Takeover Unfiltered

Brianna Rooney: Welcome to another great episode of talent takeover.

Taylor Bradley: Unfiltered

Brianna Rooney: Woo. Today we have a very special guest Kara winters, our director of learning and development. Welcome.

Kera Winders: Hey y'all

Brianna Rooney: Today. She's going to talk about never being too busy to learn and do not forget to wait until the end, because we have a broke to boss tip from Kara herself. Welcome to talent takeover

Taylor Bradley: Unfiltered.

Brianna Rooney: When it comes to working hard and keeping it real. We know our. Self-care happiness, inner peace and time. I'm Brianna Rooney, and this is Taylor Bradley. Hey y'all and we have thrived in chaos and turned it into in art form. So, Taylor, what are we doing here today?

Taylor Bradley: We're here to give you a raw under the hood view of all things recruiting and finally give credit where credit is due to a long underrated industry. That's full of quote unquote experts.

Brianna Rooney: All right, well then let's take this show to the road. Perfect. All right, well, let's get into it. So this is definitely the subject I know you're incredibly passionate about. So I'm gonna, you know, kind of hand it over to you on how, how you really do that. Like, cuz trust me, we're all busy. Right? So I even feel like I'm busy to even talk to my mom. Sorry mom. yeah,

Kera Winders: Facts, right.

Brianna Rooney: I guess depends on who we're talking about. Um, so how do you tackle that?

Kera Winders: Honestly, it comes down to strategy and how you run your life. Um, some people are very planned and organized others fly by the seat of their pants and then some people are that combination. Uh, for me personally, I take on things a bit at a time. Um, so if I have a really busy schedule, I find a way to just fit in things that I wanna learn, but I have that deep passion for learning. I didn't always like learning, but then I found fun ways to learn.

Brianna Rooney: There we go. I like that. You're talking about that. So I, um, definitely street smarts. I don't think anyone say I'm book smart. mm-hmm

Taylor Bradley: No comment.

Brianna Rooney: Hey, I went to fashion school. Okay. It helped out uh, but yeah, so like I think of the traditional learning, like even, um, you know what, we're, what we're trying to teach recruiters. Right? We're trying to teach 'em how to, how to have an amazing career from zero to hero basically. Um, and we have to make it fun because like I'm not gonna sit down and take a test and read a book and you know, it's just different. So how do you, how do you do that?

Kera Winders: Honest again, it's all personal experience. I, like I said, I used to hate learning and that traditional read a book and then write an essay. I've learned that that doesn't work because you're just forcing yourself to do something you don't like. So you find things that you enjoy doing. Like there's so many learning apps out there. Uh, you can download them and just learn whatever you wanna learn. And there's different ways of making it like into a game, especially with our generation and how we are very automated in everything we do. It has created either lazy learners or learners that expect to be spoon fed the information. Um, so you have to find an inner motivation to want to learn something. So if you say, Hey today, I wanna learn one fact that I wanna take away and share with somebody. It could be anything who is the inventor of Plato. Like it, it doesn't matter. You learned that. No but I would Google it. So,

Taylor Bradley: Um, you would say that to start, you need to understand and know what your learning style is. Yes. So if somebody doesn't know that about themselves, what would you recommend is step one,

Kera Winders: Honestly, go online and take the learning style assessment.

Taylor Bradley: So there's a learning style assessment guys. Mm-hmm I didn't know that

Brianna Rooney: To know. We'll put that in the link below, cause I'm sure that that's definitely something you, you guys have to tackle. We do it here at diversity and talent perch. It's super important. And just on a side note, a kinesthetic learner are most recruiters and we will put definition of what that is, but essentially most recruiters are hands on learners. Like that's they have to do it. They have to see it. It's like all this combination of stuff. Um, which I know Kara, you tackle a lot. Yes. And very well. Um, how, how do you, how do you, um, you know, I guess tackle, if someone's like, oh, I'm a visual learner, but oh. But I also, I also like to read it, you know, like how do you do

Kera Winders: That? I put myself in the position of a student, I think about if I were a person that enjoyed visual learning and I needed to learn something, I put myself in the perspective of being able to look at, um, designing a class and say, okay, for our visual learners, how would I want this to be presented? And then I also talk to other people that are visual learners and I reach out to other individuals that have different learning styles and I ask them for their input. I show them what we have and you know, the more, the better. So all of that feedback actually makes it a lot easier for me to understand how visual learners or how other types of learning styles can be combined and make one beautiful learning environment.

Brianna Rooney: Yeah. So definitely, you know, a lot of people can learn things, but can they remember things? What, how are you tackling that? Because I go back to the subject of, you're never too busy to learn, but can you also then say, well, I'm too busy to retain.

Kera Winders: Yes. There are times when people say that, but that's where those crunch modes go in, where people are actually just trying to cram information just to be able to pass a test.

Taylor Bradley: Yeah. I think it's more like what's your optimal focus time and then making sure that you utilize time within that time. I know you're gonna share more with us in the broke to bus tip mm-hmm of the week, but um, how much time is recommended daily for somebody to learn something new. But I think then incorporating that into your optimal focus time would probably be ideal. Agreed. Cause I know for me, like whenever I was growing up and um, I was diagnosed early on with ADHD, so I would have to go into a separate testing room very early on like junior high and I would have to go because I'd be like squirrel squirrel,

Brianna Rooney: Squirrel yes.

