LONDON — Once a year, digital radio station BBC 6 Music asks its listeners to wear a band T-shirt to work, and send in their photos. Using the hashtag #6MusicTShirtDay, which has been trending for much of Friday, it’s a chance to celebrate those dusty old tees at the bottom of your drawer and rediscover familiar sounds from the past.
Listeners and musicians alike jumped at the chance to show off their threads.
SEE ALSO: 15 shirts that will break the ice no matter where you are
We’re all for flexibility. Going your own way. Paving your own path. Doing what works for you (and not doing what doesn’t).
We’re also big fans of not putting a timeline on things. We’ve even said that there are plenty of things you don’t have to have by 30 (or 40, or 50, or ever … ).
But when it comes to your career, there are some things that we do recommend getting started on sooner rather than later. Not because some all-knowing career god out there says you have to, but because you’ll make your professional future — not to mention day-to-day work life — a whole lot easier.
So, do you need to check every box off this list by the time you’re 35? Definitely not. But, consider it a list of suggestions that, if taken, can have a really big impact on your career.
While it will obviously change from time to time, you should never have a hard time answering, “What do you do?” In fact, you should be so good at it that people will never forget. So, really spend some time figuring out what message you want to get across when people ask about your career.Communication expert Alexandra Franzen has an exercise to help.
Or, in other words, know the one thing that you’re truly amazing at. Serial entrepreneur Tina Roth Eisenberg says that all the most successful people she’s met know exactly what they’re best at: John Maeda, who led the MIT Media Lab and Rhode Island School of Design, responded with “curiosity.” Maria Popova, who curates the popular Brain Pickings blog, said “doggedness.” Eisenberg’s own superpower is enthusiasm. See how to find your own super power, here.
On the other end of the spectrum, it’s key to know what you’re not so great at. Not to make you feel bad — not in the least — but to help you know who you should hire and work with to complement your skill set and what tasks you should delegate (so you can spend more time on what you’re great at). On that note…
No one can do it all, and especially as you climb the career ladder, you’re going to need to know the difference between the things you should be spending your time on and the things you shouldn’t. And, perhaps more importantly, be able to effectively and comfortably delegate to others — interns, staff members, your partner, your childcare provider, you get the picture. These 10 rules of successful delegation will help you do it right.
You’re going to have a lot of opportunities come your way in life, and you don’t want to waste energy agreeing to things that really don’t line up with what you want to be doing. So, really be honest about what you want and need out of your career, and then come up with a list of non-negotiables that you can use as a guide next time you’re making a career decision.Writer Andrea Shields Nunez has some tips on creating them— and then actually enforcing them.
Whether or not it’s something you’ll be known for forever, something you get paid for doing, or even something you really want to do with your life, make sure you have something on your resume that, deep down, you’re really proud of.
We were going to add “fail at something” to this list, but that’s silly. Because, let’s face it, we’ve all failed miserably at one point or another. What’s more important? Learning from that blunder and taking that lesson with you productively into the next stage of your career.
You know you can manage a 30-person meeting, but a 100-person multi-day travel conference? That might be stretching the limits of your skills. Actually — this is exactly the type of stuff that you should try once in a while. After all, you’ll never really know how good you are until you step a bit outside of what you know.
This takes stretching your limits a bit further — we’re talking going way out of your comfort zone here. Whether it’s speaking at a conference, going for a (big) promotion, or finally writing that memoir, why not try something that terrifies you at least once in the early stages of your career? As they say, big risks can lead to big-time rewards.
Hillary Clinton once said that her biggest piece of advice to young professionals is: “It’s important to take criticism seriously — not personally.” Meaning: Knowing where you’re not meeting expectations is the only way you’ll learn and grow as a professional, but taking every harsh word to heart is a fast way to make your confidence crumble. So, take it from Hillz, and start taking feedback like a pro. Here are a few tips that’ll help.
Whether it’s telling your boss that his hourly drop-bys are really killing the team’s mojo or letting your direct report know that arriving to meetings on time is, in fact, required, giving feedback is a necessary part of getting what you need and being a happy professional. Learn how to give it well, ideally sooner rather than later. Career expert Jennifer Winter offers some pointers.
For just being two measly letters long, “no” seems to be one of the hardest words in the English language for many of us to say. But it’s actually incredibly important for our careers (and our sanity!) that we learn to use it and stand behind it. Here’s how to say it to your boss, a friend and everyone else.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again (probably at least twice a week for as long as we’re in business), the greatest asset you have in your career is your network. And building relationships takes time, so start now. Our free, seven-day email class is here to help.
We’re not saying mentor here — because finding the right mentor shouldn’t have a timeline on it and because there areplenty of ways to succeed without one — but having a couple of people in your corner who can advise you on everything from a terrible boss to a career 180 is incredibly valuable. And yes, this group of people can include your mom.
Increasingly, what shows up in Google and on your social media profiles is the first impression someone has of you. So, take some time to clean ’em up! Change the privacy on any old or questionable photos. Use SimpleWash to delete any Facebook or Twitter posts that could be incriminating. Game your Google results to make sure the things you want showing up at the top do.
