Friday, November 29, 2019

ASME Selects Thomas Costabile as Executive Director

ASME Selects Thomas Costabile as Executive Director ASME Selects Thomas Costabile as Executive Director ASME Selects Thomas Costabile as Executive DirectorMay 25, 2018 Thomas Costabile, ASMEs new executive directorASME has named Thomas Costabile as executive director.Costabile, who began in the position on May 18, will work to guide the Societys programs in codes and standards development, membership, conferences, technical publishing, education and professional development, and public policy. Costabile will also be responsible for implementing an organizational strategy focused on the creation of products, services and programs around ASMEs initial five key technologies manufacturing, bioengineering, robotics, clean energy, and pressure technology.Tom is an accomplished executive with a strong track record for delivering results in large, global organizations, said Charla K. Wise, the president of ASME. He arrives at ASME in the midst of exciting organizational changes and growth, and I, along with the entire Board of Governors, believe ASME has chosen an experienced leader to help the Society move forward.Costabile worked most recently as a business consultant for Carlan Advisors and also as a partner at 3essential LLC, where he advised boards, senior executives, private equity sponsors and investors. In these roles, he was successful in analyzing businesses and developing strategic initiatives to ensure profitability as well as implementing and monitoring projects to profitability.A trained mechanical engineer who began his career in the nuclear power industry, Costabile also worked at CBS Records, where he played a central role in the development of the firms compact disc manufacturing and distribution operations. Other leadership roles in industry include senior vice president, Operations for SONY, and president, WEA Manufacturing-Warner Music Group.Costabile has served on several not-for-profit boards, including Board Chair of the Montgomery Academy and Board Member Emeriti of the University of Oregon Foundation. He received his B.S.M.E. from Manhattan College and an M.B.A. in finance from Long Island University.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

