Month: March 2020

WHY RECRUITERS ASK ILLEGAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS: Q&A WITH CHRIS FIELDS

Recruiting is a balancing act. Hiring managers want to ensure that they select the right person for the right job — but that can mean veering dangerously close to questions that are inappropriate or even illegal. \”Do you have kids?\” or \”Are you married?\” Both questions break the law, notes Chris Fields, an HR consultant and job coach. Here, Fields talks about why these kinds of questions get asked and how candidates should respond.

Are candidates and recruiters generally aware of questions that are off limits?

Often candidates don’t know that these questions are illegal because they come up during small talk. Some employers point out a wedding ring — not because they really want to know but because they want to get the applicant talking. It\’s not so much a question as a conversation starter. But some questions that ask directly about any disabilities or pregnancies are outright illegal. Unfortunately, job candidates don\’t feel like they have a choice because of the competition, so they answer them.

Do some employers have motive for asking appropriate questions?

They’re trying to find out if someone can work their shifts without any personal distractions. When you hire someone, it’s a costly investment so you don’t want to make a poor decision. You can minimize the poor decisions by having metrics, asking relevant questions and vetting with background checks.

How can employers rephrase the questions in a legal way?

Don’t think about the physical attributes you\’re looking for, but what you need someone to do and base questions off the position you’re hiring for. If you need someone to work a holiday schedule, don’t ask if they celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah. Just tell them, “We need coverage during this time period. Is that a problem?” You don’t need to know why that’s problem; all you need to know is whether they can do it — yes or no. When you get into why they can’t do it, that’s when you get into trouble and start making judgments.

Tell us about a scenario when a job candidate was asked something inappropriate.

One woman I talked to had an interview where the interviewer complimented her wedding ring. “Wow,\” he said, \”you must really be loved. What does your husband do?” That’s not necessarily an illegal question, but it made her feel inadequate. She didn’t know if she was going to be judged on her ring.
You don’t want job candidates to come away thinking they did something wrong by wearing a wedding ring or wearing a nice outfit. When a recruiter says, “That looks like an expensive suit you’re wearing,” the candidate wants to know they look nice, but they don\’t want the interviewer to think they don\’t need the job. Also, they don\’t want to work for a company that would judge based on those things.
For an organization, integrity is important. It’s important to provide a good candidate experience because even if you don’t give someone the job, you want the person to have a good view of the company. You don’t want applicants to leave the interview feeling like they’ve been manipulated or compromised in any way.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

WHY SUCCESSFUL SOCIAL LEARNING REQUIRES STRUCTURE

While training and employee development usually brings a big conference room and never-ending lectures to mind, learning doesn’t have to involve a formal setting that employees end up dreading. In fact, 80 percent of learning happens informally, but that doesn’t mean social learning doesn’t need structure or purpose, notes learning expert Bill Cushard on Human Capitalist.
“To implement social learning successfully, HR and other leaders need to be specific and deliberate about how they design it,” Cushard says. “The good news is that a social theory of learning provides a design framework that can guide how to implement social learning in an organization — no matter what technology is in play.”
A social theory of learning involves four trade-offs, says Cushard:

Participation vs. Reification

Conversation and available resources make up the elements essential for successful social learning and provide a balance between participation and reification. “One thing to consider when implementing social learning is to make sure you give people the ability to both participate in conversations and to access, share, and create resources.”

Designed vs. Emergent

“You can design social learning, but participants must have the power to decide where to take things, and management should avoid the impulse to control that.”

Identification vs. Negotiability

“In social learning, people should be able to decide for themselves their level of participation, role they want to play, and what value the social learning topic has for them. Management shouldn’t try to overly define roles and participation levels.”

Local vs. Global

“Users should be able to create private, subject-specific groups in their enterprise social network, but if they start to believe that too many groups outside of the ones they are specifically assigned to are closed to them, the organization won’t likely realize the full benefit of social learning.” 
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

7 Ways to Improve Your Resume in the New Year

Is changing your job or career direction one of your New Year’s resolutions? If so, then it’s time to update and refine your resume. But choosing which accomplishments and experiences to list and enhance on your resume can be difficult, especially if it’s been a while since your last job search.
What are the most current resume guidelines you should be following? Should your resume style be chronological or functional? What’s the difference between an objective and summary? Isn’t there a rule about keeping a resume to one page?
Career consultant Markey Read of Williston answers these questions and more.

Ways to improve your resume and stand out from the crowd

Chronological vs. Functional Resumes

The most popular resume format is the chronological resume, which includes a chronological listing — starting with the most recent — of all your employers and related accomplishments. Educational information is also included, as well as any certifications, community service work, and specialized skills.
Meanwhile, functional resumes highlight your skills as they relate to previous and current positions, such as managing, organizing, implementing projects, fiscal accountability, and any others that emphasize your professional talents rather than your chronological work history.
Read suggests using a combination of the two.
“The red flag for a functional resume is that when human resources sees it, they automatically think: This person is older and trying to mask how many years they’ve been in the workforce; this person is in transition and wants us to see their transferable skills; or this is a young person with very little experience,” says Read.
On the flip side, a chronological resume can seem like a long list of jobs held with no cohesive statement. Read recommends using a summary at the top (more on that later) to highlight your skills and abilities, much like you would in a functional resume.
“People forget that a resume is a marketing tool,” Read says. “It’s something that should promote your best self. You don’t need to have every single job on there, and you don’t need to go back more than 10 or 15 years.”

