Profit by Investing in Workers with Disabilities with the Schedule A

Profit by Investing in Workers with Disabilities with the Schedule AProfit by Investing in Workers with Disabilities with the Schedule AProfit by Investing in Workers with Disabilities with the Schedule AOn October 5, Krista Nawrocki and Kathryn Troutman teamed together to present a program to encourage both supervisors to consider and hire more people with disabilities, and for the applicants to write a better federal resume for their Schedule A applications.Krista Nawrocki collects and manages the resumes of Schedule A applicants for this agency in Battle Creek, Michigan and serves as applicant advocate as well as supervisory consultant on hiring through the Schedule A hiring authority. Kristas goal is to match the best qualified candidates with positions that will be a win-win for both the employee and the supervisor.More than 100 supervisors, employees and applicants attended the workshop to learn more about why supervisors should be reviewing the resumes and considering candidat es that are currently sitting in the Disabilities Program Managers folder of Targeted and Non-Targeted Disability candidates. In just the six months, DLA Logistics Information System has hired four targeted employees and one non-targeted employee, with more candidates under consideration following this program.The Presidents Executive OrderThe President has urged all federal agencies to embrace the federal hiring practices in a more user friendly way as the percent of hires and total workforce with disabilities are below 5%. The President has asked all federal agencies to step up to the plate to hiring more qualified individuals with disabilities including the war veterans. Please make this your status quo and your priority to making a difference in your hiring practices.Individuals with disabilities currently represent just over 5 percent of the nearly 2.5 million people in the Federal workforce, and individuals with targeted disabilities (as defined below) currently represent less than 1 percent of that workforce. As the Nations largest employer, the Federal Government must become a model for the employment of individuals with disabilities. My Administration is committed to increasing the number of individuals with disabilities in the Federal workforce through compliance with Executive Order 13163 and achievement of the goals set forth therein over 5 years, including specific goals for hiring individuals with targeted disabilities. Source whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/executive-order-increasing-federal-employment-individuals-with-disabilities+ Tip for ApplicantsFollow the laws, executive orders, articles having to do with hiring people with disabilities. Stay in tune with the agencies that are hiring and writing about this topic. Pick up the names of Disability Coordinators in various agencies and write to them, sending your Schedule A package.Supervisors have a very unique opportunity to hire high quality individuals who may have a disability.These indiv iduals have been screened through their respective Disabilities Coordinator and are well qualified to work. By going through you Disabilities Coordinator, you as a supervisor notlage only have a unique opportunity to hire an individual with a disability with skills, abilities and are qualified but are also very reliable and highly productive citizens.+ Tip for Applicants with Targeted or Non-Targeted DisabilitiesWrite your federal resume toward one or two specific occupational series / positions in government. Research the government job titles and the agencys mission to determine how you could best fit into an agency. Include a titelbild letter which states what kind of positions you are seeking, and your top 5 skills that you can offer this agency.Your Disabilities Coordinator is your Schedule A Hiring Consultant.Your Disabilities Coordinator will assist you in utilizing the Schedule A process which not only streamlines the hiring process to bring employees on board quickly and fa ster than the competitive process but also give you the opportunity to give back and to give others a chance and a opportunity to be working and pay taxes and not be reliant on public support as you and I are paying for out of our taxes. The more we can get these individuals who want to work and be productive citizens the less taxes we all pay.+ Tip for ApplicantsBe an advocate for yourself and others who are disabled. Share information about what you learn on social networking so that others can be educated about the Schedule A process. You will learn by communicating with your Disabilities Coordinator various lessons, tips and strategies to get your resume in front of supervisors in their agencies.Hire fasterWhen the hiring opportunity comes up in these circumstances that require quick turnaround time to fill your position(s). When you are given an opportunity to hire and at times its in a very short timeframe, your Disability Coordinator is an excellent resource to turn to on a m onthly basis or as needed basis. Refer to Schedule A as your hiring resource as you dont have to advertise your vacant position through the Schedule A process. By utilizing the Schedule A process, you will cut your hiring timeline process in half especially when u have a direct hiring and a hiring freeze in place.+ Tip for ApplicantsSend the resume and cover letter and Schedule A letter to the Disability Coordinator, but also apply for jobs online through USAJOBS. Just submit the same package applying for positions that are posted. Follow all the directions and apply for Schedule A positions online.Get to know your friendly, hard-working Disability Coordinator.By keeping your communications open on a regular basis (monthly) will also increase your chances of filling your positions not only in a timely manner but also making a difference for others whom will do the same once hired and off the public support roles.+ Tip for ApplicantsGet to know the agencys Disability Coordinator. Sen d your resume and cover letter and follow up. Ask questions about the types of positions that are available and write your resume to include skills that will help the Disability Coordinator market your specialized experience. Follow-up once every 2 or 3 weeks, to see if there is any interest, or if the Disability Coordinator has had the chance to present your resume to any supervisors.Photograph Krista Nawrocki is the People with Disabilities Program Manager for Defense Logistics Agency Logistics Information System in Battle Creek, Michigan. Kathryn Troutman is the author of Federal Resume Guidebook, 5th Edition which contains a new chapter on applying for federal positions with the Schedule A Hiring Authority.

