Saturday, March 21, 2020

Alexander the Great and the Battle of Chaeronea

Alexander the Great and the Battle of Chaeronea Conflict Date: The Battle of Chaeronea is believed to have been fought around August 2, 338 BC during King Philip IIs wars with the Greeks. Armies Commanders: Macedon King Philip IIAlexander the Greatapprox. 32,000 men Greeks Chares of AthensLysicles of AthensTheagenes of Boeotiaapprox. 35,000 men Battle of Chaeronea Overview: Following unsuccessful sieges of Perinthus and Byzantium in 340 and 339 BC, King Philip II of Macedon found his influence over the Greek city-states waning. In an effort to reassert Macedonian supremacy, he marched south in 338 BC with the goal of bringing them to heel. Forming his army, Philip was joined by allied contingents from Aetolia, Thessaly, Epirus, Epicnemidian Locrian, and Northern Phocis. Advancing, his troops easily secured the town of Elateia which controlled the mountain passes to the south. With the Elateias fall, messengers alerted Athens to the approaching threat. Raising their army, the citizens of Athens dispatched Demosthenes to seek assistance from the Boeotians at Thebes. Despite past hostilities and ill-will between the two cities, Demosthenes was able to convince the Boeotians that the danger posed by Philip was a threat to all of Greece. Though Philip also sought to woo the Boeotians, they elected to join with the Athenians. Combining their forces, they assumed a position near Chaeronea in Boeotia. Forming for battle, the Athenians occupied the left, while the Thebans were on the right. Cavalry guarded each flank. Approaching the enemy position on August 2, Philip deployed his army with its phalanx infantry in the center and cavalry on each wing. While he personally led the right, he gave command of the left to his young son Alexander, who was aided by some of the best Macedonian generals. Advancing to contact that morning, the Greek forces, led by Chares of Athens and Theagenes of Boeotia, offered stiff resistance and the battle became deadlocked. As casualties began to mount, Philip sought to gain an advantage. Knowing that the Athenians were relatively untrained, he began withdrawing his wing of the army. Believing a victory was at hand, the Athenians followed, separating themselves from their allies. Halting, Philip returned to the attack and his veteran troops were able to drive the Athenians from the field. Advancing, his men joined Alexander in attacking the Thebans. Badly outnumbered, the Thebans offered a stiff defense which was anchored by their elite 300-man Sacred Band. Most sources state that Alexander was the first to break into the enemys lines at the head of a courageous band of men. Cutting down the Thebans, his troops played a key role in shattering the enemy line. Overwhelmed, the remaining Thebans were forced to flee the field. Aftermath: As with most battles in this period casualties for Chaeronea are not known with certainty. Sources indicate that Macedonian losses were high, and that over 1,000 Athenians were killed with another 2,000 captured. The Sacred Band lost 254 killed, while the remaining 46 were wounded and captured. While the defeat badly damaged Athens forces, it effectively destroyed the Theban army. Impressed with the Sacred Bands courage, Philip allowed the statue of a lion to be erected on the site to commemorate their sacrifice. With victory secured, Philip dispatched Alexander to Athens to negotiate a peace. In return for terminating hostilities and sparing the cities that had fought against him, Philip demanded pledges of allegiance as well as money and men for his planned invasion of Persia. Essentially defenseless and stunned by Philips generosity, Athens and the other city-states quickly agreed to his terms. The victory at Chaeronea effectively reestablished Macedonian hegemony over Greece and led to the formation of the League of Corinth. Selected Sources Diodorus of Sicily: Battle of ChaeroneaAncient History Sourcebook: Battle of Chaeronea

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Dont You Love a Good Job Search Success Story

