Recent business research has focused not on problem solving skills but on problem finding skills.  Having problem finding skills means finding problems before they become major hindrances to a business.

How does one become a problem finder?  It’s about more than just a set of skills, but a whole different outlook, one that takes curiosity as its starting point, a willingness to ask questions and to learn more both about what you do know and what you don’t know.

Problem finding requires an active mind, one that is never satisfied with conventional answers, one that is always looking at things in a new way.  It is a mind that is always willing to question, no matter what level of expertise a person has attained.  And it is a mind that never just defers to authority.  These are tendencies that go against the psychological grain in many ways.  Research has shown that people are unwilling to part with their existing beliefs.  But in order to have a problem-finding mentality, you must be willing to do just that — to look at things in a new way and always question your beliefs and assumptions.

A problem finder is always looking to learn new things in order to get a new perspective on what he or she already knows.  Problem finders are never satisfied with the status quo, but are always looking for new ideas and experiences.  It is this learning new things that keeps the mind sharp, able to see problems develop.  Indeed, research has shown that when the mind encounters new images it becomes more stimulated than by familiar ones.

Problem finders also look at the big picture.  They recognize that any problem is never an isolated event but often part of a larger, systemic condition that gave rise to it.  They look at the more basic organizational situation that may have led to the conditions that allowed such a problem to occur.  Problem finders dig beneath the surface and look at hidden connections and deeper meanings.

And problem finders also have a healthy sense of paranoia.  They realize that in any organization problems exist, and that this is not a problem in itself.  They know that these problems are not always readily apparent, but are there nonetheless.  So, they know they are fallible as well, and know they need to watch themselves and their organizations, to stay alert, and to understand that finding problems is an ongoing activity.

RealStreet Staffing is committed to helping you in your job search within the construction, engineering or architecture sectors in the Washington Metro area. Contact us today!

The market for online learning –  where users go at their own pace and on their own schedule — has been growing constantly, led by the corporate sector, one of the top users of online training.  Small- and medium-size businesses also are using online training much more than in the past.

According to a recent report on Web-based learning, the corporate sector will continue to be the leading buyer of Web-based training programs.  The education sector is expected to be the second biggest buyer of online educational programs.

The market for online learning has passed $17 billion and is expected to continue growing at more than seven percent a year, according to a recent report. There has been growth in online learning in all groups, including corporations; healthcare; non-profits; federal, state and local governments; school and colleges; and consumers.

The healthcare industry is expected to expand the most in online learning, with education, both scholastic and collegiate, second in line.  Healthcare has been relatively immune to the pressures of the recession, according to the report’s authors, which accounts for its continued expansion in the online learning area.

Online learning is now second in demand to classroom learning for acquiring skills and knowledge.  The use of the Web has become more common for purposes of personal development and as a reference source.

Online learning has become a widely-used companion to classroom learning.  But when people needed to find information quickly to meet a business deadline, they rated Web-based learning as the best place to go.  Classroom learning finished second in people’s ratings for finding knowledge quickly.  Web-based learning has become such a key component for business training because people can use it for immediate results when researching or referencing something.

When looking at the different types of training programs available – both classroom and Web-based – people valued depth of knowledge the highest, followed by how fast the knowledge could be accessed.  Below these priorities, learners looked for the amount of interaction with the instructor and other learners.

The combination of both classroom and Internet learning seemed to work best because it enabled people to get the knowledge background they needed to help them with their training program and also to learn particular pieces of knowledge when they needed to.

Have you recently upgraded your construction, engineering or architectural skills via an online learning program? If so, be sure to add it to your résumé and then bring your résumé to a recruiter at RealStreet Staffing. We have many terrific temporary, temp-to-hire and direct-hire positions available with the Washington Metro area’s top firms. We look forward to hearing from you.

Taking on a new career path is more prevalent now than in the past.  Different reasons have been given for this – the rise technology, the pace of change.  The days when someone spent their entire career at one company or in one job are certainly becoming less common.