10 Legal Skills That Are Great for Any Job

10 Legal Skills That Are Great for Any Job10 Legal Skills That Are Great for Any JobLegal skills can come in handy in any job. If youre considering a careerchange, and youre concerned that your background as a lawyer has made your skill set too specialized, you will want to think mora broadly about what you can actually do. As a lawyer, youve developed many skills that you can put to non-legal use. Here are ten skills you will want to capitalize on for your career change. Clear Thinking The biggest advantage of a legal education for non-legal work is that it taught you to think more clearly. Yes, all those hours suffering through theSocratic methodwere good for something. Its easy to forget when you spend time with other attorneys, but most people havent been trained to focus intently on the facts of a situation, research options, and make specific, reasonable arguments about what to do. Focus intently on facts through disciplined clear thinkingResearch options for actionsMake sp ecific, reasonable arguments in favor of a course of action Where You Can Apply This Skill Disciplined, clear thinking is valuable across the board, from business situations to government deliberations and more. Clear Writing Although you wouldnt believe it from some legal briefs, lawyers are typically fairly clear writers. They need to write clearly, factually, unemotionally, logically, and Able to write clear, straightforward, factual sentencesMake arguments that are logical and evidence-basedPut forth information unemotionallyDeliver grammatically accurate and appropriately spelled sentences Where You Can Apply This Skill This is a skill that you can use in many contexts, including traditional marketing, content marketing, technical documentation, PR, freelance writing, and many other career paths. Attention to Detail Lawyers can be a bit pedantic, but that attention to detail is valuable Rather than glossing over things, lawyers are trained to focus on the details (and, hopefully, identify the most salient details from a sea of information). Able to focus on detailsIdentify the most significant detailsUse these details to generate solutions to problems Where You Can Apply This Skill If youre tired of focusing on legal details, consider other areas where this skill set might come in handy. A few ideas QA testing, product management, copy editing, and so on. Dealing with Difficult People and Situations One reason many lawyers burn out is that theyre constantly dealing with conflict. Even if you want to leave all of this conflict behind, the reality is that youve probably developed some useful coping skills and techniques. Dealing with conflictCan listen deeply so the participants feel heard out and listened toCoping with difficult people and situationsAble to initiate conflict when necessaryAble to focus on the real issues of a conflictAble to resolve issues with difficult people and situations Where You Can Apply This Skill ansicht are skills th at you can apply in any job as a manager or as a corporate attorney specializing in company-specific issues. Youll be the calm one in a corporate meeting when everyone else is stressing out over a minor personality conflict between coworkers. A Great Work Ethic Lawyers (and law students) work longer hours in more stressful conditionsthan many other jobs. If you survived law school, passed the bar exam, and practiced as a lawyer, youve probably got (or developed) a very good work ethic. Able to work long hoursAble to overcome stressful situationsAble to concentrate, focus, and get the job done Where You Can Apply This Skill A very good work ethic will serve you well in any career that you ultimately choose to pursue. Examples include management, professional researcher, training and education, administrative law judge for state, local, or Federal civil service positions, and university administration positions. Identifying and Solving Problems From the earliest days of a 1L ( first-year law student) year, when you started issue spotting, your legal education has trained you to spot potential problems. In certain contexts, this trait is annoying, but its also useful Any new undertaking is bound to face bumps in the road. Spot potential problemsCome up with appropriate solutionsShare problems and potential solutions with others in a non-threatening, nonconfrontational way Where You Can Apply This Skill As long as you can focus onproductivelypointing out potential problems and offering solutions, your legal risk-radar can be put to good use in a variety of contexts. Problem identification and solving problems are key, for example, to succeed in any management role. Research Skills Lawyers are very good at tracking down answers- its what you get paid to do as an attorney. Excellent research abilities come in handy in almost all jobs these days, whether you need to track down the ingredients for a fancy cupcake recipe or figure out if the name of your com panys new product is offensive in a foreign language. Identify needed facts, information, and sourcesVerify facts, information, and sourcesApply the necessary facts, information, and sources to solving problems and providing answers Where You Can Apply This Skill Queries that might stump the average person are nothing to an attorney. Youve been looking for obscure precedents for yearss of careers that can use your research skills include librarian, professional researcher, college hochschulprofessor or administrator, Human Resources Manager or Corporate Council. You will also find opportunities in state, local, and Federal jobs. Public Speaking Skills Part of being a practicing attorney is speaking in front of people, so it is definitely something that you learn in law school and likely already had in your skill set before you decided to go to law school. Gather and organize supporting information to deliver to an audienceDeliver the information coherently to a groupExude confid ence and collectedness when sharing information with a groupPrepare any visuals or video needed to illustrate your key points. Where You Can Apply This Skill In any position in which you are managing other people, you will have the opportunity to speak publicly, even if your audience is relatively small. Knowing how to be confident and collected while delivering information to a group of people is a skill that many people struggle with, and definitely, public speaking is a skill that belongs on your resume. Synthesizing Ideas The logical reasoning that was stressed so much on the LSAT (Law School Admission Test) and in law school will come in handy in the future, whether you end up in a legal role or not. Having the ability to figure out how to take something from an idea to an actual product or service is crucial, and not everyone is blessed with understanding how to get from point A to point B. Exhibit logical reasoningConnect related and unrelated pieces of information to a w hole situationTake an idea and make it into a product or a serviceSee the possibilities inherent in any situation Where You Can Apply This Skill The logical reasoning that you likely fought with and learned will help you see the possibilities, and youll be the one laying out concrete solutions. As with others of these ten skills, careers that can use your synthesizing skills include librarian, professional researcher, college professor or administrator, management and other professional roles, and Corporate Council. You will also find opportunities in state, local, and Federal government jobs. Working Well With Other People More than anything, law school taught you how to work with other people. Whether it was in study groups, on the law review, in moot court, or in an internship or externship, you likely had to continuously work alongside others. Listen to carefully understandSpeak courteously, tactfully, and clearlyRead nonverbal communication by understanding body language, t one of voice, and posture signalsParaphrase and share feedback to ascertain understandingAsk questions to clarify content and context Where You Can Apply This Skill This skill is crucialin the realm of any job, and likely something that is listed on most of the job postings youll come across. All of those hours that you spent working closely with others will definitely pay off down the line.?? You can work well with other people in careers such as education and training, management, Human Resources, state, Federal, and local government professions, college or university admissions, administration, and professor roles. The Bottom Line If youre feeling trapped in your legal career and youre not sure how to make a change, inventory the legal skills youve developed that can be applied in other contexts. Youll likely find you have a plethora of useful skills, which employers would be happy to have you employ on their behalf.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Top nine executive resume mistakes

