FlexJobs Contest Whats your favorite book - FlexJobs

FlexJobs Contest Whats your favorite book - FlexJobs Contest Whats your favorite book -10Its time for our weekly contest Whats your favorite book? To enterThe favorite book contest is over. Check out our latest contest hereWhats your favorite book? This is a fairly common job einstellungsgesprch question and even though it seems innocent enough, having a good answer is important. If you were asked this question during a job interview, what would your answer be? What is your favorite book?In the comments below, answer this question Whats your favorite book?Comments are approved by a real, live, human moderator, so please be patient. You wont see your comment right away, but we know its there and well approve it quick as can be.THE PRIZEOne randomly chosen commenter will win a free one-month membership to with access to over 10,800 jobs from 3,300 companiesDEADLINE TO ENTERFriday, August 3rd at 3pm Eastern TimeREQUIRED TO ENTERYour first name, at leastYour e-mail address (this will be kept private)A respectful answer to this weeks question (if your answer is off-topic, it wont be approved)A maximum of one entry per personHOW WE PICK A WINNERWinner is chosen by random drawing and announced onFacebookon Friday after 1pm ESTYoull be notified by email if you win (so make sure you leave a valid email address in the comments below)

The First Jobs of Execs at Lyft, Deloitte, Facebook More

The First Jobs of Execs at Lyft, Deloitte, Facebook MoreThe First Jobs of Execs at Lyft, Deloitte, Facebook More I welches 15 years old. I had just gotten my drivers permit and I welches itching to make my own money so that I could do what I wanted. You know, a little spending cash to go to the movies, buy cute clothes at Forever21, and grab a bite to eat with friends. So I decided to start working retail at GAP as a salesperson. My first job welches fun, though not without some long days. To this day, I can still fold a perfect pair of jeans.At Glassdoor, we interview executives and influencers every week. At the end of almost every interview, we ask What welches your very first job and what did you learn from it? After letting out a flashback-induced laugh, interviewees reveal a surprising first job story. For example, SpaceX and Teslas founder Elon Musk revealed his first adult job was cleaning out the grain silos on my cousins farm in Saskatchewan.Here are t he surprising first jobs of executives and influencers at Lyft, Deloitte, Facebook and more. Remember, its about not where you start, but its where you finish.Lynsi Snyder, CEO of In-N-Out You probably think it was at In-N-Out, and in fact, when I was 17, I was hired at the store in Redding, California, where my first job was leafing the lettuce. But before that, I got my actual first job, which was as a receptionist in a dentists office. I did the billing by hand on a typewriter, scheduled appointments and greeted patients. The dentist was a good friend of my fathers and remains a close friend to my mother and me even today. It was a special experience - so much fun because I was surrounded by great people and I loved the work, and it taught me how important it is to have a good team. When I started at In-N-Out, I took orders, served food to customers and learned to properly wrap a Double-Double, which is harder than you might think. The experience was priceless - I learned the importance of attention to detail and providing customers the product and overall experience theyve paid for.Emily Nishi, Chief People Officer of Lyft My first job was an internship at a Westin Hotel in their HR department. I saw firsthand how companies deliver great service to customers by ensuring their operations and organization function really well behind the scenes. Everything had to work together - from recruiting folks with a love for service, to how new hires were trained, to how tightly back operations were managed - even to how service areas were set-up. Witnessing what it takes to run the laundry room efficiently blew me away Many years later, its stuck with me how important it is to be focused on being customer-centric whether it be external customers or internal ones, like co-workers. I think its a great challenge to try and provide the best possible experience for everyone you work withBrian Halligan, CEO of HubSpot I was a paperboy - I delivered the Boston Even ing Globe (which no longer exists).Tony Delmercado, COO at Hawke Media My first job was at a local golf course that I begged to work at for more than a year, nearly every week. I was really young (12 or 13) and was mostly tasked with raking sand traps and keeping the drinking water coolers around the course full and cold. As I worked there longer, I learned the value of getting up early, showing up on time, listening, doing what you say youre going to do and doing it well, working hard, and being reliable. Because of this, I ended up getting an opportunity to mow lawns, roll greens, change pin placements, and more. I was able to learn more about the actual course maintenance, types of grass and weeds, etc., which led to me start the lawn care company that paid for my college education. The most memorable moment was riding in the back of a gator that my friend/co-worker Tim drove into a pond left of the second fairwayRhonda Joy McLean-Craig, Associate General Counsel of Time Inc. & Author of The Little Black Book of Success Workbook Laws of Leadership for Black Women My first job (after babysitting) was serving as the secretary in our small-town funeral home, answering calls and giving out price lists for funeral home services. I was ten years old and made 50 cents an hour. It was a great job as I learned to listen to what was not being said and to offer comfort as well as information, even at such an early age. I have had many other jobs clerk I a five and dime store, selling parakeets, goldfish and making keys, teaching piano (I had to stop as I was a senior in high school and was not so patient with the young students smiles). Every job I have held taught me important lessons that I have applied throughout my career as an educator, administrator, classical musician, government and corporate attorney and law professor. Our positions (no matter what they are) can teach us many helpful skills to help us move fwd.Anne Wojcicki, CEO & Founder of 23andMe Gr owing up, one of my friends family owned a luggage shop and I often had the opportunity to help out in their store. I know a lot about luggage and pensCathy Engelbert, CEO of Deloitte I worked in a pediatricians office in high school and college but Deloitte was my first job out of college in 1986. Our scale, depth, and breadth, which I mentioned earlier, has given me so many opportunities to reinvent my path and stay constantly challenged over the last 30-plus years. Ive had multiple careers within Deloitte.Maxine Williams, Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Facebook My first job was cleaning the laundry rooms at my college. When people were upstairs sleeping on Sunday morning because theyd had some big wonderful party the night before, I was down there doing like 7 am shifts picking up their dirty underwear theyd dropped on the ground and cleaning lint from the laundry room. It taught me that hard work gets you where you need to be. You do what you need to do to get where y ou need to get to.Asher Raphael , Co-CEO of Power Home Remodeling I bagged groceries, worked for a painter, and waited tables. Those were my first three non-real corporate America jobs. What I learned from those is that I really enjoy people, but that I wanted my work to make a difference in peoples lives. But Power Home Remodeling was my first full-time job out of college. Ive never written a resume. I got an interview through my brother. I got the job and I thought it was going to be a pit stop. I thought I was going to go to law school. That was almost 15 years ago now.