People change jobs for many reasons.  But the most common reasons probably will come as no surprise – people change jobs out of boredom, for more money, to move to a better location, because of a conflict with a supervisor, for better benefits, from not feeling appreciated, not having a sense of purpose, and because of a layoff.

A lot of people have named boredom as one of the main reasons for having left a job.  By boredom, they mean more than just feeling listless now and then, but an overall feeling of dissatisfaction with the job that affects their performance.

That money is a prime reason for changing jobs or careers probably comes as little surprise to most people.  Everyone would like to earn more money.  If people feel that they are not being compensated fairly, they are much more likely to look elsewhere for employment.

Job location is another big factor in determining where people want to work.  People seldom enjoy making a long commute to work and constantly fighting rush hour traffic, all of which affects your mood at work and overall quality of life.

Conflict with supervisors is often a reason for leaving, and it’s much more common than many people realize.  If you are working under a boss who does not communicate well or often, or who tries to manage every little detail of your job, or who gives you little control in decision making, you soon may feel there are better places to work.

With the rising cost of healthcare, factors such as job benefits play an important role in where a person might work.  Some employers offer better benefit packages to employees, while some pass off more of the costs onto workers.

Some people look for new careers simply because they don’t feel fulfilled working in their current job.  They are looking for a sense of purpose in their work – feeling that what they are doing is significant and important, that they are making a real contribution.
Many people also switch careers because they feel that they are being taken for granted in their current job.  They work hard, perform well, but receive little in the way of praise or feedback.  This leads to a loss of motivation.

Unlike the other reasons for a career change, people have little control over a layoff.  But many take the opportunity to explore new career options or even return to school to train for something new.

Since work is such a big part of life, it should be more than just about getting a paycheck, but should be something that is enjoyable and fulfilling as well.

If you’re looking to change jobs or even careers and you live in the Washington Metro area, RealStreet Staffing may be able to help. If you have a background in construction, engineering or architecture, those skills may be transferable to another business sector. Bring your résumé to us and let’s talk!

With the new year just begun, many people may have made a career resolution or two: “This year, I’ll get at least a five percent raise.” “This year, I’ll go to my boss before June and ask for a promotion.”

And, while these certainly can be worthwhile plans, resolutions of any type too often  fall by the wayside come Feb. 1.

Instead, why not put together a career plan for 2011? A plan is a bit different than a resolution in that it involves the creation of steps that will get you to your goal, whatever that goal may be.

So here are some steps you can take to follow through on any goal you make for you career in 2011.

• First of all, you’ll need to come up with a goal. You’ll also need to make this goal (or goals), very specific. For example, instead of saying “I’m going to find a great new job,” say, “My goal in 2011 is to find a new job with a company that offers more flexibility and will give me at least a 10 percent raise.”
• If you have more than one career goal for this year, you’re going to have to prioritize them, otherwise it’s too easy to lose focus and accomplish nothing. You rank your goals in priority as well as sequential order. Citing the goal above, for example, in order to get that 10 percent raise, you may have to get certified in another skill, so your first goal would be to “obtain certification” followed by getting that new job.
• Goals can feel overwhelmingly large, so it’s best to break them down into steps, or tasks. Need to get that certification? Well, this week you can have the goal of researching programs. Next week your goal could be to contact the programs that interest you for more information. And the following week your goal could be to enroll, etc.
• You’re going to have to figure out what you’re going to have to give up in order to get your goal. After all, there’s only so much time in a day. If you’re adding something to your to-do list, you’re going to have to remove something else. Looking at the certification goal, above, can you give up watching two hours of TV a night? Could you give up your bi-weekly karate lessons? Can you give up the latte at Starbucks every day on your way to work in order to pay for the certification course? And so on.
• Understand that you will encounter setbacks. Anticipate them as best you can, but don’t give up when they smack you in the face. Aim not to look at any obstacles you encounter as “failures.” Instead, think of them as an opportunity to learn and to change course, if necessary. It’s a cliché, but it’s nonetheless: you only fail if you quit.
• Document your successes. Celebrate and reward yourself for achieving them. If you record your progress you can look over your journal and see that you’re moving forward. This can come in very handy if you meet a roadblock that’s taking you a bit of time to move around.
• Finally, once you achieve a goal, immediately set another goal (if you haven’t already). Humans need something to look forward to, something to achieve. Enjoy your success and them move on to fulfilling your next career goal.

