2018 Hiring Outlook Professional Sector

2018 Hiring Outlook Professional Sector2018 Hiring Outlook - Professional Sector*/Read the infographic text.2018 Hiring Outlook Professional SectorRobert Half recruiters across the country reveal what people want in a new role, and how organizations hire and retain their best talent.Job SeekersThe 5 Cs Driving Their DecisionsCompensation Workers are asking more detailed questions about the entire package.Culture Does the firm have a positive work environment?Career Path Is there room to learn and advance?Cost of Living Can workers live comfortably on the starting salary?Commute Workers want flexibility and jobs close to home.EmployersHow They Hire and Keep the Best WorkersCompetitive Pay and PerksEfficient Hiring MethodsFrequent ReviewsEngaging Online PresencePositive Corporate CultureWhats Driving Hiring?CybersecurityMA ActivityIntellectual Property and PatentsRegulatory IssuesThe CloudHealthcareFinancial ServicesFor more information on salaries, visit roberthalf.com/workplace-re search/salary-guides 2017 Robert Half International Inc. An Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/Disability/Veterans.

Project Manager Job Description Sample

Project Manager Job Description SampleProject Manager Job Description SampleProject Manager Job Description SampleThisproject managersample job description can assist in your creating a job application that will attract job candidates who are qualified for the job. Feel free to revise this job description to meet your specific job duties and job requirements.Project Manager Job ResponsibilitiesAccomplishes project objectives by planning and evaluating project activities.Project Manager Job DutiesAccomplishes human resource objectives by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, assigning, scheduling, coaching, counseling, and disciplining employees communicating job expectations planning, monitoring, appraising, and reviewing job contributions planning and reviewing compensation actions enforcing policies and procedures.Achieves operational objectives by contributing information and recommendations to strategic plans and reviews preparing and completing action plans implementing pr oduction, productivity, quality, and customer-service standards resolving problems completing audits identifying trends determining system improvements implementing change.Meets financial objectives by forecasting requirements preparing an annual budget scheduling expenditures analyzing variances initiating corrective actions.Updates job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities reading professional publications maintaining personal networks participating in professional organizations.Enhances department and organization reputation by accepting ownership for accomplishing new and different requests exploring opportunities to add value to job accomplishments.Project Manager Skills and QualificationsDeveloping Budgets, Coaching, Supervision, Staffing, Project Management, Management Proficiency, Process Improvement, Tracking Budget Expenses, Self-Development, Planning, Performance Management, Inventory Control, Verbal CommunicationEmployers Post a job in minutes to reach candidates everywhere. Job Seekers Search Project Manager Jobs and apply on now. Learn MoreHow to Interview Project ManagerRecruiting a New Hire if You Havent Hired in a WhileInterviewing Gaffes and Recruiting DisastersMaintain a Legal Hiring Process

How to Use Twitter in Your Job Search

How to Use Twitter in Your Job SearchHow to Use Twitter in Your Job Search64If youre job searching, you want to make sure youre spending the appropriate amount of time with all the job search tools at your disposal. Social media can be an excellent job search tool because its fast and easy, and it leaves you lots of time to devote to networking, finding job listings, crafting brilliant resumes and cover letters, and preparing to be amazing during the interview. Here are some tips on how to use Twitter in your job search.1) Establish yourself as a knowledge base. You can use Twitter to share information that pertains to your career with your followers nachrichten stories, videos, press releases, interesting op-eds, even cartoons anything that relates to your career or trends in your industry, that demonstrates your ability to find and synthesize information, and that shows your career intelligence is a good thing. You can also use it to link to your LinkedIn account or link to your professional blog if you have one.2) Follow recruiters and hiring managers. Most major companies, and many minor ones have Twitter feeds, and some of them are savvy enough to have a specific Twitter handle for their recruiting or human resources department. Whenever you make a contact through networking or connect with someone on LinkedIn, search for that person on Twitter. By following those that are in the know, youll hear about hiring opportunities faster.3) Follow online job boards. Just like companies, most online job boards (like ) have Twitter feeds. If youre following the applicable Twitter feeds, youll know about jobs as soon as theyre posted, and be able to react quickly.4) Use hashtags () so other people can find your tweets. For example, if you tweet about a recent news story involving a company youd like to work for, you might write it like this Just heard is Green Certified by the Green geschftliches miteinander Bureau what a great place to work Hashtags allow peopl e to search for keywords on Twitter and find all the tweets associated with that keyword, as denoted by a hashtag.5) Follow influencers. Influencers are industry leaders, thought leaders, and people who hold sway on what others know, say, and do. If youve attended conferences, or met people through work who fit these categories, find them and follow them on Twitter. Not only will you learn from them, but you can learn who else follows them, making important connections for your job search.6) Tweet people when the time is right. Just because youve found the the person responsible for filling your dream job on Twitter doesnt mean you should instantly message them and ask for a job. Dont use Twitter to say things like, , I would luv luv luv to work for you guys Employers appreciate the excitement but your Tweet doesnt tell them anything about you, the job you want, or why youre qualified. Instead, wait for the right time either when you see a Tweet about the specific job opening you want, or you read a news story that is absolutely timely and related to the company. And before you Tweet directly to a company or hiring manager, practices getting your perfect Twitter Pitch down thats who you are and why youre the person for the job, in 140 characters or less.The main goals of using Twitter for your job search are to follow people who matter to you, get them to follow you back, get other people to read your Tweets and follow you, and to interact intelligently with these people. Twitter is all about making connections in a fast way. And thats just what your job search needs.Readers, how do you use Twitter in your job search?

