Smile for What it’s Worth

Don’t underestimate the value of a smile. Literally.

A study of recent MBA graduates found that optimistic people get hired more quickly than their less-optimistic peers. Plus happy workers were more likely to get promoted.

Whether at work or in your personal life, wouldn’t you rather deal with happy people than unhappy people? The notion is quite universal. Even pessimists prefer optimists.

Vicky Oliver’s latest book, “The Millionaire’s Handbook”

“Being happy on the job improves your reputation,” says author Vicky Oliver. “Optimism also makes you more resilient, able to adapt to new situations, and solve problems faster. Happy employees get better feedback from bosses and peers. And they enjoy more job satisfaction because work doesn’t feel boring, difficult, or unpleasant.”

Oliver, an image consultant in Manhattan, is the author of five bestselling books on personal branding, etiquette, and career development, including her latest, “The Millionaire’s Handbook: How to Look and Act Like a Millionaire Even If You’re Not.”

In this video, another happiness professional, Gretchen Rubin, gives advice on how she, and you, can find contentment in everyday life.

Here are four tips from Oliver on how to put on a happy face at work and smile all the way to the bank:

1. Wear your “rose colored glasses” to work. For every disappointment, find a lesson. Try to see a positive aspect in situations that don’t turn out the way you intend. For example, maybe you didn’t get the job, but you got your foot in the door at the company, making it easier to go back next time. Maybe you didn’t talk to the most important person at the cocktail party, but you talked to the second most important person.

2. Pepper your language with upbeat words and phrases. Words have a powerful, subliminal effect on others’ moods and impressions. Bosses and coworkers love dealing with pleasant, positive people. It’s easy to jazz up routine exchanges by adding words that convey a happy mood and upbeat energy. So, “I’d be delighted to” is much better than “Sure.”

3. Give yourself a daily pep talk. Write down 10 statements you’d tell your best friend if she suffered a career setback. For example, “You did the best you could,” or “Mistakes are great ways to learn.” When you don’t get the praise you deserve from an irascible boss, tell yourself, “That’s his problem, not mine.”

4. If you feel a complaint coming on, zip it. Complaining makes you feel worse, and it makes others around you feel worse too. Just as happiness is contagious, so is negativity. If you can’t figure out a way to say something constructive about a problem or challenge, then keep quiet. People who act positive are perceived as being positive.

Despite what you’re feeling, in the end just acting cheerful in the face of challenges will do great things for your career and professional reputation.

 

Mark Cafferty on Career Talk Radio

Mark Cafferty has been the president and CEO of the San Diego regional Economic Development Corporation (EDC) for a little over a year. Before that Cafferty spent nearly six years at San Diego Workforce Partnership, working his way up to president and CEO.

Cafferty has plans to improve and expand the way the EDC strives to establish more jobs in San Diego. Since taking his position at the EDC, Cafferty has been paying special attention to companies like Qualcomm, focusing on growing jobs in the area rather than moving pre-existing jobs here.

A recent study produced by Cafferty and the EDC, regarding Qualcomm’s overwhelming economic presence in the region, is intended to serves as a guideline for creating homegrown jobs in San Diego, like Qualcomm did. Rather than focus of the EDC being “to attract high-wage companies to the region from around the world,” as stated in the EDC’s mission statement, Cafferty hopes to expand that mission to include the generation of new local jobs as well.

Hear Cafferty discuss his most recent work at the EDC and give advice for job seekers in San Diego on the upcoming episode of Career Talk Radio. Click here to listen live Thursday June 13 at 10:30 am.

Check out this video of Cafferty talking about San Diego’s job summoning potential.

For other episodes of Career Talk Radio, visit the Career Channel at uctv.tv/careers.

Would you Like a Certificate with that Wine?

San Diego has become the craft brew capital of the state with over 50 licensed breweries in the county, which is more than twice the number in the second highest county, Los Angeles. And it doesn’t stop there, 33 more licenses have been issued since that data was collected in 2011.

As San Diego’s craft beer business is brewing,  new opportunities are created for beer lovers, beer brewers, and entrepreneurs alike. UC San Diego Extension offers a way to make beer your business and pleasure with the new brewing certificate.

