Why you Should Create a Mastermind Career Group Building Your Future Now

Why you Should Create a Mastermind Career Group Building Your Future Now It is important to have support from friends, family, peers and even your community if you desire a happy and fruitful career. You perhaps already know the importance and the strength of relationships especially towards your personal and professional development. However, creating a mastermind career group is something you should consider (if you havent already.) This type of group should be small in sizemaybe between 3 and 12 peoplewho are career orientated individuals. This groups main focus is to help its members continue finding ways to setting and achieving career goals. Although this career group can be focused on one type of profession (ie. Sales) you can create a mastermind group with successful professionals from a host of sectors. One of the key foundations of this group is trust. You want to build a group of professionals who want to get better while helping others in the group. Its all about developing into exceptional professionals and continually learning by exchanging experiences, doing mini-training/workshop sessions and discussing ideas. If all the people in the group are to succeed, everyone must be on the same page in regards to what they are there for. Creating and building a Mastermind group will take time, but at the end when you have several people you trust and are comfortable witha group like this can definitely help you with your career goals and expectations!

Modern Web Accessibility Designing for Cognitive Neurological Impairment - Algrim.co

Modern Web Accessibility Designing for Cognitive Neurological Impairment - Algrim.co The Internet has been a significant factor to the technological progress and where we are today. It is associated with almost every one of us in one or other way. Do note, that it says almost. That’s because not everyone has equal access to the Web being plagued by barriers./ And this is where Web Accessibility comes into the picture. Web Accessibility helps to alleviate the scenario of diverging web access. But, how? Web Accessibility â€" What and How Before we dive into the process, let’s have a quick recap of what Web Accessibility stands for. Web Accessibility means the right to access the web by every individual irrespective of their disability. That said, Web Accessibility is not just limited to the disability aspect but also diversity. The standard web designs make web access impossible for a certain section of society. A website is composed of text, images, and videos. In some cases, they could even have audio. However, most sites are designed with the standard user in mind who has no issues with their visual and cognitive ability. So, it’s a given that people with different abilities are bound to struggle in such a setup where their experience is limited because of their capabilities. Web Accessibility is the concept of web design that ensures that any content on the Internet is accessible and acknowledgeable by individuals with varying physical abilities and conditions. The benefits of Web Accessibility are not just limited to the individual level, but also the society and businesses. Correct design and development of the web help to achieve the corresponding goals and gains. To do that web design needs to address some issues. The issues that need addressing include: Visual. Visual impairment includes color blindness, blindness, and poor eyesight. Visually impaired people struggle with the visual aspects of a website, i.e. color and context that contains videos and images. The sites should be developed in such a way that it enables support devices integration for site access. In the case of poor eyesight, the site can be made more accessible by the inclusion of magnifying tools to enlarge the site contents for the user. Color blinds will find the site to be more useful if the site makes use of underlines or bold letterings to highlight content and navigation cues while following a pattern for navigation. Also, developers could work on codes for integration of text-to-braille hardware or text-to-speech software for the blind to have access to the site. Thereby, letting the visually impaired access the same content that everyone else does. Motor/mobility. Motor problems are associated with the loss of muscle function and muscle coordination. So, subtle hand movements become a hindrance. That issue has nothing to do with accessing content. The problem lies with moving from content to content, i.e. navigation. A person with mobility issues will be unable to work with a mouse. In this case, a simple device for navigation (preferably with less than three buttons) something like a joystick would go a long way to help in navigation on the web. Auditory. A person with hearing issues will be fine with web interaction as long as there’s no sound involved. Websites with media in the form of audio files or videos will be a hurdle for the user. There’s a simple workaround for this issue. If the site has video content, it could have closed captions or sign language cues to help understand the theme of the video. Alternatively, if a site has an audio content, they could provide a text-transcript below the file for the people with hearing issues. Seizures. Audio or visual content could be stimuli for seizures especially if the content has flash effects. Flash effects trigger seizures in case of epilepsy. Hence, providing a warning or option to switch flash settings on the website would be appropriate. Cognitive and intellectual. These issues make a person incapable of focusing and understanding with difficulty in perception and memory. Hence, something complex like a website’s design and content won’t help the case. For the site to be user-friendly, the design should be simple and highly usable to promote readability and navigation with use of consistent contrast and color schemes. Web Accessibility aims at enabling differently abled people to interact with the Web as any normal human being does. These people should be able to perceive, understand, navigate the Web as well as contribute to it. Apart from the earlier issues mentioned, Web Accessibility should stand firm to the challenges from some other issues like changing people’s abilities with age, temporary disabilities like broken arm or glasses, use of mobile and smart devices and slow internet connection. It is not just about the physical incapability of the differently abled people but also the situational aspects. Situational limitations are also a form of handicap or disability albeit