Top nine executive resume mistakesTop nine executive resume mistakesHR managers see these resume mistakes over and over again. Follow this checklist to make aya your resume isnt one of the clunkers.Professional resume writers see hundreds of do-it-yourself resumes. Ask some of these pros, and theyll tell you theyre so used to seeing the same missteps made over and over, they can spot them a mile away.We talked to some of the certified professional resume writers who work with Ladders to find out which resume glitches they see most often and how to fix them. Before you send your resume out, check it against this list once youve jumped over these potholes, youll be ahead of the pack in this competitive job market.1. Resume formatSteve Burdan, a CPRW who works with Ladders, said his clients often slip up by using a pure chronological or pure functional resume.The schwierigkeit The chronological format by itself doesnt work because youre making the reader work hard to figure out what yo u have to offer, Burdan said.In other words, youre not highlighting your skill sets and areas of expertise. Hiring managers must read between the lines of the chronological format to fish out this information.Similarly, a purely functional resume doesnt work because youre not giving the reader any chronological context for any of your achievements, Burdan said. With this type of format, candidates typically have a section listing 10 to 15 bullet points that contain all their accomplishments stacked up.You dont know whether it was achieved 10 or 20 years ago, or the accomplishments have no explanation or context, he said. Typically, the functional resumes Burdan sees are two pages, 90 percent of which comprise bullet points, he said.The fix Use a hybrid resume format that utilizes the best of both formats. The top part of this format is functional, with lists of skills and accomplishments. The following part places those accomplishments into context in a chronological section of job descriptions.The hybrid is what works for my clients, Burdan said. When I get a client who says, ?What other versions do you have? Ill say, ?I have no other models this is the only one. (For mora on crafting a hybrid resume, read here.)2. No titleThe problem Many people neglect to give themselves a title at the top of their resumes, which will prevent the reader from understanding at a glance what position the person is looking for, said Mary Schumacher, another CPRW who works with Ladders.The fix Establish a descriptive, compelling title. One example of a title switch that packs more information Change Accounting, which is too vague, to Management of A/R and A/P and Recordkeeping, which carries far more information and impact. (For more on crafting attention-grabbing titles, read here.)3. LengthThe problem Amateur resume writers often go too short or too long. At some point, someone convinced them that every resume should be one page, so they try to stuff every thing into one page . Thats not going to work, Burdan said, because in choosing what to leave in and leave off, youre cutting muscle. Executive resumes can be as long as three pages.Likewise, if your resume is too long, youre just filling out space for the sake of fluffing it up.Writing a resume that is four pages long is simply useless no one wants to read that much, and nobody really cares what you did in 1973, Schumacher said.The fix Burdan said that 90 percent of the time, its appropriate to keep a resume to two pages. (For more on cutting your resume to the right size, read here.)4. One-size-fits-all resumes.The problem Resume customization for a specific position is crucial these days, as the competition for jobs is fierce.The fix Use the same keywords as the position described in the job post, Schumacher advised.When you write a resume for posting on a job board or for a recruiter, scan a number of position announcements for your career goal and make sure your resume reflects most of their keyw ords, she said. (For more on how to customize your resume for the right job, read here.)5. Lack of quantifiables The problem Job seekers often omit quantifiables that would substantiate claims about their skills and accomplishments. Instead, they take refuge in murky language like improved performance and led a winning team. Everybodys got quantifiables, Burdan believes you just have to figure out how to translate them. Otherwise, your resume suffers from a bad case of so what?The fix Quantifiables are translated in different ways for different job roles. A sales function is easy to quantify, Burdan said, because you can use numbers or percentages to reflect your increased sales or increased domination of a given market. Likewise, with marketing, a resume can list specific product launches.CPAs can point to specific processes made more efficient and to specific amounts of money saved, Burdan suggested. IT professionals can list expertise with specific software packages and applicat ions, as well as successful deployments and business-cost savings due to technology enhancements. Operations professionals can talk about cost controls and productivity increases.6. Weak verbs and no verbs The problem Schumacher all too often sees weak verbs on do-it-yourselfers resumes. She cites such lackluster verb constructions as was responsible for, provided or assisted with.Even worse than weak verbs, some people dont use verbs at all when they write resumes, Schumacher said.Their bullet points start off with verb-implying nouns, saying something like ?Project management and process improvement or ?Implementation of process controls and standardization procedures, she said.The fix Use verbs instead of sentence fragments that omit them. Your resume will be more action-oriented and dynamic. And avoid weak verbs by using action-oriented verbs such as spearheaded, steered or influenced. (For more on how to use verbs in your job search, read here.)7. Overusing words The problem A nother word-choice problem is that people will use a perfectly good word, like develop, but then use it over and over again.The fix Mix up your verbs. Some verbs Schumacher likes include enrich, fortify, forge, transform and galvanize.These words are really powerful, she said.8. Font faux pasThe problem People often split hairs over the least important things, such as mulling over what the most effective font is, Burdan said. They also mix up fonts, particularly when cutting and pasting material from Web sites, and then neglect to make the pasted-in material the same font as the rest of the resume.The fix When it comes to fonts, Burdan advises clients not to go crazy. Stick with the tried and true Times Roman, Garamond and Tacoma are all safe choices. Proofread to make sure fonts are consistent throughout. (For more on how to format your resume, read here.)9. Graphic crimesThe problem Photos on resumes. Theyre a bad idea, Burdan said, since resumes inspire enough snap decisions with out having your picture on them.Resumes by nature are polarizing Readers will either be attracted or repulsed by your resume. Its business, not personal Every reader is looking for something different, he said.He tells his clients to remember that resume readers are making go or no-go decisions all the time, so its safest not to give them a reason to pass over your resume by having a superficial reaction to your photo.On top of that is the technical reason for keeping photos off a resume Namely, graphics files tend to choke applicant tracking system software.Finally, legal issues lead many human-resources departments to reject all resumes containing photos to avoid accusations of discrimination.The fix Keep photos or graphics off your resume. (For more on how to make your resume easy to download, read here.)