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15 things you should do right before a job interview

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waiting for a job interviewThe 15 minutes before a job interview can be harrowing, especially for job seekers who aren't sure what to do with that time. 

"Those 15 minutes are your opportunity to get yourself into the right frame of mind, and set your energy and focus on who you'll be meeting with, what you want them to remember about you, and what you want to ask them," says Deborah Shane, a professional branding strategist and author of "Career Transition."

Here are 15 things you should do in the 15 minutes before a job interview:

SEE ALSO: 19 unprofessional habits that could cost you a job

DON'T MISS: 15 questions you should always ask yourself before accepting a new job

1. Arrive early, but don't go inside.

Few things can shake you more than running late to an interview, so always arrive early. But be sure to wait in your car or a nearby café, as being too early can place unnecessary pressure on your interviewer and start the meeting off on the wrong foot, says David Parnell, a legal consultant, communication coach, and author of "The Failing Law Firm: Symptoms and Remedies."

Rita Friedman, a Philadelphia-based career coach, says you shouldn't walk into the office building more than 10 minutes early. "It can come across as an imposition, as if you are expecting the interviewer to drop whatever he or she is doing to attend to you."



2. Stay calm.

When you become stressed, your body releases stress hormones like cortisol and epinephrine. Depending on the level of your stress, these can slightly or greatly inhibit your ability to think clearly, Parnell says. 

"Ensuring that you remain calm, collected, and cool in the minutes leading up to the interview is necessary to avoid this hormonal elixir, and keep your mind clear," he says.

Career coach Anita Attridge agrees. She says staying calm before and during an interview allows you to listen better and to stay focused on how to best respond to questions. 

"In addition, you are better able to think how you can best present your accomplishments in alignment with what is important to the interviewer — and being calm also demonstrates your ability to deal with stressful situations."



3. Breathe.

This will help you remain calm. "Counting your breath is one of the most immediate and impactful techniques for calming your nerves," Parnell says. "Simply focus on your breaths, counting each until you reach 10, and repeat."



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

6 important lessons I learned from being broke

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There was a period in my life when I was barely making ends meet. I wasn't on the verge of bankruptcy, but I lived paycheck to paycheck in expensive Washington, D.C., on an entry-level reporter's salary, which wasn't much.

I remember having to eat lunch at home before meeting friends at a restaurant because I couldn't afford a meal out. Fortunately, I could at least always pay my bills.

Those years of living lean actually helped me make better money decisions and take control of my finances. I certainly live a more comfortable lifestyle now that I earn more. But the lessons I learned when I was struggling financially have helped me avoid getting in that situation again.

April is National Financial Literacy Month, so here are six things I learned while I was broke and how those lessons made me more financially savvy. Hopefully, you'll be encouraged by what I did right and avoid what I did wrong.

SEE ALSO: 'Shark Tank' investor Daymond John says 3 things set billionaires apart

1. Don't live beyond your means

When I was just starting out on my own, I didn't buy new clothes every month or dine out every week. But, looking back, I realize that I was living beyond my means in an apartment that was way too expensive for my small salary.

I was paying about $800 a month for a one-bedroom apartment in Washington, D.C. That might not seem like a lot now, considering the median rent in the nation's capital is currently nearly $3,000. But I was there almost 20 years ago, and that rent consumed almost half of my monthly paycheck.

Read: 7 Tips to Get the Most Out of Your Paycheck

I didn't stop to think about how hard it would be to cover my rent and still have enough left over for other expenses on such a small paycheck. Living beyond your means is an easy trap to fall into when you don't have much money. You might end up in this situation if you turn to credit to buy what you really can't afford. If you continue to live this way, though, it doesn't matter how much money you have; you'll always be broke if you live beyond your means.

I've since vowed never to let housing consume such a large percentage of my budget. My husband and I now have a monthly mortgage payment that's less than 20 percent of our combined monthly take-home pay.



2. Know where your money is going

If you want to break the cycle of living paycheck to paycheck, you need to know where your money is going. When I was nearly broke, I tracked every penny because I had to. If I spent more than $50 at the grocery store, for example, I knew I was in trouble.

Because I've become smarter about managing my money, I don't have to monitor every penny every day anymore. Now, I have all my monthly bills and expenses that must be covered listed in a spreadsheet. My husband and I have two bank accounts: one for bills with more than enough cash to cover our expenses, and one for spending, to which the debit card is linked. Moreover, we frequently audit our expenses to see what can be cut.