Why rejection hurts (and 3 ways to dust yourself off)

Why rejection hurts (and 3 ways to dust yourself off)Why rejection hurts (and 3 ways to dust yourself off)Nobody is immune to rejection. Even the most beautiful and talented people have been rejected in one way or abedrngnisher. When you take risks in life, you face the possibility that you might be shut down or might not make the cut.Different phases of life bring different opportunities and situations where weve got to put ourselves out there and be vulnerable.Dating, high school sports tryouts, college applications, and job interviews are a few prime examples. Theres a reason you probably shudder at the thought of these experiences - they all come with a reasonable chance of rejection, and the odds are pretty good that youve experienced rejection already in one of these contexts.As much as wed like for everything to always go our way, thats not the way the universe works. While rejection is pretty much inevitable in some capacity, it still hurts. Its painful to get shut down for something you want, whether its a date with a crush or a job at your dream company. We all want to be loved, cherished, and accepted - be it by a romantic partner, friend group, or boss.Rejection can cause us to feel a slew of emotions, ranging from confusion to sadness torage. Oftentimes, people dont understand exactly why theyve been rejected, which can lead to a downward spiral of negative introspection and an overall sense of not feeling good enough.Social and romantic rejection can be especially traumatic and negative for our self esteem. Humans are inherently social creatures. We crave connection and meaning to others. When faced with rejection, or lack of acceptance, its hard of us to not internalize negative thoughts about our own self-worth. Rejection brings up the existential crisis of alone-ness, which is quite painful and hard to ignore,Jor-El Caraballo, LMHC and Talkspace therapist, explains.The science of rejectionOn top of being hard to ignore, instances of rejection can also be pretty hard to forget.Personally, I remember moments of rejection even as far back as elementary school. I had a huge crush on a boy in my class, and during lunch time I asked him who he thought was prettier, me or this other girl in class. He chose - you guessed it - the other girl. It hurt I remember that day, and how it felt to hear those words, vividly. Ive wondered, why is this memory and the feelings around it still so clear to me?Memories are complex processes that occur in the brain. Highly emotional experiences, like rejection, get stored in the brain and remain there thanks to the amygdala a part of the brain that attaches meaning to experience, Caraballo says. If youre someone who has struggled with rejection, and that gets reinforced in various scenarios so that it gains meaning and importance - even in small ways - that rejection turns into our pervading emotional story.Besides the fact that being rejected straight upsucks, theres actually scientific da ta and evolutionary research that helps us better understand the pain of rejection, and why the pain is so distinct.Studies using MRI brain scanshave shown that the same region of the brain that is activated while experiencing physical pain is also activated while experiencing emotional pain, like rejection. However, theres an interesting difference to be noted when it comes to re-living emotional pain.Another study showedthat re-living emotional pain is more unpleasant, and results in more brain activity, than re-living physical pain. The study also confirmed that its easier for us to recount details and feelings from occurrences of emotional pain than physical pain. This explains why it hurts more to reflect on the time you got dumped than to the time you broke your arm.Continuing with the broken arm example, we get patched up and are typically as good as new in a few months. Emotional pain, however, can linger for decades if we dont learn ways to heal its lasting wounds.How to re cover from rejectionSo, how do you pick yourself back up after facing rejection? There are a few things you can do to make yourself feel better about the situation and prepare yourself better for the next time you may face rejection.Allow yourself to feelRather than suppressing all the emotions that come with rejection, allow yourself to feel and process them. Holding in your negative emotions and bottling up all the feelings is no good for you.I think that like many other experiences we often tell people that their feelings dont matter and they should just get over it. We could really stand to focus more on creating space for people to feel their feelings, even rejection, and find ways to feel it and cope rather than just ignoring the pain and making it all better, Caraballo says.Spend time with people who accept youSurround yourself with people who love you and accept you. While it may be tempting to isolate yourself further when youre feeling upset over rejection, its important to be at least a little social with loved ones.Remember that youareloved and appreciated, and dont let an act of rejection make you believe otherwise. You cant always be accepted for every opportunity or by every person - and thats okay The people around you will remind you that youre loved and valued.Practice self love and self careItssoimportant to love and have a positive relationship with yourself. Doing so will help you be more resilient with future instances of rejection.Make a list of the positive traits you have that youre proud of, inside and out. Appreciate the parts of yourself that you love, and work on cultivating good self esteem. You can also make a list of your accomplishments, both big and small.Be koranvers to carve some time out forself care. You can journal or create art to express your emotions, take a hot bath to zone out, or head to a fitness class like kickboxing to burn off some anger.Rejection is a Natural Part of Our Lives, Embrace itSo, next time youre f acing rejection (which hopefully wont be soon) remember that your feelings are totally valid, and its okay to feel sad when youre going through it.Its a part of this crazy ride we call life, and if you want to live it to the fullest, youve gotta pick yourself back up when you get knocked down.This article first appearedon TalkSpace.

