subject line. I said, hey, can I promote you to, 100,000 listeners or 30,000 people on my email list, right? Thats a little more enticing for someone like me and you. Where its like youre looking for more distribution, you want more branding. The response rate was 100 percent on a couple of emails that I sent. I should probably do more of those.But when it comes to recruiting, for example basically what well say is we keep it really simple because like what I find from the recruiters is that sometimes when they send you the title of the email is, basically like every single wo rd is capitalized. Thats when, theyre just basically blasting it to everyone or something really basic like looking to connect or something like that.But if you make it Content Marketing Role and then, maybe you put the salary range, its like $100k plus or something like that. Youre going to get peoples attention, right? Theyre gonna open it and say, Hey, do you know anybody thats interested? Maybe youre not asking them directly but youre going to get a response, right? So thats when I start to see, you know, were talking 25 to 40 percent response rates depending on the role.Josh Interesting. Well, I think you brought up a good point, like as youre talking about the email that you wrote to get that person from Shark Tank on your podcast. I think what you really hit on was your messaging is more focused on like whats in it for the other person.I think people need to do that more in their recruiting.Like you dont want to just send messages to people and like toot your own horn and tal k about your company and how great it is to work there. Thats all important. But I think, if you can really personalize a message to maybe some things youve found on their Linkedin profile in their interests and then also personalize it, about what it would look like for them to be at your company and what you feel like the impact they can make on your company. I feel like if you can make that messaging a little bit more about them, youll probably get a higher response rate. I think thats pretty much like any like sales and marketing activity.Eric Thats so important. Yeah. Even if you do customize, even like five to 10 percent of it, at least you put in time, people are going to appreciate thatJosh For sure. For sure. And you can, thats the type of stuff, like you could still systemize that, like you dont need to spend an hour crafting every single message, like you can have a foundation to those messages that youre sending and then you can have like this, whether you put it in like little curly brackets or something to make sure that you update it. You can have like a personalization piece where you insert your two to three sentences or one or two sentences, whatever it is to really personalize that, that message to the candidate.Eric Awesome.Josh Yep. So, so real quickly before we wrap up, I just like to go through some favorite things. So just a couple of questions for you. So do you have a favorite interview question?Eric Yeah, a favorite interview question. I actually stole this from Elon Musk. You know what, tell me about the most impressive career win to date.Josh Nice. Nice and favorite app. Itd be a mobile app, web app, whatever.Eric You know, what I like right now is theres this app called Moments that I use on iOS and basically it shows me how much time Im spending on my phone every day and it was basically alert me. Thats one of the few notifications I have on. Its like, hey, you spent an hour on the phone today, or hey you spent two hours, youre o ver your limit. Im drastically trying to limit it and plus it shows me how much time Im spending on each app. So I ended up deleting like Youtube and Facebook from my phone.Josh Thats good. I think theres like some chrome extensions that are like that too, that like monitor your web besucherzahlen and tell you like, hey, youre spending eight hours a day on Facebook. You should probably stop if you want to be productive.Eric Yup.Josh So thats awesome. Um, favorite quote?Eric Yeah. Its from Zig Ziglar. Actually. You know what I. I like this Winston Churchill one. Its always kind of up in the air. Ill say, Ill say, whats the Churchill for this one? Because it just popped in my head. If youre going through hell, keep going.Josh Nice. Any favorite book could be something youre reading right now or it could be an all time favorite.Eric Yeah. You know this one book, I just read this on my trip back from Japan. I literally finished it in a couple hours and thats really rare for me. Its call ed The Coaching Habit, so its basically on how you can. Itll change the way you lead people forever because I think entrepreneurs, especially you and me, we just were used to getting things done, but instead of trying to prescribe answers to people and give advice all the time, it teaches you how to tease the answer out of people and really coach them up.Josh Interesting. Ill have to check that one out. So and last question, I know you just went to Japan, so maybe thats the answer, but whats your favorite vacation spot?Eric Yeah, it has to be Japan, just all the learnings and you know all the people I met.Josh Well thats awesome. Well Eric, I really appreciate you coming on the podcast today. If people want to connect with you, where can they find you?Eric Yeah, they could just email me directly. Eric, ericsinglegrain.com, or twitter. Thats ericosiu.Josh And is there anything else youd like to add before we sign off?Eric Yeah, final thing is uh, if any of you get above 100,000 Googl e traffic or organic traffic per month, just go to clickflow.io. We have, thats our new SaaS SEO product.Josh Thanks so much Eric. That was awesome. I really appreciate it. Have a great day everyone.

