What does critical thinking mean to you? If you think back to your undergraduate philosophy or humanities course, perhaps you recall being encouraged to apply critical thinking to interrogating texts and ideas with open-mindedness, logic, and reason. Though the term can encompass a multitude of definitions, practicing critical thinking involves observation, interpretation, analysis, and inference.… Read more »
Portland, OR (10 March 2015) – OpenSesame is pleased to announce the dates of the first annual Training Jam, a gaming hackathon created to foster innovation and explore new formats for employee development. Approximately 40 game developers will be given their choice of 5 training topics that are relevant to today’s business needs, and over… Read more »
TED Talks are known for inspiring and educating individuals on a variety of topics, ranging anywhere from education to entertainment to the latest technology. Highlighting changes in education and online technology, we picked out four of our favorite talks perfect for those in the elearning industry: Salman Khan: Let’s use video to reinvent education The… Read more »
Negotiation is an invaluable skill in any setting. While the idea of negotiating may not come as easily to some, understanding the fundamentals can be the difference between things ranging from high and low salaries and even vacation days. It can also be the difference between winning over clients and keeping a robust customer base.… Read more »
How many times have you been called into a meeting only to spend the first half trying to figure out why everyone was called there and what you should be talking about? Too often we find meetings a waste of time and would rather work alone and try to relay information through email and messaging… Read more »
“I’m not qualified for this job.” “I didn’t major in business in school.” “I feel like a fraud.” “There’s someone else who could do this job better than I can.” Have you ever had any of these self-negating thoughts? More than likely, at one point or another in your life, you’ve experienced what psychologists label… Read more »
The world is filled with a host of positive and negative stereotypes. Most of us are familiar with various stereotypes and have even stereotyped ourselves. However, more recent social science studies have proven that stereotypes can materialize to the point where they can actually hinder the daily lives of employees. Stereotype threat, though hard to… Read more »
The way we live and work has changed fundamentally over the past decade or so, driven primarily by the arrival of the internet. The implications of these changes are profound and far reaching. In particular, they affect anyone whose role centres on information. And that includes the L&D profession. L&D has traditionally been all about… Read more »
Unconscious biases are reinforced by the environments we grow up in and past experiences in our life. We could unknowingly be discriminating against people based on factors such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and class. Remember–this doesn’t mean you aren’t a good person. However, it is necessary to address the existence of this phenomenon,… Read more »
The enneagram is a system which models human personality by identifying different core motivations. Each number describes a motivation and a behavior with which someone acts. In order to avoid negative or positive connotations, each personality and style is labeled by a number one through nine. The nine labels, listed below, speak to a variety… Read more »
Most businesses have made the transition to blogs, Twitter, and Facebook, (in fact, 84% of B2B marketers now use social media in some form), but the Instagram frontier still remains less navigated. This leaves the opportunity for your business to stand out and lead the way in your industry! Instagram has potential for businesses as… Read more »
As summer approaches, a new surge of students will begin looking for jobs. Whether you’re graduating and finding a full-time career, starting an internship, or just looking for a part-time summer job, it’s important to maximize your interview experience. To help you ace your interview, we’ve put together a list of a few do’s and… Read more »
An effective competency assessment can provide valuable insight that helps an organization direct their learning & development activities, formulate individual coaching & learning plans, inform selection interviewing questions and refine job role descriptions- to name a few outcomes. Unfortunately most participants view assessments in the same light as they might a colonoscopy- necessary but incredibly… Read more »
Imagine this scenario- you are at your physician’s office for your annual physical exam. You begin the meeting with your doctor by describing some of the symptoms that your believe are creating the headaches you have been experiencing. How would you react if based solely on the description of the symptoms you provide the doctor,… Read more »
Since its beginning in 2010, Instagram is truly a social network to be reckoned with. The mobile-friendly app boasts an incredible 300 million users and 70 million daily posts. While it’s most commonly used for personal social networking, Instagram can be a great tool for businesses to market their brand and products. Viewers and… Read more »
You’ve been in and out of meetings all day and are finally able to sit down and start on your work. You’re stressed out and don’t know how you’re going to get through the rest of the day. Your headphones catch your eye. Just what you need. As more and more research is… Read more »
As a hiring manager, you already understand how important LinkedIn is for recruitment purposes. A profile is a place for potential employees to showcase their skills, passions, and experiences even further than the typical space allotted on a resume. While most people have a basic LinkedIn profile, check these four areas that often get… Read more »
Recently, during a conversation with a successful friend, I asked him his secret for landing his dream job. Not that he doesn’t have excellent credentials, but in comparison to many of his peers with similar credentials, his success certainly stands out. His biggest piece of advice to me? Don’t sell yourself short. Even though you… Read more »
According to a 2014 Gallup study on employee engagement, only 31.5% of American workers are engaged at work. This means that the vast majority of the American workforce is neither enthusiastic about work nor committed to the workplace. Despite controversy surrounding Gallup’s annual reports, understanding and increasing employee engagement is imperative as engagement is closely… Read more »
When I was in the fourth grade, I remember sitting down on the carpet with the rest of my class while our teacher told us we were each unique and special, but not in the same way we had been told before. Mrs. Campbell went on to give us each a mini-quiz to determine what… Read more »