Information on Team Building Strategies

Information on kollektiv Building StrategiesInformation on Team Building StrategiesIt is not enough to get your group together off-site and have a few icebreaker games. If you want gruppe building to work, you have to show the members of the kollektiv that it benefits them personally. There is very little team in teamwork without a lot of motivation. We live in a society that seems fascinated with individual accomplishment and almost oblivious to teams. Even in team settings like sports, we single out the All-Stars and the MVP (Most Valuable Player) of each game. That is the environment you have to overcome to build your group at work into a team. Get Started Team Building Do you think of your group as a team? They wont think of themselves as a team if you dont. Do you reward team performance or only individual achievements? You wont have much success in team building if you dont reward team performance. Let your group know that they are a team, that you expect them to perform as a team, and that you will reward their successes as a team. Thats the first step toward team building. Remember that team building must be an everyday activity. It is not something you can just do quarterly at some off-site function. Motivate Team Building If you want team building to work, its not enough to tell them that they are a team and must perform as one. You also have to show the members of the team that it benefits them personally. Most of us are selfish individualists. We watch out, first and foremost, for ourselves and do what benefits us most. We have to be motivated to include anyone else. Fortunately, it is pretty easy for us to see the benefits of including others, so most of us do that readily. Love is a strong motivator. Parents, for instance, watch out for their children. Money is another strong motivator. It is one you can use as an employer. However, the strongest motivator available to a manager (since it is unlikely your employees will fall in love with you) is self-esteem. The more the individual sees a benefit to his or her self-esteem from supporting the team, the more successful your team building efforts will be. First of all, your people have to acknowledge that they are part of a team. You can reinforce this by unternehmensverbund team meetings, posting team news on the bulletin board or your intranet page, and tracking team performance against team goals. Secondly, they have to believe that the team is capable of producing more than the sum of its members. Lance Armstrong is a great bicycle racer, but he could not have won the Tour de France without the support and assistance of his team members. You may have a great customer service rep on your team, but without the cooperation of the other members of the team, he or she would not be able to handle as many calls. You have to make this readily apparent to them and clearly, delineate the increased rewards they can achieve through teamwork. Reinforce Team Building Efforts One company I know had a great customer support team. Their director challenged the team with higher and higher goals. He celebrated their successes in meeting and exceeding those team goals. He also celebrated them as individuals. The team decorated the cubicle of everyone who was having a birthday. They did community service projects together. They had fun at work. And they enjoyed beating the goals Clint set for their team. They got a significant boost in self-esteem from belonging to a winning team. Making up t-shirts, etc. with a team logo or motto can help reinforce the sense of team identity, but its not required. You should know your team well enough to know whether or not something like that would be positive reinforcement for them. Dont make the mistake of one Accounting Manager I knew. The motto he picked for his team and had printed on ballcaps he gave them didnt fly. He hadnt involved the team in selecting either the motto or the object on which it was printed. Team Building Exercises and Icebreakers I recommend you develop your team building exerciseswhere possible. No outside consulting company knows your company culture as well as you do. You can do a variety of exercises or play a variety of sports. I have built successful team building exercises aroundgolf (for non-golfers)andbowling. Another currently popular team building exercise is Paintball. Abouts Paintball Guide explains the basics with these articles. Here are some additional resources to help you craft your exercisesCreative Icebreakers, Introductions, and HellosFrom Business Training Works, details of 15 exercises from which to choose.TV-based Team Building EventsAmerican Outback Adventures Events offers team building events including several based on popular TV programs. If you do decide to go outside for consultant help, here are a couple of ideasCity ChallengeCity Challenge conducts this orienteering-based exercise in over a dozen cities, primarily in the UK and Europe.The yperit Dutchmans Gold MinePerformance Management Companys classic game is one of my favorite collaboration exercises.Ropes CoursesHere are a variety of rope courses offered by Adventure Associates. Team Building Consultants I recommend you develop your team building exercises whenever possible. No outside consulting company knows yourcompany cultureas well as you do. However, if you choose to use outside consultants, many can be found on the Internet. I have never used any of these consultants, so I cant recommend them personally, but theirwebsitesindicate that they understand the need and can provide the products and services you need. Simply Speaking, Inc.I like the description of their Building Positively Stellar Teams program because it gets everyone on their feet making it easier to get participation in an event.Murder MysteryThey have a separate section just for corporate events.EventusThis is a UK firm. Click the Events button in the upper left for a list of their team bu ilding events.