Do you try to keep your alcohol consumption classy? If you prefer wine over beer, then SDSU has the certificate for you.

Even before Jesus turned water into wine, wine has been a favored beverage among bacchanalian partiers and lonely, single women alike. 2,000 years later, wine is still increasingly popular in the United States.

According to Time Magazine, the U.S. now comprises the biggest chunk of the global wine market, drinking 13 percent of the world’s wine.

With successful books and award winning movies like “Sideways,” the story of two men’s week-long road trip to the Santa Barbara wine country, the culture of wine making is becoming mainstream. As the love of this potent potable is more widespread now than ever, there is certainly a need for more workers in the U.S. wine industry.

If you’re looking to make the transition from wino to sommelier, SDSU offers the Professional Certificate in the Business of Wine program through its College of Extended Studies that has helped numerous students find jobs in the wine industry.

Eddie Zavestoski was just out of college when he decided to be adventuresome and take the SDSU Business of Wine certificate program. Little did he know that it would lead to him becoming a tasting room sales lead in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, where he attributes his career to the extended studies wine program.

“The certificate program instructors work in the business and are very knowledgeable,” Zavestoski said. “They are very willing to answer questions. They make sure everything is clear.”

Some of the Business of Wine students have taken the program for pleasure, but then had it lead to a profitable career in the industry.

“Many of my students have gone on to start their own business,” says the aptly named instructor Lisa Redwine, the second woman in San Diego County to become an advanced sommelier, which is the second-highest distinction possible by the Court of Sommeliers.

The comprehensive certificate courses are geared for professionals and entrepreneurs in the wine, food, and hospitality fields who want to quickly expand their knowledge of wine topics. The certificate is directed to restaurant owners and staff, winery employees, event planners, distribution and retail sales employees, wine bar owners and staff, anyone interested in moving into wine or hospitality careers, and wine enthusiasts who desire a professional-level education.

“Employers in the wine industry prefer to interview job candidates who possess a solid understanding of the basics within their field,” said Joe Shapiro, dean of SDSU’s College of Extended Studies.

For more information, visit www.neverstoplearning.net/wine.

America’s Top Career Coach to Speak at June 8 UC San Diego Career Boost Camp

By Henry DeVries

Understanding your personal brand is the key to boosting your career, according to America’s top career coach, who is coming to UC San Diego on June 8 to speak at the second annual Career Boost Camp, part of the fifth annual Alumni Weekend, June 6-9.

“Your career identity is not some slick piece of advertising,” says best-selling career author Robin Ryan.  “Your career identity is based on the authentic, talented, and genuinely unique and special person you are. It is not phony and conceited, or an exaggeration, nor is it a trick or fleeting fad.”

Ryan is the keynote speaker at the Career Boost Camp sponsored by the UC San Diego Alumni and Extension at 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, June 8 at the UC San Diego Rady School of Management. Registration is $25 per person and open to the general community. Your registration includes breakfast and a raffle ticket for career help books, workshops and Extension classes (http://alumni.ucsd.edu/careerboost). Parking is free.

CBS Radio says “Robin Ryan is the leading job search expert in America today.” Ryan has appeared on “Oprah,” “Dr. Phil” and more than 1,500 other TV and radio shows. She is the best-selling author of seven books including “What to Do with the Rest of Your Life,” “Over 40 & You’re Hired,” “Winning Cover Letters” and “60 Seconds & You’re Hired!”

Ryan has a successful national career-counseling practice providing individual career coaching, resume writing services, interview preparation and salary negotiation consulting to clients nationwide. A dynamic national speaker, Ryan frequently teaches audiences how to improve their lives and obtain greater success. She has been featured on NBC News, PBS, CNN, NPR and in the Wall Street Journal and USA Today.

“I recommend you give yourself a gift if you care about career advancement,” says Ryan. “No matter what stage you are at in your career  —  the beginning, middle, or senior level, or if you are changing careers or reinventing yourself — you need to give yourself a game plan for your future. Then you will know how to self-promote and market yourself successfully to become the very best you can be.”