Speaking of those things you want showing up at the top, your LinkedIn profile is perhaps your most prime piece of online real estate. When a client, future employer, vendor or professional contact is looking for you, guess where he or she will turn? Yup, LinkedIn. So make sure your profile tells the story you want it to tell (our complete guide to a perfect LinkedIn profilewalks you through the process).
Whether it’s a printed collection of articles, marketing campaigns or annual reports you’ve worked on or a personal website showcasing your skills, having a portfolio ready to go will make it easy for you to show your boss (or future boss) what you’ve got. Here’s more on why you need one, plus some easy ways to get started today.
Yes, even if you never envision a career in cold calling. The truth is, whether you’re pitching an idea to your boss or writing a cover letter about why you’re the perfect candidate, you’re going to be selling something to someone at some point. Get started on your own personal sales education with these tips.
Because, in most cases, it’s the only way you’re going to get what you want and deserve. If you’ve never done it before, we recommend starting small (asking your boss to, say, pay for a pricey upcoming conference), and checking out this hour-long webinar that’s jam-packed with actionable advice (and motivation).
It’s a common misconception that you have to grin and bear it through a superior’s assignments, working style or way of doing things, paying no regard to whether his or her demands are reasonable. In fact, being able to manage up — or, communicate with your boss and advocate for what you need to do your job best — is a crucial job skill. Molly Donovanoffers some tips for doing it well.
You should never send an email that you’re not proud of (or wouldn’t be proud of if your boss saw) again. So make sure you’re really putting care into the professional messages you send! Erin Greenawald has some tips from an editor’s perspective on how to write ones that are flawless. It may sound like a lot of effort, but we promise it’s worth it (and will get easier the more you do it).
This sounds small, but a handshake is the quickest way to make (or break) an impression. (Fact: A Fortune 500 CEO once said that when he had to choose between two candidates with similar qualifications, he gave the position to the candidate with the better handshake.) Learn how to do it right from an expert.
Whether you need your list synced across all of your devices or you’re more of a pen-and-paper kind of guy or gal, commit to finding a to-do list that helps you manage your workflow in the best way possible. Yes, you might change methods as you switch jobs or new apps are launched over time, but knowing what works, what doesn’t, and what you like and don’t will make sure that you always have what you need to be your most productive self.
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Mix precocious 10-year-olds with a famously volatile host and add large knives and open flames.
How MasterChef Junior’s recipe for trainwreck TV instead became a heartwarming twist on the cooking competition show.
The 12-year-old boy standing in front of Gordon Ramsay has just started to cry. He’s wearing a floral bow tie, a plaid collared shirt tucked neatly into slim black jeans, and a bright white apron tied at the waist with his name embroidered on it in all caps, “LOGAN,” along with the logo of the show on which he is one of the final eight contestants,MasterChef Junior. His two front teeth are gapped, and his sandy blond hair is parted way over on one side. When he grows up, Logan wants to be an oceanographer, an astronaut, a chef, and a garbageman. The restaurant he plans to open someday will be called “O’s Underwater Bistro” and it will have special bubbles, some “executive bubbles” and some “romantic bubbles,” where customers will dine floating around underwater separate from the main restaurant, like in submarines.
But today, Logan has overcooked and underseasoned the rice in what he says would be the signature dish at his underwater bistro. The 82-pound, 4-foot-11-inch boy from Memphis, who, unlike some of the other contestants, can actually see over the cooking counters on the MasterChef set, has had one hour to create this dish, presumably without any adult assistance. And though his perfectly seared steak has “nice char and color,” the plate overall is too simple — lackluster, Ramsay says. As the British celebrity chef tells Logan that “the judges have come to expect more from you, young man,” a tear so giant that even I can see it from behind the cameras 30 feet away drops off Logan’s cheek and hits the floor. The boy’s shoulders curve forward, his head drops, and he’s sobbing.
Producers backstage stop whispering into their mics. The cameramen are still and tense. No one likes to see a child cry. But then Ramsay, who has seven Michelin stars, 25 restaurants, and a reputation for calling the cooks on his TV shows things like “miserable wee bitch” and “you fucking donkey” does something unexpected: He steps forward, hugs the child, and tells him it’s going to be OK, that he did his best. When Logan returns to his station, no longer crying, the other children comfort him and tell him he’s a great cook.
In spring 2013, when Fox announced it was going to air a kid-centric spin-off of its amateur cooking competitionMasterChef with 8- to 13-year-olds, it sounded horribly annoying — like a desperate attempt to revive a played-out format. The built-in precociousness of the concept was off-putting: 12-year-olds talking about Sriracha foam. And who wants to watch kids being mean to one another or judges hurting their feelings? “Fox’s Junior MasterChef to find newer, younger chefs to disappoint Gordon Ramsay,” wrote the AV Club.
But when the show debuted last fall, it was absolutely delightful. Now, three episodes into its second season, it’s still so good. MasterChef Junior’s first season was the highest-rated broadcast show in its Friday evening time slot among adults 18 to 49. It performed especially well in DVR and got good reviews. This season it is upgraded to a coveted Tuesday evening spot and averages a solid 5.3 million total viewers.