Find Out Who is Concerned About Resume Service near Me and Why You Need to be Paying Attention

Find Out Who is Concerned About Resume tafelgeschirr near Me and Why You Need to be Paying Attention Always have a couple questions prepared to show youre seriously interested in wanting to learn more about the organization and your duties. Make certain you know more about the organization and what they stand for. In only two or three hours, the business contacted me, and asked just a couple more details. Each provider differs. The Good, the Bad and Resume Service near Me The experienced writing services wont ever wait to meet you personally or speak to you to be able to offer you a bit of insight and answer all your queries. All you need to do is to file your request, highlight each detail and chat with your writer to make certain he or she understands everything about your requirements to supply you with what you are searching for. If you feel as if you want to use our professional resume writing help, you are able to apply at the moment by merely contacting the customer s ervice center. In just about all circumstances, the solution is yes. Hearsay, Lies and Resume Service near Me When you employ a professional writer to assist you with the application documents, the results will differ. A fundamental text editor at no cost, providing you a printable resume template. Writing a resume can be challenging. Lies Youve Been Told About Resume Service near Me Writing the perfect CV isnt simple, and we know precisely how stressful it can be to locate a new job. With over 30 decades of experience, Career Resume Service delivers unparalleled credentials. Employing a Professional Resume Writer is a great idea for the majority of professionals since resume writing is a distinctive skill. A Certified Professional Resume Writer is there to aid you with your resume just as you would seek out a mechanic to repair your car. The New Angle On Resume Service near Me Just Released Our resume builder is the quickest approach to create a resume that will allow you to get your fantasy job. The area of work may be a tricky area where, frequently, all isnt as it might appear. Land the job that you want now. If you need assistance getting clarity on the following career move, you may be interested career path clarity coaching. In the past few years, the LinkedIn professional network has turned into a preferred supply of premium jobs. To begin with, you should know I dont suggest applying for jobs zugreifbar. Youre empowered to begin your job search immediately. To begin, you have the choice to import your Word or LinkedIn resume. Top Resume Service near Me Choices When there is something which bothers you, just tell us, and were going to make every attempt to resolve your concerns. You will work with a resume writer whos qualified to compose the document that is most suitable for your requirements. Youre then matched with a writer which best suits your career profile. An expert writer with several years of experience features exp ertise to come up with interview-winning resume packages. Our writers get in contact with you and learn a little about your targets and ambitions. Successful candidates are well qualified, but theyre also prepared. The good thing is that the best resume writers arent necessarily the costliest ones. The very best news for those looking for resume writers, nevertheless, is they wouldnt have to spend a single penny for enrolling on Fiverr. The percentage of individuals who actually land work by applying on the internet is miniscule. You require a presence on LinkedIn, it permits you to keep a professional on-line brand. On the flip side, you can go to Google search and begin going through millions of sites. Resume Service near Me - the Story You can take a look at the prices, functionality, and the amount of templates and features. My system will allow you to show hiring managers ways to fix their problems. Our resume package provides you with the tools to get the most suita ble job with a good organization. With resume aid, youll wind up with a comprehensive marketing and advertising package. Ok, I Think I Understand Resume Service near Me, Now Tell Me About Resume Service near Me When you use the help of a resume expert, such a situation wont ever occur. Sure, the aid of professionals who help candidates compose resumes is a familiar practice and employers know about doing it. Needless to say, the more personal info and information regarding the employer you provide, the better. The employer would like to know why you need to work for them and what you need to offer you. Type of Resume Service near Me A properly formatted ASCII e-resume permits you to cut and paste your resume in the body of an email, send it over any email system on earth, and be sure your resume will look the exact same no matter where its sent. If you see a service we havent evaluated, dont hesitate to drop us a message and were going to take a look whenever possible. Scann able resumes need specific page designs because computer scanners cant read certain products. Additional security checks may be required for a higher-level clearance. Read my essay writing service reviews and my guide to selecting the ideal service for everything you want to understand about how to select the best writing businesses. There are scores and scores of resume writing services online who claim they are the very best and you might wonder why you must choose ResumeGet agency. Once you locate a service you prefer, dont neglect to look at my review of it. In a nutshell, the service exists, so should you want to use it in order to find a top essay, thats reason enough. Facts, Fiction and Resume Service near Me It is normal for organizations to receive over 300 resumes for a work opening. If you do, youve won the job. If youre open to different forms of jobs, let us know. Also, tell me as much as possible regarding the job (or kinds of jobs) you intend to submit an app lication for.

