| How to Do a Chain Braid Posted: 01 Jul 2017 05:00 PM PDT Ever wondered how those fashion models got their hair to look like chains? Well, now the mystery is solved! The technique is actually very simple and involves simply twisting multiple strands of hair together. You can also create a looser braid by tying strands of hair together instead. EditMaking a Chain Braid Ponytail - Pull your hair up into a ponytail. Secure it with a hair tie that matches your hair color. This style works best with high and mid-height ponytails, but you could try a low ponytail as well.
- Split the ponytail into two sections. Clip one of the sections out of the way for now. You will "braid" both of these sections separately.[1] If you need to, use the end of a rattail comb to split your hair.
- Divide the remaining section into two equal-sized strands. Leave the other section alone for right now. Do not unclip it yet.[2]
- Twist both of the strands to the right. Do not twist them together just yet. Use your fingers to twist each strand into a thin rope.
- Twist the strands together to form a thicker rope. This time, twist the strands to the left. This way, they will lock together, and won't come undone during the next step.
- Secure the braided rope with a clear elastic or mini hair tie. If you are braiding someone else's hair, you can have them hold the end of the rope for you.
- Repeat the above steps for the other section. Unclip the second section of hair. Divide it into two strands. Twist both strands to the right, then twist them together to the left. Tie the second rope off with a clear elastic or mini hair tie.[3]
- Twist the two ropes together. Make sure that you twist them to the right. This will help lock them together, and prevent them from unraveling. As you twist them, you should notice a chain forming![4]
- Secure the end of the braid with a hair tie. If you'd like, you can add a hair accessory to the top or bottom of the braid. Give the braid a light mist of hairspray to keep it sleek and smooth.[5]
EditMaking a Chain Braid Headband - Part your hair down the center. If you'd like to, you can clip or tie the hair on one side of your head out of the way. You will be making two identical braids on each side of your head.
- Grab a small section of hair from next to the part. Try to leave a small gap between your front hair line and the section of hair.
- Divide the section into two thinner strands. The strands should be perpendicular to the center part.
- Tie the strands into a knot, just like tying a pair of shoes. Cross one strand over the other, then pull it through the formed loop. Gently pull on the strands to tighten the knot.[6]
- Twist the strands slightly to catch any flyaways. You can also lightly mist them with water instead.
- Add some hair to each strand, just like French braiding. Take some hair from the left side of the knot, and add it to the left strand. Take some more hair from the right side of the knot, and add it to the right strand.[7]
- The amount of hair you are adding should be thinner than the strands themselves.
- Tie the strands into another knot. Once again, give the strands a light twist to make them smooth, then tie them into a knot.[8]
- Continue adding hair to each strand and tying them into knots. You can continue the braid to the back of your head, or you can stop just behind the ear. Try to keep the braid centered as you work.[9]
- Tie the braid off with an elastic. When your braid is the length you desire, gather the two strands into a mini pigtail and secure them with a clear elastic or mini hair tie.
- Braid the other section of hair. Unclip the hair on the other side of your head. Gather a small section of hair from the hair line and split it into two strands. Chain-braid the two strands until you reach the back/side of your head. Secure the braid with an elastic when you are done.
- Gather your hair into a half-up, half-down ponytail or two pigtails. If you ended the braids on the back of your head, gather both mini ponytails, and secure them together with an elastic to make a thicker ponytail. If you ended the braids just behind your ear, gather all of your hair into two high pig tails. Secure them to the braids with hair ties.[10]
- Twist the ponytail or pigtails into a bun. Secure the bun with another hair tie. Then, pin it to your hair using bobby pins so that it lays flat.
- Lightly mist your finished braid with hairspray to help hold the style.
- Unwashed hair holds braids better than freshly-washed hair.
- If your hair is too smooth and slippery, add some texturizing spray or mousse to it.
- Use hair ties and bobby pins that match your hair color.