Summary vs. Objective

Read advises starting with a summary at the top of your resume that highlights three or four different themes describing your proficiency at both formally-trained and acquired skills and abilities. The remainder of your resume should reflect how those skills and abilities contributed successfully toward the outcome of workplace, team-driven projects, and independent assignments.
As far as listing an objective at the top of your resume, Read says don’t bother.
“Space is so valuable in a resume — don’t waste it on objective,” Read says. “Objectives are really old school. We used objectives 30 years ago when we didn’t send out our resumes electronically and were applying for just one job.”

One Page or Two?

Read’s general rule of thumb is that if you’ve had more than three professional jobs, your resume should be on two pages.
“There are people who are adamant about one page,” Read says. She suggests keeping your resume to one page if your second page is made up of six lines or less. “If your resume is on two pages, you should have at least a page and a half of text.”
Read says it’s fine to print your two-page resume on the front and back. Remember to include a note at the bottom of page one indicating more text is on the other side of the document.

Results vs. Tasks

Some career coaches will tell you to list all recognitions and accomplishments. Others will tell you to include what your job entailed and what you were required to do each day.
Again, Read recommends a combination.
“Just stating results doesn’t give a full picture,” says Read, who recommends using two to five sentences that are descriptive summaries of your job duties. “Just don’t ever use the word “duties” or “responsibilities” in a resume.” Instead, use words such as “managed,” “developed” or “strengthened.”
She also suggests using two to eight specific examples — with numbers or percentages — that detail project accomplishments (for example, include that you increased sponsorships by 50 percent or by $200,000 – whichever shows a greater impact).

Where to List Your Education

Not sure where to list your college degree? Does it go at the top or the bottom of your resume? That depends, Read says.
“How recent and how high is your degree?” Read says. “If your degree is within the last three years, put it at the top of your resume. If you have a master’s degree or higher, it should always go as the second element under your summary. Especially if a master’s is required for the job you are seeking.”
If you have an associate’s or bachelor’s degree and have been out of college for three years, Read suggests listing the degree at bottom of your resume.
“And after two or three jobs, your GPA on your resume should go away. If you’re resting your laurels on your GPA, you need to move on. GPAs or a Magna Cum Laud have little relevance in the workplace.”
And never include your high school education, emphasizes Read. “If you have a Bachelor’s degree, it is assumed that you graduated high school or an equivalency.”

Avoid these Common Resume Mistakes

Read says some of the biggest mistakes people make is not using strong verbs in their resume. “People rely on versions of the word ‘work,’ such as responsibilities and duties,” Read says. Again, try words like “managed,” “developed,” “monitored,” “created,” or “strengthened.”
Another mistake is that people don’t know how to promote themselves.
“Job seekers don’t always understand what they’re offering. They see a resume as just a list of jobs and that’s it,” Read says. “People need to understand that a resume is a powerful marketing tool.”
Job seekers may also wonder whether to tailor their resume to every job they seek. Read says some changes are acceptable, but it shouldn’t be a complete revamp every time you apply for a job.
“If you are significantly rewriting your resume for every job, then you are probably not being effective in your search – you may be trying too hard to fit a job,” Read says. “About 85 percent of your resume should basically stay same for every job. You should be pretty clear on what kinds of jobs you are looking for.”

Volunteering, Hobbies and Interests

Read says if you have extra space on your resume, then it’s fine to include hobbies and interests. Volunteering and community service are also important items to add. In some cases, volunteering and community service can show that you are well-connected and have access to influential networks, which can be valuable to prospective employers.
“It also shows your values,” Read says. “If your values are important, then you want them on your resume. Just remember that if you put that information on your resume, then it’s up for discussion.

Study in China and Gain a Competitive Edge

Finding a job in the United States is as challenging as ever. According to the Economic Policy Institute, unemployment remains high for young college graduates, and those 20-somethings that do find jobs will likely have to settle for entry-level positions.
How does a recent college stand out among thousands of other job applicants? If you studied abroad and gained international work experience while in college, you will have a competitive edge. Especially if you studied in China.

Discovering the Business Culture in China

China has become one of the most popular study abroad destinations for students around the world because of its culture, language, history and powerful influence in the global marketplace.
Beginning in the fall of 2014, The University of Vermont will offer an 18-credit China Semester Abroad program in conjunction with Ocean University in Qingdao. In a moment we’ll describe why this offers a terrific opportunity for UVM students.

But first, why should you consider China?