PowerToFly Learned a TON from Microsofts Women Leaders

PowerToFly Learned a TON from Microsofts Women Leaders On September 25th PowerToFlys Director of Customer Success Cristina Duke and Talent Advocate Megan Alexander flew to Bellevue in Washington to host a special evening with the women geschftsleben technology leaders from the Microsoft Azure AI Platform organization.Microsoft speakers at the event includedRia Kapila, Chief of StaffAniththa Umamahesan, Program ManagerJulie Stevenson, Data ScientistSindhura Bandhakavi, Principal Software Engineering ManagerSophia Liu, Data ScientistVinitra Swamy, Software EngineerHeres some glowing feedback we heard from attendeesAfter this event with Microsoft I learned that work life balance really exists at this companyIt welches a great event There is a clear need for networking events like this. I learned a lot about Azure team and felt like I had a great opportunity to connect with the members of the team and Microsoft recruiters in general. My favorite part was a panel format with QA. Extremel y well organized right from Parking, to providing nametags, notebooks, and a wide selection of Hors doeuvres.Microsoft is hiring Visit their page on PowerToFly to learn more about their open roles. About Microsoft Azure AI Platform Microsofts objective is to make Azure AI the best platform for 1st and 3rd party customers. We want to enable ur customers to easily develop systems of intelligence anywhere in the Azure cloud, on edge devices, and offline. Our customers expect our services to deliver the promise of the cloud that is, to deliver globally available, compliant, secure, performant, scalable AI that can be deployed in high-volume enterprise applications. Through teamwork we create life-changing innovations that impact billions of lives around the world for the better. To learn more about our values and commitment to Diversity, Environment and Innovation click here. Meg and Cristina from PowerToFly arrive at Microsoft Read y for the event A great crowd of experienced women in tech. Ria Kapila, Chief of Staff, Microsoft AI Platform A look at our impressive panel. Our panel answered questions from the audience. The event concluded with plenty of time to network. Related Articles Around the Web Microsoft Corporation One of the biggest challenges in almost all industries today is achieving gender parity. Gender diversity provides huge benefits in the workplace. pWhile some industries have made significant advancements in gender diversity, some industries lag further behind... and the construction industry is well-known for being in the latter category. If someone says, construction workers, youll likely picture a group of men in yellow hard hats analyzing an architects plans or laying bricks on top of a scaffold. And men at work signs only help to reinforce this image.pThis stereotype is rooted in reality. When was the last time you actually spotted a woman on a construction site? Or hired a female plumber or carpenter? Your answer is most likely never. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statisticsreports that only 3.4% of the total of 8.3 million construction employees are women.pBut the construction industry has a lot more to offer than steel-toed boots and hard hats, and it needs women to help advance the industry in this era of rapid change. Here are 5 reasons why women joining the workforce or looking to make a pivot should consider a career in construction.h21. Fuel Innovation/h2pNot only is diversity the socially and morally right thing to do, but it is also actually an excellent business strategy. pResearch presented in the Harvard Business Reviewshows that diverse teams develop more innovative ideas. This is further supp orted by a study conducted by Gallupon the performance of gender-diverse teams versus single-gender teams, which found that