- If you can't find bobby pins that match your hair color, paint regular ones with nail polish instead.
EditThings You'll Need EditMaking a Chain Braid Ponytail - Clear elastics or mini hair ties
- Hair ties
- Hairspray (optional, but recommended)
- Hair accessory (optional)
- Rattail comb (optional)
EditMaking a Chain Braid Headband - Clear elastics or mini hair ties
- Hair ties
- Bobby pins
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| How to Write a Resume As an Older Job Seeker Posted: 01 Jul 2017 09:00 AM PDT Resume advice is often oriented towards younger workers just entering the job market, whose most significant accomplishment may be their college graduation and who have likely had little substantial work experience. However, older job seekers re-entering the workforce or applying for a new job at an age after many of their peers have retired will face a different set of challenges when putting together a resume. As an older job seeker, you'll need to indicate that skills from prior employment can be transferred to your new position, and show a familiarity with social media sites like LinkedIn. EditDescribing Your Work Experience - Open with an executive summary. Avoid opening your resume with a "resume objective" which lays out all of your work experience chronologically, as this can make you appear old or over-experienced for the position. Rather, use the opening summary or narrative to describe list work experience from the previous decade.[1]
- This structure will also allow you a space to explain what you can offer the company and how your professional skills will benefit them, if hired.
- Limit your opening summary to four sentences. This brevity will let you concisely describe why you are the ideal candidate for the job in question, using skills that you have acquired in your last decade (or so) of work experience.[2] Tailor the language of your opening summary to align with the specific position requirements given in the job posting. If you feel that you need to mention work experience that outlines the most recent decade, consider adding it farther down your resume, in a section titled "Previous Work Experience" or "Additional Work Experience."
- For example, one of the sentences in your opening summary could state, "I am a skilled communicator with over eight years of experience, and I have demonstrated my ability to oversee multiple projects while meeting frequent deadlines."
- Emphasize transferable skills. Transferable skills are those which you have acquired in one field of work—or in one long-term job—which can be transferred and applied to another professional field and job. When hiring older workers, employers are often concerned that the workers' job skills will have become limited and stagnant; indicate otherwise by describing ways in which your skills from previous jobs will be applicable to your new potential job.[3]
- Transferable skills include things like the ability to communicate with a range of employees and executives in a company, management skills (including delegating responsibilities to subordinates, and simultaneously overseeing multiple projects), and interpersonal proficiencies (being able to motivate and resolve conflicts with others).
- You may have acquired transferable skills outside of the workplace; these deserve to be mentioned on your resume too. For example, if you had a career as a homemaker, did substantial volunteer work, or have gaps of unemployment in your past, find ways you can present skills acquired during these periods of your life as transferable.[4]
- Focus on your recent and relevant experience. As a general rule, the "Past Employment" section of your resume should highlight your most outstanding professional achievements. That said, it will not look impressive if most of your successes were in the 1980s or 1990s. Tailor your resume to focus strongly on recent professional work and achievements. Your priority in the resume should be to feature skills and strengths that make you a viable candidate for the job, and that you have implemented in recent employment. It's less important that you exhaustively catalogue decades of previous work experience.[5]
- For example, describe job experience with statements like: "Oversaw software development and managed teams of developers from 2005 to 2015." Even if you held this position before 2005, focusing only on the most recent decade will allow you to present your most up-to-date skills.
EditMaking Yourself a Viable Hire - Mention your online presence. Social media can play a large role in the hiring processes of many agencies and organizations, who will look not only at your LinkedIn profile, but also at your Facebook and Twitter accounts, as applicable. Describe your online presence on your resume, and provide links to the social-media pages that you would like your potential employers to access. When job hunting, these sites—especially LinkedIn—should be regularly updated and maintained just as careful as your paper-copy resume.[6]
- Include a statement to the effect of: "I have stayed current with hiring practices and job-search procedures, and list relevant information about my past work experience at my LinkedIn profile [include URL]. I am also active on Facebook and Twitter."
