Which are the Oldest Companies in Every Country in the World

Which are the Oldest Companies in Every Country in the World When you’re trying to recruit for a company, you need to pick out the key selling points and information you can use to help them stand out from any rival businesses that might be trying to attract the candidates you’re trying to place. This might be a competitive healthcare plan, a rewarding bonus package or it may be a cool office with a slide, but sometimes the story of that company’s history sells itself. For example, what candidate wouldn’t be impressed by the chance to join a company that has been around since the 6th century? Yes, that’s the SIXTH century. There are businesses out there that are over 1000 years old and still going strong, as incredible as that might seem in a world that feels like it’s all about the new and the shiny. It’s not hard to sell the significance of becoming the latest recruit in such a long lineage like that, is it? So here are the oldest companies in every country in the world: Europe There are a lot of civilizations in Europe that are amongst the oldest in the world, so it’s no surprise that there are some seriously old companies here that are still going today. The oldest is a restaurant within the walls of an abbey in Salzburg, Austria. St. Peter Stifts Kulinarium has been open since 803 and has served the likes of Faust, Mozart and Christopher Columbus, which is certainly the kind of information potential clients would be hugely impressed by. North America Here’s a much younger continent in terms of established businesses, with the oldest being mint in Mexico, where La Casa de Moneda de México was founded in 1534. The coins made there became the inspiration for currencies in the USA, Japan, and China, which must be a selling point for anyone considering taking up a role there now. Up in the USA, the Shirley Plantation is the oldest company in the country that’s still running, having started out in 1638. South America Money makes the world go round, so unsurprisingly another mint is the oldest business still operational in South America. It’s the Casa de Moneda de Colombia, which was founded in 1621, while the Casa da Moneda do Brasil in Brazil is almost as old, dating back to 1694. Elsewhere in South America, the oldest companies in countries like Bolivia and Argentina are both banks. We all need money, right? Asia Asia is home to many very old companies that have stood the test of time. Certainly, you’d have to spend a long time looking for a takeaway chicken restaurant that’s been open as long as Ma Yu Ching’s Bucket Chicken House in China, which has been around since 1153. Beat that, KFC! And then there’s Kongo Gumi, the oldest company in the world, which has been around since 578 and is still building temples today. Africa Post offices dominate the list of the oldest businesses in Africa, starting with the Mauritius Post, which was founded in 1772 in what was then a French colony. Namibia was the second African country to get itself a post office in 1814, but Africa’s turbulent history is also evident from the number of countries where the oldest companies only date back to the late 20th century. Oceania The postal service was also the first company started in Australia, and if you ever need to advise someone with a chequered history on their career options, it’s worth remembering that it was founded by a convict named Isaac Nichols in 1809. Over 200 years later it’s still going, so there’s a sign of what can be achieved, even after taking the kind of wrong career path that you wouldn’t include on LinkedIn. Why not have a look at all the rest of the oldest companies from countries around the world and see what other inspiration you can take from them? About the author:  John Cole  writes on behalf of NeoMam Studios. A digital nomad specializing in leadership, digital media, and personal growth topics, his passions include world cinema and biscuits. A native Englishman, he is always on the move, but can most commonly be spotted in the UK, Norway, and the Balkans.