The program begins with Ryan’s talk based on her book “60 Seconds & You’re Hired!” The event is also great for networking. A panel of entrepreneurs and UC San Diego alumni will share their career identities and journeys to building successful businesses. Alumni scheduled to appear are: Kalman Chodakiewitz, co-founder and CEO of Cuttle.com; Giola Messinger, founder and CEO of LinkedObjects Inc.; Drew Spaventa, a member of the founding team at ecoATM; and Lisa Gordon, small business ambassador for the City of San Diego.

Finding a Sustainable Career

Sustainability is about the preservation of resources today in order to meet current needs and the needs of future generations, or in other words “the capacity to endure.” For businesses, sustainability means respecting the environment while maintaining commercial success. Individuals with a passion for green initiatives often seek jobs in sustainability but do not know where to start.  Often times, sustainability roles are created by an individual already working with an organization, as they work towards implementing various sustainable initiatives.

Last month at UC San Diego Extension’s Career Week, Bob Gilleskie,  Andrea Cook, and Erin Koch, local sustainability executives and UC San Diego Extension program advisors/instructors, outlined various paths to becoming a professional in sustainability. Some of the helpful tips discussed included to.

• Get connected. Most jobs are found through family, friends, and existing professional acquaintances. Go to networking mixers, join professional associations, and attend industry events.
• Volunteer. Ask to volunteer with an organization that you want to work with or get experience through the many nonprofit, conservation, or environmental organizations that need volunteers and/or board members.
• Find a mentor. Your mentor could be someone in a particular job you would like to have or a seasoned sustainability professional. Ask educated questions about their journey and advice on how to achieve your short term and long term goals.
• Refine your resume. Make sure your resume and cover letters are accurate, up to date, and without errors.  Also, revise your resume and cover letter so it speaks to each individual company’s values and their current priorities.
• Do your homework. Investigate and ask yourself necessary questions before applying to a job or attempting to create a sustainability role. What is the organizations approach to sustainability? Do your skills match their needs?
• Write it out. If writing is one of your strengths, start a blog about a topic in sustainability that you are interested in, and get your name out there.
• Learn. Get continuing education. Learn sustainability fundamentals and keep up-to-date on emerging trends.
• Take initiative. Start sustainability initiatives in your current workplace and document them.  If your company leaders see the value of what you implement, they may create a sustainability role for you to keep it going.
• Make a match. Many companies are becoming more socially responsible. You can incorporate your previous experience into a role involving sustainability. Enter a company you want to work for in a “normal” job and then find a way to incorporate sustainable practices into your particular role.
• Be patient. Although sustainability is viewed as a good thing, not all companies are open to incorporating sustainable practices into their operations. It may take a few positions to get to where you want to be, but your effort and time will be worth the wait.

All in all, there’s no golden ticket to landing a sustainability job.  It’s a balanced, multi-pronged approach just as in any job search in any industry. The world of work has changed and individuals need to assume full responsibility for managing their own portfolio of knowledge, experience, interests and skills.

If you’re looking for guidance in your job search or need help identifying your next steps, UC San Diego Extension’s Life/Work Center can be a useful resource. Quarterly workshops and career coaching are available by appointment.

To gain a solid foundation in sustainability principles and applications in today’s business world, the Sustainable Business Practices certificate will provide you with the skills necessary to become a sustainability professional. Learn more at extension.ucsd.edu/sustainable.

 

Science Fiction Novelists Present Free Lecture on “The Literary Imagination”

Science fiction novelists Jonathan Lethem and Kim Stanley Robinson will present a free evening of conversation between authors on “The Literary Imagination” at 7 pm Tuesday, May 14 at the UC San Diego Price Center Ballroom.

In honor of the grand opening of the Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination, these two authors will discuss their use of imagination in literary works, like the imagined future setting of Clarke’s “2001: A Space Odyssey.” This discussion is part of a weeklong series of inaugural events highlighting the collaboration of different disciplines, from neuroscience to literature, in the study of the imagination within the Arthur C. Clarke Center.