How to Resign From a Job While Preserving Relationships

How to Resign From a Job While Preserving RelationshipsHow to Resign From a Job While Preserving RelationshipsThinking about an employment resignation to renew, revitalize or reshape your career? Are family obligations calling you to obtain different employment? Is your heart seeking a different or better employment opportunity? Are your coworkers nightmares and gossipers? Do you just hate your current employment or deal with the boss from hell? Reasons for resignation are never-ending- and often quite valid. You have an obligation to yourself to find the best possible workplace where you can contribute, grow partieally and professionally, and spend time with colleagues you enjoy. You deserve this. Never forget this. Dont resign without a new job Whatever sparks your resignation, this resource will help you effectively resign from your current employment. You dont want to proffer your resignation without a for-sure new job offer in hand. Jobs are difficult to come by and often qu ite a challenge to find. Plus, employers will tell you that the single most significant factor in predicting success in a new job is that the candidate is currently performing the job successfully for another employer. But, when you do decide to offer your resignation, this information will help. When you offer your resignation, this information will help you know what will happen next after you proffer your employment resignation to your employer. Your resignation How to resignfrom your job Your actual resignation usually starts with a conversation with your immediate manager. He or she is the individual who must know that you plan to offer your resignation. He or she is also the personif youve been a good employee, who will miss you the most. The manager will ask you to put your resignation in writing, as a permanent addition to your personnel file. Heres how to proceed with your resignation. Offer a resignation letter You will need to offer a resignation letter to your cu rrent employer. This resignation letter is your official resignation and is placed in your employee personnel file. Your employer needs the letter as evidence that you resigned from your job for posterity and to officially end the employment relationship. Youll want to leave a lasting positive impression with your tone and approach in your employment resignation letter. Sample Employment Resignation Letters Introduction to Resignation LettersResignation Letter Template How to handle an employee resignation When you offer your resignation, your employer probably has an established procedure. Heres how employers are recommended to handle an employee resignation. These tips about handling a resignation give you a clear picture of what your employer may do when you resign. Employment ending checklist for employers When you offer your resignation, and following the receipt of your official resignation letter, your Human Resources staff will work with your manager to make cert ain that your last two weeks remain positive and contributing. In some organizations, the standard practice is to walk an employee out when they receive the resignation letter. This would also occur if you were a disruptive, noncontributing employee. But, in the majority of workplaces, you would work your notice time and aid the organization to make your transition orderly and professional. If you provided the standard and expected two weeks notice, your manager will have ample time to wrap up your job. The manager may reisepass portions of your job to other employees. But, in any case, the manager will make certain that other employees know what you do, how you do it, and what goals and outcomes are expected from the job. It is rare that your manager could fill your position in time for you to train your replacement. But, in organizations that have a broad succession plan or a quick internal application and interview process, it can happen. Your job is to graciously train your repl acement or the employees filling in. You will also want to participate in an exit interview with the HR office, andaccomplishing each activity on your employers employment ending checklist. Your employer will want to minimize the impact of your resignation on your workflow and work environment. Handled effectively, at your resignation, you leave knowing that you have contributed and added value during your time in their employment. Participate in your departments farewell event, whatever it may be a lunch, a beer after work, a potluck, or a reception are all commonly scheduled events. Send out a professional farewell note to the entire company that shares your contact information if you wish. It is a gracious act to tell your coworkers that you will miss them and write several things about the company that made you happy during your time working there. Tell them where you are going, also if you wish. Then prepare to follow your employers standard procedures in their employment endin g procedures on your last day. Youll leave knowing that your colleagues will remember you for your professional leavetaking.