Want to be successful in your 20s Do these 9 things

Want to be successful in your 20s Do these 9 things Want to be successful in your 20s Do these 9 things People  define success  in a lot of different ways.Some think it’s  a certain amount of money. Others define it as a way of living, a level of freedom. The truth is, you can define success a hundred different ways - the only thing that matters is whether or not you’ve met the expectation you have for yourself.Follow Ladders on Flipboard!Follow Ladders’ magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and more!If you ask most people what they want out of life, however, almost everyone will say, in some way, that they want to be “successful.” They want the big promotion, the fancy car, the house on the hill, the powerful network, the list goes on. Unfortunately, because “success” is a subjective aim, very few people have any sort of actionable plan or even idea as to how they’re going to  achieve  the success they want so badly. They believe, if they say or think about it enough, success will just “happen.”Except it doesn’t work like that.Here are the things you should start doing in your 20s to guarantee you’ll be successful - no matter what.The sooner you get started, the better.1. Start working on your emotional health, nowLife only gets busier.Too often, people say the phrase, “I will once I’m a bit further along.” But then they get a bit further along, and nothing changes. They just keep saying, “I’ll do it when I’m older. Later, when I have more time.”But this is a dangerous cycle. Take 5 or 10 minutes, per day, and start practicing the habit of working on your emotional health now.2. Spend time with people who aren’t in their 20sYou don’t learn as much spending time around people who are exactly where you are.You learn by surrounding yourself with people who are further along, who have been where you are and have moved to the next level. If you’re in your 20s, then you want to spend time with people in their late 30s, 40s, 50s and above. They’re the ones with the answer s - not your friend who is 25 and still trying to figure things out for him or herself.3. Save and invest as much money as you possibly canInvestments benefit most from the variable of time.The sooner you can get started saving and investing, the more dramatic your gains will be over the long term.  Business Insider published a great piece  on this about how much more money you’d have for retirement if you started saving when you were 25 as opposed to 35.The difference is massive.Second, financial freedom doesn’t come from buying new sneakers or mimosas during brunch. Financial freedom starts to happen when money becomes a  tool  for you to use to make more money. It has to work for you - not the other way around. And the sooner you start practicing that skill, the faster you’ll get to a place where you’re financially secure.4. Get rid of friends who aren’t going anywhere in lifeThis might sound harsh, but it’s true: you are a direct reflection of the people around you .At a certain point, it’s important to realize where people are headed in life, and how much time you want to continue investing in those relationships. You don’t have to be mean about it, or stop talking to long-time friends entirely. But you also shouldn’t keep spending two nights per week getting beers with your buddy who is entirely comfortable in his cubicle job - if that’s not the sort of life you want for yourself.Friendships are investments.Invest wisely.5. Keep reading (even though you’re out of school)So many people stop reading in their 20s.We live in the age of Netflix shows and podcasts, YouTube series’ and IGTV interviews. But the truth is, reading is a completely different experience. It slows you down. It forces you to think deeply. It’s also one of the only forms of knowledge transfer that allows us to receive insights from those who can decades, even centuries, before us.The smartest people read - and you should too.6. Find a workout regime that sup plements your primary aim in lifeSuccess is almost always rooted in some form of physical exercise. Even the chess titan, Bobby Fischer,  swore by his exercise routine  to stay in shape and focused for upcoming matches.When we’re young, we tend to only associate physical exercise with “sports.” But as we get older, physical exercise becomes one of the few ways we can maintain a relationship with ourselves - our gym time is our personal time; an early-morning run clears your head for the day.Instead of only associating exercise with “getting fit,” think of it as a routine to make you better in all aspects of your life.7. Don’t let your hobbies dieWe all have things we love to do purely for fun.Unfortunately, they tend to fall to the wayside as life continues to take its course. Our hobbies become reprioritized. Our careers take over. Add in a family, kids, bills, vacations, etc., and next thing you know, it has been ten years since you picked up the guitar or wrote in yo ur journal.But our hobbies are what keep us grounded. They help us remember not to take life too seriously, and to always make time to enjoy the journey.8. Find a mentor - and forgo short-term rewards for knowledge that will last a lifetimeEveryone in their 20s is so obsessed with becoming successful  as soon as possible.And while this sort of hunger to succeed is great, it should never cause you to make short-sighted decisions. For example, what’s more valuable: pitching your services for $1,000 but being treated as a vendor? Or performing your service for free but getting to work directly with the person you want to learn from the most?A lot of people would disagree with this sort of mentality, and yet it’s one of the greatest “success” shortcuts on the planet. The more you can give up short-term rewards, and invest in yourself, the slower things might be in the beginning but the higher your ceiling will ultimately become.9. Nurture your relationship with your significant otherI used to think you could only become successful (in your 20s) if you were 100% dedicated, obsessed with making progress, and, well,  single.There are a lot of entrepreneurs, especially, who live by this sort of mentality - and even the ones that do have relationships will regularly de-prioritize their partner. And even their partner will eventually say, “He always says he has to work, and there’s no time for me.”But this is a flawed approach to both business and life.I’ve come to learn (through my own relationship) that having someone to share the journey with, to emotionally support you along the way, isn’t going to hold you back. If anything, a life partner will make you better - which means it’s your responsibility to help nurture that relationship along the way.This article first appeared on Medium.

