Education

As the last month of the calendar year finally arrives and we collectively celebrate the end of one year and the start of a new year, Raymond Carver's question is so pertinent. As you look over the year that has been, ask yourself: "Was it the year that should have been?" In other words, when you go back to your wish list of dreams on 1 January of this year, "did you get what you wanted from this life, even so?" It is a wonderful question and turns our focus to purposeful self-reflection and to personal and professional transformation.

One of the questions that I get asked the most is if cover letters are dead. The truth is, no, they are not. As I wrote about last month, ATS is scanning resumes for keywords to filter them more carefully. Due to this, some believe that cover letters slow down the screening process because they force hiring staff to read another document. This isn’t necessarily true, however.

Positions for programmers are available in different government sectors, including public health and works, accounting and finance, and information technology. Before deciding what programming language to learn, it’s best to have a career goal in mind so that you can learn the language required for a specific job and meet the qualifications.

Information governance should be part of the annual training regime at every organization right along with safety and sexual harassment. In many organizations, these types of sessions are required for compliance. For others, it is recommended as a standard business process. Regardless, information governance should be part of the curriculum. If this is not the case in your organization you should be meeting with your training department staff immediately and bring it to their attention.

A lot of discussion happens when the question of Culture comes up. There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, we all claim to live within a ‘culture’ and that must mean that we, therefore, understand what culture is and how it works. This is similar to the notion that most people have visited a hospital, either to see a loved one or due to personal illness or injury and thus we all know how hospitals work, don’t we? The same is true of schools.

The workplace is constantly evolving, and employees are expected to seamlessly adapt. Although change is inevitable, it is not always welcomed. Changes in the workplace affect more than our work lives. They impact our families, self-care, relationships and much more.

You just left the job interview and you know you are PERFECT for the job. How many times has this happened to you and then you didn’t get it? You went over the interview in your mind a hundred times, noted how easily the conversation flowed, how enthusiastic the interviewer was when you described a certain experience or skill. They seemed excited when they said they would get back to you soon.

When you started in your management position what was your initial objective? For most of us, we dove into the technical work. We identified the big projects and how we could help keep them on time and within the budget. We focused on the technical challenges and the financial picture.

When you are leading others, have you ever considered who are you as a leader? Your leadership point of view can help you stay aligned with your values and build trust and respect between you and your team members.

I recently spoke at a multi-day educational conference on different aspects of emotional intelligence. At the end of each presentation, people came up asking for some advice or coaching in situations where people are bullied. Some people asked, “What can I do if I am being bullied?” Others asked, “What can I do if I see others being bullied?” It appeared as if these people were overwhelmed and suffocating in the emotions that accompanied their experience. Listening to people’s experiences prompted a fair amount of introspection and a desire to address the issue of bullying whenever it occurs.