Lethem is a novelist, essayist, and short story writer who has melded the genres of science fiction and detective fiction with his first book in 1994, “Gun, with Occasional Music.” He then published three science fiction novels (“Amnesia Moon,” “As She Climbed Across the Table,” and “Girl in Landscape”) before writing “Motherless Brooklyn,” which garnered mainstream success.

Of all his characters, Lethem claims to identify most with the protagonist of this novel. “Motherless Brooklyn” went on to win numerous awards, including the Nation Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction and the Macallan Gold Dagger for Crime Fiction. His 2003 book, “The Fortress of Solitude,” was a “New York Times” Best Seller and published in fifteen different languages.

Lethem has been praised for not only his blending of genres but for his eagerness to blend literary and popular writing. When asked about his genre mixing, Lethem referred to the way his father’s art “always combined observed and imagined reality on the same canvas, very naturally, very un-self-consciously.” In 2005, Lethem received a MacArthur fellowship.

Robinson, a UC San Diego Alumnus (BA, PhD), is a science fiction writer most famous for his “Mars” trilogy. “Red Mars,” “Green Mars,” and “Blue Mars,” tell the story of the settlement of Mars. With each book, a color transition reflects the changes Mars undergoes in order to become a thriving populated planet.  Robinson’s works frequently explore ecological and sociological themes, such as in his novel “Antarctica,” which was published two years after he went to the pristine frozen continent on assignment from the US National Science Foundation. In 2008, “Time Magazine” declared Robinson a “Hero of the Environment.”

“The Literary Imagination” is free and open to the public, with no tickets or reservations required. For those arriving by car, park at the Gilman Parking Structure. Parking is $4  after 4:30 pm. For more information on this and other Arthur C. Clarke Center events, visit imagination.ucsd.edu.

Exporting Your English Skills

Teaching English abroad has become just as common as studying abroad, offering an opportunity of adventure, particularly popular amongst recent college grads, before settling into the corporate world.

Why has interest in teaching English abroad recently spiked? Half the world’s population is expected to be speaking English by 2015. English is a first language for 400 million people and a fluent second for 300 million to 500 million more.

Cultural and economic reasons have thrust English upon the world stage as the new lingua franca, a common business language used for communications by people who do not share a mother tongue.

If you have ever considered living overseas and earning money at the same time by teaching English, the College of Extended Studies at SDSU and UCSD Extension offer programs that may be a perfect fit for you.

The 130-hour Teaching English as a Second Language/Teaching English as a Foreign Language certificate program is offered through the American Language Institute, a division of SDSU’s Extended Studies. The program prepares novice instructors to live and teach English overseas.

A recent graduate of SDSU’s TESL/TEFL program in Saudi Arabia

SDSU Extended Studies is an approved provider for this and many other “education to career” funding programs through San Diego Workforce Partnership, Military Spouse, and Veterans benefits.

More than 150 graduates of the SDSU program have been employed in nearly 40 countries with the help of the American Language Institute’s job placement assistance program, which combines a solid teaching foundation with hands-on practical classroom experience.

“Traveling and living overseas has been a valuable and meaningful rite of passage for generations of Americans,” said Van Hillier, assistant director of the American Language Institute and course instructor. “Facilitating the process for those interested in such an adventure has been very rewarding.”

Hillier received his undergraduate degree at UCSD and his master’s at Rutgers University. He has been teaching since 1983 and has taught English at SDSU and Harvard as well as overseas in Saudi Arabia and Switzerland. He has also taught English as a foreign language in the U.S., Korea, Jordan, Japan, and Mexico.

In addition, UC San Diego Extension’s professional certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) trains teachers to use teaching methods and special techniques to rapidly increase their students’ proficiency and fluency. This certificate provides in-depth study and training in best practices and methodology for teaching English learners.

“The major goals are to provide training which results in highly advanced knowledge and skills in explaining the English language at every level: elementary, secondary, university, and adult, around the world,” says Roxanne Nuhaily, director of the English Language Institute and International Student Services at UC San Diego Extension.