Taylor Bradley: And then I'd never get anything done. I'm like, it's time. The test is over and I've gotten through three questions and so yeah, just be looking to see what everybody was doing. And so I think that really understanding for me as I got older, like what my optimal focus time was, how I learned my learning style. And then, you know, I can't take tests or be, I'd have to go in one of the private rooms in the library to even study cuz I'm like, who's getting off the elevator

Brianna Rooney: Thinks you're probably going in there to do drugs

Taylor Bradley: Where she no, probably cause nobody's in, they're your closet.

Brianna Rooney: What

Taylor Bradley: She's doing over, over there. I, I went into the closet in there.

Brianna Rooney: Seven minutes of heaven,

Taylor Bradley: But yeah. I mean, I think it's really good to understand your learning style. I don't know how as an adult, you wouldn't know that

Kera Winders: You'd be surprised.

Brianna Rooney: I think it's, I would assume it's common. Yeah.

Taylor Bradley: Honestly, I, I, I believe it's common. I fully believe that. I'm just saying, I don't know how you wouldn't know it about yourself.

Kera Winders: There's a lot of people that aren't really that, that comes with that emotional intelligence aspect of learning and understanding and having self-awareness too. And that's um, a portion of learning is understanding where you're at on the EQ scale,

Brianna Rooney: Which no one knows that.

Kera Winders: exactly. So if you wanna do that, there's actual online assessments for that as well,

Brianna Rooney: Which will put the link below. perfect. Yeah. I mean, I made a joke to my family that I guess they didn't find very funny. I told 'em I was all getting them EQ training for Christmas. not a good Christmas gift. What

Kera Winders: I

Taylor Bradley: Mean? Yeah. What a passive aggressive, like you need this, like when someone asks you for, if they wanna min or something, the first thought you have is like, mm-hmm well, does my breast one yeah. It's like, okay, dip. You need EQ training, you know mm-hmm

Brianna Rooney: Oh, they love me. so, um, you know, more tips on, you know, never too busy to learn. It's like, um, oh actually I wanna go back to the, the retain. Yes, because I think that's its own separate beast.

Kera Winders: Oh. So it all depends on one, the individual and what they're trying to learn. So the reason why we're going away from really big practical assessments on learning is because it's been shown that people can retain up to a quote unquote, 70% of knowledge, just based off of, um, short term memory. And that's why all of our assessments, you know, even from a child on has been 70% or higher.

Brianna Rooney: Ah,

Kera Winders: So, you know, we gotta get away from that in order to learn something, any type of skill. And that's where I look at. Anything you learn in life is a skill. So, um,

Brianna Rooney: Oh, I like that.

Kera Winders: You know, any skill takes time to develop. And if you wanna retain information, you have to develop that skill. So you start with those wave top knowledge points, and then you decide to funnel in on what you wanna learn about that skill. It's just like riding a bike or, you know, even learning how to walk as you're young. Um, it takes time and it's becomes something that's innate and it's just like training your body when you wanna learn. Um, it's a skill that you have to really sharpen and hone in on.

Brianna Rooney: So then I'm gonna throw something back at you because I'm thinking, I would imagine a lot of people will overwhelm themselves with trying to learn too many different things. So do you happen to know like the statistic or best practice on how many things you can learn at once in like one day, one week, one month? Like is,

Kera Winders: Oh, it all depends on the person. Okay. To tell you the truth, um, and knowing your personal abilities. Now, it also depends on your life what's going on in your life. Um, if you're overwhelmed with stress, if you have a lot going on mm-hmm and you're not used to that, you can become into a point where your brain becomes fatigued.

Taylor Bradley: So what, what would you recommend? Um, cuz I find that like if I've got interest in the subject matter, MM's like I know an abnormal amount about serial killers.

Kera Winders: Same

Taylor Bradley: Because I'm interested in that same.

Kera Winders: You

Brianna Rooney: Were shady.

Taylor Bradley: Oh yeah. Oh yeah. It's not, it's not normal. I can talk to you about all of 'em. Oh, me too. That's another podcast. Oh yeah. No, that's a

Kera Winders: That's

Taylor Bradley: Hours podcast.

Kera Winders: I get Lu to sleep at night by morbid. So it's oh

Taylor Bradley: God. yes, yes. The discovery or wait the investigation ID channel. Yes. Yeah. When you got basic cable

Kera Winders: Facts

Taylor Bradley: Back in the day when people still forensic forensic files. Yeah. But um, I forgot what I was saying at that point, but I was asking you,

Brianna Rooney: Oh, like if you really interested in, in

Taylor Bradley: Yeah. So how, how, what tips do you have for people learning something and actually retaining the information? If it's something they're not interested in, they're required to do for, you know, work or school or whatever the case is.

Kera Winders: So think about the end state on what you wanna learn. Broad picture. Let's say you wanna learn about statistics. I'm only using this because I think could you

Brianna Rooney: Pick up more boring?