Dont You Love a Good Job Search Success Story I love a good success story, don’t you? And, given my profession, I especially love a good job search success story. This week I heard two of them and I want you to be inspired by these two professionals who used their networks and their talents to land jobs they love! Success Story #1: Stay-at-Home Dad I met Winslow Yee at the Connect – Work – Thrive Conference where I spoke several years ago. He attended my presentation, â€Å"Traversing the Resume Gap.† Winslow was a stay-at-home dad and Human Resources professional who had not worked in his field for ten years! He had taken a huge risk by stepping out of the workforce for so long. To address his gap on his resume, Winslow chose to do what many are frightened to do: absolutely nothing. He listed his most recent position, Senior Employee Relations Specialist at a semiconductor manufacturing company, at the top of his experience section. This job had ended in 2003. Then Winslow started networking. His wife connected him with someone at a company that is now his employer of 9 months. Here’s Winslow’s summary of his strategy and the response he received: What I noticed was that some recruiters and interviewers missed the detail [of my gap] entirely and thought I was still working. So it gave me a foot in the door to talk with them before they filed away my resume. Im not sure it is a strategy I would recommend but it is what felt right to me. I think some of my interviewers (in particular women) were impressed by the decision I made to be a stay-at-home dad. During my interviews I conveyed my passion for coaching, teaching and mentoring   with examples of my  involvement in youth sports, school, church and scouting. This passion was a key factor in my prior success as an HR professional and was still fresh and current. Winslow also did address his gap in his cover letter. Following a convincing account of his experience and qualifications, he added this as his second-to-last sentence: At the end of 2003 I voluntarily left the workforce in order to devote more time to my family. I am now resuming my HR career. Winslow did not apologize for his choice and he did not hide it. His strategy worked. As he said, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to a resume gap. But if you’ve been trying something that hasn’t been working, you might want to give Winslow’s strategy a try! Again, a central part of this strategy was asking everyone he knew whom they knew who could help him. It’s unlikely he would have found a position without having an inside lead on what became his new job. Success Story #2: Not-So-Passive Job Seeker Paul Elsass, according to his article The Day Apple Called Me to Interview, was minding his own business on LinkedIn when a recruiter from Apple called him to interview for a job. The next thing he knew, he was flying to Cupertino on Apple’s dime to talk to them about being the Lead Evangelist for the Apple Watch. He did not get that job, as Apple chose a candidate with better-matched experience. But it wasn’t long before another recruiter, whom he knows personally, tapped him for his current position at ShapeUp, which he calls â€Å"the best job I ever had†! Here’s Paul’s advice for getting your dream job (see The Day Apple Called Me to Interview): Expand your network beyond just the expected type of profiles you would normally look for. You might be surprised how folks with a variety of backgrounds can make great connections. Never rule out new discussions with people, even if it seems like it may be nothing that would immediately benefit your job or career. Keep in mind that conversations are about more than â€Å"what can it do for me?†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦maybe it’s about what you can do for someone else. After you talk with new connections, store that information in your mental file cabinet. I cannot tell you how many times I have had past conversations, from years prior, resurface and become valuable in a current need. Keep your profile polished and up to date. You never know what phone call you might get tomorrow! I asked Paul some more questions and found out that the Apple recruiter also liked that Paul was publishing content regularly on LinkedIn Publisher. So don’t ignore the opportunity to put your ideas and writing out to the LinkedIn community! Success Depends on You What phone call would you like to get tomorrow? Are you doing everything in your power to get it? And do you have a job search success story to share? Please tell us all about it!

Dont You Love a Good Job Search Success Story

Dont You Love a Good Job Search Success Story I love a good success story, don’t you? And, given my profession, I especially love a good job search success story. This week I heard two of them and I want you to be inspired by these two professionals who used their networks and their talents to land jobs they love! Success Story #1: Stay-at-Home Dad I met Winslow Yee at the Connect – Work – Thrive Conference where I spoke several years ago. He attended my presentation, â€Å"Traversing the Resume Gap.† Winslow was a stay-at-home dad and Human Resources professional who had not worked in his field for ten years! He had taken a huge risk by stepping out of the workforce for so long. To address his gap on his resume, Winslow chose to do what many are frightened to do: absolutely nothing. He listed his most recent position, Senior Employee Relations Specialist at a semiconductor manufacturing company, at the top of his experience section. This job had ended in 2003. Then Winslow started networking. His wife connected him with someone at a company that is now his employer of 9 months. Here’s Winslow’s summary of his strategy and the response he received: What I noticed was that some recruiters and interviewers missed the detail [of my gap] entirely and thought I was still working. So it gave me a foot in the door to talk with them before they filed away my resume. Im not sure it is a strategy I would recommend but it is what felt right to me. I think some of my interviewers (in particular women) were impressed by the decision I made to be a stay-at-home dad. During my interviews I conveyed my passion for coaching, teaching and mentoring   with examples of my  involvement in youth sports, school, church and scouting. This passion was a key factor in my prior success as an HR professional and was still fresh and current. Winslow also did address his gap in his cover letter. Following a convincing account of his experience and qualifications, he added this as his second-to-last sentence: At the end of 2003 I voluntarily left the workforce in order to devote more time to my family. I am now resuming my HR career. Winslow did not apologize for his choice and he did not hide it. His strategy worked. As he said, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to a resume gap. But if you’ve been trying something that hasn’t been working, you might want to give Winslow’s strategy a try! Again, a central part of this strategy was asking everyone he knew whom they knew who could help him. It’s unlikely he would have found a position without having an inside lead on what became his new job. Success Story #2: Not-So-Passive Job Seeker Paul Elsass, according to his article The Day Apple Called Me to Interview, was minding his own business on LinkedIn when a recruiter from Apple called him to interview for a job. The next thing he knew, he was flying to Cupertino on Apple’s dime to talk to them about being the Lead Evangelist for the Apple Watch. He did not get that job, as Apple chose a candidate with better-matched experience. But it wasn’t long before another recruiter, whom he knows personally, tapped him for his current position at ShapeUp, which he calls â€Å"the best job I ever had†! Here’s Paul’s advice for getting your dream job (see The Day Apple Called Me to Interview): Expand your network beyond just the expected type of profiles you would normally look for. You might be surprised how folks with a variety of backgrounds can make great connections. Never rule out new discussions with people, even if it seems like it may be nothing that would immediately benefit your job or career. Keep in mind that conversations are about more than â€Å"what can it do for me?†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦maybe it’s about what you can do for someone else. After you talk with new connections, store that information in your mental file cabinet. I cannot tell you how many times I have had past conversations, from years prior, resurface and become valuable in a current need. Keep your profile polished and up to date. You never know what phone call you might get tomorrow! I asked Paul some more questions and found out that the Apple recruiter also liked that Paul was publishing content regularly on LinkedIn Publisher. So don’t ignore the opportunity to put your ideas and writing out to the LinkedIn community! Success Depends on You What phone call would you like to get tomorrow? Are you doing everything in your power to get it? And do you have a job search success story to share? Please tell us all about it!