- Mention in brief your reason for not having an online presence. Alternately, if you prefer not to have an online social media presence, note this clearly on your resume. It's better to acknowledge the fact that you choose not to market yourself online than to risk appearing out of touch with modern technology and hiring practices.
- You can simply include a statement such as: "While I realize that some parts of the job-search process can take part online, I have chosen not to use a site such as LinkedIn because I would prefer my professional experience be summarized only on my resume."
- Reformat and streamline your resume. Modern resumes are brief: they typically comprise no more than two pages. If your resume follows outdated resume-writing conventions—especially if the style of your resume is decades old—you will appear professionally out-of-touch and a poor choice to fill the position. Remove excess verbiage from your paragraphs, and focus on using active verbs that highlight professional skills.[7]
- Only include a couple of concise bullet points describing your responsibilities at each prior job. Use verbs and active language, for example: "Developed material for cooling semi-truck radiators that saved $200,000 per year."[8]
- Select a functional or combination resume format. While conventional chronological resumes present employment information from most recent to oldest and span an individual's entire working career, this can be detrimental to older job seekers. Your decades of experience may make you appear too old or over-qualified for the job. Either a functional or combination resume will let you present your workplace proficiencies without relying on dates. Plan to format your resume in one of these two styles:[9]
- A functional resume highlights the skills that you've acquired over your career, regardless of chronology, and is a good choice for people with gaps in their work history.[10]
- A combination resume balances professional skills with your work history by first listing your relevant skills and experiences, and then giving a brief chronology of your work experiences.[11]
- Don't list "references available" at the bottom of your resume. This is an outdated resume-composition technique which would appear out of place on a contemporary resume. The assumption here is that the prospective employer will contact you if they'd like to move forward in the hiring process and contact your references, so you don't need to provide the names of references prior to (or in) the interview.[12]
- Of course, you will need to have the names and contact information (at least email and phone) of 2–4 individuals who will be able to vouch for your professional and personal excellence.
- You can include a brief sentence at the bottom of your resume: "Professional references available upon request."
EditProofreading Your Resume - Revise out-of-date phrases. Depending on how long ago you thoroughly overhauled and re-wrote your resume, it may feature professional or colloquial expressions that sound dated in today's work place, or that no longer carry the same meaning. Read through your resume closely, and rewrite any decades-old business jargon or verbiage that makes you look old and out of touch with the professional world.[13]
- For example, you and your resume would appear outdated if you use the term "director of personnel." Businesses have scrapped this term and instead use terms like "talent acquisition."
- To get an idea of the type of language that a specific employer is looking for, read through the company's online job posting or list of desired qualifications in potential employees. Then, use similar language when fleshing out your resume.
- Don't include graduation or class dates in your resume. When drafting your resume to make yourself competitive in the contemporary job market, avoid specifying dates on which degrees were earned or professional class were completed, as this will automatically make you appear older. Focus on the most recent relevant experiences within the category of education and professional coursework.[14]
- For example, if you have a college degree, avoid mentioning high school on your resume.
- Include the correct keywords in your resume. Keywords are specific words or phrases that automated resume-scanning systems are keyed to pick up on. Modify your resume, and especially the opening summary of experiences, to include keywords specific to your field and to the position you're applying for. This will ensure that hiring personnel see your resume and it's not discarded by an email filter.[15]
- To find appropriate keywords, you can search for your position on a job-search website. Results will also yield a list of keywords commonly associated with the position. You can then plug these keywords into your own resume.
- For example, if you're applying for a paralegal position, employers will likely expect keywords like "paralegal," "years of experience," "legal system," and "law firm."
- Ask a family member or friend to review your resume draft. It's easy to miss small errors on your own resume: small typos, sentences that could be better composed, or instances of descriptive wording that could be improved to present you as a better prospective hire. Having a friend look over the document for you before you apply for a job will help you catch and improve these errors and spots for improvement.