3. Have a safety net

I know it's tough to set aside money for emergencies or cover the cost of insurance on your own when you hardly have enough to pay the bills. I learned the hard way why it pays to be prepared for the unexpected.

My first paying job was an internship that didn't offer benefits. Being young and healthy, I assumed that I could get by without health insurance. That was a mistake. I found out that I had two impacted wisdom teeth that had to be surgically removed. Even though I had the procedure done at an inexpensive clinic that was a training ground for dental students, I didn't have the money to pay the $500 bill, which was about one-third of my monthly paycheck. I had to get help from my parents.

Insurance might seem like an unnecessary expense, but trust me, it isn't. Medical emergencies can be a lot more costly than monthly insurance premiums. And an emergency fund might seem like something you can afford to build when you're not living paycheck to paycheck, but that's when you need it the most. So consider making small sacrifices in spending now to build your safety net so you don't have to make major sacrifices when emergencies happen.

Related: 20 Things You Should Know About Saving Money in Your 20s



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The MINI John Cooper Works is the scariest car I've ever driven — in a good way

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JCW MINI

I've driven street cars that are also race cars: Ferraris, Cadillacs, even the beloved Mazda Miata MX-5. While all were thrilling, I can't say that any were out-and-out terrifying. 

And then I buckled myself into a 2015 John Cooper Works MINI. Don't let he adorable looks of MINI's family coupe fool you. This savage little beast, I'm certain, was trying to do me in. 

You just don't get to feel this anymore with high-performance cars. The Lamborghini Hurácan, for example, is a Lamborghini and therefore supposed to be threatening. But it isn't. It's as easy to live with as a Honda Accord. That's because carmakers like Lamborghini don't want customers to think they need some kind of special certification for dangerous activity before parting with a down payment.

My frame of mind when the JCW MINI — the third generation of the car — landed in the driveway of BI Tranport's suburban New Jersey satellite HQ was that the car would be fun. Which it was. But it was also many, many other things. And some of those things made me think that I should have been wearing a helmet and a fireproof suit.

It's a very, very, very special MINI.

Out test car tipped the price scales at a superbly equipped $37,000 — that's $7,000 above the MSRP and included goodies such as a rear-view camera, high-performance wheels, heated front seats, and satellite radio.

The color was "Chili Red," and this little sucker was hot as hell, to say the least. It was bolted together in Oxford, England before being shipped to the Garden State to commence its joyful reign of vehicular terror.



It's a MINI that actually races.

The street-legal JCW MINI coupé is derived from the MINI Challenge Series car that turns hot laps on the track. 

This means that the JCW has a race car personality — fierce, aggressive, unyielding, precise — and race cars manners — jittery, stiff, high-strung, revved up. It's extremely important to know what you're getting in for, because although plenty of "homologated" track cars are perfectly docile in commuter traffic, the JCW is not.

In fact, of the numerous high-performance cars I've sampled of late, the JDW feels the least altered by the transition from race course to roadway. 

This is of course cool, but the car also reminds me of a Jack Russell terrier that's gotten into the Red Bull: "Gimme track! Gimme track! Gimme track!" is its yapping demand.



There's a recently unveiled convertible version.

I saw it at the New York auto show this year. Yes, it looks pretty sweet. But if you're seeking a race car that's barely adjusted itself to the highway, you might want to stick with the coupé and its more rigid framework.

The again, sawing the top off probably cools this angry little guy's temper somewhat.



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The 8 fastest-growing tech skills worth over $110,000

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Silicon Valley

In the tech industry, one day a skill is hot, the next it's not. IT professionals spend a lot of their career learning, training, and trying to keep up.

Job-hunting site Dice prides itself on helping IT pros navigate which skills to pursue. It just concluded an analysis of its database of 80,000-plus tech jobs from April 2015 through April 2016 to determine the fastest-growing skills based on job openings.

We then cross-checked those skills against Dice's annual-salary survey, published in February, which offered the average salary for jobs using those particular skills in 2015.

The good news? All of them are part of jobs that command average salaries of over $110,000.

SEE ALSO: 40 tech skills that will land you a $120,000-plus salary

No. 8: Cassandra, job openings up 32%, worth $147,811

Cassandra is a special kind of database called a NoSQL, which is part of the big-data trend. NoSQL databases can handle massive amounts of data, spread across cheaper, low-end servers.

