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A new generation is starting to enter the workforce, and the office as you know it could be about to change dramatically. Generation Z - people born after 1996 - is about to hit the working world in a big way. Consulting firm BridgeWorks estimates that Gen Z accounts for 61 million people in the U.S., a number that's already larger than Generation X and two-thirds the size of the baby boomers.

Gen Zers have lived a much different life than their parents and millennials. They're a generation that, in many cases, can't remember a life without a smartphone in their hand - and they have no memory of the 9/11 attacks, beyond the classroom. As a result, companies looking to recruit and retain them may need to adjust their tactics.

The Center for Generational Kinetics has extensively studied this segment of the population. The good news for companies is this appears to be a group that wants to work hard and learn. They're also a generation that's thinking about their own financial future.

"These Gen Zers have seen their parents struggle financially [due to the recession and student loan crisis], so parents are having conversations about finances, money and debt with kids earlier. They're having conversations older generations never really had before," said Denise Villa, founder of The Center for Generational Kinetics.

Thirty-five percent of the people surveyed in the center's most recent study said they plan to start saving for retirement in their 20s. Twelve percent (and keep in mind, many of the people in this survey were still teens) say they've already started saving.

Hiring these people isn't just a matter of placing a want ad, though. Recruitment, said Heather Watson, behavioral designer at The Center for Generational Kinetics, is about to become more of a marketing effort.

"Think of your company as a brand," she said. "What makes it unique? What makes it fun? How do you visually show that?"

Ryan Marshall, regional manager of human resources at Convergint Technologies, agreed. He leads the company's Convergint Development Program, which recruits and trains college graduates for careers in the technology systems integration industry, and said the key to hiring Generation Z is less about benefits packages and more about the day-to-day work experience.

"One of the things we do is sell our culture," he said. "It seems to be that this generation is first and foremost looking for the best cultural fit for them. They're looking for a company where they're not just a number, but they're somewhere they can contribute to the company."

Gen Z also voraciously reads reviews - particularly those of a company they're considering. Glass Door is a valuable source of information for them, so it's wise to regularly check in there to see how employees (and ex-employees) paint a picture of your company.

The top thing Gen Z looks for is a fun place to work, with a flexible schedule and paid time off also ranking high. But while they want to have fun, that doesn't mean they're not serious, said Villa.

"They want to work," she said. "They want to do a very good job at that position. They're not looking at climbing the ranks quickly. They're looking at getting value quickly."

Marshall said that eagerness to work translates to a quicker return on employee investment.

"This generation is very, very savvy with technology," he said. "I think what has been most shocking to me is how quickly they pick up on things and how fast they contribute directly to our business and our bottom line."

But first, many will need to be trained on the skills that boomers and millennials take for granted, like handling calls and writing emails.

That's because Generation Z has been less about face-to-face communications- they more commonly communicate via text, emoji and video - and they're unprepared for a field such as customer service, where they could interact with irate people.

A different type of training required

"When you're thinking about retention and training, think about the soft skills these people need to be successful," said Villa. "They want to come in and do a really good job; they just need skills we grew up with that they didn't."

Other forms of training will have to take place in different ways, too, added Watson. Short YouTube-like instructional videos are especially effective.
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The entry of Gen Z into the workforce could also shift the paradigm of the employer/employee relationship. The line between work and life that some companies encourage could fade.

"If you manage Gen Z, you're not only managing their skill performance, you're also kind of coaching their life as well," said Watson. "They want buddies and friends, which goes against everything you're taught in management class. They want to be socially connected with everyone. They want to be socially connected with their boss as well."

They also want feedback regularly. Having been raised in an instant-reaction world (with Likes and other social media rewards), 40 percent surveyed by the center say they want daily interactions with their boss - and if they don't get it, they often think they've done something wrong.

That's got some employers worried. In a national survey of workplace managers by APPrise Mobile, a mobile communications platform, almost one-third of millennial respondents say that it will be more difficult to manage employees from Gen Z compared to older generations. And 28 percent say it will be more difficult to train Gen Z employees.

WATCH: Hottest brands for Gen Z

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61 million Gen Zers are about to enter the US workforce and radically change it forever

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A new generation is starting to enter the workforce, and the office as you know it could be about to change dramatically. Generation Z - people born after 1996 - is about to hit the working world in a big way.

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Dr. Stephanie Carlson: Shaping Executive Function Skills:  What Can Caregivers Do?