Fareed Zakaria, author, CNN host and editor of Newsweek International, has described China’s position in the world as such: “China’s rise is no longer a prediction. It is a fact…it is the powerful new force on the global scene.”
As the fastest growing economy in the world today, China will undoubtedly influence how we approach business in the future. China is one of the world’s top exporters and is attracting record amounts of foreign investment. Participating in a study abroad program in China can give students the opportunity to learn Chinese and engage directly with China’s business environment.
Gregory Dunkling, UVM’s Global Team Director states: “We have designed a semester abroad program experience that offers both language and cultural skills to work and live effectively in China. Through a semester-long internship, you will also gain valuable hands-on experience working in a Chinese company or organization. As a member of three-student team, you’ll work to solve a marketing challenge, a human resource issue, or some pre-defined project identified by a sponsoring organization. Our aim is to provide you with real experiences that will build your resume for future employment.”
Even if you have no previous Chinese language background, the UVM semester program will serve your needs.
As China positions itself as an economic superpower, understanding and speaking the Chinese language is a valuable skill and becoming increasingly important in the United States and beyond. Chinese is the language of nearly 20 percent of the world’s population, according to the China Education Center. Native Chinese speakers not only live in Mainland China, but also Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and across the globe.
International students choose to study Chinese language with the expectation of fulfilling employment opportunities in business, education, finance, banking, travel, media and more.
Following give successful years of offering a summer course, “Doing Business in China” in Qingdao, UVM is building on valuable connections with the business and academic community in Qingdao by offering a full semester program with Ocean University.
The UVM China Semester Abroad program is open to any student interested in understanding China’s dynamic culture and economy, and how to work effectively in the Chinese business market.

Instructor Blog: Communicating with your Instructor

Instructors are an essential resource for students. As an instructor, I am always happy to provide clarification on a student regarding course content or feedback on a grade.  From an instructor perspective, I wanted to offer insight into different ways to reach instructors, and how to ensure a prompt response.
Email
Email is the most appropriate for questions regarding a specific grade, or for anything related to late work. Below are some tips for using email effectively:
  • All instructor emails are located in the “Meet Your Instructor” tab in Blackboard. Copy and paste the address into an email to ensure there are no misspellings.
  • Be sure you are using your BSC email. Emails from personal accounts may be sent directly to a spam folder. Even if they do reach the instructor, it is more difficult to identify the student.
  • Include the course name and section number (for example, ENGL 101 02) to help your instructor identify the course you are in. Many instructors teach more than one section.
  • If you have not heard from your instructor in 48 hours, send an additional email and mention that you are still waiting for a response. Instructors are not perfect, and sometimes emails just get missed. If a response is still not received, contact your adviser.
Ask Your Instructor Forum
If your question is not regarding feedback on an assignment or personal in nature, use the “Ask Your Instructor” forum.
  • Because it is a discussion forum it is easy to see that the post was successfully made, as opposed to an email which can be sent to the wrong email address.
  • Posts made in the “Ask Your Instructor Forum” are sent as an email to instructors, so they are just as fast as an email.
  • Other students can read the question and either provide guidance or benefit from the answer from the instructor.
  • Just like email, you should receive a response in 48 hours. If a response is not received, email your instructor directly.
Office Hours
An instructor’s Office Hours are located in the “Meet Your Instructor” tab in Blackboard. Instructors have different mediums for office hours, such as by phone, Skype, or another platform.  This is a time an instructor has set aside to be available for students, so you can expect an immediate response. This is a great option for more in-depth explanations on assignment expectations or course content. If you are not available during the scheduled office hours listed by your instructor, email him or her requesting an alternate time
During end of session reflections, I often have students say they wish they had asked for help on assignments. Reach out to your instructor by any of the above methods. We want to help you succeed

Instructor Blog: Getting Back Into Gear

It has been a cold winter.  Getting back into gear after such a long break is hard. Below are some strategies that I hope will help you get back on track.
Don’t wait for inspiration or “mood” Getting a great music playlist and quiet work space might do the trick, but it might not. In the coziness of winter, the desire to get moving may never arrive. The law of inertia states that an object not in motion will remain still until it is acted on by an outside force. In other words, a ball does not roll on its own. You may not be sparked into action when your textbooks arrive in the mail or when you are loaded into your next courses. However, procrastination now will lead to unnecessary stress when portfolio projects are due. Recognizing that inspiration may not strike may itself help you break through any reluctance to crack open the books.
What is your motivation? Spend a few minutes thinking about short-term and long-term motivation. Long-term, performing well in your courses will lead you to much stronger career. Short-term, think of your past experiences as courses ended. Were you stressed and wishing you had begun working on major projects sooner? Or were you feeling at ease and proud of yourself for working diligently throughout the session? Most portfolio projects contain a reflection portion for thinking of what advice you would give new students. Look back at what you wrote and take your own advice. No one knows what works for you as well as you do!
Anticipate distractions It is impossible to eliminate all distractions. Keep a notepad or calendar next to you when you are studying and working on assignments. When you remember something important that you need to do, you will be able to jot it down quickly and then get back to work. Even something simple as getting up to switch the laundry can break your concentration. Starting early is a great way to build in an extra cushion for what will come up, whether it is a sick child or a good friend unexpectedly in town.
Count the cost While it might seem harmless to get a slow start easing back into school, the approach can be more damaging than you think. Employers look for employees who are self-motivated and enthusiastic. Practicing the ability to break through inertia will be invaluable in life and in your career. Life is moving forward. Don’t get left behind!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