Cassandra was born at Facebook, but the company released it as a free and open-source project, and today it is used at companies including Apple, Comcast, Instagram, Spotify, eBay, Rackspace, and Netflix.



No. 7: Hive, up 32%, worth $129,400

Hive is another skill in high demand as part of the big-data phenomenon, particularly a big-data tech called Hadoop.

Hadoop is software to store all kinds of data across many low-cost computer servers. Hive provides a way to extract information from Hadoop using the same kind of traditional methods used by regular databases.

In geek speak: it gives Hadoop a database-query interface.



No. 6: Cloud computing, up 33%, worth $112,972

Enterprises are increasingly using shared, rented computer servers, software, and storage accessed over the internet from companies like Amazon, Microsoft and Google.

That's a concept called cloud computing, named because, once upon a time, diagram-drawing tools used a picture of a "cloud" as the icon to represent the internet.

People who have skills working with cloud computing are in high demand these days.



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14 insights about getting rich, from a 90-year-old book on wealth that's still relevant today

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Nearly a century ago, George S. Clason boiled down what it takes to get rich in his 1926 personal finance classic "The Richest Man in Babylon."— and the steps are surprisingly simple.

He articulates the steps through a collection of amusing parables based in the wealthiest city of the ancient world: Babylon.

We scoured Clason's pages to come up with some of his best insights about investing, success, and accumulating and growing your personal wealth:

SEE ALSO: 17 insights about getting rich, from a 78-year-old book on wealth that's still relevant today

Learn from those who are richer and more successful than you.

"When youth comes to age for advice he receives the wisdom of years. But too often does youth think that age knows only the wisdom of days that are gone, and therefore profits not.

"But remember this, the sun that shines today is the sun that shone when thy father was born, and will still be shining when thy last grandchild shall pass into the darkness."



The money you save and invest can earn even more.

"Every gold piece you save is a slave to work for you. Every copper it earns is its child that also can earn for you. If you would become wealthy, then what you save must earn, and its children must earn, that all may help to give to you the abundance you crave."



Pay yourself first.

"I found the road to wealth when I decided that a part of all I earned was mine to keep. And so will you.

"Impress yourself with the idea. Fill yourself with the thought. Then take whatever portion seems wise. Let it be not less than one-tenth and lay by it."



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The best things to see and do in New York City's West Village

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As a native New Yorker and a licensed tour guide I’m constantly being asked my opinion on what the must-have experiences are in the city. My response is always the same: choose a neighborhood, go there and wander.

One of my favorite hoods for this is the West Village, as well as the adjoining Greenwich Village. There’s just so much to do and see, and the ambiance created by the leafy parks, historic architecture, and, in certain areas, cobbled streets and sidewalks, make the local experiences even more enjoyable.

Recently, I was invited by the Washington Square Hotel to stay for two nights and tour the neighborhood using their property as my base. I gladly accepted. And despite having visited the West Village 100+ times on my own, I made a slew of new discoveries, including…

SEE ALSO: A former fashion exec is selling his historic New York City townhouse for $17 million

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Stay: The Washington Square Hotel

The whole formation of my Greenwich Village staycation came thanks to an invitation by this 152-room boutique property, which sits on a quaint cobbled street of NYC full of 18th century architecture, right off Washington Square Park. As soon as I walked through the hotel doors I felt as if I’d been transported to old world Europe, with a grand marble staircase and check-in desk, oval-shaped portraits and black and white photos, lots of deep reds and gold, and a history dating back to 1902 when it was the 8-story residential Hotel Earle in 1902 as a small residential hotel.

The most eye-catching items are the work of Rita Paul — former owner of the Washington Square Hotel. Tiles hand-painted by her hang in the entrance hall, and some accent the floor of the North Square restaurant. More of her tile art brings life to the lobby walls, giving the hotel a Bohemian feel. Rita also worked with Christina Ziegler of CZ Design to bring art deco design to the Washington Square Hotel, thoughtfully redesigning rooms with inspiration from that period.

Price range: $225-$490 per night, including a continental breakfast and free Wi-Fi.



Introduction to the West Village neighborhood.

What can be confusing to many visitors is how NYC neighborhoods quickly blend into one another. One second you’re in the Lower East, then suddenly you’re in the East Village until you’ve stepped right into Alphabet City. In terms of Greenwich Village vs West Village, they can sometimes be synonymous as the West Village encompasses the western part of Greenwich Village (debatably west of 7th Avenue).