Bill Cosby who has come under fire recently after numerous women said he sexually assaulted or raped them offered an exclusive interview to the National Enquirer in 2005 in exchange for spiking an article about a woman who said he abused her, according to federal court records obtained by the New York Times. She has since come forward with her story. I would give them an exclusive story, my words, Mr. Cosby said when asked in the deposition in the sexual assault case about his agreement with The Enquirer, according to the court documents. Read more…
The end of this post has a peach getting peeled, and you’re going to love it.
We would all like to have relaxing weekends, full of leisurely meals and visits with friends. But our busy schedule during the week rarely allow us to have 48 hours of fun to recharge.
Here are some suggestions on how you get have fun, get re-charge and be productive during the weekend.
Get your personal priorities straight.
If you love soccer and do want to watch the playoffs, that’s a great use of your time. But if you are only watching because there’s nothing better to do why not map out your weekend several days in advance. Have you seen your friends in a while? Perhaps you should invite them for an afternoon cookout or go for a jog.
Be clear on your professional goals.
It is great that you are working seven days a week because you love what you do. But if the weekends is just another work day, your family won’t be pleased if you spent it plugging at your laptop. Identify what success will look like and when you can feel justified closing your computer and enjoying the rest of the day.
Go for the “four-way win.”
Wharton School professor Stew Friedman identifies four key spheres of life: family, work, friends and community and health (mental and spiritual). While you only have so much time in the weekend and you can’t do it all. What if you can combine activities and fit more in. What if you want to work out and how about Invite your husband or wife to join you? If you need to attend an event for the charity you support, how about getting your friends involved? This way, ou can maximize the impact and socialize with them.
By being strategic about how you invest your time over the weekend, you’ll feel great every Sunday evening as you get ready for the week ahead.
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Cameron, whose credits also include Aliens and Titanic, declined in the interview to share plot details following the end of first movie, in which (spoiler alert if you’re one of the several hundred people who haven’t seen it yet) the native Na’vi expel the corporate evildoers back to Earth. Cameron said he toyed with the idea of shooting the sequels in 60 frames per second, but instead committed to 48 fps the same rate used by Peter Jackson’s Hobbit movies. My thinking at the time was that 60 might be a better segue to the video market, Cameron told Empire. Read more…
Doctors said the 74-year-old soccer star is clinically unstable but conscious and conversational. He is receiving renal support therapy in the hospitals special care unit. The special care unit is reserved for patients who need a higher level of support but whose condition is not critical enough to merit a bed in intensive care. In a statement, Pel reassured his fans that he is doing well, and insisted that the move to the special care unit should not be interpreted as a worsening of his health. Read more…
Some men decided to take some Instagram snaps inspired by the question: “What if guys did the stuff girls do?” Read more…
Think the rise of consoles and mobile devices means it’s game over for old-school tabletop gaming? Think again.
The digital revolution hasn’t killed board games, role-playing games and other offline diversions. Instead, new technologies are rewriting the rules of hobby-game publishing and production—and raking in some serious cash.
We’re not talking Monopoly money here, either. ICv2, a site dedicated to hobby gaming (defined as titles sold primarily via the hobby channel of game and card specialty stores), reports that shoppers in the U.S. and Canada spent $700 million on hobby games in 2013, up 20 percent year-over-year and almost double the totals of 2008. The collectible-games category (properties like Magic: The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh!) leads the charge, with 2013 retail sales of $450 million; miniatures (including Warhammer 40,000 and Hordes) are nextat $125 million, followed by board games at $75 million, card and dice games at $35 million and role-playing games at $15 million.
“I wouldn’t call anything ‘recession-proof,’ but the hobby-gaming market tends to hold its own during difficult financial times,” says Adrian Swartout, CEO of Gen Con, North America’s largest annual tabletop gaming convention. “When you don’t have a lot of money, taking the family out to a movie is not possible. It’s way too expensive. But playing a board game around the family table is a low-cost way to interact.”
Swartout has a front-row seat for the hobby-gaming renaissance. Gen Con 2014, held in August at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, encompassed more than 14,000 individually ticketed events, including around-the-clock gaming tournaments at nearby hotels. Weekend attendance fell just shy of 185,000, outpacing Gen Con 2013 by 14 percent and signaling the event’s fourth consecutive year of more than 10 percent growth.
Swartout credits hobby gaming’s evolution to the increasing diversification of its core audience. “It’s changed a lot over the last four or five years,” she says. “It’s still heavily male, but it used to be about 90 percent male—now it’s less than 70 percent. We’re seeing more young females, and we’re also seeing older people getting married, having kids and bringing their families to the show.”
Tabletop gaming offers a welcome respite from the demands of the digital world, says Robert T. Carty Jr., vice president of sales and marketing at Mayfair Games, a Skokie, Ill.-based publisher with more than 100 titles in print, including the long-running Settlers of Catan multiplayer board game series.
“Technology is around us all the time. We’re always dealing with e-mail or cell phones or computers,” Carty says. “With board games, it’s an hour or two hours when you’re not plugged in, and you don’t have to answer e-mail. There’s a lot of allure there.”
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