Wednesday, November 27, 2019

How to Resign From Your Job via Email

How to Resign From Your Job via EmailHow to Resign From Your Job via EmailTheresa right way and a wrong waytoquit your job and generally, resigning over schmelzglasle is the wrong way. Think of it this way If you were the boss, would you want people to send in their bedrngnisice electronically, or would you prefer tohave an in-person conversation? When possible, its always best to quit in person. A face-to-face conversation shows courtesy to your soon-to-be-former employer and strengthens the relationship as you close this chapter in your career. You never know when you might need anetworkingcontact, arecommendation, or aletter of reference. Your manager is far more like to help you out if you conducted your last days at the arbeitszimmer with grace and peak professionalism. That said, there are circumstances under which quitting in person is impossible. When these situations arise, quitting by email might be necessary and the only option. When Is It Acceptable to Quit Your Job vi a Email? When you work remotely.If your manager is in California, and youre in Texas, and you telecommute full-time, it makes sense to resign via email. In this case, email is likely one of the ways in which you communicate with your boss most often, so its not as abrupt as it would be if you worked together in a physical office.When resigning in person would put you in danger.If you work for an abusive manager or in a psychologically unsafe environment, resigning via email may be your safest option. Youre sacrificing nothing by severing the connection, because its unlikely that your boss would provide you with a recommendation anyway. Most importantly, youre protecting yourself, which comes before career considerations. Tips for Sending an Email to Quit a Job Even if you do quit your job via email, givingtwo weeks noticeis standard practice. However, if going into the office isnt feasible, you may not be able to provide standard notice. Give as much notice as you can in order to maintain a good relationship with your employer. Do not feel like you need to provide details in your letter about why you are quitting. This is also not the space to complain about the company or co-workers. Keep your email brief and include only essential details, since a printout of this letter will likely in your employee file, and may be reviewed if you ever ask the company for a reference. Whom to Notify Your emailedresignation lettershould be sent to your immediate supervisor, with a copy to the Human Resources department at your workplace. Copy your personal email address on the message (cc or bcc) so you have the email in your records. What to Include in Your Email Message When you quit a job using email, there is information you will need to include in your email message The date your resignation is effective.What the company should do with your final paycheck, if its not direct deposited and you are not returning to work.Any questions you may have regarding co mpensation and benefits.How the company can contact you, if necessary. You can also include a polite thank you to the company and/or your manager. Make the subject line to your email Resignation - Your Name. Using this straightforward subject line will ensure that your manager doesnt overlook this important piece of correspondence. Resignation Email Template Subject LineResignation - Your Name First Paragraph Your email message should state that you are resigning and include the date when your resignation is effective. Middle Paragraph The next (optional) section of your resignation email message should thank your employer for the opportunities you have had during your employment with the company. Final Paragraph Conclude your resignation email message (also optional) by offering to assist with the transition. Closing Respectfully yours, Your Name Resignation Email Message Sample Email Subject Line Resignation - Anna LeonardDear Mr. CollinsMy apologies for notifying you by email , however, circumstances are such that I will no longer be able to come into the office. Please accept this email message as notification that I am leaving my position with CDF effective January 1 due to personal reasons.I appreciate the opportunities I have been given at the company and your professional guidance and support. I wish both you and the company much success in the future.Please let me know what to expect as far as my accrued personal leave time and my final paycheck.If I can be of assistance during this transition, please let me know.Best regards,Anna Leonard Expand

Friday, November 22, 2019

Amazons pro-dog strategy puts other companies to shame

Amazons pro-dog strategy puts other companies to shameAmazons pro-dog strategy puts other companies to shameAmazon, while its building the future, is making the present very friendly for dog owners. There are reportedly4,000 dogs registered at Amazons Seattle headquarters- 500 report to work with their owners every day, on average, according to Yahoo Finance.The publication also reported thatamong other amenities, a 1,000 square-foot dog park opened in April next toThe Spheres.But pets are only allowed among 7% of employers, according to the SHRM 2016 Employee Benefits research report, which surveyed 3,490 HR workers and looked at more than 300 benefits. That number welches 8% in 2015 and 4% in 2014.But Amazon is going a little broader, offering use of its enormous dog park even to neighbors and the public in Seattle.Dog-filled days at AmazonOne Twitter bentzer - who apparently works at Microsoft - posted a photoat The Sphereswith his dog.Another Twitter user even tweeted a video o f dogs in action at The Spheres.A Pembroke Welsh Corgi named Waffles with a passion for tennis balls. An American Labrador retriever named Bailey who enjoys morning snuggles. A Lab named Lucy who loves grabbing the newspaper.These are some of the dogs of Amazon featured on the companys website.Rufus, the groundbreaking dogSo how did Amazon get here? It all comes down to a four-legged companion named Rufus, who got the ball rolling on dog culture at the company.A post on Amazons website details what he did before he passed away in 2009.During his tenure, Rufus could be found strolling our hallways, sitting in on meetings (he loved a meeting), or catching a few zs in his crate. He was a master of the hallway tennis ball chase, and had everyone snookered into giving him too many treats, the post says.The dog has been called Amazons shortest volunteer worker, andAmazons former editor-in-chief and principal engineer were his owners.Amazon pups are one of the highlights of a good social m edia feed, with a few on Instagram handsomely posed in front of the Spheres.The company even profiles employees dogs, with their favorite toys and things they love.Wait, but what if you cant work with dogs?But it seems like the dogscant just run wild at Amazon.JP Mangalindan, a senior correspondent for Yahoo Finance went to see the dog park and talked about how dogs are expected to act at Amazon in a video. He said the animalscant make a lot a of noise, that workers with allergies can probably have a seating arrangement that gives them some distance from the dogs, and that theres like an unofficial chief canine officer who he didnt get to meet.But not everyone is a fan of the companys approach to dogs, which in some cases are treated better than humans.But a2015 blog postby former employee Corina Zappia- who is allergic to dogs titled I Was an Amazon Chew Toy painted a different picture of what its like at Amazon in Seattlefor people who are allergic to dogs.The company did grant my request for a dog-free room?- ?the only windowless office on my floor, and unfortunately, four more poor Level 4s were picked to share the room with me. In lieu of windows, the L-shaped room had wipe boards spanning two of the walls, plus a quote painted in crimson from Dr. Seuss Oh the Places You Will Go. Seuss was misspelled. (Suess.) Short of the bookshelves crammed with textbooks and tech manuals we were promoting that year, we had given up on decorating, Zappia wrote.She later wrote thatshe signed a 2-year contract at the beginning of her time at Amazon, and would owe them her pre-tax bonus if she left before time was up, so she stuck it out for as long as possible, adding that, when I left six months later, it was not because of the dogs, but for the lack of work-life balance that the dogs were meant to cover up.Benefits of having a pet at work, for animal loversBut having a pet at work could be an advantage, if youre able to be around them for long periods of time.Dr. Ann Be rger, a physician and researcher at the NIH Clinical Center who aids patients with with sometimes fatal conditions, commented on how dogs can help patients in a 2009 NIH News in Health article.You can see the difference it makes in so many of these patients when the dog is at their bedsideOur patients are often here for a long period of time. I think the dogs add a bit of normalcy to a very difficult situation. The dog will sit calmly, and the patients dont have to talk to anyone. They can just pet. I think this helps with some of the suffering, Berger said.Having a pet around might make you feel better.A 2009 article in Veterinary Clinics of North America Small Animal Practice, said that pet ownership, or just being in the presence of a companion animal, is associated with health benefits, including improvements in mental, social, and physiologic health status.Dogs arent allowed in every office, but for those who can work with them and have the option tobring them in, they can prov ide much-needed support throughout the day.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Definition and Examples of Open-Source Software