Greenwich Village — aka "The Village"— has always been synonymous with bohemian culture and the start of the LGBT movement. In fact, it's here where you’ll find The Stonewall Inn, a gay bar where the modern LGBT movement was born on June 28th, 1969 when patrons fought back against the sanctioned harassment by the police. This was a time when it was illegal to serve LGBT people alcohol or for them to dance together. You can read the whole history here or watch this short documentary:



Photograph the architecture.

I’m far from an architecture buff, but step out of the hotel and you’ll find yourself whispering, "This street is so cute!" every other minute. One of my favorite things to do in Greenwich Village/West Village — and in NYC in general — is wander with my camera and photograph the beautiful buildings in their various styles.

This neighborhood is one of the few to have a wooden home, dubbed Twin Peaks, as they’re technically now illegal due to fire codes. It was originally built in 1830 as a pitched roof wooden cabin for artists. You’ll also find Federal-style homes (the oldest house in Greenwich Village dates back to 1799 and is at 77 Bedford Street), Victorian Gothic structures, Gothic Revival and more. Here is a nice walking itinerary for anyone interested in the local architecture.

 



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Everything we saw in the final 'X-Men: Apocalypse' trailer

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The final "X-Men: Apocalypse" trailer is here, and the stakes have never been higher: "All of us against a god."

With Professor X, the longtime leader of the X-Men, missing, the once exiled Mystique returns to lead the X-Men against the fallen god Apocalypse. The trailer focuses on the rebellious shape-shifter, who went off on her own path at the end of the last movie, "X-Men: Days of Future Past."

The battle to save the world from Apocalypse, the original mutant, and his Four Horsemen, will force the X-Men to use their most powerful abilities. In the trailer, we saw each of them pushed to their limits and beyond and, in a surprise reveal, help from an old friend.

Here's everything we saw:

We begin at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. After the events of "Days of Future Past," things are peaceful.



But Mystique, reappearing after leaving the X-Men behind after the events of "Days of Future Past," warns Charles not to get comfortable.



"Just because there's not a war doesn't mean there's peace. He's coming."



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A ‘Game of Thrones’ actress surprised fans when she crashed their season 6 premiere party

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What's better than gathering together to watch the "Game of Thrones" season six premiere with a group of friends? How about watching the premiere with one of the actors from the show?

Actress Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) surprised a group of UCLA students throwing a premiere party, and she shared her entire adventure on Instagram.

It all started with a tweet. Maisie Williams put out a call on Twitter to see if any students at UCLA were throwing a "Game of Thrones" viewing party.

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She said she wanted to find some fans to surprise with drinks and snacks ahead of Sunday's premiere. She quickly found two film students, Mark and Kate, throwing a party.

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Williams showed up on their doorstep with snacks in tow.

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Disney plans to create new VR experiences with this $60,000 camera — here's how it works

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Nokia Ozo virtual reality VR camera

Disney on Monday announced a multi-year deal with Nokia to use its one-of-a-kind virtual reality camera, called the Ozo, to produce "VR experiences to complement Disney's theatrical releases."

Most recently, Disney used Nokia's Ozo camera to create two360-degree videos from the April premiere of its new movie, "The Jungle Book."

"Specially-created VR content is one more way we can transport people even further into the worlds our filmmakers create," Walt Disney Studios CTO Jamie Voris said in a press release.

The $60,000 Nokia Ozo camera was unveiled last November. It was designed to help pioneering filmmakers create new content for virtual reality headsets, but it was also designed to be relatively small, light, and inexpensive compared to most film-style cameras.

Take a look.

This isn’t your dad’s camcorder. The $60,000 Nokia Ozo is meant for amateur and professional filmmakers that are serious about making virtual reality content.



The camera itself is sleek, and it only weighs 9.3 pounds.



Aside from filming, you can also continuously stream from the Ozo for live broadcasts in virtual reality.



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The 18 best science movies and shows streaming on Netflix right now

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Michael Pollan cooked

There's an incredible variety of science- and nature-focused documentaries and TV episodes streaming on Netflix right now.

From shows that delve into the tasty science of gastronomy to those that unmask the mysterious depths of the ocean, there's no shortage of mind-expanding titles to indulge in.