a temporary one. Not everyone has a laptop or a desktop to access the Internet. Also, not everyone has a high-speed data connection to access the Internet. One cannot afford to be left behind just because they lack resources or situation in some form or other. The web is a big part of everything today. Education, jobs, health care, commerce, recreation, you name it, and I bet you will find some form of web interaction in them. Hence, it is essential that the web is accessible to provide equal access and opportunities to everyone irrespective of any disability and diversity. Web Accessibility needs to address the accessibility barriers which are present in the form of visual or auditory or mobility elements. So, how does the Web Accessibility help? In the perspective of an individual and society, equal web access keeps them informed and up to date with others with regards to notions and movement in the world. It can be in the form of news, socializing, job opportunity, or education. The possibility is endless. From a business perspective, it helps brands gain more exposure and reach more people. All help the companies to create a larger customer base. Web Accessibility helps create potential marketing opportunities for businesses. Here’s a situational example, a blind person wants to know the latest happenings. So, he goes to a news site that has the text-to-speech feature which helps pronounce out the news to the person. Implementation The UN CRPD (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) has set Access to information and communications technologies as a fundamental human right. In addition to this, there’s WAI. WAI or Web Accessibility Initiative is a project by World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) which holds the design guidelines for web accessibility. The WAI came up with WCAG 1.0 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) in 1999. Then in 2008, it came up with WCAG 2.0 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) which aimed at technology neutrality of web. Today, countries have and follow their adaptations of the WCAG. For example, Canada has: The Standard on Optimizing Websites and Applications for Mobile Devices The Standard on Web Usability The Standard on Web Interoperability The Canadian government has a WET or Web Experience Toolkit to help build accessible sites. Spain follows UNE 139803 which is based on the WCAG 1.0. UK has theBS 8878:2010 Web accessibility. Code of practice. The standard invokes interaction of non-technical professionals in the design process to improve accessibility, usability and user experience for the disabled and elderlies. Japan follows the JIS or Japan Industrial Standards which got revised in 2010 along the lines of WCAG 2.0. The new standard has four principles, 12 guidelines and 61 success criteria just like the WCAG 2.0. Having a standard helps align the basic idea of accessibility, but there’s more to equal web access than just standardized guidelines. Apart from guidelines, there’s the need for cooperation between components. Websites, user agents, assistive technologies, authoring tools, user knowledge and experience of the web, developers, all need to come together for Web Accessibility to be more than just a notion. part from Web Accessibility standards, there are standard guidelines for components like authoring tools, user agents. The following are some of the set of guidelines: Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) User Agent Accessibility Guidelines (UAAG) Planning and Implementation in Design Now comes the real question â€" how to go about implementing the idea of Web Accessibility in design and development? The key to the notion of Web Accessibility is access and interaction. Web access is about the design aspects of the web contents, be it in sites or apps. These are things like color and content layouts. Whereas, interaction purely depends on the assistive methods. Some assistive technologies for the disabled include screen readers, braille terminals, screen magnification, speech recognition, keyboard overlays, closed captions or sign language in videos. Before starting on the web design and experience, a developer needs to consider the type of users. By users, we are talking about the disabilities the users have. It could be cognitive, learning and neurological impairment or temporary or situational. So, here are some design pointers in aid to the neurological and cognitive disabilities of users: Proper structuring of information. A webpage needs to to make appropriate use of headings, subheadings, and lists when representing the content. Headings and subheadings highlight the central theme of content while lists ease up the readability of content. All in all, they help the user navigate through the content effortlessly especially for people having difficulty in focusing and processing information. Short lines. A short line that is about 70-80 characters long is preferable. That’s because shorter lines are easier to read and deduce the meaning. Maintaining a balance between space and content. It’s never a good idea to fill a whole page with just content. Why? Because it is harder to concentrate on the main content from the background, thus, being a barrier for autistic and ADHD patients. Confining content within a specific space helps structure information and makes for easy understanding of content. Consistency in colors and layouts. A consistent color and layout results in a pattern which helps for easy navigation around the website. So, as a designer, one needs to maintain uniformity in fonts and links along with placements of media. Implementation of assistive technologies. In addition to the layout design, a site should incorporate assistive technologies to aid the differently-abled persons in accessing and interacting with the site. Elements like keyboard support, magnifier, make the task of accessing the content of a site simpler for the user. Providing alternatives to multimedia content. Images, audio files, and videos are good for regular users, but not for people having a visual or auditory impairment. Hence, a site needs to provide alternate text for the images and other multimedia content on the site. Not only it helps the impaired users, but also makes the task of crawling the website easier for search engines. So, it is recommended to include alternate text for images, videos or audio. In conclusion, there’s a lot that can be done to increase web accessibility. And, with the advancement of technology, we will find new ways to make the differently abled have the same web experiences as us.

