ASME Hosts ASME Connect Event for Students at its New York H...

ASME Hosts ASME Connect Event for Students at its New York H... ASME Hosts ASME Connect Event for Students at its New York H... ASME Hosts ASME Connect Event for Students at its New York HeadquartersApproximately 30 engineering students from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut joined ASME staff members at an ASME Connect event on Feb. 22 at the Societys headquarters in New York City. (Photo by Wil Haywood, Strategic Communications)Last month, students from several universities in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut came together in New York City to network and learn about the various programs ASME has developed for engineering students and early career engineers during a special ASME Connect event that was held at the Societys 2 Park Avenue headquarters.Nine ASME Connect events have taken place since the student outreach program launched last October. In addition to the event at ASME headquarters, which was held Feb. 22, ASME Connect events have been presented at several uni versities including Stevens Institute of Technology, New York Universitys Tandon School of Engineering, Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, Texas AM, the University of Hartford and the University of Minnesota. ASME Connect forums were also offered during the Societys International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition (IMECE) in Pittsburgh last November and Boiler Code Week last month in Costa Mesa, Calif. Aisha Lawrey, director of Engineering Education for ASME, provided students attending the ASME Connect forum with an overview of ASMEs K-12 and ASME scholarships and loans programs. (Photo by Wil Haywood, Strategic Communications)The meet-and-greet at ASME headquarters drew approximately 30 engineering students from Columbia University, NYU, Cooper Union, New York City College of Technology (City Tech), New Jersey Institute of Technology and the University of Hartford. The event was organized by the programs lead staff managers Karen Russ o, project manager for the ASME Executive Office, and Valentina Alayon, coordinator, Student and Early Career Engagement and Experience.Following opening remarks from ASME Executive Director/CEO Tom Costabile and organizers Alayon and Russo, several staff members gave a series of short presentations designed to provide attendees with an overview of the many programs and events that are available to engineering students and early career engineers through ASME. These initiatives include the Engineering 4 Change (E4C) Research Fellowship program, the Societys K-12 outreach activities including the ASME INSPIRE digital STEM education course, the ASME Scholarship Program, ASME Engineering Festivals (E-Fests) and ASME EFx events, and FutureME activities for early career engineers such as the Social Meet-Up and Mini-Talks programs. The students were then offered guided tours of ASME headquarters. The program concluded with a lively mixer where students had the opportunity to interact with each other and talk one-on-one with staff. ASME Executive Director/CEO Tom Costabile (second from left) visits with a group of students from New Jersey Institute of Technology during the mixer at the ASME Connect event at ASME headquarters. (Photo by Wil Haywood, Strategic Communications) ASME student member Anisha Cartagena, a senior and secretary of her student chapter at City Tech, was particularly impressed by her ASME Connect experience that day. It was really great, she said. I came here to learn more about the different opportunities and I found about the fellowship that you offer through Engineering for Change and handed in my resume to binnensee if I could join. I learned about E-Fest and EFx, which is happening right across the street from my school in a few weeks. I also learned about the Future ME program for people who are graduating. I think that is very important because of the networking connections. Things can get really competitive when youre looking for jobs in the field.Harris Paspuleti, an ASME student member and sophomore at Cooper Union, was similarly enthusiastic about the event. Our ASME chapter at Cooper Union is pretty small, so we have a lot of trouble reaching out to members of the mechanical engineering community in the New York City region, said Paspuleti, who attended with two students from his university. Coming to this event really felt like we were part of something bigger, though. Now that we know about all of the resources the scholarships, competitions and events we can go back to our school and encourage more people to be part of this organization. (Left to right) Karen Russo, project manager for the ASME Executive Office, with ASME student member Anisha Cartagena and Valentina Alayon, coordinator, Student and Early Career Engagement and Experience, at the ASME Connect mixer. The next ASME Connect event will be held April 9 at the Rayburn House Building in Washington, D.C., in conjunction w ith several other ASME activities, including the 16th Annual Engineering Public Policy Symposium, the ASME Board of Governors meeting and an ASME Congressional Briefing.Presenting the events concurrently with existing conferences or activities will be a key element of the ASME Connect model as the program expands, according to Alayon, citing the event at IMECE as an example. At IMECE, all the ASME members the students would want to meet were there already, she said. There was a Board of Governors meeting planned. Our senior vice presidents were already there. ASME staff, the executive director/CEO, and even ASME past, present and future presidents were there. All we had to do was invite the students from Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh to join in.For more information, or to register, for the ASME Connect event in Washington, D.C., visit www.eventbrite.com/e/asme-connect-dc-tickets-55254795581. To learn more about the ASME Connect program, contact Karen Russo at Russ oKasme.org.