Taylor Bradley: Oh my God.

Kera Winders: That's exactly why. Fair fair. You wanna, you know, let's say you have to learn about statistics. Okay. So what you do is, is you think of what is statistics. You write down that question, you write down broad questions about it. So you can narrow in your focus on things who

Taylor Bradley: knows is

Kera Winders: The answer. Exactly. It's voodoo map is what I called it. but um, you write down those questions and then you research it yourself. And I mean, there's so many resources out there. You can go. Obviously Google is like, everybody's like tool. I mean, I talk to my Google home all the time and ask it questions because, because I don't know. Yeah. It's my friend um, I mean sometimes I think it's my coworker. Cause I to sit there with it, but you know, you Google it or you start, you know, tubing things and that's how you integrate that into your life as well. Because you know, what do we do most of our time when we're playing around, you know? And we wanna just veg out, we watch TV, we play on our phones. So it's just, you know, writing those questions down and actually writing down the answer. And that helps you with, you know, that visual aspect that re retention, being able to write that down in your own words. Mm-hmm because anybody can go and memorize something. But if you can explain something in your own words, you know it.

Taylor Bradley: Yeah. Yeah. I struggle with like reading it and then I'll be like, I have no idea what I just read because I was like thinking about something else completely. Unless it's a subject that I'm some I'm interested in. Right. Mm-hmm I start thinking about the serial killers while I'm reading about statistics,

Brianna Rooney: Dreaming about them. So, oh

Taylor Bradley: Yes.

Kera Winders: That's you find like resources. Like I know for me when I did my college stuff, I had to do it all online with math and I hate math with a passion. So I found like Khan academy, which had like these short videos that explained things really quickly. And that's when I was like, that's my jam because anything that I don't like, I don't wanna watch anything longer than a minute and a half on it. Because if I do my brain just starts going all over the place. That's

Brianna Rooney: A really good

Taylor Bradley: Tip. That's good. Yeah. That's interesting. So nothing is that a best practice?

Kera Winders: Um, for me it is you gotta learn your own best practices and know yourself. Um, I can say, look at attention spans in children. There's a reason why, you know, we learn from a young age, our attention spans. Some children have longer ones than others. It's all personality based. Um, honestly, it's true

Taylor Bradley: For me. No, I think of the attention span in this room when you're usually not in it is yes. Comparable.

Kera Winders: Um, for me, I also, it's a training thing. Like I've had to train my brain to be able to pay attention to things, even if I don't like them. And that comes from like my background prior to learning and development, I had to learn how to pay attention to small details and remember them and recall them quickly. Um, I used to have bosses that would do these games called memory games. So they would pull out certain items and set 'em in front of us. And then they would start doing something to distract us. Then they'd put the items away and ask us questions. Ridiculous questions. I'm telling you one time they pulled out a shaving cream bottle and asked what one of the contents of the shaving cream bottle was.

Brianna Rooney: Yikes. Yes. Sounds

Taylor Bradley: We should build into super fun.

Kera Winders: Oh, and that's how you learn like that straight attention to detail. Or they would throw it out on the ground when we were outside and make us run in circles around it. And you know, that's just military intelligence. That's what they do to train your brain, to be able to look for small details and retain that information.

Brianna Rooney: Wow. Uh, I'm actually thinking of at, I was at this bridal shower and they did that. They come around with this tray, what's on this tray. I'm like trying to take a picture of it in my mind. I'm like, I got you.

Taylor Bradley: I will win this.

Brianna Rooney: I win everything.

Taylor Bradley: I will win thats, whatever you win it, Bri those things, whatever it is that you win at the, the games they're playing, I'm thinking baby showers, you know, they put the chocolate.

Kera Winders: Oh yes.

Brianna Rooney: Even worse. You know, it's funny. I hate those events so much that I finally said for, uh, when I was having Lima, I said, I don't wanna a baby shower. Like I don't, I don't need it. I don't even need anything. I have all this stuff from Diego and my mom threw me a surprise one.

Kera Winders: Yay.

Taylor Bradley: You went liked her. I know I'm gonna, she even told me last night. She was like, yeah, you would have a lot of fun with her because the stories I've heard, I'm like, I have to meet this woman. Me too. She's legendary.

Brianna Rooney: Thank you, mom. I love you. nice. Okay. Well I know, uh, it's just about time. Um, but we really want to here the broke boss tip from Kara.

Kera Winders: So my broke the boss tip for you is to replace five minutes a day of your veg time with learning activities.

Brianna Rooney: Only five minutes. I think I could do that. Yes. I know I can do that.

Kera Winders: You'd be surprised how fast that five minutes goes.

Brianna Rooney: Do a lingo. Here we come. Yes. .

Taylor Bradley: Yeah. And even like put a timer on your phone. Five minutes

Brianna Rooney: Focus. Nice. All right. And uh, don't forget to listen every Tuesday and we would really love it. Please, please, please. If you could, uh, review us, if you are listening on apple podcast, it helps us. So we will see you next Tuesday.

Kera Winders: Bye y'all. Bye.