The Inner Workings of an Advertising Agency

The Inner Workings of an Advertising Agency The Inner Workings of an Advertising Agency The inner workings of an advertising agency can be a mystery to anyone outside the industry. The way these agencies are represented in movies and on television is often a world apart from the actual day-to-day operations of a legitimate firm. This is a driven- and sometimes cutthroat- industry with many interlocking parts and personnel. Most agencies are comprised of four major departments: business, research, creative, and media. Each must excel if an agency is going to be successful. How Does an Advertising Agency Work? An agency usually gets work when it receives a pitch from a potential client- an audition, with the client providing a brief to a number of advertising agencies and choosing the one that best resolves the problem, perhaps something along the lines of a competing brand. It doesnt always happen this way, but its common. Contracts are then signed, and the real work begins. The scope of works (SOW) can vary greatly depending on the type of agency and the client, but the agency generally agrees to produce a certain amount of work for a set amount of money. That might be a retainer, an hourly fee, or another arrangement. The client agrees to pay the agency upon receipt of the work. The ad agencys role is to solve problems for its client. The types of problems and solutions can vary depending on the nature of client’s business and the ad agency’s areas of expertise.   The Process of Creating Advertising Campaigns The majority of advertising, marketing, design, and PR firms work along the same basic concept of steps. Some steps might be skipped or combined, but the basic structure is often the same. The account manager and team meet with the client to identify the problem that needs to be resolved.The account manager writes a creative brief based on that problem. It will include competitive analysis, research, the assistance of the planner and/or creative director, and, eventually, a sign-off from the client.The account manager briefs the creative team and establishes a timeline, budget, and proposed media.The creative team works on the project for several days or weeks, and brings the first round of ideas to the creative director. The creative director will cull the ideas that arent working and direct the team to explore the better ideas.The creative team will continue to work on the ideas, bringing in assistance from the production department if necessary. The account manager and other members of the agency might be enlisted as well to make sure the work is on track. The production department will begin estimates if there are printed pieces involved, or if a shoot is required.The creative director approves the final ideas and the creative team presents them to the client. The client will typically take some time to discuss the ideas before giving feedback to the agency. Feedback might result in a reworking of ideas, or a green light to move into the execution of workable ideas. A budget and timeline will once again be approved at this point.The creative team works closely with the account team, the media-buying team, production, and the creative director to produce the ads in whatever form has been agreed to.The final ads are placed in front of the client for approval. The ads are published if the client approves, whether its online, in print, outdoor, on the air, or in any other media. The agency will monitor the success and the return on investment of the ads and give feedback to the client.The client pays the agency and the whole process is repeated. Self-Promotion and Awards Are Key Firms reserve the right to cut ties with an ad agency at any time and to move on to another agency that might serve their needs better. Its a competitive business, and acknowledgement and success are crucial to survival. Agencies must get out there to win more business, and to have clients coming to them for more work. They often enter their best work in awards shows. Only the best shows will garner attention from clients who are worth having. Theyll also develop websites and other forms of self-promotion to get clients looking in their direction.