What to Do After an Involuntary Demotion

What to Do After an Involuntary DemotionWhat to Do After an Involuntary DemotionAn involuntary demotion is a traumatic experience. Whether it was caused by poor job performance or for reasons outside the employees control, getting bumped down the organizational chart requires a metaphorical dusting off and a conscious effort to move forward. An involuntary demotion does not have to be the first step in a downward spiral. It can be the departure of a new beginning. You may look back on it in five years later and see it as a turning point toward higher levels of success than you ever imagined. Take the following actions to help you thrive after an involuntary demotion. Assess What Happened Involuntary demotions do not happen out of the blue, and there is rarely just one reason they occur. There is often a set of several circumstances that work together or happen concurrently to propel an organization or manager to demote someone. When you find yourself demoted, you should honestly assess what happened. While there are many factors that lead to an involuntary demotion, they can generally be divided into two categories performance and situational factors. Involuntary demotions for performance are directly related to how well the demoted employee was doing his or her job. The employee was not meeting the managers expectations, but the manager did not find the employee to be a total loss for the organization. One common situation organizations find themselves in is when a star employee is promoted from a non-supervisory role to a supervisory role. If the employee is a poor supervisor, the kollektiv loses a top-notch performer and gains a subpar supervisor. If organizations recognize and correct the mistake of promoting this otherwise great employee, they help everyone involved. It may sting for the employee who is accustomed to success, but it is better to set that person up for continued success than to leave the person in an unsuitable role. Sometimes an emplo yee is self-aware enough to voluntarily demote. Situational factors are beyond the employees control. Perhaps the organization has too many people in one type of job, but they need more in a lower level job. Perhaps the organization is experiencing budget cuts and simply cannot afford to keep the same numbers of staff at current levels. An organization may institute a reduction in force plan that moves less tenured managers back into individual contributor positions. These things happen in private organizations, nonprofits, and all levels of government. Find the Lessons After you know the facts surrounding your demotion, analyze them to find the lessons you can apply now and in the future. In doing this, you increase the chances that you wont find yourself in a similar situation in the future. If you were demoted for performance, get as much feedback as you can about why you did not pass muster in your old position. The temptation is to keep quiet about the experience. Fight tha t urge, and be brave enough to ask uncomfortable questions. Maybe that job was your dream job, and you still want to be in that role. If you aspire to get back to that job someday, you must modify your behavior or skills and eventually show that you are in a different place professionally. What are two or three things you can do differently now to get you where you want to be in the future? If you were demoted because of factors outside your control, look for signs that you may have missed. When you look back, there may be things that are clear now that were obscured then. What signs can you look for in the future that can indicate trouble ahead? If your organization is constantly thrown into turmoil by external forces, it may be time to find a more stable place to work. Adjust Your Personal Budget Involuntary demotions usually come with salary reductions. Make corresponding adjustments to your personal budget. You cannot maintain the same lifestyle on less money. Make the neces sary budget changes immediately. Failing to do so will only add to your stress. Do a Good Job Youve suffered a career setback. The best thing you can do for yourself at this point is to do a good job in the position where you are placed. Show you are still a valuable contributor and that you can roll with the punches. When a promotional opportunity opens in the future, your mature handling of an involuntary demotion and solid contribution afterward can only work in your favor. Re-evaluate Your Career Goals In light of your job change, you need to re-evaluate your career goals. They may be the same as they were before, but you must go through the thought process to make sure. While you may be ready for a promotion in the future, that simply may not be in the cards for you. If you are determined to advance up the ladder, an involuntary demotion may just be a small dip in a 30-year upward trajectory. But presently, you dont know which direction it will take. Be honest with your self, and dont lose heart.