the difference in backgrounds and perspectives led to better business performance and problem-solving. h22. Capitalize on Demand/h2pThe construction industry is currently experiencing a labor shortage. The industry itself is booming and projected to be one of the fastest-growing industries, with total spending projected to exceed $1.45 trillion in 2023/a. However, most construction companies are unable to meet the rising demand. pAccording to the Associated General Contractors of America/a, more than 80% of contractors are experiencing difficulties filling hourly craft positions that represent the bulk of the construction workforce.pAnd demand isnt limited to individual contributor roles. Given the industry boom, there are a number of open stable and high-paying roles (any project managers out there?) waiting for the right candidateh23. Leadership Opportunities /h2pAccording to the Bureau of Labor Statistics/a, women compose only 7.7% of the total 1 million managerial positions in construction.br/pBut given the highly collaborative nature of construction work, more women in leadership roles would help drive innovation and enhance productivity.Furthermore, as a woman in construction in a leadership position, youd have the unique opportunity to drive change for the industry and make it a more attractive option for other women.h24. High-Income Potential/h2pSalaries for many skilled positions in construction are on the rise, making a construction career a prime choice for women looking for a high-paying job,pThe 2018 Construction Craft Salary Surveyconducted by the National Center for Construction Education and Research revealed that salaries for many skilled craft areas are increasing. Project managers and project supervisors topped the list at $92,523 and $88,355, respectively. The next set of highest-paying jobs include those of combo welde rs ($71,067), instrumentation technicians ($70,080), pipe welders ($69,222), power line workers ($68,262) and industrial electricians ($67,269). Of the 32 categories of workers in the survey, 19 positions earned an average salary of $60,000 or higher.h25. Sense of accomplishment/h2p The construction industry can give employees a unique sense of achievement. Yes, the job is stressful and the work can be demanding, but nothing beats the feeling of being able to build something from the ground up. pHow many professionals in other industries can point at a school, a hospital, or a skyscraper and say I helped build that?pThe construction industry has a long way to go in combating gender bias and supporting women in the workforce, but given the current demand for workers, theres no better time to pick up a sledgehammer (figurative or literal) and smash the gender stereotypes plaguing the construction industry.

20+ Skills That Will Look Great on Your Resume

20+ Skills That Will Look Great on Your Resume 20+ Skills That Will Look Great on Your Resume Given that we just published an article about the skills you should not list on your resume, it may be helpful to present the opposite side as well. Just what skills, exactly, will make your resume stand out from competitors?This new infographic from online resume builder Novorsum comes at exactly the right time, containing as it does a list of more than 20 skills you may want to consider including on your resume before you send it out again.Of course, you dont want to claim any skills you dont actually have, but if you can credibly assert you possess any of the following skills, then you should definitely add them to your resume ASAP.Master the art of closing deals and making placements. Take our Recruiter Certification Program today. Were SHRM certified. Learn at your own pace during this 12-week program. Access over 20 courses. Great for those who want to break into recruiting, or recru iters who want to further their career.