If a professional goal of yours in 2011 is finding another job, contact one of the recruiters at RealStreet Staffing. We have established strong relationships with many of Washington Metro’s top construction, architecture and engineering firms. Take a look at our open positions and apply today!

Online career networks such as LinkedIn and even Facebook and Twitter have been career lifesavers for many professionals, allowing them to showcase their backgrounds, skills and education and how they can help a new employer.

But many professionals have made mistakes online, sometimes to their career’s detriment.

Here are some tips to help you keep your online presence mistake-free:

1) Always remember that these are professional networks. Always present yourself as professionally as possible. Don’t call anyone on the carpet, or an idiot or a fool. Never, ever post a message with a profanity or off-color joke. If you wouldn’t want it said in front of your grandparents, spouse or friends, you certainly wouldn’t want a current, future or even past employer or colleague to read it. So simply keep it out.

2) Don’t tweak or fudge your work and educational history online. It’s very easy for former employers and colleagues to find your online profile and, if they see something they know is untrue or considerably exaggerated, it’s very easy for them to “out” you — in front of the whole world! This could be a real career killer. Just don’t do it!

3) On LinkedIn, if you want to “connect” with a former colleague, you’ll need to ask permission. Do so respectfully — you can’t assume that just because you carpooled to work together for two years five years ago that you can be chummy right off the bat. This goes even more so if you’d like to connect with someone outside of your current network. When you ask someone for connection, explain why — and make sure you have a legitimate, professional reason to do so.

In fact, if there’s someone in your connection’s connections to whom you’d like to be introduced, be sure to ask for permission first. This not only is polite and professional, but your connection may take it upon herself to contact her connection on your behalf, singing your praises. Once you’ve made your introduction to the new connection, be sure to tell your current connection of the results.

4) Keep the whines away. If a connection you approached doesn’t reciprocate, don’t call or e-mail continuously asking why. One additional e-mail or phone call to check to see if the person received your e-mail/phone request is all you should do. Otherwise you come across as needy and immature — not very professional!

5) Look at LinkedIn and other networking sites as virtual networking meetings. When you attend live networking/business events you conduct yourself in a very professional manner, don’t you? Do the same online.

Link your way in to a great Washington Metro position with some of DC’s best companies by contacting RealStreet Staffing. We can help place you in some of the best construction, architecture and engineering firms in the region. We look forward to hearing from you.

If you’re currently employed and — lucky you! — have been offered another position — in this economy! — you now have some thinking to do.

Taking the new job may not be an automatic no-brainer. Here are some tips to help you decide if you should stay where you are now or if you should take the new position.

First of all, consider why you applied for the position in the first place. Is your current commute too long and adversely affecting the quality of your personal life. Are you being paid below-market wages? Is there little room for advancement?

If the new position is much closer to home, if you’re receiving a good pay increase and/or if the new job entails a promotion or the opportunity to face new challenges and opportunities (additional skills, etc.), it probably is a good idea to take the offer.

However, and this is important, whenever you leave one position for another, you should be doing so because you’re running to something, not running  from something. If your boss is a jerk, if your co-workers stink, if you’ve discovered the job isn’t a good fit, do not take the first job opportunity that comes along. If you do, you’re trying to escape a bad situation and  you could be running yourself directly into another. Instead, if your current job really is hell on earth, you still should take your time and wait until a truly good opportunity for you comes along.