How professionals make it look easy

How professionals make it look easy How professionals make it look easy I recently gave a keynote speech to a crowd of roughly 3,000 people. I had to catch a flight back home right after it ended, so I bolted out of the conference center to take a Lyft to the airport. As I was leaving the building, someone in the audience caught up to me.“I’m dying to know,” he said. “How does public speaking come so naturally to you?”I set my bag down and replied:  Gloss reflects more than it reveals.Follow Ladders on Flipboard!Follow Ladders’ magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and more!  I then walked off. (Just kidding!). I spent a minute unpacking what I meant, and I’ll do the same here.When I first started public speaking- which was about nine years ago- I was spectacularly awkward. I would write everything I planned to say and deliver it, word by word, in a monotonous fashion. The only change in my tone was the result of palpable tensions in my voice. As I read from my mental teleprompter, I could sense the boredom wafting from the audience. There was  zero  connection between my listeners and me.The same was true in the classroom. The first time I ever taught a class as a law professor, I was so nervous that I tripped over some computer wires, nearly producing an unhappy meeting between face and floor.But I showed up again, and again, and again, marching to the decisive beat of effort-result, effort-result. Each class I taught, and each speech I gave, was a little bit better than the one that came before. Along the way, I discovered how to build a connection, how to tell a good story, and how to conceal missed beats so the audience doesn’t even notice.I practiced public speaking four times a week for  nine years straight  both as a professor and a keynote speaker. Even with that experience, I’m still a work-in-progress. I get tangled up from time to time and stumble over my words. I still get nervous before every speech. But it’s a controlled nervousness- the type that doesn’t paralyze you but keeps you on your toes, makes you over-prepare, and convinces you that if you don’t put out your best every time, the stage can be whisked away from you at any moment.Here’s the thing: Nothing springs to existence perfectly formed. Lionel Messi, who’s as perfect as soccer players come (sorry, Ronaldo fans!), said it took him “17 years and 114 days to become an overnight success.” Steve Martin echoes the same point: “I did stand-up comedy for eighteen years,” he says. “Ten of those years were spent learning, four years were spent refining, and four were spent in wild success.”This is why comparison is the ultimate joy killer- and why it’s so dangerous. When you compare yourself to a seasoned professional, the comparison isn’t apples-to-apples. You’re the beta version, and they’re the finished product. They’ve been doing this for years- if not decades- and you’re just starting.When we engage in this comparison, we assume we’r e not good enough or talented enough, so we don’t even bother trying.But gloss reflects more than it reveals.The next time you’re tempted to put a role model on a pedestal, keep in mind the messy history behind the glamour. You’re not seeing the earlier versions of that stand-up routine that elicited boos from the audience, the earlier drafts of that book chapter that would make any self-respecting writer cringe, or the early versions of blockbuster animation films like  Toy Story  that Pixar’s own President Ed Catmull called their “ugly babies.”It’s like learning how to walk. The early attempts are ugly. At first, it’s a struggle to even stand up. And even when you start walking, you repeatedly fall over. But with each fall, your body learns what to do and what not to do. By learning not to fall, you learn how to walk. You become the envy of all those still toddling their way to their first steps.The idea is the same whether you’re learning to walk, do stand-up, o r score the perfect goal. There’s no magical spell, no pixie dust- no silver bullet.The professionals make it look easy by repeatedly doing what’s hard.Ozan Varol is a rocket scientist turned law professor and bestselling author.  Click here  to download a free copy of his e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian - a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).  This article originally appeared on Ozan Varol.You might also enjoy… New neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happy Strangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds 10 lessons from Benjamin Franklin’s daily schedule that will double your productivity The worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs 10 habits of mentally strong people