DEAR REWORKER: I WAS DITCHED BY AN EMPLOYEE FOR A “DOCTORS APPOINTMENT”

Dear ReWorker,
I manage field sales reps. I flew in for a scheduled \”field ride\” with an employee and upon arrival she let me know that she had a \”doctor\’s appointment\” and wouldn\’t be available for the field ride.
I sat around the city all day long until meeting the employee for dinner at 6:00 that night, then I caught a flight that next morning. I never questioned the whereabouts or the all-day doctor appointment (maybe it is something serious, who knows?). Instincts tell me that the employee didn\’t have a \”doctor\’s appointment\” and is either working an additional job or has an interview with another company. Does that employee have to take an official day off?
Sincerely,
Stood Up
+++++
Dear Stood Up,
You are the nicest manager on the planet. You have a scheduled all day appointment for which you must fly in, and your employee waits until you arrive to tell you that–oops!–she has a doctor\’s appointment and won\’t be able to make it? And you\’re wondering whether to count this day towards PTO? The employee\’s behavior was 100 percent unacceptable. If it was a sudden emergency, she should have made that clear. Since she met you for dinner, we can pretty much rest assured that it wasn\’t a sudden burst appendix.
So, even if it were for a medical reason, a full day off counts as a sick day. She still gets paid but she has to use her paid time off bank.
But, the bigger question here is what to do about her total lack of respect for you. Youflew in to go on a ride along and she blew you off. It really doesn\’t matter what it was for (given that it wasn\’t an emergency). She should have told you before you purchased the plane ticket.
And this is the problem. You need to talk to your employee about her behavior, because it was unacceptable. I wouldn\’t get hung up on why she was gone, just that she was gone.
If she has medical appointments, that\’s fine, but she needs to notify you in advance. If she wants to take a vacation day to find a job, learn to dance or pretend she\’s a pirate, that\’s also fine. What is not fine is ditching a co-worker, which is what she did. The only exceptions would be for something that falls under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). As her manager, you would know if she qualified for either.
So, your job: Tell her the behavior was not appropriate, she will be docked a PTO day, and if she ever cancels out for a non-emergency again, she\’ll be fired. Harsh? You bet. Realistic? That\’s why they call it work.
Your ReWorker,
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

DEAR REWORKER: I WAS DITCHED BY AN EMPLOYEE FOR A "DOCTORS APPOINTMENT"

Dear ReWorker,
I manage field sales reps. I flew in for a scheduled \”field ride\” with an employee and upon arrival she let me know that she had a \”doctor\’s appointment\” and wouldn\’t be available for the field ride.
I sat around the city all day long until meeting the employee for dinner at 6:00 that night, then I caught a flight that next morning. I never questioned the whereabouts or the all-day doctor appointment (maybe it is something serious, who knows?). Instincts tell me that the employee didn\’t have a \”doctor\’s appointment\” and is either working an additional job or has an interview with another company. Does that employee have to take an official day off?
Sincerely,
Stood Up
+++++
Dear Stood Up,
You are the nicest manager on the planet. You have a scheduled all day appointment for which you must fly in, and your employee waits until you arrive to tell you that–oops!–she has a doctor\’s appointment and won\’t be able to make it? And you\’re wondering whether to count this day towards PTO? The employee\’s behavior was 100 percent unacceptable. If it was a sudden emergency, she should have made that clear. Since she met you for dinner, we can pretty much rest assured that it wasn\’t a sudden burst appendix.
So, even if it were for a medical reason, a full day off counts as a sick day. She still gets paid but she has to use her paid time off bank.
But, the bigger question here is what to do about her total lack of respect for you. Youflew in to go on a ride along and she blew you off. It really doesn\’t matter what it was for (given that it wasn\’t an emergency). She should have told you before you purchased the plane ticket.
And this is the problem. You need to talk to your employee about her behavior, because it was unacceptable. I wouldn\’t get hung up on why she was gone, just that she was gone.
If she has medical appointments, that\’s fine, but she needs to notify you in advance. If she wants to take a vacation day to find a job, learn to dance or pretend she\’s a pirate, that\’s also fine. What is not fine is ditching a co-worker, which is what she did. The only exceptions would be for something that falls under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). As her manager, you would know if she qualified for either.
So, your job: Tell her the behavior was not appropriate, she will be docked a PTO day, and if she ever cancels out for a non-emergency again, she\’ll be fired. Harsh? You bet. Realistic? That\’s why they call it work.
Your ReWorker,
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