But there's a downside to all of that choice: It's a lot to choose from.

I polled the Tech Insider team and came up with 18 of the best science documentaries, series, and feature-length films to watch online — a collection including classics and newcomers alike.

Here are our favorites, listed in no particular order:

"Cooked" (2016)

What it's about: Journalist and food expert Michael Pollan explores the evolutionary history of food and its preparation in this four-part docuseries through the lens of the four essential elements — fire, water, air, and earth. 

Why you should see it: Americans as a whole are cooking less and less, relying more on unhealthy, processed, and expensive and prepared foods. Pollan aims to bring viewers back to the kitchen by forging a meaningful connection to food and the joys of preparation. [Click to watch]



"Cowspiracy" (2014)

What it's about: Documentary filmmakers Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn reveal the eye-opening environmental impacts that meat production has had on our planet — including global warming, habitat loss, pollution, and more.

Why you should see it: The US is one of the biggest consumers and producers of meat, yet most people rarely understand how their food choices tie in to abstract problems like climate change, drought, habitat loss, and pollution. As meat consumption continues to rise, so too will its negative effects on the environment. [Click to watch]



"Blackfish" (2013)

What it's about: This film highlights issues with the sea park industry through the tale of Tilikum, a killer whale in captivity at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida. Tilikum has killed several people while living in the park. 

Why you should see it: Sea parks are extremely popular family destinations. This documentary opens your eyes to the troubles with keeping wild animals in captivity through shocking footage and emotional interviews, highlighting potential issues of animal cruelty and abuse when using highly intelligent animals as entertainment. Sea parks make billions of dollars off of keeping animals captive, often at the expense of the health and well-being of its animals. [Click to watch]



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Tech's biggest companies are reporting earnings this week, and here are the big questions they'll have to answer

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Amazon, Apple, and Facebook — three of the horses that drive today's tech industry — are set to report quarterly financial reports this week.

And a handful of other high-profile tech companies, including Twitter, Pandora, and LinkedIn, are set to provide updates to Wall Street as well.

A lot has changed in the three months since these companies last reported earnings, with new CEOs taking the reins, changing product lineups, and — in some cases — wild swings in market valuations.

For investors trying to get a read on the state of the tech industry for the rest of the year, as well as on the broader economy, this week's batch of reports will be critical.

Here are the key things to look out for:

SEE ALSO: The rise of Satya Nadella, the game-changing CEO of Microsoft

Apple: How will Tim Cook return the iPhone to growth?

The big question: Apple's revenue is set to post its first year-on-year decline since 2003, as sales of the iPhone appear to be losing steam. Apple CEO Tim Cook needs to show Wall Street how he plans to revive the iPhone franchise, or what else he has up his sleeve to deliver the company's next wave of growth.

What's expected: $52 billion in revenue, down 10% year-on-year. Adjusted earnings per share of $2.

Stock in last 3 months: Up 5.8%.

When: Tuesday, April 26, after close of market.



Twitter: Will it finally show user growth again?

The big question: The story about Twitter for the past year has been all about its stagnant user growth. New CEO Jack Dorsey needs to show investors that Twitter finally has a recipe to grow beyond its current 300 million-user audience of loyalists and become a massive service like Instagram and Facebook.

What's expected: $607.8 million in revenue, up 39% year-on-year. Adjusted EPS of $0.10.

Stock in last 3 months: Up 14%.

When: Tuesday, April 26, after close of market.



eBay: Can it stand on its own?

The big question: The e-commerce pioneer spun out its PayPal electronic-payment business in July. Now eBay must convince Wall Street that its remaining marketplace business has the potential to thrive on its own, amid fierce competition from Amazon.

What's expected: $2.081 billion in revenue, down 12% year-on-year. Adjusted EPS of $0.45.

Stock in last 3 months: Up 12.5%.

When: Tuesday, April 26, after close of market.



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The 23 richest women in Britain

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Britain has 18 female billionaires and dozens of female multi-millionaires.

However, according to the Sunday Times' Rich List published in 2016, most of the wealthiest women in the UK owe their their spectacular fortunes to inheritance, marriage or divorce.

In fact, there are barely any that are truly self-made.

While some women built their own wealth before they got married, by marrying someone else even wealthier, such as actress Salma Hayek who is based in London, they have seen their fortunes explode.

Business Insider decided to take a quick look to see who made the top spots.