Customize this Outstanding Entry Level Mechanical Engineers Resume Template

Customize this Outstanding Entry Level Mechanical Engineers Resume Template Customize this Outstanding Entry Level Mechanical Engineers Resume Template When youre looking for an entry-level position as a mechanical engineer, your resume can open the door to job recruiters and hiring managers. It tells them what your skills and training are and helps them see how you might be of assistance at their company.As a mechanical engineer at the entry level, its important to highlight your digital skills and knowledge of project management methodologies. Your college degree is a vital piece of information, as is any experience you have working in a team environment. Include any professional certifications as well.Take a look at the entry-level mechanical engineers resume template below to see an example of how you can show off your education and skills when prepping your own document. Create ResumeToby Young100 Main Street, Cityplace, CA, 91019 (555) 322-7337 example-email@example.comProfessional SummaryResults-oriented Mechanical and Industrial Engineer with a hands-on approach to tackling projects and accomplishing goals.SkillsComplex prob lem solvingFEA toolsEngine components, pumps, and fuel systems knowledgeAdvanced critical thinkingQuick learnerAutoCAD proficientTeam leadershipWorks well in diverse team environmentTechnical problem-solvingComplex problem solverStrong decision makerFEA and failure analysisGood hand on every field of engineeringSelf-motivation and willing to continue learningEngineering Programs (Algor, Lab view, Minitab, Flexsim, Vensim)EducationMaster of Science: Industrial Engineering December 2013 New Jersey Institute of Technology Newark, New JerseyProject Management CertificateBachelor of Science: Mechanical Engineering April 2012 Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, MIRELEVANT COURSE WORK: Fluid Mechanics, Heat Transfer, Material Science, Thermodynamics, Machine Design, Gas Dynamics, Mechanical Vibrations, Design of thermal system, Mechanics and Solid of Materials, Controls System, Mechanism Analysis, Total Quality Management, Advanced Statistics.: AccomplishmentsTotal Quality Management : Worked on projects that emphasized the importance of sustainable, lean six-sigma, reducing variation for the purpose of implementing total quality in every process of the enterprise.Machine designed a Hill walk Machine:Designed a model walking vehicle that is powered by DC motors and alkaline batteries. The robot was able to walk up and down a staircase with the control of a remote.Drag Reduction on Tractor trailer : Built a model of a tractor trailer and tested for the highest point of drag on the model using a wind tunnel . 30% drag reduction was achieved by redesigning some parts,applying some aerodynamics parts like ducts and also with the help of FEA Analysis.Customize ResumeEntry-Level Mechanical Engineers Resume Questions1. What do you write in the summary statement for an entry-level mechanical engineers resume?Because youre working at an entry level, your professional summary statement will focus less on past accomplishments and more on the strengths of your abilities. Writ e a high-quality summary statement that describes the talents that make you a good hire, using confident language.Keep your summary statement no more than three bullet points or sentences long, as demonstrated in our entry-level mechanical engineers resume sample. You have a very short period of time to capture and keep employers attention, so make the most of it by choosing your words for impact.2. Whats the best way to include digital skills on an entry-level mechanical engineers resume?You have a number of ways to integrate your digital skills, but one of the best is through effective use of the keyword skills section. This skills list lets you call out your strongest digital skills, but make sure to only include your best selling points and areas of expertise.Integrate any other digital skills throughout your work history by describing how you used them to accomplish certain tasks, as we have in our entry-level mechanical engineers resume sample. If necessary, you can also inclu de a brief technical skills section, but try not to take up too much space.3. Whats the best way to show you work well in a team on an entry-level mechanical engineers resume?As an entry-level candidate, youll likely be working in a team environment. Demonstrate you work well with others by discussing your abilities to communicate, collaborate, and build relationships. Make mention of any time you helped coworkers with projects, trained peers, or solved problems for your team.4. What do you put on an entry-level mechanical engineers resume for your first job?If youre familiar with any project management methodologies, this can also be an effective way to demonstrate knowledge of team effectiveness. Use our entry-level mechanical engineers resume sample for a demonstration of how to discuss your team projects.Landing your first job can feel like the most difficult part of starting your career, but it doesnt have to be. You can get a head start on job searching and pull ahead of the p ack by crafting an effective resume. Even without work history, you can still create a summary that sells your best talents.5. What goes in the header of an entry-level mechanical engineers resume?Luckily for you, writing your header is the easiest part of writing your resume. Its just your name and contact info, just like our entry-level mechanical engineers resume sample. Make sure you spell your name correctly, and double-check your phone number and email for accuracy.Dont make the mistake of completely omitting your address. Employers need to know youre local to the job, or that youll need time to relocate. If youre concerned about privacy, leave off the street and only include city and state. Need help? Try our step-by-step resume builder.More Engineering Resume TemplatesMechanical Engineers Resume TemplatesEntry Level Petroleum Engineers Resume TemplatesPetroleum Engineers Resume Templates

