Hangry vs. Happy Worker How Food Influences Mood

Hangry vs. Happy Worker How Food Influences Mood The clock change is imminent, we can’t remember summer and the lure of the duvet feels stronger than ever, leaving us with no choice but to search ‘mood boosters’ on Google! Mood is a tricky commodity. A low mood is influenced by so much; often fickle by nature it can come and go or creep up on us unexpectedly as we drag our heels and struggle to get through the day.  Interestingly, all the EU nutrition and health claims submitted for approval around ‘mood boosting foods’ have not been authorised. Maybe this is because it is hard to quantify improved mood or single out a specific nutrient or compound capable of such a tall order. While your diet can not alter that looming deadline or kick that annoying boss into touch, it can enable you to face your working day with more mental and physical resilience. Collectively paying attention to certain dietary components and eating behaviours really can have a positive influence. To support positive mood, mindfulness experts would tell us to count our blessings and live in the moment.  As a nutrition expert I urge you to take a bird’s eye view of your daily diet. Often our perception of our habitual intake is far from accurate. Reactive food choices, long working hours and a lack of time can all take their toll on your nutrition score. Today’s society is in danger of guiding us towards the quick fix rather than the longer term solution, and our default food choices when were under pressure  are often unhealthy.   While  research doesn’t allow me to put forward the miracle mood booster, it can guide us towards the basics we simply must respect and get right (most of the time)! Feed your brain A lack of omega-3 fatty acids in the brain cell walls is associated with a more rapid mental decline, and declining brain functionality isn’t going to cheer anybody up! Many of us arent  great at oily fish consumption and deficiency is common. Omega-3’s also protect heart health and counteract all the nasty inflammation a poor diet can create. Bottle it â€" or rather don’t! A whole host of chemical reactions occur behind the scenes in our bodies â€" too many to fit on a spreadsheet. B vitamins release energy from our food and make the powerful chemical dopamine, which is linked to happiness. Low levels of folate and B12 are associated with low mood and iron is needed for oxygen transport and to fight fatigue. Vitamin D protects our immunity as do selenium and zinc. No one is in a good mood if they’re ill! And then there’s the phytochemicals â€" valuable compounds for both day to day and long term health and vitality. Aside from Vitamin D supplements which are advisable in winter months, trying to patch over a poor diet with an array of supplements simply won’t work. Head past the health food shop to the supermarket where you will find an array of fresh produce â€" the more colour, the more phytochemicals (with the exception of a jammy dodger)! It is the interaction of a variety of healthy foods and the molecules within them that offers you the most advantage so try not to pick the same old thing every time you shop. Balance it out Combinations of wholegrain carbohydrate, healthy protein and plenty of veggie crunch regulate blood glucose (sugar) levels. Undulating hills keep us on an even keel with the avoidance of big peaks and troughs which can make us hangry (hungry ? angry) and plunge us quickly towards the biscuit tin.  Sweeter foods will always seem appealing â€" they do cause insulin release which in turn facilitates the amino acid tryptophan to pass into the brain where it is converted into the feel good hormone serotonin. But wholegrain carbs also do the same thing and carry with them many more performance enhancing nutrients! Here’s your check list for a happy day: Include dark green leafy veg with lunch â€" a limp iceberg leaf doesn’t count! Seek out broccoli, spinach, kale or watercress. Add some zest with an orange as a snack â€" rich in vitamin C to boost iron absorption. Go the whole hog â€" wholemeal pasta, wholemeal pitta, quinoa, brown rice or oatcakes â€" make it whole and not white. Good things come in 3’s â€" boost your oily fish intake where possible. Embrace mackerel salad or salmon stir-fry leftovers. You have my permission to stink out the office! Don’t skip â€" skipping never puts me in a good mood as I always trip over the rope! Don’t skip meals either â€" it’s important to consider your ‘hanger’ management! Snack on small handfuls of brazil nuts, dried apricots or linseeds or use peanut butter to stick ground pieces all together in a ball â€" perfect mood boosters or good to lob at your colleagues if they’re ruining your good mood and best efforts! About the author: Laura Clark is a registered dietitian and sports nutritionist based in London. She is the founder of LEC Nutrition  and is  dedicated to educating, motivating and inspiring people to lead healthy, balanced lives.  For individual bespoke advice or workplace wellness seminars contact  Laura at  www.lecnutrition.co.uk.