How to Be Your Offices Favorite Millennial

How to Be Your Offices Favorite MillennialHow to Be Your Offices Favorite MillennialStereotyping a group of people based on anything is categorically unacceptable, unless that anything is generational and unless you are talking about Millennials (those between the ages of 18-35), and then it seems okay to call them lazy, entitled, self-absorbed, coddled, even delusional. How is this fair?According to Pew Research Center, the first quarter of 2015 saw the number of Millennials in the American workforce surpass Generation X (ages 35-50) with Baby Boomers (51+) rapidly retiring, Millennials now represent mora than one in three employees in the US. Thats a significant percentage of the workforce to be badmouthing.Its daunting to be a recent college graduate trying to fit into the new reality of professional life when you know that negative press abounds but those associations are changing as your generation and its hallmark ways of doing business are becoming more widely understood and v alued.The trailblazers among your contemporaries have exhibited real grit in weathering the unflattering press that has followed your generations professional maturation. Perhaps the hazing period is over increasingly positive descriptions are surfacing about Millennials, those enterprising entrepreneurs poised to help dislodge the modern workplace from its 9-5 funk with their fluid technological know-how and commitment to making a difference in the world.So how do you capitalize on this positivity and avoid the mistakes that got other Millennials categorized so negatively? Consider these simple strategies to forge satisfying relationships among your colleagues and secure your status as everyones favorite Millennial in the office.ListenAbsorb your new culture, and show your colleagues how excited you are to be there. Make it your mission to remember your co-workers names and as much as you can about their work and their lives.Refrain from always carrying your phone with you, especia lly when you are still learning the ropes. Continually glancing at your phone is a nervous habit, and it comes off as rude or disinterested. Body language matters, and lack of interest is not the message you are trying to send.For the first couple of weeks in your new environment you want to be as be as fully present as possible, not just to make a good impression but also for your own saketo open yourself up to this new experience.Communication is keyPhone calls and face-to-face meetings are probably not your preferred modes of communication. Although you may interact with your personal network exclusively through chat, the diversity of people in your office plus workplace norms might mean you need to open yourself up to email, phone calls and in-person meetings.While it may seem uncomfortable to drop by someones office when you can more efficiently send a text, impromptu conversations build relationships and get work done. A meeting accomplishes what can take a slew of text messag es. It is a great way to brainstorm, plan and delegate. Face-to-face meetings have a value that electronic interactions simply dont.Awkwardness stems from nervousness, and it can be practiced away. Sure, you may be inviting some uncomfortable moments by putting yourself out there, but the more you do it, the more you will hone strategies to smooth out those rough edges. Set up informational meetings and lunches in your first couple weeks on the job. It will build bridges.Invite others perspectivesCultivate relationships with your colleagues. Even if they are older than you and their lives are different than yours, there is always common ground such as music, animals, sports, books, etc. Find some area of shared interest upon which to build a basic relationship so that you can figure out who you really click with and who you trust. Then when the time comes to talk about what you really need to discuss your workplace you know that you have an ally and eventually, perhaps, a mentor.A trusted mentor can help guide you through the day-to-day realities of work. The professional world is totally different than the university. You are expected to proactively produce. Your boss wont be proud of you if you do your job. A boss simply expects that of you. A mentor can help bridge the emotional gap between college and the professional world. She or he can give you the inside track on cultural mores and expectations that you are still learning and help you to fit in more comfortably.Work relationships are wonderful. In plus-rechnen to serving a very necessary function, they enhance your life by giving you the chance to build relationships outside of your peer group. Its a win-win.Do your time patientlyGet comfortable working your way up. No matter how smart or educated you are, it takes time to get acclimated to the professional world. Being humble about that will win you favor in the professional world. You are new to this realm, so there should be no task that is beneat h you. Help out wherever you can. Volunteer to do the grunt work when it helps out your team. Few players jump on a team and go right to the star role, and the most celebrated stars are the ones who enhance the experience for the whole team. If you want to build solid relationships with your team, you have to sweat a little bit, but it will be worth it. Being on a team that functions well together and produces high-quality work is fun and satisfying.Be reliableYou want the members of your team to know they can count on you. Dont show up late, take long lunches, excessive sick time or bend the rules until you know what your work culture tolerates. Show your colleagues that you have a solid work ethic. There may be room for flexibility, and as you understand the culture you will learn how to use that benefit, but show your dependability first. Cutting corners looks bad. Avoid doing it if you want your colleagues to take you seriously.Millennials are proving themselves left and rightYo ur generation is full of hardworking and enterprising people. You have nothing to apologize for. You and your contemporaries are an asset to the workforce.Work requires diplomacy, patience and discipline. Hone those skills, and as you work your way up you will be able to enjoy greater flexibility and creativity in the positions to which you advance. Those are job perks that usually come later in ones career, and you will earn them too, once you do your time.