- You could also enlist the assistance of a professional resume coach, if you have the time and financial resources. A resume coach will help you tailor your resume for the job(s) you're applying to, and will have further tips of how to use your age to your advantage.
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| How to Do Concentration Meditation Posted: 01 Jul 2017 01:00 AM PDT The practice of concentration meditation is one of the three main types of meditation practice: concentration, open awareness, and guided. The objective of concentration meditation is to develop a single-minded attention directed at some object: an image, a breath, a candle flame, or a word or phrase. Continually returning one's attention to this object develops one's ability to remain calm, focused, and grounded. EditPracticing Concentration Meditation - Find a quiet, private spot for meditation. Ideally, your meditation should be in a space free of pets, distracting noises or other people. Some people choose to set aside a corner of a room in their homes for the sole purpose of meditation. Others prefer to sit outside, weather permitting.[1]
- Sitting in the same spot might help increase your ability to concentrate. Your body will start to associate this area with meditation, and nothing else.
- Many people find that morning meditation helps them start their day. Others prefer to meditate at the end of the day. An office that's private offers an opportunity to meditate during the workday.
- Sit comfortably. Your body should not experience discomfort during meditation. The goal is to be comfortable in your body while allowing your attention to be focused completely on the object of concentration.[2]
- Wear loose, comfortable clothing that doesn't pinch or cut off circulation. Clothing that gathers behind the knees when you sit is not recommended.
- Concentration meditation is typically practiced either sitting or standing, but may be practiced lying down if necessary.
- Set a timer. Because you'll need to train both your body and your mind to meditation, start with short sessions, 5-10 minutes in length. You can repeat these short sessions throughout the day.[3]
- Use a timer rather than a clock so that you won't have the distraction of checking to see how much time you have left. If you are sleepy, it may also keep you from falling asleep for longer than the time you've allotted.
- Gradually work you way up to longer intervals of time. After several weeks of 10-minute meditation, for example, increase the time by 5 minutes, then 10 minutes.
- There are many meditation timer apps available to help you, or you can use an ordinary kitchen timer. It doesn't matter what you use to set the time, so long as you let go of the need to attend to it.
- Allow your eyelids to relax. You may choose to close your eyes, or to keep them partially open without being entirely focused. If visually focusing on an object of concentration, make sure your eyes are entirely relaxed.[4]
- Never strain your eyes or hold tension in your eyes. This includes your eyelids, the small muscles around the eyes, and the muscles which move the eyes.
- You may hold your lips in a slight smile, lips closed.
- Direct your attention to the focus of concentration. Many people chose to focus on the breath. Do not force your attention, or become frustrated with yourself when distracted. When distracted, simply redirect your attention. This form of meditation is not intended to be stressful or coerced.[5]
- If you have chosen to focus on the breath, turn your attention to your breath as you inhale and exhale. One complete inhalation and exhalation will be 1 breath. In your mind, concentrate on the number 1. Then take another breath, all the way in and all the way out. This is breath 2. Continue until you've counted 10 breaths. Then start again. Holding your attention to this count will deepen your concentration meditation.
- Your choice of objects may vary depending on the day, the situation in which you find yourself, or the experiences you have as you continue your practice. Allow yourself to experiment with different objects.
- Enjoying the practice of concentration is a pleasure, but not a goal. Allow your feelings to arise as they will. Notice them, and let them go.
- Set aside distracting thoughts. The goal of concentration meditation is to train the mind for continual focus. When thoughts or feelings arise, notice them, and return your attention to the object of its focus.[6]
- If you start to feel disappointment, frustration, or irritation with yourself for being distracted, this feeling itself is a distraction. Notice the feeling, and return to the object of concentration.
- There is a subtle balance between holding onto the object of concentration too tightly and holding on too loosely. When concentration is held too tightly, you will feel a certain tension that impedes your spiritual progress. When held too loosely, you'll find yourself distracted.