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How important are various skills for top careers? Skills are developed capacities that facilitate learning or the more rapid acquisition of knowledge.

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How important are various abilities for top careers? Abilities are enduring attributes of the individual that influence performance.

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1. Where can I find the answers to the daily digital Spelling Bee puzzle?
For daily digital Spelling Bee puzzles, the full word list becomes available the next day. To view the previous day's puzzle answers, select Yesterday.
2. Where can I find the answers to the version of the Spelling Bee puzzle printed in The Times Magazine?
For the print version, answers are posted at 10pm the Thursday after a variety puzzle runs in The Times Magazine.
3. Is the digital daily Spelling Bee puzzle different from the Spelling Bee in The Times Magazine?
Yes. The daily digital Spelling Bee puzzle is not the same puzzle that you find in The New York Times Magazine. It's available only to New York Times Games subscribers. Additionally, the daily digital Spelling Bee puzzle uses different letters, allows you to find four-letter words, and utilizes a slightly different scoring system

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New daily digital Spelling Bee puzzles are released every day at 3am Eastern Standard Time (EST).
5. Why isn't every word in Spelling Bee?
Every Spelling Bee puzzle is hand-curated to focus on relatively common words (with a couple tough ones here and there to keep it challenging). Occasionally we'll miss some common words and add them in, but our puzzle editors ultimately draw from our internal lexicon and make the call for what's best with that day's puzzle.

The key word here is 'common'. We just removed words from Spelling Bee that we believe are not common enough, despite them being defined words, in order to maintain a level-field for all of our solvers.

We also try to avoid terms that are very specific to any professional field, such as terms that might be familiar to, for example, a physician, ornithologist or geologist, but not to people outside of that field of expertise.
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Letter Boxed is based on words in the Oxford University Press English Dictionary. Spelling Bee has a separate curated word list that strives to incorporate commonly used words, with a couple challenging words from time to time.
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Spelling Bee, Letter Boxed, and Tiles are only available to New York Times Games paid subscribers. A new puzzle is made available each day at 3am ET. The easiest way to access Spelling Bee and Letter Boxed is from the New York Times Games website , or by bookmarking the direct links here:
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While Spelling Bee, Letter Boxed, Tiles, and Vertex are not included in The Crossword app we can help you create a desktop icon on your phone that will provide you an app-like experience by taking the following steps:
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No. Tiles is free to play.
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Each day you are given a fixed amount of plays. Each time you play Tiles you spend 1 play. Plays are replenished each night at midnight EST. Registering for free gives you additional plays. Or, if you purchase a New York Times Games subscription, you will be granted an unlimited number of plays.
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The tile set used to generate the game rotates each day. Subscribers can choose their preferred color palette by clicking Settings and choosing from the available options in the dropdown menu.
4. What is Zen Mode?
In Zen Mode, tiles will replenish as they are cleared, allowing for infinite play. You must be subscribed to New York Times Games to access Zen Mode. Also in Zen Mode, combos can eventually break since there may not always be a match for the tile you have selected.
1. How do I clear connections between vertices?
You can clear a vertex's connections by double-clicking or double-tapping on a dot.
2. I connected all the vertices. Why is nothing happening?
If the triangles you have formed are not filling in with color, they are incorrectly connected. Clear them out and try again. When you see color, you're on the right track!
3. Do I have to play the tutorial every time?
There is a button at the top of the screen to skip the tutorial, however, the starter pack cannot be skipped.
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Sudoku is a daily puzzle that can be played for free without a subscription. You can access Sudoku from the NYTimes news app, New York Times Games website on desktop or mobile devices, or by bookmarking the direct link: https://www.nytimes.com/puzzles/sudoku/easy
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SET and KENKEN are no longer supported on our platform as of July 1st, 2020. KenKen will still be available daily in The New York Times newspaper and you can still play KenKen and Set directly on the third party site for each game.

We encourage you to check out New York Times Games' other offerings such as Spelling Bee, Vertex, and Tiles on the New York Times Games website .

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1. Where can I find the answers to the daily digital Spelling Bee puzzle? For daily digital Spelling Bee puzzles, the full word list becomes available the next day. To view the previous day's puzzle answers, select Yesterday. 2. Where can I find the answers to the version of the Spelling Bee puzzle printed in The Times Magazine?