Why You Need To Promote Yourself at Work

Why You Need To Promote Yourself at Work With my book coming out next month, I am realizing that I often have a hard time promoting myself. This is something that many women struggle with so todays article is all about why you need to promote yourself at work. Most women are more comfortable being humble and not attracting attention. When I was growing up my dad would brag about the things I was doing to other people and I would get so embarrassed (and I still sometimes do)! One of the most common mistakes that women make (and I have too!) is believing that other will people know how awesome they are without them having to say anything about it. They are working away in their cubicle doing GREAT work, but because they aren’t out there promoting themselves, their leadership doesn’t see all the great stuff that they are doing! Women have often been raised NOT to self-promote, whereas men are raised to promote themselves and compete with each other. Men are often naturals at promoting themselves to others and it is fairly common for them to promote themselves in a group of men. Real Life Example of Promoting Yourself:   One day I received two emails at work. One was from a man on my team and one was from a woman. I had congratulated the woman on an award her team had just received. In response to my email, she said “Oh, that award wasn’t for me. I wasn’t even here when that award was written up.” She missed her chance to say, “Thanks! Yes, I have been working my butt off here since I started and I am doing a great job! She made herself look less than the awesome and hard working person that I know she is with that email. On the other hand that day, the email I received from the man said, “Look at this awesome thing that I was able to complete!” He had finally completed something that he had not been able to do for the past year. He sent that email to our entire team to brag about his accomplishment. I congratulated him and said, “Wow, that is awesome! Good for you!” In my eyes, unfortunately, the man scored some points that day and the woman lost some points for not promoting herself. How to Promote Yourself:   Constantly build up your reputation by sharing what you are working on to build respect for you and your work. If you have a great thing that you know you did, just say it! Don’t wait for someone to call on you or for someone else to discover it. Get in the habit of sharing emails about good work or presenting good news in team meetings. Look for ways to expand your skills and knowledge and then don’t be afraid to tell the team what you are learning and working on. Would love to hear how these tips helped you promote yourself more. Leave a comment below and let me know what you think! P.S. â€" Our Classy Career Girl Online Bootcamps have already helped hundreds of ambitious professional women take their leadership career to the next level… and you can do the same.   Let this be the year you take on greater roles and excel as you advance in your career! Check out all the available courses here.  