As you weigh whether or not to accept a new job, here are some things to ask yourself:

• Does the job offer more interesting and challenging work?
• What’s the company culture like? Do you think you’ll be comfortable working there? (For example, the new position will have you working in a cubicle in a large room, but you’re used to having your own office. Will you be able to function in a room that undoubtedly will have more noise and interruptions?
• How much is your total compensation? Is it about the same as your salary now, but are you going from two weeks paid vacation a year to four (and is that important to you)?
• Will the new job be a promotion?
• What is the reputation of the company in your industry? Will having this company as part of your resume be helpful? Do you even care?
• Will the new position give you continuous opportunities to learn new skills?
• How long will your commute be? If you’ll need to move, will the salary allow you to live comfortably in the new city? (Many cost-of-living calculators on the Internet can help you answer that question.)
• How well did you and your potential new boss hit it off? Naturally, you both were on your best behavior during your interviews, but take a deep breath and really think back on your interactions. Look for clues as to how your boss really works. For example, he may have mentioned he hates it when his crew come in late by even just five minutes without calling. Could this be a sign of a micro-manager, or is he someone who just really wants people to be on time because customers/clients start calling at 8 a.m. sharp and it’s important that his team be there to serve them? Think on this type of information and trust your gut.)

You can trust RealStreet Staffing to help you find your next great opportunity at some of Washington DC’s best construction, engineering and architecture firms. When you’re looking for a new opportunity, we want to hear from you.

If having more control over where and for whom you work appeals to you, if the idea of having many different workplace experiences and duties pleases you, if the chance to make more money per hour than you would working as a “permanent” employee intrigues you, work as a contract employee may be right for you.

Many employers today hire contract and/or free-lance workers during peaks in their production schedules, or during crunch times.  They use the contract workers only when they need to, letting them go — by mutual agreement — when production slows down and/or the crunch time eases up.

In fact, more and more employers are looking to contract workers as a big part of their regular business strategy; as our information and “just in time” economy kicks back into gear, many businesses may permanently run with just a “core” number of full-time employees, hiring contractor and free-lancers only when necessary.

Many companies pay contractors on a different pay scale than the one they use to pay regular employees. Contract workers often receive an hourly pay rate much higher than salaried employees because the employer doesn’t need to cover a contract worker’s health insurance, time off, unemployment insurance, etc.

Another terrific benefit of contract work is the flexibility if offers. If you don’t want to work for a certain company, doing a certain task between certain dates, you don’t have to. If you finish one position, you can arrange for your next position to start when you want it to — you can take a vacation knowing you’ll have work when you return. If you want to take an entire month between contracts, you can.

You’ll also have the opportunity to work on assignments and for people that interest you — and not work on assignments that don’t. You’ll have little chance of becoming bored on the job due to the fact that you’ll constantly be working on new projects in new settings.

If you’re looking for contract positions with some of Washington Metro’s best construction, architecture and engineering firms, contact RealStreet Staffing. We can help you find your next contract assignment — or help you find a regular, full-time position.

Have you put your profile on the professional networking site LinkedIn? That is, did you put up your name, a few of your past employers/positions, asked to link with a few former and current co-workers and then left it at that?

If so, you haven’t really used its power.

Here’s a short primer on the importance of using LinkedIn as you build a professional network and how to do so

As you create your profile, be sure to keep your accomplishments and work history honest. You’ll never know who will read your profile, see that you’re lying and out you, possibly on LinkedIn itself, for the world to see! Bad for your career.

LinkedIn allows you to upload your e-mail system’s address book to contact those people within it. Do so and ask to link to those who are already LinkedIn members.

Expand your connections by reaching out to others in your network (either through your e-mail history or people you know of) and ask them to connect to you.

Recommendations are key to creating goodwill. Make recommendations for as many people as you can. Chances are many of them will return the favor (and if they don’t automatically, you can e-mail them with a polite request to do so). Recommendations are wonderful because the recommendation given to you shows up in your recommender’s profile, thus expanding your network.

How LinkedIn Can Help You Create a Terrific Career

The more connections you have, the more likely you’ll be found in LinkedIn searches by folks who want to hire you or form a business partnership with you. Since people like to hire people they know (or who are known by other people they know), many connections helps you become known exponentially by more people.