Pymetrics The One Tool You Need to Find the Perfect Job - Career Sidekick

Pymetrics The One Tool You Need to Find the Perfect Job - Career Sidekick Pymetrics: The One Tool You Need to Find the Perfect Job Applying for Jobs / https://www.edenscott.com/blog Trying to find the perfect job is stressful. If you choose a well-fitted role, you can set yourself up for an enjoyable and productive work life. However, if you end up in a role you aren’t well suited for, you could end up spending years unfulfilled. To make this important decision, most recruiting processes today rely on GPAs, university brands, and majors. But these are poor predictors of job satisfaction. 30-50% of recruiting efforts fail, meaning new hires were not a great fit for either the candidate nor the company and they leave within the first year on the job. Dr. Frida Polli, a neuroscientist-turned-entrepreneur, set out to help students and job seekers make this decision using innovative gaming andreliable data.How Do Pymetrics Games and Trait Reports Help You Find the Perfect Job?Frida’s vision to improve the job search process was the beginning of pymetrics, a startup using neuroscience-based games to match job candidates to the right employers. After you play 12 short, fast-paced games, pymetrics analyzes over 50 of your cognitive and emotional traits to provide you with a personalized trait report.The Pymetrics trait report highlights where your traits make you unique such as the fact that you’re extremely organized or an amazing multitasker. Then comes the fun part pymetrics takes your unique cognitive trait report and uses their technology to predict the careers that you are best fit for.Play the Games Now:Note: If youre reading this on mobile, you can download the app foriOSorAndroidto start playing.How Do I Measure My Results?We all know that the traits that makes a lawyer successful are very different than the traits that make an airplane pilot successful. This is why there’s no way to do “well” or “poorly” on the pymetrics games; each career has a very different profile.In some jobs, it’s best to have a low attention span and high impulsivity, whereas other careers are better suited for pe ople who are highly attentive and detail oriented. Pymetrics has quantified these differences using decades of neuroscience research with the goal of helping people figure out where they best fit.After completing the games, your customizedtrait reportwill help you visualize and understand your strengths and abilities.What About Finding Jobs to Interview For?Once pymetrics helps you find your best fit career, they can then match you to specific jobs that are looking for people just like you and set you up with jobinterviews. And the best part? People who are recommended through pymetrics are up to 5x more likely to land the job.On top of helping people understand out their best fit career, they hope to use their technology to diversify the career search and hiring processes. As we all know, your major, gender, and ethnicity should not limit what careers you explore. For example, while the majority of entrepreneurs are currently men, we believe anyone can be an entrepreneur. The key i sn’t your demographic information; it’s your combination of emotional, social, and cognitive traits. Using pymetrics can help you understand your best career fits, broaden your perspective, and ultimately improve how satisfied you are with your career.Likethis post?Pin it to save fornext time you need it!

5 Little-Known Factors Could Affect Your Personal Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

5 Little-Known Factors Could Affect Your Personal Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Although its a constant uphill battle to build your brand, destroying or severely damaging it is scarily easy. In that vein, youll want to stay away from the following practices: Appearing Unfocused You might have multiple interests or passions. Think about which is the most important or most developed to focus your brand around. It can be confusing to others for you to be an expert in two or three completely different fields. What about your brand? Can it be expressed in six words or less, be memorable and convey a positive feeling about you?” He also gave examples such as, “What can Brown do for you?” and “Just Do It.” Keeping Your Private Life Completely Separate Gone are the days of keeping business and personal lives separate. You do not want to appear insincere in your efforts. In fact, people will respond and connect with you more if you come off as a real person. So, share stories and experiences with your audience. You’ll be surprised at the deeper connection you will form with each person. Lack of Listening Building a brand requires consistency but it also requires listening to feedback. Do you know what people are saying about your brand? Set up a Google alert to catch new postings mentioning your name, or search Twitter. Genuinely read and listen to praise, criticism and feedback. It can only help you strengthen your brand further! No Back Story Everyone has a back story where they grew up, where they draw inspiration from, why they are passionate about their field, their education, etc. Think about it: the celebrities and well-known people you look up to all have a back story, and you’ve probably heard it a dozen times. Where is President Obama from? How did Bill Gates get his start? These stories are important parts of their brand and allow people to relate to them. What’s yours? You Think Visibility = Strong Brand Don’t jump into social media and blogging before you give yourself time to create a strong personal brand. When creating yours, make certain you ask yourself the following questions: Who are you? What differentiates you from your competition? What do you want to do for the long-term? You can damage your brand by presenting inconsistencies if you don’t consider these important elements of your brand first. Is there anything else you would add? Have you ever been guilty of any of these? Author: Heather R. Huhman is a career expert and founder president of Come Recommended, a career and workplace education and consulting firm specializing in young professionals. She is also the author of#ENTRYLEVELtweet: Taking Your Career from Classroom to Cubicle (2010), national entry-level careers columnist for Examiner.com and blogs about career advice at HeatherHuhman.com.

