Promisedglory

Left  //  Right

Left  //  Right

Left  //  Right

Left  //  Right

Left  //  Right

Aries: “Have some fire. Be unstoppable. Be a force of nature. Be better than anyone here, and don’t give a damn what anyone thinks. You’re on your own. Be on your own.”  - Cristina Yang

Taurus: “If you aren’t willing to keep looking for light in the darkest of places without stopping, even when it seems impossible, you will never succeed.” - Amelia Shepherd

Gemini: “We’ll try again and we’ll fail again because that’s what progress looks like. Progress looks like a bunch of failures. And you’re going to have feelings about that because it’s sad, but you cannot fall apart.” - Meredith Grey

Cancer: “People can be broken but what’s broken can be healed and no matter how dark things can get the sun is always going to rise up again.” - Meredith Grey

Leo: “If you love someone, tell ‘em. Even if you’re scared that it’s not the right thing, even if you are scared that it will  burn your life to the ground, you say it, and say it out loud. And then you go from there.” - Mark Sloan

Virgo: “Oh, screw beautiful. I’m brilliant. If you want to appease me, compliment my brain.” - Cristina Yang

Libra: “I think you can’t wait for someone to fly underneath you and save your life. I think you have to save yourself.” - Meredith Grey

Scorpio: “Not everybody has to be happy all the time. That’s not mental health. That’s crap.” - Meredith Grey

Sagittarius: “The people that are still with you at the end of the day, those are the ones worth keeping. And sure, sometimes close can be too close. But sometimes, that invasion of personal space, it can be exactly what you need.” - Meredith Grey

Capricorn: “It’s good to be scared. It means you still have something to lose.” - Richard Webber

Aquarius: “A little coffee. A little sunlight. Your troubles will get smaller.” - Richard Webber

5 Simple Tips for Keeping Your Website Updated

1. Self-interest. What’s in it for the reader. 

2. Arouse curiosity. Make them STOP and ask, “How can that be?” or “What do they mean by that?” Then answer the question well. 

3. Does your ad SINGLE OUT your intended audience? 

4. Is it EASY to understand? 

5. Is it newsworthy? 

6. Is it believable? David Oglivy: “The customer is not a moron. She’s your wife.” 

7. Quick results. 

8. Be specific. 

9. Something of value. 

10. Make it well known. Brand names and testimonials make people feel comfortable.

Daniel Goleman, an American psychologist, developed a framework of five elements that define emotional intelligence:

Self-Regulation – This is the ability to control emotions and impulses. People who self-regulate typically don’t allow themselves to become too angry or jealous, and they don’t make impulsive, careless decisions. They think before they act. Characteristics of self-regulation are thoughtfulness, comfort with change,integrity , and the ability to say no.

Motivation – People with a high degree of EI are usually motivated . They’re willing to defer immediate results for long-term success. They’re highly productive, love a challenge, and are very effective in whatever they do.

Empathy – This is perhaps the second-most important element of EI. Empathy is the ability to identify with and understand the wants, needs, and viewpoints of those around you. People with empathy are good at recognizing the feelings of others, even when those feelings may not be obvious. As a result, empathetic people are usually excellent at managing relationships , listening , and relating to others. They avoid stereotyping and judging too quickly, and they live their lives in a very open, honest way.

Social Skills – It’s usually easy to talk to and like people with good social skills, another sign of high EI. Those with strong social skills are typically team players. Rather than focus on their own success first, they help others develop and shine. They can manage disputes, are excellent communicators, and are masters at building and maintaining relationships.

Self-Awareness – People with high EI are usually very self-aware . They understand their emotions, and because of this, they don’t let their feelings rule them. They’re confident – because they trust their intuition and don’t let their emotions get out of control.They’re also willing to take an honest look at themselves. They know their strengths and weaknesses, and they work on these areas so they can perform better. Many people believe that this self-awareness is the most important part of EI.

Although “regular” intelligence is important to success in life, EI is key to relating well to others and achieving your goals. Many people believe that it is at least as important as regular intelligence, and many companies now use EI testing to hire new staff.

EI is an awareness of your actions and feelings – and how they affect those around you. It also means that you value others, listen to their wants and needs, and are able to empathize or identify with them on many different levels.

Liz Centoni | January 6, 2016 at 6:05 am PST

One of the main things that people forget when looking for a career is that yes, a company chooses you, but most of the time, you get to choose the company. So “Choose Wisely” (channeling the Grail Knight in Indiana Jones and the last Crusade.) How? Start with these 3 things:

1. Choose a Culture where you will thrive:

Choose a Company that cares about what matters to you and what matters to the company. It’s important to find a place that allows you to experiment, take risks and most importantly to break glass. A place that will invest in you, where you are around other bright people with whom you can learn from as well as a culture that enables success and allows you to pursue your passion. And it needs to be fun too.

