The Dos and Donts of References Resume

The Dos and Donts of References Resume Type of References Resume For each new job opportunity, you should make certain your list of references is the perfect fit. References can boost your work application in a huge way. You need to be sure the people selected as references will result in your job search. Your references could make or break your odds of landing work, so make sure that you pick the best people to talk for your benefit.Generic CVs are a sure means to receive passed to the base of the pile. Choosing good references can occasionally be a challenge, and it could take a small planning to get the ideal match. Introducing References Resume My critique provides you with the tools you should bring your resume to the next level. Choosing the perfect personal reference is an extension of that skill and why you would like to have a list with a variety of choices. Dont state at the base of the page your references are offered upon request. Listing a person for a refere nce without permission could be damaging to your job application. Be sure to discover before you give erroneous contact information to a possible employer. You are going to want to be prepared so you can immediately give them what they have to make the hiring decision. You should bedrngnisify your references when youre trying for job interviews, since you dont understand how quickly the employers may call. You should select those who will emphasize your strengths to possible employers. Each contact in your professional network knows you a certain way and will have the ability to supply an account of your achievements and strengths for various jobs thus its crucial to customize the reference page based on the abilities and qualities you are going to need for each vacancy. If your reference is someone renown in the business or industry. For instance, if you are asking for a project lead position, you desire a reference who can describe your capability to manage teams and dead lines. You must incorporate the internship position, as well as the company, organization or institution you worked for and the whole period of your services. The Number One Question You Must Ask for References Resume Youve already done the tough work of making good references. When youre asked for references, youre able to strategically select the best people to represent what you would like highlighted for the opportunity, she states. As soon as its important to get people who can vouch for your abilities and abilities, offering a list of references right from the gate during work search isnt always the ideal policy. An important resume skill is the capability to match yourself to the job that you are looking for. To put it simply, a reference is an individual, possibly a prior employer, teacher or just a co-worker or friend that is ready to vouch for all the brilliant abilities and achievements you laid out so beautifully on your resume. Needless to say, you can provide an other reference if you think that it would make a difference or offer another insight. A superb reference is necessary to prove your work history and education. Ultimately, adding references poses a danger of the applicant. What You Should Do to Find Out About References Resume Before Youre Left Behind Only submit your references if youre asked to. Your references have agreed to enable you to give their contact information to a possible employer. Second, they may not want to openly share personal information. Recent references are best, even though there are exceptions. If you know in advance your reference may be reached by a particular business, you can share your resume and the work description with your references. Its important you keep in contact with your references periodically, since you want current contact info, and you want to make certain your reference remembers who you are. Youll also discover a sample reference list. Below youll discover a sample reference list. Academic references also can be helpful if you want more references to enhance your professional resume. You can give a list of references following your interview if its requested. So youve completed final interviews and have been asked to supply references.

25 questions to ask a mentor

25 questions to ask a mentor25 questions to ask a mentorA few years ago, around the time when I was launching this blog, I wrote an article called4 Types of Questions to AskA Mentor. To this day, it is the most-read article onBe Leaderly, and its popularity keeps growing.In the article, I share a simple model for making the most out of every conversation with your mentor. To begin, come prepared with four questions. Its a way to show appreciation for your mentor and their time and commitment to you. Ultimately, both of you should leave every conversation feeling like it was time well spent. All it takes is a few minutes of thoughtful preparation.Heres how it works Before every meeting with your mentor, prepare one question from each of these categories stories, situations, self-awareness, and skill building.In my workshops and group coaching programs, I like to share those categories, and then ask the participants to compile their own questions to ask a mentor. Here are some good one s theyve come up with recentlyStoriesAsk your mentor to tell a story from his or her career. Some questions to consider1. How did you land your current role?2. Think back to five years ago. Did you envision this is where you would be?3. Can you tell me about a time when you had a difficult boss? How did you handle it?4. How did you learn to embrace failure?5. Whats the most important leadership lesson youve learned and how is it valuable?6. Tell me about a recent setback and how you recovered?7. Was there ever a job position that you applied for and got, but you werent 100% qualified?8. How did you build the skill of always speaking so engagingly in front of others?SituationsIdentify a challenging situation and share it with the mentor. Ask your mentor to act as a sounding board. Some questions to consider9. Im considering a career transition. What do you see as the pros and cons?10. Who are the people I need to align with in this organization to achieve success?11. What advice can you offer on how to progredienz in my career?12. How do you successfully stay connected to key influencers who do not work in same office or geographical area?13. When trying to gain buy-in to implement a new program, what tactics have worked for you?Self-awarenessAsk a question that invites your mentor to contribute to your self-awareness. Some questions to consider14. Where do you see my strengths and what should I focus on to improve?15. What do you see as some of my blind spots?16. How do you think others perceive me?17. How I am viewed by leadership?18. Do I come across as poised and calm?19. How am I viewed (i.e., whats my personal brand) in our organization?20. Did everyone understand what I presented at the brde meeting?21. How could I have communicated my idea more clearly?Skill-buildingIdentify a skill you currently want to develop, and ask your mentor for advice or resources. Some questions to consider22. How do you approach risk-taking?23. What new skills do I need to mo ve ahead?24. How can I become a more assertive negotiator?25. How can I become better at managing people who do not report to me?Which of these questions could you ask your mentor? Do you have any to add to this list?By preparing thoughtfully for each mentoring session, youll avoid the awkwardness of feeling like youre wasting your mentors time, and it guarantees that the mentoring relationship can continue to be gratifying for both of you for many years to come.This post was originally published on BeLeaderly.com.

