How to Give an Honest Back-Channel Reference - The Muse

How to Give an Honest Back-Channel Reference - The MuseHow to Give an Honest Back-Channel Reference Its a small, small world in professional circles. That can be great for you as you prove yourself and work your way up. It can also turn your work life into a horror movie sequel as the villain, Toxic Boss or Colleague Who Makes You spielblttchen Up All the Slack, strikes again. But the bottom line is that youre likely to encounter some people more than once throughout your career- whether theyre your former office buddy you cant wait to be cubicle neighbors with again, the worst boss youve ever had, or that really nice colleague who just couldnt get their act together. And some of these people might apply for a job at your current company. Or they might apply elsewhere and a friend, recruiter, or hiring manager doing their research might reach out to ask for a back-channel reference. So, what do you do? What to DoIf it Was a Toxic Personality ThingIf a former co-worker you didnt love is applying to a job at your current company, the first thing to ask yourself is whether youd feel comfortable working with this rolle again, says Muse Career Coach Yolanda Owens. If it was a toxic boss or a cruel colleague and the answers something along the lines of under no circumstances or that would be my worst nightmare? Then Owens says sing like Patti LaBelle. A toxic rolle could completely change cultural dynamic, she explains. I think I would feel kind of a moral responsibility and self-care responsibility to say something about that, she adds, whether or not someone explicitly asked for your feedback. Be honest, but professional. The safest bet is to approach the recruiter, if your company has one, she says. But if youve been at the company for a while, established a solid reputation, and built a strong relationship with the hiring manager, you might consider approaching them directly. If you have to be the whistleblower, Muse Career Coach Leto Papadopoulos says, the fruch twein professional and helpful way to relay such feedback is to give actual examples. Owens agrees, emphasizing that you should be strategic about your examples. If you talk about how this persons behavior affected not only you, but also other colleagues, its less likely to come off as a personal vendetta. And if you are asked directly by someone at your own company or elsewhere, definitely dont lie and say that persons great, Papadopoulos says. Because if they come in and behave terribly, in the end I will look bad, and its going to hurt my current company or that of the friend asking. Try Phrases LikeI understand youre interviewing person. I know you didnt explicitly ask for my feedback. But I do feel its important to give a little feedback from my experience with that person for their candidacy. These are some behaviors/patterns/red flags I noticed that I think you should be aware of Person may not be a good fit for this organization.I have to tell you, I know this person, I know their work. Heres what happened Im afraid they might not be the right fit.I would be very disappointed if this ended up happening here. This is great place to work.What to DoIf it Was a Performance IssueIts not just huge jerks that might give you pause. You mightve worked with someone who was super nice, funny, or pleasant to be around, but they just never met their deadlines or always turned in sloppy work or made tons of mistakes. If the issue was related to performance, Papadopoulos and Owens say the situation is less dire. Remember that people can grow and improve, especially if its been years since you last worked with them. You probably dont need to volunteer information about past performance issues. But if someone asks you explicitly, especially within your own company or a close friend, it might be worth saying something, Papadopoulos says. But be as soft as possible. Give the person an opportunity.Try Phrases LikeI did work with this person before. There were some perform ance issues but its completely possible that theyve worked on it. Heres what was going on when I worked with themThis was a great person. However, I did notice a few patterns with this individual in terms ofI dont want you to just base it on my word but might suggest adding questions that would address this kind of issue for this candidate and future candidates.What to DoNo Matter WhatBe ProfessionalNo matter how horrible an experience you had with a former co-worker, remember that how you talk about them and how you articulate your feedback reflects on you. You dont want to become known as the tattletale or the gossiper, or be seen as immature or unprofessional. And remember that its not about getting retribution or vengeance, Owens says. The important thing is, again, making sure the person is making an informed decision.Take Time to Prepare Your FeedbackFirst and foremost, I wouldnt answer the question immediately, Owens says. If someone reaches out to you, acknowledge that you r eceived their request and let them know youll get back to them in a day or two. Take some time to get over any initial impulse or emotional reaction you might have and prepare a thoughtful answer. Ask Yourself How Much You Know and Trust the Person Youre Talking ToThe difficult truth is that if the co-worker in question is someone whos both very awful and very powerful, and word gets back to them, it might hurt you. Or if your feedback is otherwise repeated in a less professional way or without context, it could affect your own reputation. I would hope if it was my own workplace, they wouldnt throw me under bus for it, Papadopoulos says. The same goes for a close friend working at another organization. But it gets trickier when you dont know the person asking well, or at all. Before you say anything, ask yourself how much you trust them. You can always opt to say very little, such as, This isnt someone I could recommend, and leave it at that. You might also decide to decline to spea k about your former co-worker entirely. Id be really wary of sharing that kind of detail with someone dont know or trust, Owens says, because you cant be sure they wont use your name later. In that case, you can just say, I wouldnt be comfortable speaking about that person but I appreciate you reaching out.Plan to Speak in Person, or at Least on the Phone, and Off the RecordEven if youve decided you trust someone enough to give some honest feedback, both Papadopoulos and Owens caution against putting anything in writing. In other words, dont do this over email. The best approach would be to have a conversation in person. Ask the recruiter or hiring manager if you can schedule 15 minutes to sit down one on one. Or, if youre not in the same office, set up a phone call. Owens also suggests explicitly saying you want the information youre sharing to stay just between you. You can tell them, Im happy to share as long as this is completely off the record.No one wants to face a revival of their worst workplace experience (with original cast members). And no one wants to hire someone who will end up bringing down the morale of a team or company. So it can be crucial to both sides that you pass on some honest feedback about people youve worked with in the past. Youve just got to be careful how you do it. So read this, rehearse, and take a deep breath before you do.