8 Ways to Tackle the Diversity Dilemma in Your Company

8 Ways to Tackle the Diversity Dilemma in Your Company Facebook has come under criticism recently for not having a sufficiently diverse workforce.   Some may ask what the problem is, given that the company appears to be going from strength to strength commercially.  Yet, there is more to business success than short-term profits.   A lack of diversity may cast an unwelcome spotlight on any organisation, which could damage the companys long-term reputation. Potential employees might be deterred from responding to job vacancies if they think a companys culture doesn’t reflect their background.   This in turn can restrict the talent pool on offer.   At the other end of the scale, investors may look elsewhere if they feel that a company doesn’t reflect their own values. While there is a growing sense of  awareness for greater diversity in the workplace, many organisations, including the most committed to embracing multiculturalism, are struggling to make a difference. What are some simple steps companies can take to address this? 1. Take a step back A good first step is to have a clear focus as to why a diverse workforce is important for the company.   It may not just be about ethnicity or gender, but could include broadening the diversity of skills, experience, culture and background in order to harness the best mix for the organisation or specific teams.   For many companies, for example, there is a clear business need to reflect the expectations of clients, partners and other stakeholders. 2. Glance  around At the most basic level, actually head out into your organisation and analyse what you see. Do teams/departments look the same?   Are there more men or women?   What is the average age?   Some of this you might not be able to influence easily, for example where your team may mirror the local population, but it can give an indication as to how diverse an organisation really is. 3. Analyse data Look at the data that already exists in the workplace, from recruitment details to employee surveys, or evaluations such as benchmarking against peers.   This can give an overarching view as to whether teams reflect the company’s clients and if there are any missing key skills, experience or strengths. 4. Look for  patterns Its time to dig deeper. For example, are certain groups more likely to get promoted or hired in the first place?   Do some employees leave work to have children and are then less likely to return?   Are certain groups less likely to take up certain policies or working practices? 5. Scope  for opportunities Find areas that could use some change. For example, if one person leaves an established team and needs to be replaced, or if the team is growing, it’s the perfect time to re-assess the mix in your team.   Instead of replacing or adding like-for-like, would a different skill-set, approach or experience help challenge the team to perform better? 6. Challenge people Challenge internal or external recruiters to cast outside of the traditional pool and see what else is out there.   Consider spending 10 minutes posting jobs in one or two new forums.   You might be pleasantly surprised at who walks through the door.  The interview process can also provide unconsciously planned barriers for some candidates.   For example, if anecdotal stories being told at interviews or induction meetings refer to drunken nights out or a particular employee ‘just liking a good joke’, that can speak volumes to people who don’t come from the same culture or feel like they don’t fit in. 7. Educate and provide  support For firms really wanting to level the playing field, running programmes that cater to the diverse range of needs of potential employees outside of the hiring process can have a big impact.   These can help build a committed pool of potential talent, and allow different groups of people to get to know the company and its culture.   They can also help employees gain a better understanding of potential candidates, making all parties feel more comfortable and improve interview performance. 8. Call on  (Front) Line Managers Line managers tend to be the centre of any cultural change as it’s typically up to them to implement new initiatives.   They therefore need to be able to approach potentially awkward conversations with confidence.   The key is self-awareness.   These individuals will require support in how best to handle conversations that sit outside the comfort zone of both parties.  This could involve speaking to colleagues and peers and exploring, in a safe-space, what they may or may not be comfortable talking about at work.   Creating simple scenarios based on this and discussing how they might approach each topic is a great way to boost confidence. Only by having the confidence to tackle diversity head on can organisations stay relevant now and into the future.   It’s time to stop brushing diversity under the carpet and instead start with what changes can be made and keep going from there. About the author: Patrick Voss is the MD of Jeito, a culture and engagement consultancy, with Diversity and Inclusion at its core.

Lost Career Direction in San Francisco - VocationVillage

Lost Career Direction in San Francisco - VocationVillage Dear VocationVillage.com, Since 1970, I have worked for more than 50 employers and agencies, with lots of gaps between jobs. Im a single mom doing the best I can and I feel like Ive lost my focus and direction. I wish I had someone to guide me but it feels like no one cares. Can you help me? Is there any hope?Signed, Ginny San Francisco, CADear Ginny, There is definitely hope, but getting professional career counseling is likely to make things much easier for you. A career counselor can assess your strengths, interests, and career goals so that you can develop clarity and focus. After you identify a career direction, a career counselor can also teach you to market yourself effectively to prospective employers so that you dont feel so anxious about your diverse career history. As you learn how to describe well what you can offer to employers (or customers if you decide to start a business), it will strengthen your optimism and confidence so that you will be able to more effectively navigate a job search or launch a startup. Everyone has dependable strengths to offer and you need to discover what yours are.To find an employment counseling professional, explore this list of San Francisco career counseling agencies. Many of them offer free or low cost counseling to assist clients with job search challenges.I hope this helps. .Compass and Pen photo courtesy of Irina Patrascu via Flickr Creative Commons