Four Factors That Drive Up Performance in Leaders and Employees

Four Factors That Drive Up Performance in Leaders and EmployeesFour Factors That Drive Up Performance in Leaders and EmployeesWhat differentiates extraordinary performers from everyone else goes deeper than simply better performance. Its a shock to some people to learn that high-performance factors seldom have to do with superior talents or skills, and have much more to do with the simple act of making choices. Its about being focused and working with the intention of creating results that benefit the stakeholders in any given situation, creating value through accomplishments. There are four main factors that set extraordinary employees- and leaders- apart. Courage to Think Outside the Box This may seem incredibly counter-intuitive, but top performers are the ones who seem to act bravely, making choices that others dont make. They try things without knowing whether or bedrngnis theyll work. They often refuse to play it safe. It takes a willingness to let go of what used to work w hat has always worked and everything that made you successful up to this point. It means acting with an attitude that says, I dont know what works, but lets find out. Mark Twain once said, I knew a man who picked a cat up by the tail. He learned 40 percent more about cats than the man who didnt. Sometimes we have to pick the cat up by the tail. You may get scratched up, but youll gain information that will set you on the right path to success. Relentless Improvement Tiger Woods was the top professional golfer when this piece was written. He was at the top of his game, and was touted as one of the best of all time. Now, consider this Tiger Woods had a coach. That fact alone should be enough to make the point that you should never consider yourself to be as good as youre going to be. Inside every top performer is a better performer waiting to get out. Tiger Woods wanted to become a better golfer, so he hired a coach. Every company gives lip service to the idea of constant improvem ent. Every company will agree that to stay competitive they must be better tomorrow than they are today. Many people will bedrngnis rise to this expectation so when someone does, they stand out. For top performing individuals, relentless improvement is part of what they do every day. We all constantly talk about thinking outside the box. Thats fine, and you most certainly should think outside the box. But another approach is to first reimagine the box youre already in, making it better. There is nothing wrong with returning to and mastering the basics before demanding more from yourself or your organization. Always Planning for the Unexpected Leaders thrive on the unexpected. Its the essence of grace to perform well when under pressure. They research, forecast, and consider every contingency. These individuals are completely at ease with the reality that something totally unexpected will happen. This is the key to moving forward versus being frozen with uncertainty, embracing th e unknown. It used to be that the way to succeed was to make the right choice. To succeed today means making the right choice and then making the next right choice quickly enough. Regardless of whats going on in your world right now, get ready to switch gears. You may think you understand the situation, but the situation is in a state of constant flux. Top performers accept that stuff happens. You must always factor in that however carefully you plan your work and work your plan, the unexpected will inevitably rear its ugly head and throw a wrench into your carefully constructed scenario. The beginning step in creating opportunity from change is to always expect the change. Whatever happens may not be what you wanted, but it truly is normal. Respond accordingly. Aspire to Show Off Showing off, despite the negative connotations, can sometimes be a good thing. Showing off is a mindset. The true show-offs in any organization are often the quiet ones. It does not mean being boistero us about achievements, but being unafraid to tout what youve accomplished. Theyre the ones that perform with consistency and even a certain sense of style. Theyre like the old saying about the duck Above the surface, be calm and elegant. Below the surface, paddle like crazy. The Bottom Line When I ask executives and managers to rate desired attributes in employees, almost invariably consistency of performance, performing under pressure, and delivering results are the top three. Its about choosing how we come to each and every situation, challenge, and opportunity in our work and in our lives. Joe Callaway is a coach at Next Success, an organization that facilitates retreats and career coaching.