Getting Hired: 5 Thank You Note Mistakes to Avoid

Your efforts toward getting hired for a position should not end at the job interview. It is important to follow up with potential employers to show them that you really care about earning a spot at their company. This is why it is absolutely necessary that you send a thank you note following an interview. But the gesture alone will not help you. Here are some common mistakes to avoid and tips to help write the best way to write an interview thank you note to a potential employer.
1. Get their contact information The biggest mistake you can make right out of the gate is to not get your interviewer\’s contact information – an error that can prevent you from sending any thank-you at all. Often, the interviewer will offer you a business card, but if they don\’t, speak up and ask them how you may follow up with them after the interview.
2. Don\’t be generic Employers receive a lot of thank you notes from potential employees, so chances are they can tell when you send a very generic response. The gesture alone will get you nowhere. Sending an honest, thoughtful note will let an employer know that you actually got something out of the conversation and care about the position.
3. Say more than just \”thank you\” The point of a thank you note is not just to thank someone for taking the time to meet with you. Instead, use the note as an opportunity to display your enthusiasm for the position and the company. Build upon the previous conversation by mentioning specifics from your interview, and display how you can be an asset to their team.
4. Don\’t leave anyone out It\’s important to make sure that you send a note to every person you spoke with during an interview. Leaving someone out could give that person, and the company, a bad impression. Be sure not to duplicate the same note to each person. As previously mentioned, a generic note will not score you any points with a potential employer.
5. Be prompt It\’s important to send your thank you note in a timely fashion – within a few days of the interview – as employers often have to make quick decisions. If you wait too long to send one, you might be too late. If you\’re sending a thank you note via email, wait at least a few hours after the interview before you send it. If you send an email immediately following your meeting, it might appear that you pre-drafted a generic note, rather than crafting an original message. Looking for an online college degree program that will help you prepare for a career?
Bryant and Stratton College Online offers a variety of programs that incorporate employability skills into the curriculum in order to ensure students are prepared for the job search following graduation. For more information, call 1.888.447.3528 to speak with an admissions representative.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

“It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time” – Ten Social Media Bad Ideas that Can Damage Your Job Prospects

Everybody has lapses in judgment now and then – usually in the company of friends, loud music, and a multitude of alcoholic beverages.  But not until the advent of social media sites did those momentary lapses in judgment have the possibility of wreaking long-lasting damage on your job prospects and career. So now’s the time to make sure you’re avoiding any of these career-busting social media “bad ideas”:
Bad Idea #1: Focusing more on personal than professional information.  Social media used to be primarily for sharing personal interests, information, and connections, so that’s what most people did. Now, however, social media sites and tools have gone mainstream as a way to build your professional brand and visibility among potential colleagues and employers. So make sure you’re not posting so much personal information on key sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter that it displaces the career-focused info you’d like hiring managers to know about you (or consider separate profiles or privacy filters).Social Networks Blogging
Bad Idea #2: Sharing too much information of a very personal nature…and especially if includes a photograph! Generally speaking, resist the urge to regale the world with how many jello shots you had Friday night at Bob’s bar, stories from your bachelor/bachelorette party, or descriptions of how you dressed your pets up for Halloween – especially if any of them are accompanied by photos. Sure, these can be fun things to share, but you don’t want them to cross over into the same space where your professional persona lives (or come back to haunt you later). Consider it TMI!
Bad Idea #3: Discussing any behaviors or activities that would give a potential employer a reason not to trust your judgment.  And here we are, back at Bob’s bar and the jello shots…. The thing to keep in mind is that you’re trying to convince someone to trust your professional maturity (and pay you a grown-up salary) – so yep, don’t give them any reason not to trust your judgment (at least that they can find online).
Bad Idea #4: Making negative, whiny, racist, or otherwise obnoxious comments in general, but especially about a person or employer.  When you start building your professional brand, you’re establishing what you want to be known for (your skills) as well as whom you want to be known as (your personality and character). Making negative or obnoxious comments online pegs you as a toxic personality, and besides poisoning the discussion in any online community of which you’re a part, it will also turn off potential employers, who generally are looking to recruit people who play well with others.
Bad Idea #5: Engaging in confrontational behaviors (flaming, having to have the last word, etc.). This is the younger snarky sibling of Bad Idea #4. Word gets around fast, and people who might have been willing to be good career connections for you (letting you know about job openings, recommending you, sharing their connections, mentoring, etc.) will instead avoid being associated with you. Play nice – career karma really does work, and if you are good to others, it will come back to you in all sorts of good ways (read: job opportunities).
Bad Idea #6: Disclosing information about your employer (unless it’s part of your job). What’s inappropriate versus an okay disclosure will depend on your company, but generally speaking, assume a post about what a fabulous place it is to work, or the great management style they have, or what a great learning environment it provides would be good to go. Comments about massive layoffs, your psychotic boss, or the top-secret product about to be launched? Avoid at all costs – besides possibly getting you fired, you’ll scare off any potential employers who see this.
Bad Idea #7: Lying about your background, skills, experience, or expertise. Okay, we know, it’s mostly just Congressmen and CEOs of major companies that try to get away with this, but if you happen to be contemplating, ah, enhancing your professional assets, don’t! Aside from the ethical issues involved, it’s just way too easy to get found out – and it’s bound to happen at the worst possible point in your career.
Bad Idea #8: Spending too much time on Twitter during work hours. Here’s the thing: everybody you work with (including your boss) can see how much time you’re spending tweeting – rather than working. It’s tough for you to make a case for overtime hours, or increased pay, or a decreased workload, when someone can refer to a twitter feed that shows 25 tweets a day. Especially bad form if they’re about sex, beer, or your boss….
Bad Idea #9: Having abandoned social media accounts or out-of-date profiles.  These tend to reflect poorly on your ability to commit to something and then follow through, plus it’s really pathetic when people try to connect with or follow you, only to be met with a resounding silence. So 1) think seriously about which social media tools you want to use to establish your professional presence and how you will consistently maintain that presence before you commit, and 2) don’t use your company e-mail as the contact e-mail. It’s way too easy to lose access to that e-mail, and then you’ll have to go through unbelievable brain damage to regain access to your site account.
Worst Idea #10: Not having any online presence. It’s now pretty much common knowledge that nearly every potential employer is going to Google you and check out your LinkedIn profile before they contact you for an interview. If you aren’t “findable” online, two things happen. First, people wonder why you’re not online (do you live in a cave? on the run from the law? in witness protection?). Second, prospective employers will move on to another candidate they can find information about. Remember, your goal is to use social media tools to make it easy for hiring managers to find information about you that makes you seem like the perfect candidate for their job, without making them have to work to find that information.
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Study in China and Gain a Competitive Edge