This picture is at Grace Hopper Conference a couple of months ago. We had free reign on everything from booth design to hosting advanced tech node sessions to designing demos we wanted to showcase. It allowed us to be creative and have fun and get the end result we wanted despite achy feet from three days of running around the cavernous conference center.

Cisco is a fun place to work! Teams have their own micro cultures and have done many different things from Bollywood dance offs to orchestrating haunted houses on Halloween in various buildings to Dodgeball tournaments to raise funds for March of Dimes. Cisco is also a company that cares for our community. We care about the world and we take our social responsibility seriously. What’s good for our community & our world is good for business. Just a couple weeks ago, we raised over $750,000 in a 48-hour challenge for the Second Harvest Food Bank.

A company culture that allows you to thrive and aligns to your values sets you up for success while having fun!

2. Choose a company that offers many opportunities.

Choosing a company isn’t just about your first job. Think about your second or third job and so on and so forth. Is the company you’re choosing going to provide you with lily pads to other roles? You should choose a company where you can establish a career trajectory. I thought I would be at Cisco for 12 to 24 months at the most. Fifteen years later, I am in my fifth role in Engineering and its very much “One Company, Multiple Careers.”

My mentors and sponsors here played a big role in changing the trajectory of my life and career. I was encouraged (it was more of a sharp elbow vs. gentle nudge at times) to take on roles that helped build new capabilities. It took me out of my comfort zone each time going from being the “go to” person to once again being the “new kid on the block.” I failed at some, succeeded at many others and the challenges and opportunity to reinvent myself each time gave me the confidence and visibility to continue to push forward. And I can continue to do that because Cisco is a company with multiple businesses and technology domains, so the career opportunities are vast and interesting.

3. If you want to be inspired, choose a company that innovates.

Choose a company that thrives on Innovation. Choose a company that inspires YOU to innovate and allows YOU to take risks to do so. You want to belong to a place where you can be at the forefront of technology. At Cisco, it’s about innovation that matters to our customers whether you’re Connecting and Securing the World to IoT, Analytics, Cloud, Collaboration.

There are few skills that will bring more opportunity into your life than the ability to speak well in public. Below are tips that can make the difference between those speakers who leave a powerful, positive impression and those that are quickly forgotten:

1. Speak with an intent to move people to action.

2. Practice. Practice.

3. Know the audience.

4. Relax.

5. Visualize yourself successful.

6. Smile.

I recently took a very helpful youth professional development course and learned some great things I’d love to share with everyone. This post will be especially helpful for first time resume writers, but there might be something in it for everyone. 

1. What is a Resume? 

A resume is a brief summary of your abilities, experience, and skills. It’s essentially a personal advertisement for your professional career, an opportunity to convince the employer that you are worth interviewing. 

The average employer will only take about 15-20 seconds to read your resume.

It’s important that your resume is neat so the reader can find important information quickly. 

Limit the resume to one page. 

Standard font size is 11-12, but you can play with the font or margins to fit everything. 

2. Headings 

Start with your personal information at the top of the first page (name, address, phone number, and email address). 

Keep the header centered and your name on top in BIG LETTERS.

3. Education 

If you are still in school or have little professional experience, this will likely be the first section in your resume. 

Document your education and graduation year.

Include the location (city, state), but do not include the school address. 

If you attend a school with a College Preparatory Curriculum, you may list that as a bullet underneath. If you are taking Honors or AP classes (or an international equivalent), feel free to list that as well. 

4. Professional Experience 

List your work experience in reverse chronological order - start with your most recent experience, and work backwards. 

Include the employer name, city, state, and position title for each. Again, no addresses.

Record your dates of employment consistently, using a format like June 2016 - August 2015, or 6/15 - 8/15. Staying consistent will make your resume professional. 

Place current jobs in the present tense, past jobs in the past tense. 

Write short phrases, not full sentences (”performed experiments”, not “I performed experiments”). Start each description with an action word that describes your skills, responsibilities, or accomplishments. 

Make sure you are specific about your responsibilities and don’t undersell yourself!

5. Skills 

Most commonly listed skills are computer programs and softwares you are comfortable with, and languages you are fluent/proficient in. 

Be honest! If you say you’re fluent in Spanish and you’re not, but your employer hires you for your Spanish abilities…. someone isn’t going to be pleased. 

List skills that are relevant to your job - patience might be a good skill for working with children, while organized might be more suitable for an office setting. 

6. Honors & Awards/Extracurriculars

List any honors or awards you have earned, including a brief explanation if the nature of the award is unclear. 

List any activities that you have been involved in, making sure to include years of participation (again, be consistent with formatting). These can be in-school or outside-of-school activities.

7. General & Miscellaneous

Some safe fonts: Times New Roman, Garamond, Calibri, or Book Antiqua.

Make sure your email is professional! This has been repeated to death but it’s so, so, so important. 

Likewise, if you list your personal cellphone number, make sure your voicemail message is appropriate. When in doubt, just revert back to the standard voicemail greeting. 

I hope this was helpful for anyone just starting out with their resume. Please share this for those who need it. Best of luck!