23. Yelena Baturina — £729 million ($1.55 billion). Baturina is Russia's richest woman but she now living in London. The self made oligarch started out dealing with software and hardware for computers until finding her own plastics business Inteco in Russia.



22. Slavica Ecclestone — £740 million ($1.06 billion). The former Armani model was married to F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone for 24 years. However, considering her former husband is worth £2.7 billion ($3.9 billion), it comes as no surprise that her sizeable divorce settlement accounts for nearly all her wealth.



21. Princess Gesine Doria Pamphilj — £750 million ($1.085 billion). Princess Gesine and her Prince Jonathan were adopted by an Italian noble family and in turn inherited a vast amount of wealth. Their inheritance includes an enormous art collection.



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LinkedIn just moved into a new skyscraper in San Francisco, and the offices are unlike anything else we've seen

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For the past couple of years, a skyscraper has been slowly rising at the corner of Second and Howard streets in San Francisco's SOMA neighborhood. The entire building is being leased by LinkedIn, and everybody was calling it "The LinkedIn building."

Last month it finally opened. The company invited press to view the lobby, which is impressive enough — it's covered in hardwood. Now, LinkedIn sent us some photos of the offices taken by one of its engineers, Tony Chung, and it looks amazing.

We have seen a lot of over-the-top tech company offices, both in San Francisco and in Silicon Valley to the south. But LinkedIn's new building has a ton of stuff we had never seen before.

SEE ALSO: Inside the happiest office in London — where some employees get a $14,000 travel allowance

Here's the skyscraper. The San Francisco Chronicle's architecture writer panned it, saying it looked as if it were "designed and built by New Yorkers" and comparing it to Darth Vader. But that seems a little extreme. It's a skyscraper. It's reflective and black. It looks kind of cool, if a little imposing.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle.



Walk inside and the lobby is gorgeous. It's a public space, open to anybody.



It's covered in beautiful wood.



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The top 13 universities in Britain with the most employable graduates

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The University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge may continually rank in the top two spots for overall excellence.

However they are not the top two best unis to go to if you actually want to land a job as soon as you graduateaccording to the latest data from the Complete University Guide (CUG).

CUG ranked all of the UK's universities for "graduate prospects"— "a measure of the employability of a university's first degree graduates."

Number crunchers at CUG looked at a number of data sources that are in the public domain to come up with a score out of 100. The higher the score, the better it is for the university — in this case; graduate prospects.

You can read about CUG's full methodology here.

We took a look at which institutions took the top 13 spots. Check them out below.

13. University College London — 82.9. The university has 35,000 students and an annual income of over £1 billion. It's one of the best in the country for many science subjects, including medicine.



12. St. Andrews University— 83.2. The university that Prince William and Princess Catherine attended is known for excelling in arts, as well as science.



11. University of Buckingham — 83.3. It is the only private university in the UK and former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher oversaw its creation in 1973 when she was education secretary. It has five schools within it — Law, Humanities, Arts and Languages, Business, and Science and Medicine.



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16 famous people who surprisingly started their careers in advertising

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Some of the world's most successful authors, actors, and directors kicked off their careers in advertising. 

Many approached the ad industry with enthusiasm — rising to the C-suite and creating some of the most iconic slogans of all time. Others saw it as a means to an end, staying until they got their first big break indulging their true passion.

We gathered 16 of the most surprising names that began their careers using their innate creativity to sell products.

Laura Stampler compiled an earlier version of this report.

Sir Alec Guinness

The Obi-Wan Kenobi actor got his start as an ad man.

Guinness took a job as a junior copywriter at Ark's Publicity in London when he was only 18. However, from early on, his dream was to move into acting.

His first big role was as Osric in a production of Hamlet at the New Theatre in 1934. After the war, in where Guinness served in the Royal Navy, he found success as a screen actor, according to The Historical Dictionary of British Cinema.



Salman Rushdie

Salman Rushdie might have received numerous awards for his literature, but he failed a copy test at JWT 40 years ago.

"The only question I remember was they asked you to imagine that you met a martian who mysteriously spoke English and you had to explain to them in less than 100 words how to make toast," he told the IAPI during the Advertising Effectiveness Awards.

But Rushdie did snag freelance copywriter gigs for a decade at Charles Barker and Ogilvy & Mather, creating the tagline "That'll do nicely" for American Express and "Irresistibubble" for Aero bars, according to Digiday.



