Why You Should Reach Out to Your Former Co-worker - The Muse Why You Should Reach Out to Your Former Co-worker How often have you told your former work friends that you’ll stay in touch, only to find that three years have gone by, and you have no idea what they’re up to? Probably quite a bit- which can make asking them for something seem awkward. You don’t want to make them think that you’re only in it for number one, and you want to come across as sincere. But reaching out to someone you haven’t talked to in years still might feel uncomfortable because there is a connection you’d like an introduction to, or there’s some knowledge that they have that you want. And while it’s entirely reasonable to think that you should just avoid the whole thing altogether, here are a few reasons why it’s totally OK to email that person. 1. You Lost Touch, But You Didn’t Burn a Bridge There’s a huge difference between falling out of touch with someone and burning the bridge down in an inferno-like rage of emotions.
Can a video resume help you get a job Some say yes - As companies become more comfortable with video technologies, job seekers may want to consider how to take advantage of the power of video to engage the hiring manager by using a video introduction, also known as a video resume. Its important to note video resumes havent become mainstream, yet. However, in some cases, they may make a difference in helping someone land an interview. For example, companies such as the nonprofit Music Saves Lives have successfully incorporated video introductions as part of their hiring and candidate screening process for volunteer positions. Chief Executive Officer Russel Hornbeek says: By requesting and watching the videos we have found those that truly have enthusiasm for our life saving programs. Its great to be able to have our on-site touring staff recognize the volunteers chosen for the event we have them scheduled for.
Let my people surf - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog Im back from my 4-day trip to India where I spoke at the World HRD Congress in Mumbai (and did a really, REALLY good job). Ill be blogging about it soon. Meanwhile, My friend Lars Pind pointed me to this video of Yvon Chouinard talking about how he founded Patagonia and some of the unusual policies they have, including setting all employees free to surf whenever they want: Ive set the video above to start at my favorite place, but if you can, take an hour and watch the whole thing. Heres how Yvon summed it up in a previous interview: I?m a businessman, but I?m still going to do things on my own terms. I?m going to break a lot of rules, and we?re going to blur the distinction between work and play. So we have a policy here ? it?s called ?Let My People Go Surfing.? A policy which is, when the surf comes up, anybody can just go surfing. Any time of the day, you just take off and go surfing? That attitude changes your whole life.