6 Steps to Become an Effective Female LEADER

6 Steps to Become an Effective Female LEADER One of the biggest fears that I hear from readers is that they are scared that they will get stuck and never be promoted to a leadership position. They are scared because their companies dont have funding for training and personal development and they arent challenged to grow and develop. If this sounds familiar, its time to take your development and future growth into your own hands this year and start becoming the leader that you want to be today. Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.  -Arthur Ashe Here are the 6  steps to becoming an effective female leader: Lean into your influence with integrity and develop a leaders attitude. A leaders attitude is quickly picked up by her followers and is a big consideration for those being considered for executive promotion. Your attitude toward colleagues, the companys policies and your attitude toward your work are being watched by your followers AND your managers! Escalate and understand your leadership strengths. When you do this you will quickly gain confidence. Being an effective female leader is not about pretending to be someone else but it is understanding your unique leadership style and what makes you an effective leader. There are strengths that females have that men dont, and thats what will make you a great leader. Avoid time management and stresses with delegation and self-discipline.   One of your most crucial skills as leader is being able to make TIME to complete all of your projects AND make your visions happen. That’s the difference between being a “hamster on a wheel” versus finishing that big project. As a leader, how you manage your time directly affects the productivity of your team. That is why it is so important that we tackle this topic. If you can’t manage your time well, you will not be able to manage your career satisfaction, leadership strengths or relationships in the office. It is the pivotal point of everything else that you do. Demystify working with men, managing men, and negotiating with men.   Ever thought that men were difficult to figure out? For a female manager working in a male dominated environment, dealing with gender expectations and stereotypes can be an additional stress to go with the everyday problems of management. Learning more about what motivates men at work will help you navigate the gender politics and help you establish trust and respect along the way. Enhance your communication techniques and coach a winning team. A coach brings out the best in others and helps them realize their potential. Thats what you want to do.  And in order to do that, you must communicate to establish trust with honesty, an open mind and authority. Leadership is about followers. When youre communicating to other people directly, your confidence is an inspiring trait.  If you can be authentic and exceed the standards you ask of others, you are headed in the right direction. Re-assemble your tribe and create your future leadership vision.   One of the biggest mistakes that holds women back from becoming leaders is neglecting to network. We have to extend our networks, inside and outside the company. We all need a tribe (network) because a tribe will teach us new things and help us do our jobs better. Our tribe will help us realize our true potential and strategize the most effective path to make our visions happen.  Guys are always building their boys network and its time for you to do the same whether or not you are job searching right now. Did you notice that the beginning of each these steps spells LEADER!  Yep!   Talk to you soon! -Anna

Factors To Consider When Looking For An Executive Resume Writing Service

Factors To Consider When Looking For An Executive Resume Writing ServiceFor those who need help with their executive resume, whether for their current job or for a job search, the great thing is that there are many options for executive resume writing service. With so many options available, it is important to know what to look for when choosing a service. By reading this article, you will be able to better understand how to select the best service and determine how much it will cost you.When you first begin looking for an executive resume writing service, it will be helpful to look for a company that specializes in executive resume writing. Executive resume writing services have the experience to help you write your resume to meet the specific needs of each employer you contact. This will give you more peace of mind, knowing that you are speaking to someone who has the skills to write the perfect resume.There are different options when choosing which service to use. One option is to contact a company who is already established and is willing to take on the work. You can choose a writer based on his or her experience or by his or her name. This is a great option for someone who does not know how to write his or her own resume.Another option is to use a writer who does not offer this type of service and pay for the service out of pocket. This is a great option for someone who is going to be attending a job fair or one who is just starting a new job. Having a written resume allows people to leave a personal impression on the employer and these types of professional services can help.It is also important to know the overall cost associated with the entire process. This cost may include choosing the perfect writing service or simply making sure that the job is done correctly. The amount you pay is really determined by how well the resume is written and how well the writer takes care of the job.This includes a service fee, a percentage of the job and an overall esti mate for the job. It is important to know how much you will be charged before you contact the company. Many companies offer this type of cost estimate as part of the service agreement.Once you have chosen a reputable executive resume writing service to use, you will need to find out how long the writing service will take to complete the job. While most people think about cost and price, they often forget about quality when making this decision. The better service you receive, the more time you will be able to spend on your job search.If you choose a service that offers a quote in the beginning, make sure you compare their services before you make a final decision. Not all companies offer the same quality services, so you should make sure to find out before you commit to the service. If you don't know how to find out what you are paying for, speak to a friend who has used this type of service and you will quickly get an idea of what the cost is.

