Out of the Cubicle & Into the Corner Office
A Resource for Young Professionals who want to be future, impactful, leaders
If you had to classify your mood as a weather system today, what would it be? Is it an overcast day with a chance of hail? Is it a clear day full of sunshine? If you are like me, your emotions vary as much as the weather. Unfortunately, various triggers can change your emotional state. It is how you react to the triggers that make you successful. By taking control of your emotional weather, you...
As a student or an entry-level engineer, one of the best ways to advance your career is join a professional organization specific to your industry. This type of group is often referred to as a trade group, and joining one can help you learn from, and connect with, like-minded professionals to help you grow your career. The benefits of joining such a group include the opportunity to take advantage of the group’s rich history in...
Do you know someone who is extroverted? These are the people that make conversation look easy. Often, they walk into a room and can strike a conversation with anyone they choose and make friends easily. People like them and even seem to be drawn to them. What is it about these magnetic personalities that sets them apart from others? It can be overwhelming for anyone to attend an event where everyone in the room as...
The term “ice breaker” is often used to describe an activity that is designed to result in strangers getting to know each other. The goal of the activity is for people to feel comfortable with each other and help them engage in comfortable conversation. Depending on the networking situation, you may find that there is a formal, structured, activity to help people get to know each other. If not, you can use on or more...
Words have power. If you don’t believe me, consider the beginning of the following sentence: “Once upon a time…” Reading this sentence likely already set your brain in motion to hear a story that takes place in a fantasyland. Just as this sentence triggers a specific reaction from your brain, the words you use every day can trigger reactions from other people. As a future leader, you should commit to setting the standard for a...
Do you find it difficult to manage you email? Throughout my childhood, I was fortunate enough to travel with my parents to various places where I met other kids my own age. As a classic “Type A,” I wanted to keep in touch with these new friends and hear about their lives, schooling, and hobbies. Unfortunately, the internet was not yet available to the average American household and long distance telephone rates were as high...
Beauty is bought by judgement of the eye- Shakespeare, Love’s Labours Lost Success. It’s all about perspective. Which of these pictures do you find to be the most beautiful? Both pictures are beautiful to different people. Each viewer approaches the pictures from his or her own experiences and preconceived notions of beauty. For example, if you are a person who associates cherry blossoms with a fond memory of playing t-ball in a park, you might...
Goal setting can be a stressful and challenging task if you don’t know what you want or where to start. Achieving your goals can be as easy, or as complicated, as you want it to be. In this blog, I will share a few of my notes on achieving goals. The three most important considerations in setting and achieving your goals are alignment of day-to-day tasks, focus on the goal, and a strong support system...
How often have you presented or attended a presentation and looked around the room to find people working on their iPad or checking email on their phone? Being a good audience member is a trait that you can use to build respect in your industry. When I speak to a group, whether it is 5 people, or 500, I look for friendly faces in the audience. These people are easy to spot as I present....
When was the last time you updated your resume? If you are like most people, you haven’t updated your resume since the last time you were looking for a new job, or the marketing department was updating company resumes for proposal purposes. This may have been a month ago, or two years ago, and chances are, it was difficult for you to capture all of the relevant information on your resume because you...
Civil Engineering Accomplishments with Tall Buildings
March 16, 2015