Definition and Examples of Open-Source SoftwareDefinition and Examples of Open-Source SoftwareOpen-source software (OSS) is any computer software thats distributed with its source code available for modification. That means it usually includes a license for programmers to change the software in any way they choose They can fix bugs, improve functions, or adapt the software to suit their own needs. Open-Source Software Criteria The Open Source Initiative (OSI), a global gemeinwohlorientiert founded in 1998, acts as a leading authority on OSS. Its definition of open-source software includes ten criteria, relating to matters such as Software redistributionSource code availability and integrityDistribution and properties of licensesDerived worksAnti-discrimination Licenses Different licenses allow programmers to modify the software with various conditions attached. According to the Black Duck KnowledgeBase, a database of some two million open source projects, five of themost popu lar licenses are MIT LicenseGNU General Public License (GPL) 2.0Apache License 2.0GNU General Public License (GPL) 3.0BSD License 2.0 (3-clause, New or Revised) When you change the source code, OSS requires the inclusion of what you altered as well as your methods. The software created after code modifications may or may not be made available for free. Commercial Software Commercially available software, aka commercial or proprietary software, doesnt give access to its source code because the software is someone elses intellectual property. As a result, users often pay for it. OSS, on the other hand, is a collaborative effort The software is shared intellectual property among all who have helped develop or alter it. Free Software Although the terms are often used interchangeably, OSS is slightly different from free software. Both deal with the ability to download and modify softwarewithout restriction or charge. However, free software- a concept developed in the 1980s by an MIT computer science researcher, Richard Stallman- is defined by four conditions, as outlined by the nonprofit Free Software Foundation. These four freedoms emphasize the ability of users to use and enjoy software as they see fit. In contrast, the OSS criteria, which the Open Source Initiative developed a decade later, place more emphasis on the modification of software, and the consequences of altering source code, licensing, and distribution. The two overlap some would say the differences between OSS and free software are more philosophical than practical. However, neither should be confused with freeware. Freeware usually refers to proprietary software that users can download at no cost, but whose source code cannot be changed. Advantages While its lack of cost is a key advantage, OSS has several additional benefits Its quality can be easily and greatly improved when its source code is passed around, tested, and fixed.It offers a valuable learning opportunity for programmers. They can apply skills to the most popular programs available today.It can be more secure than proprietary software because bugs are identified and fixed quickly.Since it is in the public domain, and constantly subject to updates, there is little chance it can become unavailable or quickly outmoded- an important plus for long-term projects. Popular Types Open-source technologies helped establish much of the internet. Furthermore, many of the programs in use every day are based on open-source technologies. Cases in point Android OS and Apples OS X are based on the kernel and Unix/BSD open-source technologies, respectively. Other popular open-source software is Mozillas Firefox web browserThunderbird email clientPHP scripting languagePython programming languageApache HTTP web server Developers OSS projects are collaboration opportunities that improve skills and build connections in the field. Areas that developers can work on include Communication tools. Email, real-time mess aging, forums, and wikis help developers to find solutions or bounce ideas off each other.Distributed revision control systems. When multiple developers in different geographical locations modify data and files, these systems manage the different versions and updates.Bug trackers and task lists. These features allow large-scale projects to monitor issues and keep track of their fixes.Testing and debugging tools. These features automate testing during system integration and debug other programs. The Bottom Line Open-source software is an alternative to proprietary software. Participating in an OSS project can be a pathway to building a career in software development, allowing programmers to hone their skills by working on the biggest software programs in the world. Facebook, Google, and LinkedIn all release OSS, so developers can share knowledge, innovate solutions, and contribute to stable, functional products.