Rushdie also came up with Fresh Cream Cake's "Naughty but Nice" tag-line.



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The 8 best action movies on Netflix right now

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fist of legend

Nothing better showcases the divide between critics and audiences like action movies. Reliable box-office hits, but typically critical disasters, action movies can never have it both ways. Consider the last "Transformers" movie: an 18% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a $1.1 billion dollar gross. Can action movies both kick ass and be well received critically?

Yes, they can. We came up with a list of eight films currently streaming on Netflix that are thrilling, intense, and applauded by critics. Read on to see the best-rated action films on Netflix: 

"On The Job" (2013)

Rotten Tomatoes score:100%

"On The Job" is a Filipino action thriller following two prisoners released by a shady government organization. But this isn't an act of good will. The two men are ruthless assassins wrapped into a black ops mission to kill targets on the government's hit list. And that's only the beginning. 

From the New York Times:

"Even at its most incomprehensible, the propulsive thriller “On the Job” is never less than arresting. Drawing energy from the rough-and-tumble seediness of its Metro Manila setting, this raw, twisty crime drama from the Filipino director Erik Matti begins with a blown-off face and never looks back." 

Watch the trailer.  | Stream the film. 



"Fist of Legend" (1994)

Rotten Tomatoes score:100%

Jet Li stars in this martial arts flick that doubles as an examination of the complex political history between China and Japan. Li stars as a Chinese student in Japan, avenging his master who was killed during the Japanese occupation of China. The escalating racial tensions serve as backdrops for the highly applauded combat scenes. 

From Laramie Movie Scope Review:

"As far as Chinese martial arts films go, this is one of the best I've seen. It is visually stunning with excellent color cinematography and the fight sequences staged by the best in the business."

Watch the trailer.  | Stream the film.



"City of God" (2002)

Rotten Tomatoes score:90%

Set in the slums of Rio de Janeiro, "City of God" is a Brazilian action drama that follows a young man, Rocket, as he finds himself drawn into the dark world of the Brazilian organized crime. The underbelly offers money and fame, but Rocket is always a breath away from either prison or death. The tagline, translated form Brazilian, describes his dilemma: "If you run, the beast catches you; if you stay, the beast eats you."

From Roger Ebert's review:

"Breathtaking and terrifying, urgently involved with its characters, it announces a new director of great gifts and passions: Fernando Meirelles. Remember the name. The film has been compared with Scorsese's "GoodFellas," and it deserves the comparison." 

Watch the trailer.  | Stream the film.



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See inside the spectacular beachfront mansion that Billabong's co-founder just listed for $23 million

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Former Billabong director Scott Perrin has listed his beachfront pad, Tidemark, on the Gold Coast for $23 million.

The luxury property in Mermaid Beach was first put on the market a year ago, via tender, but failed to sell after receiving offers above $15 million.

The revamped price tag comes after Perrin “waited for the top end of the market to begin transacting again”.

The property is currently being listed with Michael Kollosche of Kollosche Prestige Agents who confirmed that the property had previously received offers upwards of $50 million.

“I can confirm that there were two unsolicited approaches with offers above $38 million on the home in 2007, which were rejected as the home was not for sale.”

If the sale goes ahead, it could set a new record for the Mermaid Beach area, surpassing the $38 million sale of BreakFree founder Tony Smith’s mansion on Hedges Avenue in 2008.

Kollosche says that the marketing campaign has already generated strong interest with enquirers coming from China, Dubai, Melbourne and Sydney.

In the meantime, here’s a walk through of the incredible property below.

Tidemark is located on Albatross Avenue at Mermaid Beach in Queensland.



The property is being listed with a revamped price tag of $23 million.



It was first put to market in 2015 via a tender campaign but only received some interest above $15 million.



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4 ways to outsmart any multiple-choice test

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Ideally, multiple-choice exams would be random, without patterns of right or wrong answers. However, all tests are written by humans, and human nature makes it impossible for any test to be truly random.

Because of this fundamental flaw, William Poundstone, author of "Rock Breaks Scissors: A Practical Guide to Outguessing and Outwitting Almost Everybody," claims to have found several common patterns in multiple-choice tests, including computer-randomized exams like the SATs.

After examining 100 tests — 2,456 questions in total — from varied sources, including middle school, high school, college, and professional school exams; driver's tests; licensing exams for firefighters and radio operators; and even newspaper quizzes, Poundstone says he found statistical patterns across all sources.

