If you're considering a career in alternative dispute resolution (ADR), you're probably familiar with practices like mediation and arbitration, which people use to resolve disputes out of court.

Given the time, expense, and sheer stress of litigation, it's no surprise that the field of ADR is growing rapidly. But if you're looking to capitalize on this momentum, to start a career in arbitration, where do you begin?

Everywhere you look online, there are ads for social media training. Courses, certificates, designations, diplomas...even degrees! You can study online, on-campus, blended learning, full time, part time: there are seemingly endless options.

The practice of mediation attracts people from a wide range of professional backgrounds. Some are planning to launch full-time careers as professional mediators. Others simply want to improve their communication and conflict management skills, so they can perform at a higher level at work.

Branching out on your own as a professional mediator is an exciting endeavor, but it can also be quite daunting. If you've never run a business, or worked for yourself, launching a private practice could seem highly intimidating—or deceptively simple.

Hiring is one of your most important tasks as a new manager. You must find candidates with the right skillset, right attitude, and right fit for your team. It's a tall order.

Caring effectively and compassionately for seniors is an issue that touches every single one of us. Either we have a loved one who needs care, or we ourselves are facing the facts of growing old.

Mediators don't take sides with their clients, or dictate the final outcome of a dispute. Rather, they help opposing parties work through the conflict at hand, and develop their own resolutions, which ideally, suit both sides.

Updated November, 2020

In recent years, there's been a major shift away from traditional litigation toward alternative dispute resolution (ADR) techniques, such as mediation.

What's the number one challenge facing every single new manager? Lack of training on how to actually do the job.

In the digital marketing universe, change is the only constant we can count on. Every year brings fresh marketing tech, new platforms, and a whole slew of suddenly "out-of-date" techniques.