Passion in the Public Sector

The last few years have proven difficult for the public sector. Falling public employment has been among the largest contributors to lingering unemployment in the United States since the end of the 2008 recession.

Tight budgets have forced a number of difficult decisions on policymakers and nonprofit leaders who have been forced to lay off public service workers in order to meet their monetary constraints. Although salaries often trailed the private sector, in the past the public service sector was able to attract talented employees with the promises of job stability, great benefits, and opportunities for advancement.

Recently, a study titled, the “Inspiring Excellence in the Future of Public Service” from The Centre for Organization Effectiveness, was conducted in alliance with UC San Diego Extension to uncover what brought people into the public sector in the first place and what’s changed in the landscape of serving the public.

This is the sector broadly defined as government (all levels), nonprofits, non-government organizations (NGOs), international development and education. More than 200 individual interviews and focus groups were conducted within more than 30 organizations representing state, county, and city agencies as well as municipalities and universities throughout California. Participants in the study ranged from graduate students to seasoned and retired public sector employees at all levels.

The Centre for Organization Effectiveness study reports that despite the economic challenges, workers are still attracted to public service. But, because job security and stability are not the draw they once were, study participants believe future public service employees will choose the field for other reasons.

For years, employees joined public service to make a difference and improve communities and in turn received job stability and benefits. A new generation of recent and mid-level college graduates are still choosing careers in public service because of a desire to do public good even though much of that job stability is diminishing.

The report noted there is a sense of idealism and a strong desire to contribute something significant and make an impact. Many public sector employees work in fields where they provide health care, maintain state and local infrastructure, provide protective services, and help educate the next generation of workers.

The majority of participants chose the public service career path because they felt compelled to serve people, their communities, and those in need of representation. Those drawn to public service were motivated by an overwhelming need to give back, to work for the greater good, and to make a difference with the work they do.

For a recap of the research, visit http://tcfoe.com/pdf/ResearchSummaryFinal.pdf

Choose a Company with Employee Development

How important is a company’s dedication to employee development when choosing your career path? Although such training may not be in the fore front of your career decision making, consider the effect employee development may have on your overall job satisfaction.

Two decades of private industry and academic research, summarized in 2010 by Tim Lohrentz of the National Network of Sector Partners, confirms that employee development can improve employer bottom-line profitability by increasing revenues and lowering expenses.

Many employers are skeptical about investing in employee development. Why not, reason many executives, just hire employees with the strengths to fill the jobs? That is a common miscalculation.

The measurements come from a variety of methods including surveys, questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, tests, observation and performance records. A review of the employee development literature reveals the links to profitability in the following five main ways:

• Increased ability to take advantage of innovation

• Increased levels of employee engagement

• Reduced rate of employee absenteeism

• Increased quality of work or service

• Increased productivity

Employee development can also make you a happier employee. In 2008, HR World magazine reported on a study conducted by Spherion Atlantic Enterprises LLC, a staffing firm, in which 6 out of 10 respondents who received development or mentoring said they were very likely to remain with their current employer for the next five years.

Independent research by a local employer of 21,000 confirms the national trends.

“At Qualcomm, we’ve conducted two separate metrics studies of employees who worked with our internal career coaches to align their development with natural talents, interests, and motivators,” says Ed Hidalgo, senior director of staffing at Qualcomm and chairman of the Workforce Investment board of the San Diego Workforce Partnership. “We were excited to find a positive impact on employee engagement and statistically significant increases in performance across two review periods, when these employees were compared against a control group.”

The Conference Board reported that in a survey of 500 CEOs, 98 percent reported at least one business benefit from workplace development. One-third reported a reduction in absenteeism and another 40 percent said that employee development led to increased employee retention.

Hidalgo adds: “The Gallup organization, for example, has gathered some pretty compelling metrics that Qualcomm has taken notice of: higher productivity, higher profitability, higher customer service scores, lower absenteeism, better safely records, etc. in its studies of 32,000 business units that focused on employee development that is ‘strengths-based.’”

Bottom line: companies that thrive do not solely rely on the strengths employees arrive with in today’s competitive business world.