Improve Your Interviews with a Post-Game Review

Improve Your Interviews with a Post-Game Review Improve Your Interviews with a Post-Game Review Improve Your Interviews with a Post-Game Review Herrenkohl How can you improve your teams hiring decisions when it comes to how to interview candidates? How can you avoid common hiring mistakes? One way is to conduct a post-gamemeeting with everyone involved in the hiring process. First,have multiple people interview the job candidate.After the interview, get all the interviewers together to share their assessment of the candidate. Here are some steps to take: 1.Share impressions. Allow each interviewer to share his or her impressions of each candidate based on verbatim notes. What impressed them?What questions did the candidate raise?What answers did the candidate provide that were weak or incomplete?By sharing these impressions, other interviewers can verify their own candidate reactions.Inevitably, one interviewer catches something that everyone else missed. 2.Encourage open and honest commentary.If you have a range of junior and senior people involved in the interview process, have the senior executives wait to share their impressions so as not to sway the junior people in the room. At the same time, emphasize with everyone that hiring is too important a decision to have anyone hold back their honest impressions. 3. Utilize an interview scorecard. Force all the interviewers to rank the candidates interviewed using an interview scorecard and make a recommendation based on the information gathered so far as to who they would hire. This process forces people to compare and contrast candidates clearly. 4.Beware of primacy and recency. Human beings have a tendency to remember what came first and what came last, and to forget what came in between. Warn interviewers to be aware of this primacy and recency dynamic and to guard against it.After all, if the 4th candidate out of 6 was the best person you interviewed, you dont want his or her name to get lost in the shuffle. 5.Create a short list of candidates you will invite for second interviews.Exclude people who clearly dont have the accomplishments or background to do the job you need done.Include both highly qualified candidates and individuals who have the background to do the job but may not have communicated their accomplishments as effectively as other candidates.The latter candidate can often become a first choice.When you invite people for second interviews, keep everyone on the interview team in the loop, whether or not they are involved in the second interview. Author Bio Eric Herrenkohl is the founder and president of Herrenkohl Consulting, a firm that helps clients build great sales teams. He is the author of the book, How to Hire A-Players (John Wiley Sons, April 2010.) To receive his free e-letter, subscribe at herrenkohlconsulting.