Finding a job in the United States is as challenging as ever. According to the Economic Policy Institute, unemployment remains high for young college graduates, and those 20-somethings that do find jobs will likely have to settle for entry-level positions.
How does a recent college stand out among thousands of other job applicants? If you studied abroad and gained international work experience while in college, you will have a competitive edge. Especially if you studied in China.

Discovering the Business Culture in China

China has become one of the most popular study abroad destinations for students around the world because of its culture, language, history and powerful influence in the global marketplace.
Beginning in the fall of 2014, The University of Vermont will offer an 18-credit China Semester Abroad program in conjunction with Ocean University in Qingdao. In a moment we’ll describe why this offers a terrific opportunity for UVM students.

But first, why should you consider China?

Fareed Zakaria, author, CNN host and editor of Newsweek International, has described China’s position in the world as such: “China’s rise is no longer a prediction. It is a fact…it is the powerful new force on the global scene.”
As the fastest growing economy in the world today, China will undoubtedly influence how we approach business in the future. China is one of the world’s top exporters and is attracting record amounts of foreign investment. Participating in a study abroad program in China can give students the opportunity to learn Chinese and engage directly with China’s business environment.
Gregory Dunkling, UVM’s Global Team Director states: “We have designed a semester abroad program experience that offers both language and cultural skills to work and live effectively in China. Through a semester-long internship, you will also gain valuable hands-on experience working in a Chinese company or organization. As a member of three-student team, you’ll work to solve a marketing challenge, a human resource issue, or some pre-defined project identified by a sponsoring organization. Our aim is to provide you with real experiences that will build your resume for future employment.”
Even if you have no previous Chinese language background, the UVM semester program will serve your needs.
As China positions itself as an economic superpower, understanding and speaking the Chinese language is a valuable skill and becoming increasingly important in the United States and beyond. Chinese is the language of nearly 20 percent of the world’s population, according to the China Education Center. Native Chinese speakers not only live in Mainland China, but also Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and across the globe.
International students choose to study Chinese language with the expectation of fulfilling employment opportunities in business, education, finance, banking, travel, media and more.
Following give successful years of offering a summer course, “Doing Business in China” in Qingdao, UVM is building on valuable connections with the business and academic community in Qingdao by offering a full semester program with Ocean University.
The UVM China Semester Abroad program is open to any student interested in understanding China’s dynamic culture and economy, and how to work effectively in the Chinese business market.
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Be Prepared Before Applying to School