A Few Words on the Future of Libraries

By Henry DeVries

San Diego City Librarian Deborah Barrow is busy with final preparations for a new downtown central library to open this summer, but she’s not too busy to ponder the future role of libraries.

In today’s digital age when most Americans have access to plentiful information on the Internet, it is not uncommon to hear questions about the evolution of and vision for public libraries. Far from fearing obsolescence, Barrow has a clear view of the future—libraries will always be in the business of connecting people with information.

“Libraries are centers of knowledge, and knowledge does not get old,” says Barrow, who leads a system with thirty-five branch libraries visited by more than six million patrons annually and served by nearly four hundred employees. “Knowledge will always be there to be grasped by anyone who wants it and we are one of the conduits to help them.”

Throughout history, libraries have served as a treasury, a protected storehouse of important books and documents. In 1455, Johann Gutenberg unveiled his printing press to the world, ushering in a printing revolution that saw over five hundred thousand books put into circulation before the year 1500. Private libraries were needed to house those precious manuscripts.

“In medieval times, books were valuable possessions far too expensive for most people to own,” says Thomas Frey, executive director of the DaVinci Institute. “As a result, libraries often turned into a collection of lecterns with books chained to them. We have transitioned from a time where information was scarce and precious to today where information is vast and readily available, and, in many cases, free.”

Libraries are undergoing change in the age of Amazon.com, iPhone, and Wikipedia. With the vast amount of information available in the world today, some have likened searching for answers in the digital age to trying to take a sip of water from a wide open fire hydrant.

“According to a recent PEW Research Center study, 91 percent of Americans sixteen or older say public libraries are important to their communities,” says Barrow. “We are the place where free information is available, where there are tools available to find it, and where people are there to help navigate the search.”

A great library is also a setting to allow people to work collectively, hold meetings, and foster community-building conversations—quite the opposite of the stereotypical librarian running around shushing people to be quiet. “For example, students are being encouraged to study and do projects together,” says Barrow. “Now you need to be able to talk at the library; otherwise, how are you going to communicate your ideas about the project you are working on together?”

Designed to that end, the new library is a nine-story building of flexible spaces with diverse and accessible public amenities. Bay-view terraces, roof gardens and a public reading room reflect and celebrate San Diego’s natural beauty and temperate climate. The library’s open spaces are designed to invite patrons to explore exhibits or relax with new-found reading material. Unique features include a flexible special events room on the ninth floor, a state-of-the-art auditorium, and a beautiful reading room under the signature lattice dome—creating a distinct and extraordinary facility.

The plan allows the library to fulfill its crucial role as the heart of the branch system. There is plentiful space to deliver children’s and adult programs, provide disabled access, offer technology and web-based services, and answer reference questions from throughout the region.

“At the new library, we will provide digital access and plan to have as many as four hundred computers available for people to use,” says Barrow. “But the library is something beyond the books and materials. There’s a cultural and social value to the library. It’s a place people go to gather.”

The 492,495 square foot central library includes an outdoor plaza and café, 350-seat auditorium, three-story domed reading room, 400-seat multi-purpose room, teen center, 10,244 square foot children’s library, technology center, and two levels of underground parking.

Barrow is a firm believer that libraries change lives. A San Diego native whose father worked at the Navy base on North Island and mother worked at the UC San Diego library, she has fond memories of her time spent in libraries while growing up. Her love of learning led her to a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Scripps College and a master’s degree in library science from the University of Southern California.

“I have had so many people come to me and tell me how the library has made a difference for them,” says Barrow. “One of our city engineers said to me, ‘I am so happy to be working on the new library project. When I came to San Diego and didn’t have a computer to look for a job, the way I sent my resumes out was through the library computer.’ This is someone I consider to be in a high level city job who is telling me about this experience.”

In recognition of the continuing importance of libraries, donors have stepped up to support the project. Thanks to the leadership of the Library Foun­dation’s Mel Katz, Judith C. Harris, and Katie Sullivan, the Library Foundation has become a model for public-private partnerships by raising more than $65 million from private and corporate donors for the new central library.