Making the Grid Really Smart

Making the Grid Really Smart Making the Grid Really Smart There have been a great many smart people promoting the smart grid, or the transformation of the nations electric grid into one that anticipates and interacts with user demand. Over the past six years, a combination of utilities, industries, and the federal government actually put together the nations largest smart grid, a demonstration project in the Pacific Northwest. The fledgling system, a two-way interactive model to better connect energy providers and users, sprawled over five states as a dozen participating utilities integrated a wealth of new equipment and technologies including smart meters and transformers, batteries and even controllable therfruchtweinats. But its backbone, and what researchers say is key to further development, is a new signaling and communication system called transactive control that facilitated and coordinated the needs of the network.The five-year, $178-million Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demo nstration Project centered on development of transactive control, conceived by Battelle-led Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Its development of a two-way interactive smart grid is being bolstered with a slug of federal research dollars aimed at establishing a comprehensive research and development effort anchored by the National Laboratories and the Department of Energy. The Bonneville Power Administration shared responsibility of the grid demonstration with Battelle.Solar panels and wind turbines at the Renewable Energy Park, a part of the Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration Project. ruf PNNLControlsTransactive control is an automated system that connects energy providers and users, constantly exchanging information on the availability of power and price. For the demonstration, signals were sent every five minutes using information on bulk generation including hydropower, wind and thermal power. Utilities could then send the signals to assets or smart equipment such as electric hot water heaters, smart meters, or grid-scale batteries. When the transactive signals predicted peak power demand and corresponding high-energy costs, the projects smart grid technologies responded by reducing power use and lowering demand. Mostly.While project participants are happy with results, they point to some glitches and areas needing further work. First, better tools are needed to ensure data is of high quality and the equipment generating data works correctly. Many participants were bedrngnis prepared to deal with the quantity of data generated and sometimes mislabeled it, according to the projects final report.It was evident to us that utilities are having challenges in the introduction of data-rich technology into their systems, says Ron Melton, who led the demonstration for Battelle. There was a lot of noise in the data. There is a need within industry for better tools to operate equipment with all of these sensors. We just dont have the tools now to do that well.It also reported a need for smart grid technologies to be designed to work together and called for smart grid standards to be developed. The report noted tremendous effort to make equipment from various vendors work together.One of the challenges most utilities face is that they run with very thin staffs, says Melton. Vendors need to make it easy to do these things.As an example, Melton points to Portland General Electrics installation of a 5-MW, 1.25-MWh battery, estimated to save the utility up to $146,000 annually by providing an alternative power source during periods of peak power demand, up to 300 times per year. Melton says the battery and inverters were purchased from different vendors and took the utility about ten times longer to assemble and complete than expected. There are not well-developed interoperability standards, he says.Further, smart grid technologies need to mature and stabilize for deployment to proceed. The report noted that some equipment manufacturers went out of business during the five-year demonstration, which ended in late 2014. Some equipment simply failed.Finally, officials say public involvement is key to a successful smart grid. For instance, Flathead Electric Cooperative, a Montana utility, started its Peak Time program, offering to install water heaters and equipment in residences that help reduce peak time costs. Users obtained a monthly credit and the equipment was installed at no cost to the owner.Pullman smart grid demonstration project. Image Avista UtilitiesSensors and MoreDuring the project, utilities and customers installed $80 million in smart grid equipment. Fifty-five different technologies were evaluated, many showing they can reduce energy use and cut power bills. Besides Portland General Electrics 5-MW lithium ion battery, the utility connected to a local solar project and installed new controls to build a micro grid. Nearby customers now can voluntarily reduce power usage and avoid times of peak power dem and.Avista Utilities installed smart meters with remote capabilities allowing it to start and stop electric service in Pullman, WA. The utility claims the meters could eliminate mora than 2,000 service calls per year and save $235,000 annually.The University of Washington in Seattle upped the number of electricity meters monitoring the flow of power to its main campus of some 250 buildings from seven to 200. The new meters give managers a much more granular view of how energy is used and where it is needed.SuccessResearchers were most pleased with the success of transactive control testing, validating that the technique works, notes Melton. As part of the project, Alstom Grid built a model of the regional grid that ran in parallel with the actual grid, using real data and estimations. IBM created another model to evaluate impact of the control system beyond the project and the regional grid. Tests showed the regions peak power demand could be reduced some 7.8 percent if 30 percent o f the regional grid used transactive demand response equipment.In the Northwest, wind is the most abundant renewable energy source. The modeling showed transactive energy controls can lower the regions overall costs by integrating it into the system when it is abundant and inexpensive.One of the challenges in applying transactive control technology is integrating numbers of different devices. There is a need to interface with various devices, and now it is largely done by hand, says Melton. We still need to develop custom interfaces with existing battery storage or SCADA, for example. That takes a fair amount of effort. Theres a need for better operability standards.For the next step, DOE through its Grid Modernization Laboratory Consortium, in January awarded $220 million to national laboratories for another string of grid research projects. Among them, PNNL will create a new grid architecture to determine how each part of the grid affects others. Separately, it will develop protoc ols to test how distributed smart devices can help balance supply and demand to maintain the frequency and voltage required for grid stability.Learn about the latest energy solutions at ASMEs Power Energy Conference and Exhibition. For Further Discussion There was a lot of noise in the data. There is a need within industry for better tools to operate equipment with all of these sensors. We just dont have the tools now to do that well.Ron Melton, Battelle