We all have a little Elsa in us at work, says co-author of Frozen

We all have a little Elsa in us at work, says co-author of 'Frozen' We all have a little Elsa in us at work, says co-author of 'Frozen' At the age of 42, Robert Lopez is the youngest of only 12 people in history to earn entertainment’s grand-slam victory of  EGOT: an  Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award.Robert’s career spans two decades of some of the best and most iconic songwriting out there.  He is responsible for creating the scores and books of the Tony award winning musicals “Avenue Q” and “The Book of Mormon”, as well as the song  Let it Go  from Frozen, which netted him and his equally talented wife Kristen Anderson-Lopez their first Academy Award for Best Original Song.Our question when we see someone so relentlessly successful and talented is: how did he or she get to this point? What secrets did Lopez learn in the making of Frozen that relates to how you can be successful in a project? Robert talked to us about all of this before he was being honored at the City University of New York  â€œInvest in a Future” Gala.Ladders: You won the Oscar for “Let it Go” from Frozen, and it’s such an i conic and timeless song. What kind of secrets did you learn from the making of that when it comes to how to successfully work in your career?Robert Lopez: We really had to lean in, writing that score, because the story was very different when we came in  [Elsa was the villain] and it wasn’t right to be a musical. It just didn’t feel like it would sing, and if we tried to be good and work within the bounds of what we were supposed to say, what we were supposed to do and who we were supposed to be please, it would’ve been harder for everyone to find the movie where we wanted it to be.  One of the things that we learned is that it is good to lean in and disagree, and it makes you a motor in the process when you are able to bring a different point of view - and you know when to have that point of view and not always stop everything. I think part of it was my wife Kristen being the braver one of the two of us, leaning into what it should be about and the two sisters and what it’ s like to be a woman growing up. She drew from her identity.Honestly, do you think we are all a little Elsa at our job?(Laughs). You know, I think there is a little bit of her in all of us. I was always a perfectionist as a kid, and had my share of freakouts and that is how I found my way into her character.  Outside of Frozen, you have done some amazing theater work including “Avenue Q” and “The Book of Mormon.” Has there been anyone you have worked with that has left a lasting impression? Well, let’s see. I’ve been lucky enough to work with a lot of heroes, like Matt Stone and Trey Parker from South Park, who were my idols in college. I got to work with John Lasseter and the people at Pixar and Scott Rudin, these are just greats in the industry.  Jeffrey Seller as well, who produced “Avenue Q” as well as “Hamilton” and “Rent.” I don’t know, I wouldn’t say anybody I wouldn’t want to work with, but I wouldn’t want to work on something just for the m oney that I didn’t like. That’s another lesson that you learn: if you take a project for the money, just for the money in a creative setting, it is hard to fly. Because you have to make yourself happy as well as the audience.You’ve had so much success in many arenas, how do you handle success as it comes?It is tricky, it is hard and can really come between you and what makes you an artist. It’s a constant process of therapy. It’s nice to win awards - but it is nice to put them in context and not buy your own hype. It is hard to not start thinking of yourself as a thing, you are still yourself.We all have the naysayers in our life, whether they are coming from a place of love or the other way around. How do you handle these sorts of people?I tune them out. There were a couple of toxic relationships when I started working and it was hard to let them go because you feel like you needed them. You feel, at least I felt, scared that I would fail without the person. Letting go o f those toxic relationships, as scary as it is, it leads to a better life and even though its painful, because we all have them, but if you can and find the courage to do it, it pays off.And finally, for success in any sort of career that includes a great deal of longevity and prosperity, what is your best advice?Some of it is just being there. Being in the right place at the right time which you can’t control that, but you can control how you put yourself out there. So, they say “never say no to going out somewhere with people,”  or “never say no to going to some industry thing,”  and if you are like me, a little bit shy and a bit of an introvert, it is good to find a partner who brings that out in you, which in my case is Kristen.