Education

Why do we still remember the fallen and all who served, 100 years after the guns fell silent? Indeed, why celebrate Independence Day on 4 July or even Martin Luther King Day? The answer is simple. All of these events are comprised of people who have left a legacy for us to honor and remember. We value those who fought to defend our freedom and indeed fought for our independence. We value the people who have contributed so much to our world, that we are still the beneficiary today. Simply put, they left a legacy!

Mid-level career professionals oftentimes get comfortable in their positions, however, when it comes to job searching, it can be even more of a challenge. I usually hear from my clients that there are things that they may not be good at, so they just stop doing them, or they became comfortable in their role, or a combination of those to continue challenging themselves as they did early on in their career. So, what are the things that mid-level career professionals should be spending time on in a job search and why? Let’s look at the strategies they oftentimes skip, miss, and even resist.

What truly makes a candidate or employee stand out from the crowd? Believe it or not, nowadays, people place more importance and values on the soft over the hard skills. Getting a job might require a set of hard, technical skills. But to keep it, you need the soft ones.

Although there are plenty of resources for learning about the federal hiring process and how to format a federal resume, not much is said about what to write on a federal resume. How do you know that you are presenting the best information that each employer is looking for? There are three places on a federal job opportunity announcement (JOA) that you must look in order to find the necessary information that must be demonstrated in your resume. They are presented here in order of value.

The U.S. Government as a leading venture capitalist, wow, is this a joke? This sounds like industrial policy, public intervention, and “picking winners." It is something that European and East Asian governments do, but not us, right? Think again. The U.S. government has actually played a major role in developing many innovations used by our technology giants to reach worldwide dominance.

Have you ever noticed the raised reflective pavement markers that reflect white light at night when you have your headlights on? As a transportation engineer, I see things on the road that many others may not. Some may not know that they reflect red if you are headed the wrong way. (Hopefully, you’ve never seen this in action!)

If you have never experienced successful culture change personally, as a team member in general or as a leader, you may not be prepared or know how to proactively manage your team’s culture. The culture of your team (or department or division or plant or region or whole company) is the engine that drives your team’s success – or its lack of success.

The public relies on civil engineers to ensure that shared structures and systems, from roads and airports to power generation and delivery, are efficient and safe. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, demand for this essential profession is expected to grow by 11 percent by 2026, faster than the 8 percent growth rate projected for the field of engineering overall, and 7 percent job growth outlook for all occupations.

The first thing to consider is a change in mindset. Very little will change, if the mindset that has been driving the imbalance remains unchallenged.

In 2018, flexibility is king. If you want to attract and retain millennials (not to mention Gen Zers), companies need to readdress their office processes and performance management systems.