- Some people experience a shift in their awareness between themselves and the object of concentration. You may find that you feel a certain sensation of merging with the object. Do not be afraid: this is a common sensation, and a sign of deeper insight.
EditPositioning Your Body - Choose to stand for meditation. This posture allows meditation free from the distraction of physical ailments, the feeling of having one's legs "fall asleep" and may be beneficial for people who work in a seated posture for much of the day.[7]
- Stand with the weight on the balls of the foot, and bend your knees slightly so that your back is straight.
- Turn your toes slightly inward, with legs shoulder-width apart.
- Choose to sit for meditation. The traditional position for meditation is sitting, either on the ground or on a "zafu," a small round cushion. Modern practitioners may choose to sit in a chair if necessary for physical support. The seated method allows for greater stability.[8]
- If using a zafu, position it in a quiet area. You may choose to place it on a mat or blanket to prevent your knees from resting on the hard ground.
- Lower your body onto the zafu. Position your buttocks on the top third of the zafu, so that your buttocks are slightly raised, and your knees are directed towards or resting on the floor. Use a cushion under your knees if you need to.
- Imagine the top of your head being pulled with an imaginary string towards the sky, straightening the spine. Feel a soft curve in your lower spine.
- Arrange your hands. In a seated position, you can allow your hands to rest, palms up, on your thighs. You may also choose a more traditional position, hands together.[9]
- Holding arms slightly apart from the body, gently bring your hands together as if holding a beach ball. Place your left hand over your right hand, palms up, thumbs together.
- If your arms are short, you can rest them on a cushion placed on the thighs. This is particularly helpful if you are seated on a chair.
EditSelecting an Object - Choose an object for your concentration meditation. The object you select should be one which is easy for your attention to rest upon, which brings pleasant emotions without too much excitement or boredom. If you select an object which has meaning for you, try not to allow its associations to distract you. The goal is to focus on the object itself.[10]
- Choosing an object of the senses is an ancient meditation technique. Some traditions encourage meditation upon the elements (earth, air, fire, water). Others focus on sacred places within the body, or chakras.
- There are literally thousands of possible objects from which to choose. Popular choices include: the flame of a candle, a sacred symbol or object from the religious tradition meaningful to you, a word or short phrase that is sacred to you.
- Remember, it is the training of the mind, not the object, that is the goal of concentration meditation. A skilled practitioner might focus on a box of tissues with equal success.
- Light a candle. Focusing your attention on the flame of a candle is called Tatrek meditation.[11] Position your body far enough away from the candle so that you can easily focus your gaze upon it.
- Make sure that your candle is placed in a quiet, draft-free area. A flame that dances in the breeze will create worry that its flame will be extinguished.
- Select an unscented candle for optimal concentration. A scented candle may distract from your meditation.
- Read a short passage from a sacred text. In some traditions, this type of meditation is known as Lectio Divinio, or "divine reading." Read slowly. A certain word or phrase may draw your attention. When it does, allow your attention to remain upon this word or phrase for your meditation practice.[12]
- You may memorize the word or phrase, or you may keep the pages of your text open before you, reading them again as needed.
- The words of the text may become abstract, losing their former meaning. This is fine. The words themselves are not important. They are just a pathway towards the meditative practice.
- Choose the breath. For concentration meditation, close the mouth and breathe through the nose, unless the nose is occluded. Breathing through the nose allows a greater range of sensation.[13]
- The concentration on breathing meditation is called Zazen meditation. This form of meditation encourages the practitioner to focus on the fact of the breath. Counting each breath, starting at 1 and continuing through 10, is a form of Zazen practice.
- Concentration on the physical sensations of breathing is called Vipassana meditation. These sensations may be outer, such as the feeling of breath against one's upper lip, or inner, such as the awareness of breath flowing into the upper, middle, and lower lung area. It may also incorporate the awareness of breath flowing to particular regions of the body known as chakras.
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