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College & Career Competencies FrameworkResources

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Detailed descriptions of the world-of-work for use by job seekers, workforce development and HR professionals, students, developers, researchers, and more. Individuals can find, search, or browse across 900+ occupations based on their goals and needs. Comprehensive reports include occupation requirements, worker characteristics, and available training, education, and job opportunities.

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Descriptors Skills/Abilities. Search O*NET for career related information.

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O*NET Data descriptors are categories of occupational information collected and available for O*NET-SOC occupations. Each descriptor contains more specific elements with data ratings.

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Peter Doolittle: How your "working memory" makes sense of the world

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Notice:

Currently the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) section is experiencing difficulty receiving information via our primary email address, https://idcfoes.bls.gov. Until further notice please use oesinfo@twc.state.tx.us or fax to 1-866-463-6666 to send information to the OES Section.

Labor Market Information

Watch the instructional videos! A suite of easy to use labor market research tools that provides time series labor market data and inquiry capabilities for labor force, employment/unemployment estimates, industry and occupational projections, and occupational wage data.

Students, Counselors, & Teachers

Tell us what college you want to attend, what you want to study, and we'll tell you what you could make in that field, and how much you could owe when you graduate.

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Currently the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) section is experiencing difficulty receiving information via our primary email address, https://idcfoes.bls.gov. Until further notice please use oesinfo@twc.state.tx.us or fax to 1-866-463-6666 to send information to the OES Section. Labor Market Information Watch the instructional videos!

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Executive Functioning Skills CTE Comparison

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Floral Design Instructional Posters

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Floral design instructional handouts (1)

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Culinary Posters

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Welding Poster

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The executive functions all serve a "command and control" function; they can be viewed as the "conductor" of all cognitive skills.

Executive functions help you manage life tasks of all types. For example, executive functions let you organize a trip, a research project, or a paper for school.

Often, when we think of problems with executive functioning, we think of disorganization. However, organization is only one of these important skills.

The term "executive functioning" has become a common buzzword in schools and psychology offices. This is more than just a passing fad. In fact, neuropsychologists have been studying these skills for many years. We believe that the focus on executive functioning represents a significant advancement in our understanding of children (and adults!) and their unique profile of strengths and weaknesses.

A Formal Definition of Executive Functioning

Now (drum roll please), here is a formal definition of executive functioning:

The executive functions are a set of processes that all have to do with managing oneself and one's resources in order to achieve a goal. It is an umbrella term for the neurologically-based skills involving mental control and self-regulation.

What mental control skills are covered under this umbrella? Different researchers and practitioners have their own favorite lists, although the overall concept is basically the same. We use the list proposed by Drs. Gerard A. Gioia, Peter K. Isquith, Steven C. Guy, and Lauren Kenworthy. These psychologists developed their understanding of executive functions through sound research and created a rating scale that helps parents, teachers, and professionals understand a particular child and think more specifically about how to help.

Before looking at the list of specific characteristics encompassed by the broad category of executive functions, we'd like to provide an example that makes the concepts more concrete.

Understanding Executive Functions by Looking at Life without Them

Thinking about what life is like for someone with weak executive functioning gives us a better understanding of the way these core skills affect our ability to manage life tasks. In the interest of making the concepts immediately relevant and meaningful, our example focuses on an adult, since we assume that most people reading this book are adults, too. Throughout the rest of the book we've included mostly examples of executive functioning in younger people.

The Road Trip without a Map

We'd like to tell you a story about our friend, Robin, who lives life without the benefit of strong executive functioning. Robin is a composite of many individuals we have known, and she struggles with weaknesses in executive skills, despite her well-intentioned efforts to reform herself.

One day in May, Robin gets a phone call from her Aunt Sue in Merryville, Missouri. Aunt Sue is planning a family reunion in July, and she wants to know if Robin and her family can come. All of the extended family will be there. The little town will be overrun with relatives and it is going to be a great corralling of the family from all across the United States. Robin is excited at the prospect and eagerly says, "Of course we'll be there! We wouldn't miss it!"

Aunt Sue gives Robin all the particulars, including the dates of the reunion and places to stay. Robin rummages around in the kitchen junk drawer for a pencil while her aunt talks, but she never does find one with a point on it. She promises to herself to find a pencil and write down all the details just as soon as she gets off the phone. But by the time she hangs up, she can't remember the specifics. She makes a mental note to call back soon to get the dates.