Sustainable Manufacturing Interview with Nancy Diaz

Sustainable Manufacturing Interview with Nancy Diaz Sustainable Manufacturing Interview with Nancy Diaz Sustainable Manufacturing Interview with Nancy DiazBy Katie McKinstry, Graduate Student Researcher, University of California at BerkeleyAt the University of California at Berkeley, we are studying sustainable manufacturing at many levels. We consider sustainability at the enterprise level, to the factory scale, all the way down to a specific process. In an bewerberinterview with PhD student Nancy Diaz at the University of California at Berkeley, she talks about her experience researching factories that specialize in machining.Tell us about the evolution of your sustainable manufacturing research? When I first started, I worked on the process level. I was interested in machining, production equipment, and how we can make them more sustainable. I found that one element had elend been considered energy. There was a lot of effort put into characterizing process, but not the equipment a s a whole. As I was working on this, I saw that they did not work independently. I found that timing is a big piece of the puzzle, which is why I expanded my scope to include the factory level. It is within process planning where we can have the biggest impact on energy, and process planning includes machine tool scheduling.What can manufacturers do to address their energy use and environmental impact?I am looking at energy from the perspective of a manufacturing facility, and not a product designer. But interestingly, many of the decisions that affect energy, like how the product has to be made, are determined upfront by the designer. There may be common steps, such as making a metal piece. There are many different types of equipment that can perform that operation and provide the saatkorn function but differ in terms of environmental impact.One can look at factory scheduling, such as turning production on and off, or deciding where products get routed. Production facilities can be organized by processes or by product line. Scheduling is particularly interesting in factories that have multiple machining centers. Before, process planners did not take into account energy consumption of machine tools. This field has just developed within the past few years. Now we know we can rank the environmental impact of machine equipment and turn off some of the worst performers some of the time. Looking at equipment, many times, factories will have a broader plant perspective, and may already be measuring overall energy and resource consumption. But they do not know, within the factory walls, which machine is consuming what. So it can help to characterize different parts of the facilities. You can measure in real time, with watt meters, for example, and get real time data, energy in particular.What are some low-hanging fruit opportunities for manufacturers to reduce their energy and environmental footprint? It depends on the customer. Machine tool manufacturers want to kno w how products they are making function, which can highlight areas to save resources. Also the degree to which a manufacturer is ready to implement improvements affects their options. If they are not already taking measurements then that would be the first place to start.For small to medium manufacturing companies, some quick and easy things to begin with include regenerierung chips from machining and, coolant recycling, either onsite or offsite. This can lead to a substantial savings because you will save on the cost of disposing hazardous waste. That is actually a really easy one, and a lot of manufacturers dont realize how easy it is.You do not necessarily have to upgrade to the newest and greatest piece of equipment. You can use more sophisticated tools, such as coated tools or different materials that allow you to implement high speed machining. This can save on processing time as well as, save money on overtime. Also, I recommend having a good relationship with your cutting to ol supplier, as they can have great advice on cutting tool paths. Companies like Sandvik and Kennemetal have great customer support to help reduce tool path. Unfortunately, a lot of people just use default settings, however, you can realize significant long-term cost savings by investing in better, and sometimes more expensive, tools up front while setting up efficient tool paths.Describe a case study of improvements you have made in the factory? A while ago I was working with at a factory of a major machine tool manufacturer. At first, they thought they were out of solutions for making lighting more efficient. But in my study, I expanded the scope of where they looked for lighting solutions. We found a quick fix that resulted in a 50% saving in lighting energy consumption. Also, compressed air presents another opportunity for savings. Companies may be overwhelmed by size of compressed air piping, but they should know that areas like maintenance are important. 30% can be lost if com pressed air is not properly maintained, so a device to detect leakage will pay for itself instantly.There are resources that manufacturers can take advantage of when looking to make improvements the Department of Energy and the Energy Information Administration have excellent information. Their websites are great place to start in determining how you can improve your manufacturing site and also familiarizing yourself with life cycle assessment.Within process planning, the biggest impact was machine tool scheduling. How did you decide that? I looked at it from the perspective of a manufacturing facility and not a product designer. Product designers can dictate what type of features to have on its product and the material extraction piece is something that is also significant. But since that is dictated by the product designer, a manufacturing facility has the job of figuring out how to actually make it.So, for example, making a metal part, maybe it will involve something like casting the initial workpiece, milling or turning, heat treatment, possibly grinding as a finishing process. Those are just basic steps to manufacturing a metal piece. And, because there are so many different types of pieces of production equipment, milling in particular, for example, they all provide these same functions, but in terms of their environmental impact, they are all very different. As a facility, you can at least choose to schedule your machine tools accordingly. Scheduling would involve turning on and off machine tools. Now, a manufacturing facility will probably have only one piece of equipment that allows for casting, but a lot of machine tools on their floor.Learn more about advanced manufacturing concepts at the 2013 ASME Congress featuring the latest cutting-edge engineering research and innovation.