The Most Stressful Jobs of 2014

The Most Stressful Jobs of 2014 4 Flares 4 Flares Whilst all jobs have their own levels of stress, a recent study by job search website CareerCast has indicated that there are particular jobs which rank as having higher level of stress than other jobs. The ranking system used by CareerCast was dependent on various factors. These included evident factors such as risks to personal safety or risk to others. In these categories, professions such as airline pilot, military general and police officer made the list. Other measurable stress factors included the amount of travel, deadlines, working in the public eye and meeting the public. These factors accounted for professionals such as Events Coordinators, Public Relations Executives and Newspaper Reporters. Indeed, a career was rated higher on the stress counter if the job contained a combination of these factors. For example, Firefighters, who ranked third overall, involve most of these stress factors in their job descriptions. Whilst an Event Coordinator ranked lower because there was not an immediate danger to personal injury. Top Ten Most Stressful Jobs according to CareerCast: Enlisted Military Personnel Military General Firefighter Airline Pilot Event Coordinator Public Relations Executive Corporate Executive (Senior) Newspaper Reporter Police Officer Taxi Driver According to the data, working hours also play a significant role in the level of stress associated with a position. A recent Australian study showed a direct relationship between longer working hours and levels of stress. The study claims that longer working hours inevitably begin to create time conflicts that interfere with ones quality of life outside of work as well as on-the-job performance. Interestingly, the amount of stress does not collate with the salary that is awarded for these careers. Enlisted Military Personnel topped the list as the most stressful job, which according to Defence Jobs after initial training as a soldier in the army, has a starting salary of only $38,422 per year. Comparatively, a Senior Corporate Executive can earn in excess of $170,000 per year and only ranked seventh in the findings. Indeed, depending on the field, Corporate Executives can receive one of the highest paid salaries in Australia and salary guides, such as the Robert Half 2014 Salary Guides, show that these positions can climb to as high as $300,000+ in the financial sector. On the flipside, the same study explored the least stressful jobs. These included hairdressers, librarians and Audiologist, which sat at number one. With many of the least stressful jobs requiring tertiary education, it appears that careers with the least level of stress require the most academic work to secure them. Top Ten Least Stressful Jobs: Audiologist Hair Stylist Jeweller University Professor Seamstress/Tailor Dietician Medical Records Technician Librarian Multimedia Artist Drill-Press Operator Stress is almost always a part of any job, but ensuring you have the right balance is important in maintaining job satisfaction