From this data, he determined several strategies to up your chances of guessing correctly on any exam, whether you're stumbling through a chemistry final or retaking your driver's test.

While Poundstone emphasizes that knowledge of the subject matter is always the best test-taking strategy and that "a guessing strategy is useful to the extent that it beats random guessing," he suggests you always guess when you're unsure. And guessing smartly will only improve your chances of being correct.

Here are a few of Poundstone's tactics for outsmarting any multiple-choice test.

SEE ALSO: 9 easy ways to simplify your life

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1. Ignore conventional wisdom

You've probably been given test-taking advice along the lines of "always guess the middle answer if you don't know" or "avoid any answer that uses the words 'never,' 'always,' 'all,' or 'none'" at some point in your life.

However, according to Poundstone, this conventional wisdom doesn't hold up against statistics. In fact, he found that the answers "none of the above" or "all of the above" were correct 52% of the time. Choosing one of these answers gives you a 90% improvement over random guessing, he says.



2. Look at the surrounding answers

Poundstone found correct answer choices hardly repeated consecutively, so looking at the answers of the questions you do know will help you figure out the ones you're stuck on. For example, if you're stuck on question No. 2, but know that the answer to No. 1 is A and the answer to No. 3 is D, those choices can probably be eliminated for No. 2.

Of course, "knowledge trumps outguessing," Poundstone reminds us. Cross out answers you know are wrong based on facts first.



3. Choose the longest answer

Poundstone also noticed that the longest answer on multiple-choice tests was usually correct. "Test makers have to make sure that right answers are indisputably right," he says. "Often this demands some qualifying language. They may not try so hard with wrong answers."

If one choice is noticeably longer than its counterparts, he says it's likely the correct answer.



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Inside Chernobyl, 30 years after the worst nuclear disaster in history

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April 26 marks the 30th anniversary of the nuclear disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

An explosion rocked the plant on the morning of April 26, 1986, sending radioactive matter through the roof and into surrounding parts of what was then the Soviet Union, stretching as far as Russia, Belarus, and across northern Europe, according to the BBC.

Releasing a radioactive blast that was 10 times larger than the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, the event has a reputation as one of the worst nuclear disasters in history.

While the number of deaths caused by the incident remains unclear, many people exposed to the radioactive material continue to suffer from health problems as a result.

On a recent visit to Chernobyl in March, Associated Press photographer Efrem Lukatsky captured photos of inside the power plant 30 years on from the accident.

Here are his photos of the plant, as it looks today:

Here's a view of what the Chernobyl power plant looks like today. What's left of the reactor building that was destroyed in the explosion can be seen on the right; a new confinement structure, on the left, is currently being constructed and will cover the damage when it's complete.



A monument stands at the entrance to the power plant, commemorating the workers who lost their lives in the disaster. Chernobyl is haunted "by both a hushed desolation and clangorous activity, the sense of a ruined past and a difficult future," according to a description from The Associated Press.



Inside the plant, nuclear waste that has been extracted from its fourth unit — which was ruined in the explosion — is kept stored today.



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The 10 best cities in the US to start your career

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If you're about to graduate from college, you've probably started thinking about where you'll head next to kick off your career. 

According to new data from personal finance website Bankrate.com, young people consider five things when deciding on where to launch their career: social opportunities, job prospects, pay potential, career advancement, and quality of life.

By analyzing these five variables in the top 100 US cities (those with populations above 250,000 and a per capita GDP of above $40,000), Bankrate.com determined which cities are most and least ideal for starting a career.

To rank the cities, each of the five variables was scored on a scale of 1 to 100 — 1 being the best and 100 being the worst — considering metrics like employment rates, average salaries, and cost of living. (Read more on the methodology here.)

The following 10 cities are the highest ranking on the list — the places where it's easiest to launch a career:

SEE ALSO: 10 of the toughest cities to launch your career

DON'T MISS: The 15 best entry-level jobs in 2016

10. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Social opportunities: 7

Job prospects: 73

Pay potential: 12

Career advancement: 7

Quality of life: 87



9. Dallas, Texas

Social opportunities: 5

Job prospects: 31

Pay potential: 21

Career advancement: 8

Quality of life: 93



8. Seattle, Washington

Social opportunities: 13

Job prospects: 53

Pay potential: 5

Career advancement: 11

Quality of life: 9



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