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‘work’

5 Successful Practices for… EVERYONE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD

26 Mar, 2009 by Josh Mings in CULTURE
3D Human CAD Models

Strap an unnecessary amount of shiny metal objects to your clothing and take a swig of intensity. We’re about to step inside the realm of very vague advice… and then totally slam it with the most practical information your fingers have ever bleed scrapping to get a hold of.

Out of all the practices in the world what could be the best, most successful ones? Turns out, it’s 5. exactly 5. not 4 or 6, but 5. Did ya ever think it would only be that many? Here’s what’s going on.

Bradford Waugh wrote a very relevant article over at Product Design Hub today called 5 Successful Practices For New Grads. Good stuff, but it failed to give some details I think you definitely need to know.

Not just for new grads
And get this, it’s not just for new grads. As a matter of fact, it’s probably even more relevant for people getting laid-off, looking for work or preparing themselves to just be dang, freakin’ cool.

So, were gonna take Brad’s 5 practices and shed a little more light on ‘em. Let’s do this.
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The Engineer Stimulus Package (Like that Big One, but May Actually Work)

16 Mar, 2009 by Josh Mings in NEWS

News travels fast up har in the hills and mountains o’ CAD country… stimulatin’ news… news on the magnitude of HUGE and TIMELY. This is just such news.

SolidWorks announced at SolidWorks World 2009 the enormous plans of helping every ailing engineer that has meet the cold hand of unemployment. The SolidWorks Engineering Stimulus Package (ESP). Interested in a free copy of SolidWorks? Are you unemployed? Would this help you? Here are some more details.
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The 2 Step Trick to Kill Email and Take Back Your Day

23 Jun, 2008 by Josh Mings in CULTURE

I was working on a somebody’s computer this morning and their email notification kept popping up asking you to choose to go to the email or not. For one thing, that was incredibly annoying, and incredibly inefficient for another.

A little experiment
So it made me want to offer up a little experiment to show you how to get rid of the biggest time consuming and utterly destructive tool that is… email.

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How To Get Hired On the Spot Plus Have An Easy Interview

03 Apr, 2008 by Josh Mings in CULTURE

will-work-for-money.jpgThis isn’t going to tell you what to put on your resume, how to dress or what to say. This is going to show you what you can do right now without even setting up an interview, making a call or going out to buy a new outfit. It’s really easy and you’re probably closer to being in the spotlight for that new position than you think.

It used to be that all the effort of getting preparing for an interview was put into the resume and looking sharp. Now, a clean resume and outfit are not bad, but there are new techniques that make them less a factor.

Personal Branding Secrets
There are no secrets. The job hunting and people hiring have pretty much changed. You may not even be aware that half of your interview could take place online. This can be bad if you’re not aware of it, but really, really good if you are and it’s a whole lot better than mailing resumes to the HR waste basket.

So, experience aside, here are four things (plus some bonus items) that can help you get hired on the spot, make any interview easier and have you standing out above everyone else.
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How Do You Take The Suck Out of Work?

13 Mar, 2008 by Josh Mings in CULTURE

norma-jean-redeemer-sm.jpgMan, that looks painful huh. This is the cover art on a CD of a band I listen to called Norma Jean. Do you ever feel like this?

A lot of times you’ll get demands from work or a client that just seem completely unreasonable. You can dish out a sarcastic attitude and get a unfriendly look or you can do something about it.

It’s a tough call sometimes. What do you do?

Parkour and SolidWorks: Aware of Your Suroundings

10 Mar, 2008 by Josh Mings in CULTURE

parkour-jump-roll.jpgThis weekend I got a chance to do a bit of Parkour, or Freerunning, with a friend also interested in it. Now at first glance (see video below) you may think it’s a bunch of idiots trying to break their legs acting like monkeys, but, yeah, it’s actually much more.

I would define Parkour as a way of moving through your physical environment without slowing. My brothers and I basically did this growing up, chasing each other across the wooded cliffs and riverbeds of the Shawnee National Forest, but we never had a name for it.

Now it’s something I do for exercise. It’s more fun than running and less dangerous than sitting in a cubicle. You need a happy medium.

Think Fast
When your running as fast as you can at a stair railing or a bunch of rocks you gotta think pretty quickly what you’re going to do to get around them. Like what are you gonna do if someone is chasing you with a bat. Now, SolidWorks isn’t as life threatening, for now, but, you know, you have to figure some things out pretty quick even if you don’t know what’s coming or how you’re going to progress until you get there.

Aware of your surroundings
This is one of the funnest activities I’ve ever done and I find that when I’m really tested against my surroundings at work in completing a model or a redesign is when I enjoy that part of work the most.

What’s even cooler
It’s not one of the hokey feel-good mindsets. You don’t have to force yourself to be aware of every instance. It’s happening faster than you can think and you kinda realize it because you feel confident you’ll know what to do. But there’s one thing needed.

It takes training
Lot’s of it. This weekend was particularly painful because I haven’t done some of those things in awhile. We did runs where we took turn following each other getting over and around anything. The concept being, when you put yourself into a situation you limit yourself. Whereas, when someone else puts you in a situation you have to perform or stay home. Once you face it, your flying over obstacles (redesign, modeling errors) and not even losing a breath. It feels super cool and, even more, you get to show someone else how it’s done.

I can’t wait to get out the next time. If any of you are in to Tulsa area, let me know.