Francesca McLin - The Balance

Francesca McLin - The BalanceFrancesca McLin - The Balance

Four Tips for Becoming a Trailblazer at Your First Job

Four Tips for Becoming a Trailblazer at Your First Job Four Tips for Becoming a Trailblazer at Your First Job For four (maybe five okay, six?) years, youve dreamed of walking across the stage at graduation, mom and dad snapping pictures, a diploma fresh in hand that tiny piece of paper telling the world youve been stamped for approval by the Academy.And now youve done it. Youre off the stage and onto the next step of adulthood. Within a few months, youll (hopefully) start your first job. Nervous though you may be, youre likely determined to do well.But, we get it. Youre new the real world. Youre bedrngnis entirely sure how to do well. Youve never had a career. No fear Bill Peppler, managing partner at IT and tech staffing agencyKavaliro, has kindly offered his advice on how you can have an impact on your new organization and make your mark from day one.1. Start During the Interview ProcessIf you want to be a trailblazer that is, the kind of new employee who dives headfirst into things and keeps their eye on success at all times youfirst have to find a job that is the right fit for both you and youremployer. If youre introverted and the job requires extensive people-to-people interaction and high energy, youre not setting yourself up to do your best work.During the application and interview process, you have to pay attention to your prospective employers culture and think about whether or not its the right place for you.Some companies may be so set in their ways or so structured and regimented in the way they do business that there wont bethe chance for someone to even be atrailblazer, Peppler says. Its important to be honest about who you are as a person and be receptive to the ethos of the company, if you want to find the best match.2. Know Whats Expected of You Before Day OneIn bestellung to hit the ground running, you have to know whats expected of you and you need a clear sense of what you expect from the company.We ask that you share whats expected on our end, Peppler says. How do we keep up expectation on things like pay structure and benefits when potential reviews might be done during the year.In other words You cant meet expectations if you dont know what they are. Your performance will reflect that andthats not great news if youre trying to become a trailblazer.3. Exceed ExpectationsAfter youve been in the job for a while and have learned how to meet theminimum expectations set forth by the company, you have to then ask what can be done to surpass those expectations.According to Peppler, a trailblazer understands the role, understands what the goals may be, and understands how to supersede those goals. Its that bit about superseding that really matters here. Trailblazers go above and beyond whenever they can.4. CommunicationAs with any job, communication is paramount. This cant be stressed enough A trailblazer establishes a clear avenue of communication from the very beginning.If there is something you see, whats your so lution for it?Peppler says.The assumption is that youll establish a line of communication, and anytime you have an idea, a fresh perspective, or an issue, you wont shy away from bringing it to the table.Ultimately, a trailblazer will do all of these things without being told. And you probably wont have an endless supply of reminders once you enter the workforce.So, consider this your guidebook. Pocket it. Stow it away for later. Relish the fact that you dont really have to do homework anymore youre a graduateBut, when it comes time for the dream interview or your first day of work, give this article another look. Now follow those tips and soon, youll be the kind of trailblazer that others are following.

Science says acting like a baby is a natural painkiller

Science says acting like a baby is a natural painkillerScience says acting like a baby is a natural painkillerMany parents have used the phrase, If youre going to act like a baby, Illtreat you like one, and science suggests that that actually might be the key tokilling pain. They may not be the toughest types of people, but theres evidence that babies might have the best strategies for managing pain and discomfort.Crying, whining, and other audible expressions of anguish not only help babies call for help, but also make people of any age feel better. So if your back hurts, the following studies make a scientific case for being a baby about it.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moraSaying ow is a natural painkillerWhen researchers submerged 56 adults hands in ice water, they found that participants were able to tolerate the pain much longer if they vocalized it. A simple vocal act such as saying ow helps individuals cope with pain. Participants tolerated a noxious stimulus longer when vocalizing than when being silent, study authors wrote inThe Journal of Pain. Scientists suspect that the results arent limited to the word ow or buckets of ice water, but that theres something about a person broadcasting their pain that makes it more tolerable.Making other noises of distress helps, tooAudible sounds might help to reduce pain because in order to make noises people need to use muscles that activate the parasympathetic nervous system. Muscles that raise the lower ribs and help to produce sound might also be instrumental in moderating pain, research suggests. Other studies indicate that deep breathing can also activate these muscles in order to make aches and pains more manageable. Still, its so much more fun to scream.Crying like a baby makes everyone feel even betterLike screaming and yelling, crying has been found to stimulate the nervous system in similar ways, whic h helps people relax. Acting like a baby - by sobbing - comes with added scientific benefits, as well. Crying releases endorphins while helping people to shed harmful stress hormones. Finally, tears lubricate the eyes so people can actually binnensee more clearly when the emotional rain is gone. Women cry aboutfive times morethan men a year,on average, andfor about twice as long, but it might not be because theyre sad guys might just be missing out.Swearing can age this up a littleIf screaming, crying, and saying ow feel too juvenile, dads can achieve similar pain management effects with the help of their favorite expletives. Anotherexperimentdemonstrated that swearing helped people keep their hands submerged in ice water, but not just because they were making noise Scientists suspect that swearing, specifically, made people feel more aggressive, and aggression has been linked with higher pain tolerances. Thats why swearing is a necessary part of stepping on a Lego.Being a baby ma kes people feel taken care ofWhether people opt to scream, cry, or swear, letting people know that theyre in pain is an important primitive response thats meant to signal the need for help. Human beings start doing this as newborns and research shows that how caretakers respond has a direct effect on how their brains develop. As they grow up, such audible signals that theyre hurt might create a conditioned response or a placebo effect that helps soothe pain whether people attend to it or not. So stop suffering in silence and go ahead and act like a baby. At least youll be a happy one.This article originally appeared on Fatherly.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people