Suspend Job Search During Holidays No! - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Suspend Job Search During Holidays No! - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career A  question I’m often asked by job seekers is whether or not they should continue a job search during the holiday season. The conventional wisdom seems to be that, during this time of the year, beginning with Thanksgiving Day and running through New Year’s Day, most hiring professionals are so pre-occupied with family celebrations and company/business festivities that it usually is just a waste of time to continue a job search. Don’t you believe it because it isn’t necessarily true! I liken this situation to the stock market. When is a good time to invest in the market? When everybody else is getting out of the market! The same can be true when it comes to a job search: The best time to ramp up  your  job search activity may be when most other job seekers are curtailing, or at least severely limiting,  their  job search activities. While it is certainly true that many hiring company employees take vacation during the holiday season, it is equally true that most of these employees tend to be gatekeepers and others in administrative positions. Typically, those men and women at the higher, executive levels tend to remain at the helm during the holiday season. And, just coincidentally, it is these very same men and women who are usually the hiring decision-makers! It is these same men and women who are  constantly  on the lookout for top-tier talent to add to their companies employee rolls. What can this situation mean for the tenacious, creative job seeker? Let me briefly relate the plot of a classic movie to illustrate this point. Kramer vs. Kramer: A Holiday Job Search on Steroids At least some of you may remember the classic movie  Kramer vs. Kramer  (1979), starring Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep as Ted and Joanna Kramer. On the same day Ted, a hard-charging Manhattan advertising executive, lands the biggest account of his career, Joanna informs him that she is leaving him and their young son. Forced to raise his son alone, Ted soon loses his job because all of his time and energy is, by necessity, focused on raising his son, not on doing his job. Joanna later returns and seeks custody of their son because she contends that Ted, after losing his high-paying job and forced to take a much lower-paying one, is financially unable to properly raise the child. One of the plot segments that has always stuck in my mind focuses on Ted’s frenzied job search, which occurred right in the midst of the holiday season. Everywhere he goes he is met with dismissal and/or rejection because everyone he encounters is in a festive mood, not a hiring mood. Out of frustration, Ted finally crashes a Christmas party at one of the large firms in the city and confronts a senior executive. “Hey, it’s the holidays,” the exasperated executive tells Ted. “Come back after the first of the year.” Hardly dissuaded, Ted continues pressing the executive and insists that he at least take a look at some of his work, samples of which he has with him. The executive is so impressed with Ted’s work that he hires him. Now, I am NOT suggesting that  you  start crashing hiring company parties during the holiday season while on  your  job search! However, it can pay you to take a cue from the tenacity and sheer gutsiness Ted demonstrated during his holiday job search. He knew he had something of significant value to offer an employer and was not going to be put off simply because it wasn’t the “right” time of the year to be searching for a new job. You shouldn’t be either! Most Businesses 365-Days-a-Year Operations Virtually all businesses today, regardless of the market segment or company size, are 365-days-a-year enterprises. And that’s particularly true when it comes to global market leaders. Most simply cannot afford to be anything but that, if they want to stay at the top of the heap (and they do!). That means most companies are continually on the lookout for top-notch talent. The fact that they may discover or encounter such talent during the holiday season quite often is nothing more than just coincidental. So, my advice to job seekers has always been, and continues to be, that they should indeed continue their job search activities during the holiday season. The entire process involved in searching for, and then landing, a new job in today’s still highly competitive job market can prove to be a lengthy one. Taking “time off” from the job search during the holiday season usually results in just one thing: Further increasing the time it can take to ultimately land a great new job. Do take the time to enjoy the holidays with family, friends and business associates, but also make sure you keep your head (and your hand!) in the game by continuing to do the “right” things during your job search, even though (according to some people) it may not be the “right” time to be looking for a new job. ____________________ Going on a job interview soon? Know someone who is?  Download Skips FREE  How to ACE the Job Interview!  publication by clicking  HERE. Learn how to interview the way Superstars do! Be sure to check out  Career Stalled?,  Skips latest book in the Headhunter Hiring Secrets Series of Career Development Management Publications. You can order your copy TODAY by clicking on this link:  Career Stalled? How to Get Your Career Back in HIGH Gear and Land the Job You DeserveYour DREAM Job! Available NOW in paperback and Kindle editions on Amazon.com, at special introductory prices!