Dont You Love a Good Job Search Success Story

Dont You Love a Good Job Search Success Story I love a good success story, don’t you? And, given my profession, I especially love a good job search success story. This week I heard two of them and I want you to be inspired by these two professionals who used their networks and their talents to land jobs they love! Success Story #1: Stay-at-Home Dad I met Winslow Yee at the Connect – Work – Thrive Conference where I spoke several years ago. He attended my presentation, â€Å"Traversing the Resume Gap.† Winslow was a stay-at-home dad and Human Resources professional who had not worked in his field for ten years! He had taken a huge risk by stepping out of the workforce for so long. To address his gap on his resume, Winslow chose to do what many are frightened to do: absolutely nothing. He listed his most recent position, Senior Employee Relations Specialist at a semiconductor manufacturing company, at the top of his experience section. This job had ended in 2003. Then Winslow started networking. His wife connected him with someone at a company that is now his employer of 9 months. Here’s Winslow’s summary of his strategy and the response he received: What I noticed was that some recruiters and interviewers missed the detail [of my gap] entirely and thought I was still working. So it gave me a foot in the door to talk with them before they filed away my resume. Im not sure it is a strategy I would recommend but it is what felt right to me. I think some of my interviewers (in particular women) were impressed by the decision I made to be a stay-at-home dad. During my interviews I conveyed my passion for coaching, teaching and mentoring   with examples of my  involvement in youth sports, school, church and scouting. This passion was a key factor in my prior success as an HR professional and was still fresh and current. Winslow also did address his gap in his cover letter. Following a convincing account of his experience and qualifications, he added this as his second-to-last sentence: At the end of 2003 I voluntarily left the workforce in order to devote more time to my family. I am now resuming my HR career. Winslow did not apologize for his choice and he did not hide it. His strategy worked. As he said, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to a resume gap. But if you’ve been trying something that hasn’t been working, you might want to give Winslow’s strategy a try! Again, a central part of this strategy was asking everyone he knew whom they knew who could help him. It’s unlikely he would have found a position without having an inside lead on what became his new job. Success Story #2: Not-So-Passive Job Seeker Paul Elsass, according to his article The Day Apple Called Me to Interview, was minding his own business on LinkedIn when a recruiter from Apple called him to interview for a job. The next thing he knew, he was flying to Cupertino on Apple’s dime to talk to them about being the Lead Evangelist for the Apple Watch. He did not get that job, as Apple chose a candidate with better-matched experience. But it wasn’t long before another recruiter, whom he knows personally, tapped him for his current position at ShapeUp, which he calls â€Å"the best job I ever had†! Here’s Paul’s advice for getting your dream job (see The Day Apple Called Me to Interview): Expand your network beyond just the expected type of profiles you would normally look for. You might be surprised how folks with a variety of backgrounds can make great connections. Never rule out new discussions with people, even if it seems like it may be nothing that would immediately benefit your job or career. Keep in mind that conversations are about more than â€Å"what can it do for me?†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦maybe it’s about what you can do for someone else. After you talk with new connections, store that information in your mental file cabinet. I cannot tell you how many times I have had past conversations, from years prior, resurface and become valuable in a current need. Keep your profile polished and up to date. You never know what phone call you might get tomorrow! I asked Paul some more questions and found out that the Apple recruiter also liked that Paul was publishing content regularly on LinkedIn Publisher. So don’t ignore the opportunity to put your ideas and writing out to the LinkedIn community! Success Depends on You What phone call would you like to get tomorrow? Are you doing everything in your power to get it? And do you have a job search success story to share? Please tell us all about it!