4 Reasons You Should Customize Your LinkedIn URL

4 Reasons You Should Customize Your LinkedIn web-adresse4 Reasons You Should Customize Your LinkedIn internetadresseEveryone who creates a LinkedIn profile is automatically assigned a URL. And it does not look attractive at all. It should be changed right away. We explain the four reasons why you should customize your LinkedIn URL, which will make your experience using LinkedIn (and others looking for you) much more enjoyable.What LinkedIn URL needs changingYou can tell when a person has not changed their LinkedIn URL because it looks something like thishttps//www.linkedin.com/in/your-name-7549b81/When is the last time you ever did a search for someone online using a series of numbers? No one does it. So, it is time to change your LinkedIn URL and heres why.1. It just looks better and easier to readLinkedIn URLs that are customized specifically for your name are easier to add on resumes, email signature, or other marketing materials. It may binnenseem like a small detail but it shows you are paying attention to detail and not just creating an account, only to forget about it. Those who use LinkedIn to screen candidates can tell who pays attention to this small, yet very important detail.This looks betterhttps//www.linkedin.com/in/your-nameThan thishttps//www.linkedin.com/in/your-name-7549b812. Custom URLs make you easier to findIf a hiring manager or employer remembers your name and not your website or lost your resume, a custom URL can work in your favor. Your URL should be so simple that all a person has to do is Google your name, see the top results, maybe see your LinkedIn headline, then go to the right LinkedIn profile with your name in the URL.Note Due to commonly used names it is a good idea to have a great LinkedIn profile photo. This leads to the next reason.3. Grab it while its hot. Custom URLs are first-come-first-served.Grab your custom URL quickly before someone else does. Those named John or Jane Smith probably had their chances of getting their o wn customized public URL disappear quickly. Unfortunately, once a person claims a URL it cannot be used by anyone unless the following happensThe owner changes it to something elseYou wait 180 days for the URL to become available againTip If you see someone has a URL you desire, message them and see if something can be worked out. This was the case when a staff member at Find My Profession discovered his URL was in use by someone with the same name. After a few friendly messages and connecting, they both worked out who would use what URL. They agreed to these URLshttps//www.linkedin.com/in/stevenlowell/ (Find My Profession staff)https//www.linkedin.com/in/stevelowell/ (Public speaker with the same name)Will people mucksmuschenstill make a mistake and find the wrong person from time to time? Yes, but both profiles are easy to find by name search. There are others with similar names, too, but they are using hyphens and maybe a bit tougher to find by typing in a URL.Note You can only c hange your LinkedIn profile URL five times, every 180 days. Work out the changes before customizing the URL.4. Boosts your social media credibilityNothing says, Create it and forget it like seeing a URL that has not been changed. No one will bother to network with a person who barely uses a LinkedIn account. If you know how to change the URL on your LinkedIn profile it shows you think about the followingProfessional social media footprintThe importance of others finding youThe importance of what others think when viewing your profileMaking an effort to present your best self onlineAt the end of the day, this may seem like a small thing. But if you are in the business of hiring someone and you need to get in contact with them quickly, you will see why this is a big thing the moment you cannot find who you are looking for (or if you do find them and their URL ends in 8675309).