A Peek inside Skypes North American Headquarters

A Peek inside Skypes North American HeadquartersA Peek inside Skypes North American HeadquartersSkypes headquarters located in Palo Alto, California, is one of the best looking headquarters in the world. We will show you all the cool features and secrets of this beautiful offices.In early 2013 Skypes new headquarters in Palo Alto, California was opened. Its outstanding design and comfort is really worth of attention.This 54,000 square feet (5,000 square metres) office space was designed by california finest design studio Blitz. It is designed to helfende hand 250 employees with the maximum comfort and with outstanding design. As Blitz says Skypes primary goal was to create a world-class office that would differentiate them from their Bay Area competitors in the recruitment of talent.The ceiling of the building was removed and stripped to its basic elements. Designers wanted to make it feel like industrial space. Another interesting feature are flavoring sticks from vintage wine barr els. These were used to finish the interior and to appreciate a local culture of californias wine country.These offices have received LEED Silver certification, which means that its scored between 50 and 59 points for its environmentally friendly construction. Palo Alto headquarters has many other cool features. For example free-standing units nicknamed Pods. These are designed for meeting functions, with high acoustic privacy.The place is filled with mobile white boards, ready for employees innovative ideas. If the employees are tired, they can enjoy gameroom with pool, air hockey and table football. Movable furniture allows employees to arrange seating wherever they feel comfortable. You can even find here fake grass or rock like cushions.Source designblitzsfDo you like this story? Share it with your friends.Share Your Feedback or Ideas in the Comments

The Power of One Minute Goal Setting

The Power of One Minute Goal Setting The Power of One Minute Goal Setting If youre a business leader, you learned in Leadership 101 that goal setting is the most powerful motivational tool in a leader’s toolkit. But, as the business world evolves, you need to evolve with it and make sure your goal setting skills are up-to-date. In the past, top-down leadership was a way of life, and the leader always set the goals. Today, leadership is more of a partnership than a superior-subordinate relationship. Hence, effective goal setting is a collaborative effort. If you set goals without involving your employees, people will feel left out of the process, and you wont get the passion and buy-in you need.   On the flip-side, there are some organizations that leave the goal setting completely up to the employees. While this reversal may be comfortable for the employees, it results in people working on separate projects not aligned with the organization’s overall goals. Or, employee’s may only focus on existing skills. As a result, the organization and the employee fail to grow. To achieve the best results, and greatest satisfaction, leaders, and direct reports should work together to set goals aligned with the organization’s objectives. And, some degree of challenge should be offered to  employees. In the classic  The New One Minute Manager, leaders learn how they can achieve results and satisfaction with today’s One Minute Goal Setting. Collaborate Instead of setting goals for your direct reports, listen to their input and work side-by-side with them to develop clear, specific goals. Make sure you both understand what the direct report’s responsibilities are and what theyll be accountable for. In many organizations, when you ask people what they do and then ask their boss, you often get two different answers. Clear communication can prevent this misfit. Limit Don’t set too many goals. People with too many goals can lose track of what’s important and spend time on the easiest goals, not the high priority goals. Keep in mind the 80/20 rule which stipulates that 80% of your most important results should come from 20% of your set goals. Therefore, you should set goals on only that 20% that targets key areas of responsibility which amounts to three to five goals. Write it Down After you and your direct report agree on the most important goals, have the direct report write down each goal, what specifically needs to be done and the deadline. Keep it simple at one or paragraphs so the goal can be read and reviewed in about a minute. One benefit of having concise, well-defined goals is that in follow-up conversations you can focus on tasks, not the person. It helps prevent demoralizing conversations where you’re giving feedback such as, “Youre not performing well.” Instead, you can discuss the fact that a specific goal was not accomplished. Together, you and your subordinate can discuss what you can both do to complete the project. Review Make sure your direct report looks at their goals daily, so they stay focused on what’s important. If theyre spending time on activities unrelated to their goals, encourage them to adjust what they’re doing and refocus. Be sure to check back with your direct report at regular intervals to see how their goals are progressing and acknowledge their progress.   Working collaboratively on goals has the added benefit of improving the relationship between you and your direct report. People become more passionate and engaged when they feel their boss is invested in their success. And don’t be surprised if you become more passionate and engaged as well. One Minute Goal Setting Review Plan the goals together and describe them briefly and clearly. Show people what good performance looks likeHave people write out each of their goals including deadlinesAsk subordinates to review their most important goals each day, which should take only a few minutesEncourage people to take a minute to look at what they’re working on and if it matches their key goalsIf a direct report is not in-synch with key goals, encourage them to re-think their daily activity   - Ken Blanchard is the cofounder The Ken Blanchard Companies, an international management training and consulting firm. In addition to starting his own business, he also teaches students in the Master of Science in Executive Leadership Program at the University of San Diego.