How to Change Anything Including your Value to the Company

How to Change Anything â€" Including your Value to the Company Change Anything is subtitled “The New Science of Personal Success.” Written by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, David Maxfield,  Ron McMillan , and Al Switzler , the book bills itself as a strategic, step by step system for adoptingâ€"and sticking toâ€"better behaviors. The authors have tested behavior changing methods, and claim to be able to help anyone break bad habits â€" from addiction to overeating to being stuck in your career. For instance, when speaking of careers, the authors give advice on how to become a top performer in your company. They give three characteristics of top performers. How many of these describe your work? 1. You know your stuff. The Change Anything authors say that it’s not enough to be competent; top performers actually invest considerable time in making sure that they are very good at the technical aspects of their jobs. They eat, breathe, and sleep their professions. You may have taken the stance that your company is responsible for training you in necessary skills. Top performers don’t wait for the company to identify and train to valuable skills; they develop them on their own. That means that they are setting the standard by which their peers are judged. 2. You focus on the Right Stuff. The Change Anything authors say that Top performers seek out the problems that have the greatest strategic importance to their team, their manager, and their organizationâ€"and find ways to contribute in these areas. They equip themselves to make their best and highest contribution to addressing these challenges. They spend time studying the company and what will be important not just today, but tomorrow. They’re setting the agenda for change and progress. By being perceived as futurists, they win confidence of upper management and get important assignments. 3. You build a reputation for being helpful. Top performers are networkers, both inside and outside their companies. They also use their expertise and time to develop a reputation for being helpful. They become widely known and respected by others because they help others solve their problems. The authors say that this tendency makes top performers more likely to be known by name. People describe them as experts who are generous with their time (emphasis theirs.) Which of these characteristics is your strength? Which is your weakness? For most workers, it’s probably a combination of working on the Right Stuff and networking. Almost every worker claims to be busy every minute of the work day; the real test is whether you are working on projects that make a significant difference for the company. If you’re not sure that you’re spending your time on the most important stuff, ask your manager. Request a meeting to get real feedback on what you’re doing and how you’re perceived. You should also ask yourself how generous you are with your time and expertise. How many times in the past year have you passed up assignments or turned down requests for information or help because you were too busy? Top performers are as busy as anyone; they don’t necessarily have the time to help others; they make time because they know how important the investment is for their own careers, and the careers of those they help. Don’t make the mistake of rating yourself against the performance of the people you know do less than you; that’s a rookie mistake. Rate yourself against top performers and you’ll get a real feel for where you stand in the company.

Resume Writing For Recent College Graduates

Resume Writing For Recent College GraduatesMany people make the mistake of not paying attention to their resume when it is first being prepared for submission. They may realize their resume needs to work in a few weeks and start working on it then, but when it comes time to submit it, they put off the job search because they do not have enough time to finish all the required steps in order to have a well-written resume. This means that they miss out on the chance to get some interview calls and eventually get their dream job opportunity.Resume writing is a necessity. It is an effective way to get your resume in front of the top employers for the openings you are looking for. In order to get an interview call, you will need to write a great resume that tells a recruiter why you should be hired. You can also use resume writing as a way to learn about the company you are applying to.The number one reason for missing out on getting interviews because of neglecting resume writing is that so many people think that it is only for recent college graduates or for people who have never held a job before. The truth is that those two things are not what you want to be when you are applying for jobs. Most employers will hire college graduates with a great resume, but the hiring managers are also looking for experience, and this means people who have held jobs in the past.Once you have your own resume and know how to write a cover letter, you can tackle resume writing. If you know how to draft a resume, you can learn how to make your cover letter as impressive as your resume. And if you already have a resume, you will know how to rewrite it to tell your story well.One of the first things you should do when it comes to making an impression on a hiring manager is to know what type of person you are, what you bring to the table, and what you bring to the real opportunity. If you are someone who is determined and driven, this can help you. You can use these qualities in a resume to show what your resume is made up of.Many people believe that resumes are for recent college graduates. That is the wrong stereotype and it does not give you a chance to stand out. You should be the one telling the company why you should be the next hire instead of simply submitting a resume that the company tells you to put together. Your resume and cover letter should be written according to the company's hiring process, but when it comes time to apply, you should still have a strong resume, just not necessarily the latest version.If you do not know how to write a resume, there are many courses available online or at your local college that teach you how to draft a resume in a few weeks. That may sound like a long time, but it is worth taking the time to learn this skill. And when you have learned how to draft a resume, you can use resume writing to learn about the company you are applying to and actually be interviewed.When it comes to creating a resume, it is important to fol low the advice of someone who knows how to write a resume. You can research by finding a few current resumes and following the information that is shown on them. You will need to make sure that your resume is structured correctly. You will need to write your cover letter to compliment the rest of your resume so that you make the most out of your opportunity.