Thinking About Starting Your Own Business What You Should Know - Kathy Caprino

Thinking About Starting Your Own Business What You Should Know After 18 years in the corporate world, I struck out on my own as an entrepreneur,  informally in 2003, and officially in 2007 when I launched Ellia Communications.   I am infinitely happier, more fulfilled, balanced and healthier as a business owner   rather than working in the corporate world for someone else, selling someone else’s products that I didn’t believe in.   I realize now that, from the beginning of my career at age 22, I was completely wrong for the corporate thing â€" I hated (and failed miserably) at office politics, couldn’t suffer fools lightly, dreaded be locked into my four walls and going to the same office each day, suffered through the tediousness of committee decision, longed to use my creative talents more authentically… the list goes on and on.   I know now it’s the right thing for me to be on my own, creating and marketing my own products and services, and leading my own organization.     It feels very right.   But despite my years of high-level corporate marketing experience and overseeing multimillion dollar budgets for national products and services, there were thousands of things I didn’t know about marketing and running my own business, such as how to effectively sell yourself as the product, and how to get over the discomfort of making money from helping people who are often in distress.     I’m supremely proud of what I’ve created with Ellia Communications, and where it’s going.   But I’d like share a few vital questions that I wish I’d considered prior to embarking on the hero’s journey of having my own business.     Seven questions to consider before launching your business:   1)    What is Your Professional Style? Explore deeply all of your preferences as a professional.   Think about what you love to commit to, and what drains you, the type of structure you thrive in, and the conditions that make you miserable.   Answer these questions:   What are your ideal preferences in your worklife: Structured or flexible organization Hierarchical or egalitarian model Type of people you work with Type of products/services/programs you wish to contribute to or promote Hours you wish to work Ideal commute Pace of Work Environment Prefer leading or following Prefer solo or team endeavors Financial compensation you wish to receive Vacation and other benefits you wish to have Your primary goal in working   If your answers to these questions follow a more traditional path (such as wanting 4 weeks of vacation yearly, reliable and consistent salary and benefits, slower pace, working no more than 8 hours per day, etc.), being an entrepreneur may not be for you.   Overall, you need to know: is it a job or a “calling” you want?   If it’s a job, or if you’re looking for security, consistency, and stability, and very little risk, I’d say having your own business isn’t for you.   2)    Are You Running Away from Something? Starting your own business shouldn’t be about running away from your previous professional problems.   If you’ve had bad bosses, faced discrimination, betrayal in the workplace, suffered in other ways in your corporate career, you need to address these experiences satisfactorily, and resolve your emotions around them, before launching a new business endeavor.   Otherwise, these problems will follow you in one form or another to your new venture.   3)    What Do You Truly Value in Work? It’s vitally important to understand what you value in life and work.   A great question that will help you understand your core values is to ask yourself,   “When I’m 90 years old, looking back at my life, what do I want to have accomplished, stood for, given, and be known for?”     Think about your deepest values, and if you’re honoring them today.   If not, why not?   I’ve observed that many folks who break out on their own and make a true success of it value the following:   Adventure/Excitement Being Catalyst for Action/Change Competition/Winning Contribution Creativity/Imagination/Innovation Decision-Making/Power to Influence Discovery/Learning Flexibility Freedom; Independence; Autonomy Helping Others Influencing Others Integrity/Truth Knowledge Leadership/Managing Mastery/Achievement Mental or Intellectual Challenge Moral/Ethical Fulfillment Recognition Risk Stimulation   If you value a majority of the above qualities, you might be a great candidate for launching a successful small business.   (See my specialized Career Path Assessment for a full exploration of work values and preferences.)   4)    Can You Market Yourself? When you’re in business for yourself, it’s a 24/7 job to market and promote yourself and your products/services.   You simply cannot do this sitting alone in your office, connecting with no one.   You need partners, affiliates, networks, vendors, suppliers, associates, clients and customers.   Most importantly, you need power, confidence, and clarity to market yourself effectively, and to stand out against the competition â€" to brazenly communicate how fantastic your services (products) are, and why folks should hire you.   You have to “name it and claim it” or you’ll get lost in the crowd.   So many consultants and entrepreneurs I know fall down in this area â€" they are simply too timid and lacking in confidence to get out there in the world and sell themselves.   Or they have no idea what separates them from their competitors (or why anyone should hire them).   If you’re shy and feel you can’t promote yourself effectively, there’s important work to be done to help you overcome this block.   (To help entrepreneurs on this front, I’m co-delivering a powerful new branding workshop with branding expert Robert Friedman, Founder of Fearless Branding.   See  Ellia Communications Seminars/Workshops for more details.)   5)  Do You Have the Energy For This? Starting and maintaining a successful small business requires more energy and commitment that you thought possible.   What’s your energy level today â€" do you have the ability and energy to commit yourself to birthing this baby, and bringing it to fruition?   If your will is there but the energy is lacking, explore what you can do today to begin to restore and replenish yourself.   You’ll need vast amounts of positive energy if you want to make a go of it.   6)  How Risk-Tolerant Are You? Being an entrepreneur requires stepping into the abyss without a net â€" the risks you face are huge, and never-ending.   If you can’t tolerate risk, think again about starting a business.     7)   What is Success to You? Finally, think about what “success” really means to you.   Dimensionalize it, categorize it, claim it.   If it’s matching the corporate salary you used to make, that may take time (a great deal of it), and may not be a sufficient motivator to generate success as an entrepreneur.   If, however, success means any of the following to you, starting a business may be just your line of work:   Do you want: Flexibility Control over your choices, decisions and actions Greater ability to choose how you balance work and family life Leadership expertise Freedom to follow your own creative visions Ability to contribute to the world in a meaningful way that only you can do Using your creative talents as you wish to Your own unique voice to be heard The thrill of birthing your own “child” in the form of a business Passion, power, and purpose in your work Feeling deeply aligned every day with your professional life If the above resonate for you, now might be the perfect time to consider formulating a plan to launch your new business.     I leave you with this: If you cannot not do it, then now’s the time to move forward.   See my website for a wealth of free resources, articles, and tips for helping you on your path, and  check out SCORE  for free help in developing a business plan.   Happy birthing!