How a Top Federal Resume Writing Service Can Help You Get the Best Jobs

How a Top Federal Resume Writing Service Can Help You Get the Best JobsA top federal resume writing service would first and foremost focus on improving your chances of getting a good job. They would review your qualifications and your background, then put together a package that will not only make you more attractive to potential employers, but will also ensure that they know what you will be capable of doing. This is how a top resume writing service can help you get the job of your dreams.The military and national security positions are one of the most common jobs available in the federal government. Unfortunately, these positions are highly competitive. A top federal resume writing service should not only consider your candidacy for the position, but also your previous job experience, skills, education, skills, or training. It should cover all of these aspects in the resume.On top of that, a certain job may require that you go on furlough, meaning that you will work at a reduced sa lary and experience extended hours. Your top federal resume writing service will have these kind of requirements covered. If not, they should know about them and know how to make sure that your requirements are met.After identifying a good furlough program, the next thing a good federal resume writing service will do is add in your key strengths and key qualifications. This would include things like how well you handle organizational tasks, how you are organized, your technical abilities, and even your ability to organize information. You should be able to demonstrate these by examples in the resume.You should be very clear on what your goals are, because once you're writing a resume, your goals change. You need to be aware of these changes, and re-write your resume to reflect these changes. This will ensure that you get the kind of resume that will get you hired and get you on the way to getting that raise that you've been hoping for.A top federal resume writing service should incl ude a sample of a sample resume, so that you can see how it should look. You should be given a number of sample resumes, and you should be allowed to view these samples, so that you can see how they should be formatted. The sample should also have what is considered to be appropriate fonts and formatting.A top federal resume writing service should also make sure that their resumes are sent out on time. This would mean that you have received your resume two weeks before your due date. When this is done, your resume should be checked and double checked for accuracy, and should be used as soon as possible.In the end, a top federal resume writing service can make a tremendous difference. They can help you win the war of getting the best jobs. You need a resume writing service that will provide you with the skills and knowledge to help you land the best jobs.

FM MAGAZINE Surviving a Layoff - Jane Jackson Career

FM MAGAZINE Surviving a Layoff - Jane Jackson Career Interview on surviving a layoff or redundancy in FM Magazine. Read the original article hereNo finance professional wants to experience the sudden loss of a position, but the reality of the modern business landscape is that sometimes layoffs happen. Being laid off can be a traumatic blow, but quick action can help mitigate the fallout.Your success at lessening the impact of a layoff depends on being assertive and resourceful. The first steps you take after being laid off are some of the most crucial, but for many, the shock of dismissal can lead to emotional rather than logical decisions.“I think when you’re getting laid off, a lot of times, it’s like hearing that you have cancer,” said Scott Bishop, CPA/PFS, partner and executive vice-president with STA Wealth Management in Houston and a veteran financial planner who has writtenadvice on surviving a layoff.Here are four tips from experts on how to prevent your layoff from doing professional damage and using it as a chance t o discover new opportunities:Don’t panic.The main thing to remember is not to panic when it comes to surviving a layoff. Give yourself time to breathe and reassess your career. Are you going in the right direction? Where would you like to see yourself in the next two to five years?“Plan your networking and search for opportunities, so you’re not taking the first thing that comes up,” said Jane Jackson,career management coachbased in Sydney and author ofNavigating Career Crossroads. “If you panic, that’s what will happen, but if you do things sensibly and plan, you’re more inclined to make the right decisions going forward.”Another reason to stay calm is to avoid making tactical mistakes. Before signing any sort of severance package, you may want to have someone, possibly an employment lawyer, take a look at it.“The last thing you want is to take a severance package, start applying for jobs, and then three months later, find out you’re in the middle of a lawsuit w ith your prior employer because you violated a noncompete agreement that you didn’t realise you signed during the severance paperwork,” Bishop said.While you’re at it, make sure to confirm any residual pay or benefits from the company that you might be due, including unused paid time off, trailing fees and commissions, and outplacement assistance.Update your personal brand.If you’ve been working at the same job for a long time, you probably haven’t put together a CV in a while, and you may find the rules of the game have changed. Most jobs are applied to online now, and an applicant’s keywords and internet presence are more important than ever.When you craft your CV, it needs to be tailored for each application in order to get past the applicant tracking system, Jackson stressed. The keywords that you include in your CV are very important, because if you don’t tailor your CV and cover letter to the specific jobs to which you’re applying, you’re far less likely to g et a response, she said.To stand out, she said, you must build your personal brand on sites like LinkedIn. She recommended optimising your profile using the right search terms so you can be found, and sharing content about your area of expertise to attract more attention.“I would recommend publishing a video of you talking about something you’re passionate about because that will stay at the top of your LinkedIn profile,” she said. “You should also stay active by commenting and posting relevant articles in your area of expertise, because then you will turn up on the feeds of recruiters or hiring managers who are looking for people like you.”Work to be an expert in your area.When new US tax laws were enacted at the end of 2017, Bishop got to work learning about all the changes and how they were going to impact his clients. He put together webinars and wrote articles so his firm could be a thought leader in that area.“If your company has to cut 20% of the workforce to stay profitable, you don’t want to be part of that 20%,” he said. “You want to be one of the people who would be more painful for them to terminate than to keep on.”Being one of the most valuable people in the office makes it less likely that you will lose your job in the first place, but even if you are let go, attaining more expertise in your field will help attract new opportunities. Take advantage of any continuing professional development that you can in areas that are specifically beneficial to your business and create sharable content online that exhibits your expertise.Expand your network.For 75% to 80% of Jackson’s clients, networking is the way they secured their next role â€" far more than using an online job board.“When you expand your network, it’s important to think about whose sphere of influence you want to be in, and if you’re targeting certain industries or companies, how might you be able to facilitate an introduction?” Jackson said. “Have a chat w ith them, not for a job, but just to find out a little bit more about what’s going on within that business.”Similarly, attending industry events is a good way to expand your network. Make sure you bring business cards and have a prepared pitch so you know what to say when you meet someone. That said, Jackson recommended never saying you’re looking for a job, but rather telling people what your area of expertise is and what you’re passionate about.“Give people the chance to get to know you, like you, and trust you, so down the line, they may reach out to you because they like you and think you would fit the organisation,” she said.Bishop believes professionals should always be networking, and to be successful in surviving a layoff, networking is your new job.“As soon as you’re terminated, it’s your job is to do everything you can to get your name out there to find your next situation,” he said.Hannah Pitstick is a freelance writer based in the US.