Enrolling in classes at Bryant & Stratton College Online is a straightforward process that requires a few short steps to be completed.
The required steps are communicated to our students by their Admissions Representative once they’ve completed their initial admissions interview. There are additional steps that a student can take to ensure their enrollment goes as quickly as possible. The support offered by our admissions staff is second to none. From your first interview all the way until your first day of class, your personal Admissions Representative is there to guide you through the process of getting enrolled.
They will require that you complete certain steps and submit required documents throughout this process. While many of the steps cannot be completed ahead of time, there are a few things that can be done to help speed up your enrollment:
Submit your FAFSA ahead of time It usually takes three-to-five business days for a FAFSA application to process once it has been submitted or corrected. That means that it could take almost a full week for the government to process your information once it’s been turned in. However, there’s nothing that states you can’t fill out a FAFSA for the current school year prior to submitting an application. You can submit a new FAFSA anytime you want by going to FAFSA.ed.gov and beginning a new application. Be sure to remember to include Bryant & Stratton College’s school code (002678) when you apply so that your FAFSA processes with the proper school code and you don’t need to add it later.
Prepare important financial aid documents Some students will need to submit additional documentation in order to complete the financial aid process. These additional steps typically require additional documentation to be submitted before you can continue through the financial aid process. One of the most common steps that need to be addressed is called verification. Verification is a randomly selected process carried out by the government that requires additional documentation to be requested. Tax transcripts are among the most commonly requested documents and by obtaining a copy of them before applying for school or financial aid can help you down the line. It only takes a few steps to order your tax transcripts:
  • Go to http://www.irs.gov  and select the orange heading titled “Tools”
  • Select “Get Transcript Online”
  • Select blue box titled “Get Transcript Online”
    • You will need to follow the directions provided after selecting this option to ensure you get the transcripts for the year in required.
Know who to contact to obtain your high school records Our admissions staff will work to obtain a student’s GED results or high school transcripts. However, your records could be in a number of locations depending on where you took your GED test or when you graduated from high school. Make sure you know if we will need to contact your high school, school board or perhaps even a state agency (typically just for GEDs) to formally request records on your behalf. Knowing who to contact and the procedure for requesting records can save your admissions advisor a lot of time once you apply.
Know how to obtain college transcripts Not every student who is applying for school this fall will have gone to college before but, for those who have, transfer credits can be a big help towards earning your next degree. Every college operates differently when it comes to sending transcripts out for evaluation and a student can help the process immensely by knowing the procedure ahead of time. Knowing the procedure isn’t the only helpful reason to contact your previous colleges. Not only will you be able to find out if you owe any sort of balance that might prevent your transcripts from being released, but you can also obtain unofficial transcripts in many cases. Bryant & Stratton can review unofficial transcripts to determine your eligibility for transfer credits while we wait for official copies to come in. This is especially helpful in determining if placement testing needs to be taken and for scheduling purposes once the semester begins.
There’s no reason to hesitate taking the first step towards making a better future today so keep these recommendations in mind and remember that the application process at Bryant & Stratton is free to all students.
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PREPARE FOR TALENT CURVEBALLS WITH CROSS-TRAINING

The biggest reason we hire people is because they have skill sets that meet our current needs. But business needs change and, perhaps more frequently, employees’ lives change: people have babies, get married, move on to new opportunities.
It may look like you have every skill your department needs on paper, but when you face these changes, you’ll need people to do tasks and projects they weren’t hired to do. This is not an “if” situation; this is a “when” — so, what can your organization do to handle these inevitable moments with ease?
One of the best ways to prepare for talent gaps is to offer training opportunities across departments. While cross-training, or employee rotation, is often recommended as a retention strategy, it’s also a great succession planning strategy. By arming employees with a variety of skills, you simultaneously arm your company to handle the talent curveballs thrown your way. Here, five tips for setting up effective employee rotation:

1) Realize Limitations

It might seem like a good idea to teach your accounts payable clerk how to do the tasks of your chief scientist, but unless your training program allows employees time to gain a Ph.D. in chemistry, you’re going to have to teach people somewhat familiar skill sets. It’s much easier on you and the accounts payable clerk if you keep cross-training relevant to their current strengths.
Of course, you should also remain open to employees’ interests when it comes to cross-training: Your junior accountant might actually make a great sales associate.

2) Make Time for Cross-Training

If you never give your employees time to train and learn, then cross-training is a moot point. Rotational opportunities should be a priority for everyone, which means managers need to be flexible if their employee is doing a rotation or if someone new comes to their department for cross-training. To integrate cross-training into your company culture, consider making it part of every department’s and employee’s performance goals.

3) Identify Key Tasks

Everyone has responsibilities that aren’t time critical. Of course, everything needs to get done, but not everything has to get done every day — and different types of work require different types of time management. When you plan for cross-training, make sure that employees are not only training their team members about general tasks, but also sharing time management tips for those tasks.

4) Plan for Key Tasks

After identifying key tasks and priorities for each position, identify who can do the tasks if the main employee is out. You may think this is impossible — who else can handle critical legal documents if you only have one attorney? If you don’t have another employee who’s interested in learning about business law, consider building a relationship with a law firm as a backup. Will this cost you? Yes. But will it be better (and cheaper) than dealing with panic if your in-house attorney suddenly quits? Yes.
This certainly creates a little extra work, but it also plays into the succession planning you should already be doing in HR. If your IT manager’s appendix bursts and no one else can restart the server, you don’t want to say, “Gee, we probably should have cross-trained someone to do this critical task. Instead, we have to wait for the anesthesia to wear off.”

5) Keep an Eye Out for Surprises

You may find out that your HR manager has a special knack for payroll, or that your payroll manager is fantastic at screening candidates when she cross-trains with your recruiter. Nobody should feel that their job is in jeopardy when you cross-train, but you may find out that certain people have talents and interests they didn’t know they had. Keep that in mind for succession planning.
It may be impossible to have every task and department perfectly covered, but as you begin this process, you’ll develop a business that can handle the unexpected. And that’s well worth the effort.

Online vs. Campus Classes – What is the Right Choice?