That evening, Robin excitedly tells her husband and two children about the reunion. Her husband asks when it will take place. "Some time in July. I don't remember exactly." He says, "Well, please find out this week because I have to request vacation time at work." Their fifteen-year-old son exclaims, "Hey, I thought July was when I was supposed to go to Band Camp!" "Didn't you remember?" Robin's daughter practically shouts, "I'm going to Ocean City with Julie and her family sometime in July." Robin blows up at them all, yelling, "Why are you all being so negative? This is supposed to be fun!"

About once a week, Robin's husband reminds her to get the information about the reunion. She promises to do so. (And she really means to get around to it!) Finally, in June, Robin's husband gets very annoyed and says, "Do it now! I'm going to stay right here in the kitchen until you call!" Robin makes the call and gets the dates as well as the other particulars. Her husband harrumphs around the house the rest of the evening because now he has only three weeks left before the requested time-off. Luck is on their side, though, because he manages to arrange the vacation around work, and the reunion dates do not conflict with the kids' activities.

Over the next three weeks, thoughts about the trip float through Robin's head from time to time. She thinks about how the kids will need to have things to do in the car since it's a long trip. She thinks about taking food and snacks for the ride. She thinks about getting her work at the office cleared up in advance so she can be free of commitments for the vacation. She thinks, "I really should take care of that stuff."

A few days before it is time to leave for the two-day drive to Missouri, she starts piling stuff into the van, including clothes and other supplies. (You can only imagine what the inside of this van looks like!)

Finally, it's time to pile the people into the van, too. On the way out of the house, one of the kids asks, "Who will be taking care of the cats while we're gone?" Robin moans, "Oh no! I forgot about that. We can't just leave them here to die and there's no one to take care of them! Now we can't go. What will we tell Aunt Sue?" Her husband takes over, and starts calling around the neighborhood until he finds a teenager who can do the pet sitting. The crisis passes. The cats will be fine.

So, they're off. Robin's husband drives the first shift. He pulls out of the neighborhood, gets onto the main highway, and then asks, "So, what's the game plan? What's the route?" Robin answers, "Missouri is west, so I know we have to go west." He looks at Robin incredulously and says, "You don't know any more details than that? Well, get out the map. We can't just head west with no more information that that!" And, of course, Robin says, "What map? I don't have a map." Robin's husband sighs and shakes his head. "Oh no! Another road trip without a map! Why didn't you tell me you were having trouble getting it all organized? I could have helped." Robin replied, "I didn't have any trouble. Everything is fine. We're in the car, aren't we? We'll get there. What are you so upset about?"

Do you think Robin had made reservations for where to stay along the way? Do you think she had planned out how much cash they would need for the trip or made it to the bank ahead of time? These and many other details, of course, had escaped planning.

A List of Executive Functions

With this example as a base, let's turn back to the question of what specific abilities are covered under the umbrella term of executive functioning. Below is the list of executive functions from Dr. Gioia and his colleagues. We've included a specific illustration of each executive function from our case study of Robin in parentheses after each definition.

1. Inhibition - The ability to stop one's own behavior at the appropriate time, including stopping actions and thoughts. The flip side of inhibition is impulsivity; if you have weak ability to stop yourself from acting on your impulses, then you are "impulsive." (When Aunt Sue called, it would have made sense to tell her, "Let me check the calendar first. It sounds great, but I just need to look at everybody's schedules before I commit the whole family.")

2. Shift - The ability to move freely from one situation to another and to think flexibly in order to respond appropriately to the situation. (When the question emerged regarding who would watch the cats, Robin was stymied. Her husband, on the other hand, began generating possible solutions and was able to solve the problem relatively easily.)

3. Emotional Control - The ability to modulate emotional responses by bringing rational thought to bear on feelings. (The example here is Robin's anger when confronted with her own impulsive behavior in committing the family before checking out the dates: "Why are you all being so negative?")

4. Initiation - The ability to begin a task or activity and to independently generate ideas, responses, or problem-solving strategies. (Robin thought about calling to check on the date of the reunion, but she just didn't get around to it until her husband initiated the process.)

5. Working memory - The capacity to hold information in mind for the purpose of completing a task. (Robin could not keep the dates of the reunion in her head long enough to put them on the calendar after her initial phone call from Aunt Sue.)

6. Planning/Organization - The ability to manage current and future- oriented task demands. (In this case, Robin lacked the ability to systematically think about what the family would need to be ready for the trip and to get to the intended place at the intended time with their needs cared for along the way.)