What To Do After Your Interview - Jane Jackson Career

What To Do After Your Interview - Jane Jackson Career You walk out of the interview and think, “Whew! I’m glad that’s over!” What do you do next?The key to interview success is preparation, preparation, and preparation. And effective follow up. How many of you follow up after your interview? How many of you simply wait and hope after an interview?When I was working in recruitment, I was amazed at the number of people who failed to create an opportunity to continue to sell themselves effectively by providing a thank you email after their interviews. I expect they simply thought, ‘I did all I could do during the interview, now I can sit back and relax.’ No, no, no! There is more that can be done.Here are three simple steps to follow to ensure you leave the best possible impression after an interview and, potentially, tip the decision in your favour.1. Analyse the Interview   After each interview, write down what transpired. What went right, what went wrong, what was the main focus of the interviewer, what did he/she s eem most impressed with and how suitable you feel you are for the role with the information you gained during the interview process. Think what else can you do to put you a step above the competition and how can you convince them you are the best candidate for the role.2. Send a Thank You email  Take the extra step that many candidates don’t. Craft an effective thank you email to the interviewer as a follow up. Show them that you have the initiative to do something above and beyond the norm. This will demonstrate your attention to detail, provide an effective finishing touch to the interview and give you one more opportunity to sell your qualifications, relevant experience (according to your analysis of the interview.) This will also provide an opportunity to demonstrate your gratitude for being considered and leave a positive impression on the reader.This process of following up also applies at all stages of your job search process. If someone has given you a referral, pr ovided you their time for networking purposes, helped you in any way in the process then you must express your thanks. This can be in the form of a phone call, thank you email or written note â€" whatever is appropriate for the circumstances and works according to your personal style. It’s simple good manners.When to send a Thank You email? It should be sent as soon as possible after the interview.Why should you send a Thank You email? It provides you one more opportunity to create a positive impression.3. What if You are Turned Down for the Job?Don’t burn bridges. Send a thank you email. Let the employer know that you appreciate having been considered for the role and if, in the future, suitable positions arise, you would be delighted to be considered. This will keep channels of communication open â€" their preferred candidate might not make it through the probationary period, you could be their next choice!If you need more guidance, seek the assistance of a career coach w ho will be able to provide a systematic approach to the entire job search process, guide you through that process and keep you on track each step of the way.For more information contact Jane at jane@janejacksoncoach.com or visit www.janejacksoncoach.com