Deciding whether or not to pursue your degree online or on campus can be a tough choice. Both online and campus-based classes offer a number of significant benefits to students. Some students are served best by the flexibility and convenience of online courses while others need to be in the classroom to truly succeed.
As you make your decision between attending classes online or on campus with Bryant & Stratton College, consider this questions before making your final choice.
  1. What is my ultimate academic goal? If your major area of interest lies in business administration, IT, or the administrative and managerial-oriented aspects of health services, an online program can be an efficient way to go at your own pace. You can take classes around your work/life schedule and get the theoretical and book-based learning you need for those fields. However, there are careers in which face-to-face, guided instruction and/or hands-on practice with supervision are required. In these cases a campus program, or a program that integrates both campus-based and online classes, is your best option.
  2. What kind of person/learner am I? Are you self-motivated? Do you find you are adept at creating step-by-step plans to achieve your goals? Or are you an extroverted learner who needs to be physically present with others in order to feed off their energy and enthusiasm to fuel your learning process? Make a list of your learning characteristics and your choice will become more clear. The best online students are those who are disciplined enough to make the time to do their work, rather than needing a specifically scheduled time or place where they must be physically present on a regular basis. An online school is also advantageous for those who struggle to sit in one place for extended periods of time because you have the freedom of timing, space, and movement as you learn.
  3. What is my financial situation? If you will have to work part- or full-time in order to maintain your life while you attend school, online classes are the answer to your conundrum. You can create a personalized academic schedule that works around your professional time clock. Saving money on gas, wear-and-tear on your car, and/or transportation fees is a big advantage in online learning. Also, government financial aid and loans can usually be applied to accredited online schools.
  4. Do I live near a reputable college campus? Moving away from home to attend a college campus that offers the program you want is not always possible. An online school can be attended from literally anywhere on the planet with computer and internet access. Geographic limitations are nonexistent with online classes. Online schools have made continued education available to millions of people who live in rural environments, economically depressed areas, or far from the academic program of their choice.
If you are still not sure as to which type of college would be best for you, contact the admissions counselors at Bryant & Stratton to discuss your concerns. We are an accredited online school, offering a wide range of certification and degree programs. Our admissions counselors want students to be successful and will provide professional input as to the best learning environment for you.

FROM THE EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION DESK: WHAT MOTIVATES YOU (MIGHT NOT MOTIVATE ME)

Like many of you, I spend a lot of my time thinking about workplace motivation.  This is the first in a series of posts on how we can better understand workplace motivation.
Motivating employees and organizations makes up a large part of talent management.  People use the word motivation (like, “I’m not motivated today…”), but many people in organizations don’t specifically understand what motivation is. If you ask a number of people, in a variety of different professions, from different cultures and different generations, you are quite possibly going to be greeted with a host of different definitions: money, happiness, attention from the opposite sex, peace.
Since there are so many different understandings of motivation, perhaps it is best to start by defining what motivation is not.
  • It isn’t simple and it isn’t impersonal.
  • It isn’t random.
  • It isn’t something managers should dismiss or take for granted.
The initial intent of this post was a “Top 5 Things” about workplace motivation so I started writing a list of motivational factors and stopped at sixteen and realized that was the wrong tack. So, I did what Gen X’r would do: a google search. That returned 29.5 million results in less than .4 seconds. It isn’t that complicated…or is it?
So, how does one start to discuss workplace motivation?

Seeking Pleasure or Avoiding Pain?

Sometime around 350 B.C., Aristotle started the conversation about workplace motivation when he wrote “the aim of the wise is not to secure pleasure, but to avoid pain.” Sitting right there in those words lay the majority of the thinking around motivation at work. It is this sentence that drives us to crave deep details about the why we work or don’t work.
If you ask people what they love about work you will often hear about things that are more emotionally positive (i.e. salary, benefits, co-workers, managers). When you ask people what they dislike about work, you will hear about painful factors at work (i.e. salary, benefits, co-workers, managers). As a fairly observant reader, you will notice the lists are often eerily similar- but it is where they diverge that creates the interest. No doubt you know people that could change jobs and get more money and better benefits. Similarly, you know people that tolerate horrible bosses and distrustful co-workers because they get a “sweet deal.”

Motivation is Personal (And Isn’t Just About Money)

So, where does that leave us? Simple – there is no one simple way to understand motivation. Motivation is personal; it is about working with and for people you trust and respect. But it is also about synergy. It is about working in an environment that accounts for physical satisfaction, social needs and emotional desires. It is about every manager adopting the mantra of “always be developing.”
A manager has a direct and profound influence over workplace pleasure and workplace pain. Management and motivation focus on continually striving toward meeting the physical, social and emotional needs of the employees. Impactful management goes beyond having a menu of benefits and trips and perks and remembers that while productivity and execution often result in financial compensation, retention and workplace motivation is driven by working in a climate where people are happy, being developed and being invested in.
So, for the sake of simplification, here are five points to consider about workplace motivation:
  1. If you are the boss, the environment you intentionally (and unintentionally) create drives motivation.
  2. Motivating employees isn’t just carrots and sticks – not just about huge compensation packages but about the whole package – workplace satisfaction.
  3. People aren’t motivated by the same things (just like you can’t build a house with only one tool).
  4. Having a cool office with tons of perks is great, but interpersonal relationships by the people in charge are essential.
  5.  
Motivation is personal. The fifth one is blank for you to personalize.
If you have thoughts on workplace motivation – what works, what doesn’t, and what’s at the core of this discussion in the first place – please leave a comment below.
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