iPhone Apps for Robot Control

iPhone Apps for Robot Control iPhone Apps for Robot Control We have seen thousands of iPhone applications and can expect to see even more as Apple marches closer to its fall release of theiPhone5. Tzu siche are multiple apps available for iPhone, iPad, or iPod to remote-control gadgets such as your computer, DVR, digital camera, or even your car. Have you imagined controlling a robot in a manufacturing plant using an iPhone?Dr. Vikram Kapila, professor of mechanical engineering at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University, and his students are developing apps that allow you to control robots with just a tap or flick of a finger.Currently in the nutzerfreundlichkeit testing stage, the iLabArm and iLabBot are part of one of their projects started over two years ago to monitor, command, and control a variety of laboratory testbeds using iPod, iPhone, and iPad over an ad hoc Wi-Fi network. Our goal was to take advantage of an iPhones or iPods touchscreen to create an intuitive int erface for interacting with physical devices such as robotic manipulators, mobile robots, and also our own control lab experiments, says Dr. Kapila.A wrist-joint of a 5 degree-of-freedom robotic manipulator being commanded by an iPod Touch held in a benutzers hand. Photo courtesy of Jared Alan Frank and David Lopez.The iLabArm not only uses the touch feature of the iPhone but also embedded sensorsthe accelerometer and gyroscopeto move the robotic arm. As the hand is tilted forward and backward, the iPhones accelerometer data is used to command the wrist-joint to tilt forward and backward, respectively (see videos). The iLabBot can control a mobile robot (Qbot, based on iRobots create platform). As the bentzer touches a specific area on the iPod screen, the Qbot in the real world is commanded to the corresponding location.Command, Control, and MonitorWhen Dr. Kapila and his team started the project in the summer of 2009, the hardware wasnt available in a small footprint and the softw are features on the iPhone and iPod were not openly available. One of his research students, Jared Alan Frank, addressed the problem by using an open sound control (OSC) protocol. OSC allows a user to interface computers with electronic musical devices such as synthesizers. The idea was to send the OSC command from the iPhone or iPod to a MAKE microcontroller, which would then interpret it to command motors instead of playing music and other activities of the robot to control its behavior, says Frank.The experiments took several months and attempts during which Frank worked with high-school teachers under NYU Polys Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program, funded by the National Science Foundation. Part of the program required teachers to work in the lab over a six-week period to learn mechatronics and do research. We first tried this with an off-the-shelf monster truck that you normally control through radio control and then we used iRobots Create platform and controlled it t hrough the iPhone, says Frank.A Qbot mobile robot (based on iRobots Create platform) being commanded by an iPod Touch held in a users hand. Alternative iPod interfaces allow the Qbot to be commanded to a specified position on the grid. Photo courtesy of Jared Alan Frank and David Lopez.One of the key challenges of the project was that they werent able toreceive any messages from the robotic platform back to on their iPhone app. You dont just want to control the hardware, but also be able to monitor it, says Dr. Kapila. In spring of 2011, they were able to find hardware solutions that were more amenable to this development. Since then, the team moved its development to Arduino microcontrollers interfaced with Wi-Fly shields to create a local ad hoc wireless network. Both of these are smaller than the palm and are mounted one on top of the other. That allowed us to make a more acceptable footprint of the hardware that one could easily connect to the robotic platform with a total cost of less than $100, says Dr. Kapila.Using hardware and software thatwere already available, it took the team a short time to work through their software protocols and iPhone appsto not only command their robotic projects but also get information back from the projects onto the iPhone or iPod.Robots in Real LifeThe next step was to create an easy-to-use graphical user interface for the apps. We made an interface that allows a user to control a robotic arm. As the user holding an iPhone tilts or turns his or her wrist, the iPhones accelerometer data is used such that the robots wrist mimics the wrist motion of the user (see videos). Moreover, as the user enacts a pinching action on the iPhone screen, the robot gripper is opened and closed, explained Frank. These apps can be used in the medical device field or in a manufacturing plant for a lab automation exercise to control robotic arms of any size.Besides the engineering field, theres plenty of potential for such mobile apps to be use d in themilitary, says Dr. Kapila. He says the U.S. military has a mandate that by 2025, 25% of its vehicular systems (air, water, and ground) must be robotic. Imagine a soldier in a desert with a robot and heavy gear to control it in his/her backpack, he says. The same soldier probably has an iPhone for keeping in touch or for listening to music. What if he/she could use the same device to control the robots?Such tactile and intuitive interfaces are needed if we want robotics to become common in our society, says Dr. Kapila, who believes that one day robots will work along with humans in workplaces, homes, grocery stores, museums, parks, etc. If a housewife or a grocery store employee, who dont have a scientific or engineering background, are going to use robots every day, they have to be able to interact with these devices almost intuitively, just like the two- to three-year-old kids using iPhones and iPads these days.Such tactile and intuitive interfaces are needed if we want rob otics to become common in our society.Dr. Vikram Kapila, professor of mechanical engineering, Polytechnic Institute of New York University