The most successful people are big readers

The most successful people are big readersThe most successful people are big readersAll successful people I know have one thing in common they never stop learning.Thats why so manyCEOs, thought leaders, and politicians read so frequently. Theres a limit to how much time, money, and effort people are able to dedicate to mora formal education. Reading voraciously and as part of a dedicated personal routine is the keystone of lifelong personal development.And a big part of that learning is about yourself. Im a student of writing and of words. Personally, reading helps me understand who I am, how I should approach my writing, and what I want to focus my attention on outside of my literary ambitions.But that, of course, is not readings only benefit.Reading benefits the mind because it helps you stay balanced and sharpThe most successful people are both scientists and artists - they utilize both the left and right brain.As such, they actively nurture both those sides, which they oftentime s do through reading.One example is always reading both fiction and nonfiction. Thats advice I give regularly immerse yourself in the worlds and adventures of James Clavell, but educate yourself with biographies and intelligent opinions - such as Dwight Eisenhowers account of World War II, which is what Im reading now.This is something many, many successful business leaders do, as it supports a healthy, mora holistically capable lifestyle.Reading instills discipline and an appreciation for growthReading doesnt just strengthen or nurture both parts of our brain, though - it strengthens more intangible skills, too.Namely, reading regularly makes people more disciplined and engenders an appreciation for learning and growth.Why, exactly? Well, people who make the decision to read every day are actively deciding to engage, improve, and sometimes challenge their brains instead of doing more passive activities, like playing video games or binge-watching Netflix.Thats why some of our most effective presidents, for example, have made reading a personal priority. When President Obama was in office, he gave an interview in which he disclosed how books were a sustaining source of ideas and inspiration during his tenure. They helped focus him midst the maelstrom of 24-hour cable news cycles, constant social media flurries, and compromised attention spans that gripped the country at the time. They also gave him a renewed appreciation for the complexities and ambiguities of the human condition.And thats exactly what reading does. Its why we binnensee so many leaders in all the different verticals of human activity invest in their own reading.Reading benefits your businessTheres one brde benefit that most people dont associate with reading, and thats the manner in which it can actively benefit your professional life.For one thing, reading encourages curiosity. And people who are curious are, more often than not, high achievers. Understanding this, you yourself can use readi ng to become more curious and acquire more knowledge.But you can also use that awareness to hone your hiring practices. At BookBaby, when were hiring a potentially key individual, Ill always ask candidates, What are you reading right now? or, What have you read in the last six months? The reason is, I know reading behavior to be an apt barometer in measuring a persons level of curiosity, discipline, and zeal for learning - and curious, disciplined people who are hungry to learn are the sort I want in my company.I dont particularly care what candidates are reading. I just want to see that they are.Its also true, however, that reading helps people improve as communicatorsAs a student of writing, I admire great communication, and as the CEO of a publishing company, I see it as something of a requirement. Writers who communicate effectively for his or her audience help readers do the same in their own life.At the end of the day, reading bears a variety of tangible benefits - regarding both the mind and the soul - and simple awareness of this fact is the most obvious reason successful people prioritize it as a means of professional and personal development.Put simply, reading - in addition to being plain fun - makes people better. And thats why the best of us do it so often.Spatz is a writer, marketer and President of BookBaby, a leading self-publishing company (www.bookbaby.com).This article was originally published on Medium.com.