Many companies use LinkedIn to perform preliminary reference checks. You can do the same, checking out potential hiring managers and companies before you apply for a position or head to an employment interview.

You should join a few LinkedIn groups that interest you.  You can ask questions of the group and receive quick responses from other industry professionals — which you may then parlay into LinkedIn connections, thus expanding your network ever more.

You also should try LinkedIn Answers, which allows you to ask business-related questions. Since LinkedIn is a network of professionals, you’re more likely to get thoughtful, accurate answers from a wide range of people in a wide range of industries, which you can then — again — add to your LinkedIn connections.

More and more business people and hiring managers go to LinkedIn first when they are searching for candidates. Build a great LinkedIn profile, coupled with several recommendations as well as dozens of connections, and don’t be surprised if hiring managers, headhunters and business owners contact you about jobs without you ever having to send in an application or resume.

Use RealStreet Staffing, as well as LinkedIn, to help you find a terrific position quickly in Washington Metro construction, architecture and engineering companies. We look forward to hearing from you.

Let’s say you currently have a terrific job, with great pay, with a wonderful boss and fun coworkers. You’re not looking for work and you don’t plan to in the foreseeable future.

So the idea of keeping your resume updated hasn’t occurred to you in a long while — since you started at this wonderful job with the terrific boss and great coworkers.

But it should.

You always should keep your resume current because things do happen. Your terrific boss could leave, landing you with a boss from Hades. Salary freezes could take place, leaving you with a paycheck holding steady while your responsibilities increase. And your wonderful co-workers? Laid off next week, leaving you wondering if you’ll be next.

But aside from the fact that your terrific job could become a) awful in no time or b) leave you awfully quickly, you should continuously update your resume for two good reasons:

1) You won’t forget your accomplishments
and
2) It will be ready to go should a great opportunity pop up its happy head waving Hello!

It’s simple human nature; we do something wonderful (bring in the big client, streamline data processing, build a new website, etc.) and then promptly forget about it. Oh, we remember it, but did the XYZ Account come in in February or was it April? Did I stay late all week finishing up the Smith Project before or after spring break?

You get the picture.

Instead, after every major accomplishment, after every promotion, after every new skill learned, update your resume.

Because (bringing us to Reason 2) it never fails: you’re contacted by a headhunter about a terrific opportunity, or your friend tells you about a great opening at her company that’s just perfect for you. But instead of being able to pounce on these great opportunities, you spend days — if not weeks — updating and crafting your resume.

Instead, update it as the accolades and accomplishments happen.

Terrific jobs do happen here at RealStreet Staffing. Our Washington Metro staffing firm has many temporary, temp-to-hire and direct placement opportunities for those who are prepared to come get them. We look forward to hearing from you.

Never stop networking. Even if you’re currently job searching or you have a position that you believe will be there for you until the day you decide to retire, networking is a wonderful tool to improve your live professionally and personally, no matter what your present circumstances might be.

The primary reason to network is because it gives you the opportunity to meet new people. The more people you know — and the more who know you — the better your chance of using that network when you need it, whether you need a new job or the name of a great dentist.

Most people get the best jobs from people they know. Even if you’re not looking for work now, you may be looking for work sometime in the future. If you have a wide network, you’ll have even more people who can refer you for job openings, to hiring managers, to people who may know people who know people who are hiring, etc.

This is the era of continual learning. Skills become outdated quickly and need to be improved constantly. Meeting others in or out of your profession keeps you on your toes and allows you to learn things you never knew you didn’t know — and needed to learn. Learning goes both ways, of course; don’t be shy about sharing your knowledge with others, too.

Continually networking means people will continually know you exist. When they need a terrific building/coding specialist — or when a friendly firm in another city needs one and mentions it to one of your contacts — you easily could receive a call about a new opportunity, one that will move your career forward even if you’re happy where you are now.

We know the right people at RealStreet Staffing. We know hiring managers at some of the Washington DC area’s best construction, architecture and engineering firms. When you’re looking for a new opportunity, we want to hear from you.