7. Organization of Materials - The ability to impose order on work, play, and storage spaces. (It was Robin's job to organize the things needed for the trip. However, she just piled things into the car rather than systematically making checklists and organizing things so important items would be easily accessible, so the space would be used efficiently, and so that people and "stuff" would be orderly and comfortable in the car.)

8. Self-Monitoring - The ability to monitor one's own performance and to measure it against some standard of what is needed or expected. (Despite the fact that they're off to Missouri without knowing how to get there, with almost no planning for what will happen along the way, and without a map, Robin does not understand why her husband is so upset.)

The executive functions are a diverse, but related and overlapping, set of skills. In order to understand a person, it is important to look at which executive skills are problematic for her and to what degree.

For strategies to help children with Executive Function Disorder, also excerpted from Late, Lost, and Unprepared by Joyce Cooper-Kahn, Phd. and Laurie Dietzel, Ph.D., go to:

For more information about Executive Functioning, go to:

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The term "executive functioning" has become a common buzzword in schools and psychology offices. This is more than just a passing fad. Find out what executive function is, and what specific abilities are covered under the umbrella term of executive functioning.

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These 9 apps, games, and other tools can help your child improve his working memory - retaining more of what he works so hard to learn.

COGMED WORKING MEMORY TRAINING ( cogmed.com) - the only working memory product with double-blind studies to back up its claims. Cogmed is a research-based, clinically proven computer program designed to improve memory capacity through targeted, regimented exercises. Through a series of 12 challenging games, the Cogmed program aims to enhance verbal, visual, and spatial memory. Cogmed may create changes in the brain that improve memory.

ELEVATE ( iOS and Android) - an app that personalizes a training regimen for each user, depending on his or her goals. The user can play 30-plus games that boost memory skills, focus, and processing speed. The games are designed in collaboration with experts in neuroscience and cognitive learning.

FLASHCARDS+ ( iOS) - an engaging and fast-paced app to bolster the studying process and exercise working memory. Users can choose subjects and categories from a user-curated bank of topics or create their own flashcards. The app also allows you to track your results and your speed.
[Test: Does Your Child Have a Working Memory Deficit?]
STACKING (Available on Amazon.com) - a puzzle video game that requires players to use working-memory skills. You start as a small stacking doll and you must "stack" into larger dolls of the same variety to solve the puzzle. Players must recall where they discovered those dolls in each level.

BRAIN AGE ( Nintendo 3DS) - a fun set of games and exercises to challenge the brain. There are three different versions of the game, all of which challenge working-memory skills, using math and logic activities. In "Head Count," a player sees a house in which stick figures enter from the left and exit from the right. The task is to count the people as they move in and out, figuring out how many people are in the house at the end of the game.

SUDOKU (Android, iOS, Facebook, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3, PSP, and online) - a popular game, available as an app, on consoles, and online that requires players to make informed choices, trying different combinations of numbers to narrow down the possible answers. Players have to retain information as they continue solving the puzzle.

SIMON SAYS CLASSIC AND EXTREME ( iOS) - a video game with working memory exercises that require players to memorize an ever-increasing sequence of colors and sounds. It can be played in a four-color mode, or the more challenging nine-color mode.
[Free Resource: Overcoming Common Learning Challenges]
DUAL N-BACK GAME ( iOS and Android) - A classic working-memory training app with solid research to back up the benefits. In general, N-Back tasks present an ongoing sequence of stimuli (in this case, pictures), and the player's job is to indicate when the picture he sees matches a picture that was seen "n" steps earlier in the sequence. One study suggests that playing N-Back games can result in long-term working-memory improvement.

MEMORY BIRDS N-BACK GAME ( iOS and Android) - a fun memory-based video game directed at younger kids that exercises visual-spatial working memory. Players are given a sequence of birds to remember and then asked to recall a step in that sequence. As questions are answered, the sequence gets longer. When a player answers all of the questions correctly, he earns stars.
[15 Memory Exercises for Forgetful Kids]

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9 Apps and Tools That Build Better Retention

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These 9 apps, games, and other tools can help your child improve his working memory - retaining more of what he works so hard to learn. COGMED WORKING MEMORY TRAINING ( cogmed.com) - the only working memory product with double-blind studies to back up its claims. Cogmed is a research-based, clinically proven computer program designed to improve memory capacity through targeted, regimented exercises.

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What are executive functioning skills? What are examples of executive functions? Learn about different executive skills, and the three areas of executive function.