The Future of Soft Skills in the Workplace - CareerEnlightenment.com

The Future of Soft Skills in the Workplace For years there has been speculation that one day machines will replace people in the workplace. While that might not be entirely true, research does show that almost all professions that involve low levels of social interaction are at risk of being  automated over the next decade. And, since technology is advancing faster than the speed of human technological skills, it’s not just blue-collar workers who are at risk.The research firm Gartner projects that one-third of all jobs globally will be replaced by AI, automation, or machine learning by the year 2025, which means that human workers don’t have time to spare when it comes to cultivating the skills that set us apart from machines. To stay competitive, workers have to find an edge over the machines . . . and find it quickly.Some experts believe that soft skillsâ€"or traits and qualities that can be hard to identify and measureâ€"might just be the silver bullet for job seekers who have been searching for ways to stay relevant . While technology will continue to advance, humans have a tool in their tool belt that machines don’t: the capacity for creativity, judgment, and other crucial social skills. According to Christian Conroy, author of the paper  Technological Automation and the Soft Skill Revolution, it’s these soft skills that will allow workers to amplify the effectiveness of technology rather than fight against it.Research backs up the idea that soft skills have become more critical than ever to a candidate’s success.  According to a paper from The Hamilton Project, over the past 30 years job tasks in the U.S. have shifted dramatically toward tasks requiring soft skills. Over that period, the need for service skills has grown by 17% while the need for social skills has grown by 16%. As advances in computer technology have continued to automate  job functions, routine tasks have been de-emphasized, declining by 10% since 1980. Tasks that require high levels of math-related skill have seen onl y 5% growth overall in the past 30 years, though this increase stopped about 10 years ago. Want to Read More Articles Like This One?Sign up here to receive weekly updates from Career Enlightenment, and never miss another powerful job searching tip! SUBSCRIBE! You have Successfully Subscribed!We hate spam too. Unsubscribe any time. Further, according to a study of 2.3 million LinkedIn profiles  for The Wall Street Journal, today, employers express interest in “communication skills,” with 58% of those who listed this skill on their profiles finding a new job over the course of a year, from 2014 to 2015. Other skills that the study found were most in demand were organization, teamwork, punctuality, critical thinking, social skills, creativity, adaptability, and having a friendly personality.So, how can workers demonstrate these skills on a resume or during a job interview? Experts advise using your cover letter and resume to paint a picture. Describe situations where your soft skills have come into play, like cross-department collaborations, or scenarios in which your leadership and project management skills contributed to the success of a project.According to Lou Adler, CEO and founder of training and search firm The Adler Group, candidates must be proactive when it comes to highlighting these skills in a job interview since many hiring managers aren’t skilled at seeking them out.“What’s surprising is that while these skills are obviously important for on-the-job success, most hiring managers aren’t too good at assessing them,” he wrote.Adler also emphasizes another important point: using the word “soft” to describe these critical skills is a misnomer. In fact, soft skills might be the hard edge job seekers need to get a leg up over automation.

Jobacle re-launches with an interview with... Me! - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Jobacle re-launches with an interview with... Me! - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog Working Podcast, a career podcast for workers, by workers, has relaunched itself as jobacle.com. The very first episode after the relaunch features an interview with yours truly about happiness at work and my brand new book. Im on about 10 minutes into the podcast, but listen to the whole thing its worth it. Funny, edgy and very slick! Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related