The religious sect, of which his parents were prominent members, taught followers to believe the world was ending. He remembers when his 7-year-old cousin was diagnosed with leukemia and denied a blood transfusion because of his family’s beliefs. The boy died soon after. The traumatic experience left Aaron asking questions.
When he was excommunicated he walked away from that life, with answers.
“I couldn’t care less if the adults don’t want to take blood transfusions, but the children, they can’t do that to the children,” he said.
Now, he’s working toward becoming a lawyer, so he can give children like his cousin a voice.
As a student in Bryant & Stratton University’s Criminal Justice program, he has taken those first steps. He chose the school based on the recommendation of his wife, who also attended.
In the criminal justice program, Aaron said he tackled criminal procedure classes and other basics that will help him have a solid foundation for law school.
But, Bryant & Stratton University gave him more than a working knowledge of terms and ideas. The instructors and staff, he said, gave him a reason to work harder.
“The main thing I can tell you, the instructors there, they really care. The program director, Christine Stymus, reached out to me and helped,” he said. “I was always told growing up the world was going to end before I had a chance to go to college. I said to myself, ‘I am getting out of this cult. I am going to be a lawyer’. I worked my whole life to be in this position where I can focus on my education.”
Stymus also urged Aaron to submit his writings to the local paper. He was soon featured as a guest editorial writer, as he outlined his reasons why more prisons are not the answer.
His hard work has already paid dividends. Recently, he was the first non-law student to work as an intern in the U.S. Federal Public Defender’s office in Cleveland.
The unpaid, fulltime stint took Aaron to the capital habias unit where every client is sitting on death row. There, he had the chance to interview them, study their cases and understand what only a person who witnessed something firsthand can tell you.
Most importantly, Aaron said as part of his duties there, he was sworn in to protect the Constitution. The ideals of which are dear to his heart.
“When you meet people who are on death row for 36 years, wrongly convicted, that is propelling,” he said. “People say, ‘Oh, you want to go criminal defense, you want to get people off? But it’s not that simple. You want people like me look over bad police work. I got to investigate files, I got to crack issues that they didn’t have the resources for. This was the real deal.”
Now, headed to law school, his experience at Bryant & Stratton and with the public defender’s office has left Aaron is even more driven.
You’ve probably heard that social media can be a great resource in your job search. We’ve even recommended it a time or two on this blog as a way to improve employability skills.
Social media can be a way to research companies, create a personal brand and stay on top of industry trends. It can also be an excellent way to build your professional network with people you otherwise might not meet. Navigating relationship building on social media can present some challenges though. At a networking event you might go up to someone and simply introduce yourself. But online, reaching out for that first “handshake” can prove more difficult. Bryant & Stratton College Online hosted an Employability Summit in 2013 featuring HR and hiring experts from CareerBuilder, Enterprise, Humana, Marriott International and Microsoft. During that event, Jessica Lee, Director of Digital Talent for Marriott International shared several ways to use social media to grow your network.
Don’t Scream “I’m here, connect with me!” Social media is “bit of an organic process,” said Ms. Lee. Just like you wouldn’t go in to a cocktail party and demand to connect with someone, you can’t force a social media relationship. “You have a little bit of banter, go back and forth, and over time, I think that\’s where things can grow and flourish,” said Ms. Lee.
Be an active participant There are many opportunities, however, to start a conversation on social media. On Twitter, for example, if you see that someone has shared an article or video you like, you can simply compliment the person or let the poster know you agree with what the post is about, said Ms. Lee. Another idea is to regularly share ideas about the industry or job field you want to enter. Social media is designed to be a two-way street so actively sharing your thoughts is a great way career management strategy and provides an opportunity to engage in a dialogue with others. Just be sure to do it often since you’re only as good as your last post!
Continue relationships IRL Social media is a powerful platform, but don’t forget about in-person networking. If you’re connected with someone on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook and know they are going to the same community or industry event as you, be sure to make plans to meet in person (please be sure to do this in a safe, public environment!). Making the effort to connect in person, even if it doesn’t work out, could be valuable to making a stronger connection. The most important thing to remember about growing your network through social media is to apply the same principles you would if you were meeting someone in person. Be polite, be engaging, offer your opinion when you can, and share ideas and thoughts that add value to a conversation. The big advantage online is that people may be more receptive to starting a conversation than in person.
“People have their guards down a bit when it comes to social media and using it from a professional perspective,” said Ms. Lee. “So you have this huge potential to just begin building relationships and seeing where it might lead.”
Bryant & Stratton College Online is dedicated to helping students improve their employability skills and become job ready. Through outcomes-based education and career training, Bryant & Stratton College Online helps students learn the technical skills as well as the soft skills they’ll need to be successful in a career.
If you are interested in learning more about the online degree programs at Bryant & Stratton College Online, please call 1.888.447.3528 to speak with an admissions representative.
We recently had a sexual harassment complaint about an employee. Out of curiosity, I Googled this person and found several websites that list his name and include details about his inappropriate sexual activities and relationships.
Aside from the internal complaint of sexual harassment in the workplace, the internet posts bother me very much. The situation certainly does not make the company look good and it tells me a lot about the employee\’s moral and ethical standards. Can I fire him for the complaint as well as what I found out on the Internet?
You are making this more difficult than it needs to be. If his offense at work was serious enough for termination, you fire him, regardless of his internet persona. It doesn\’t matter what he does outside of work or what he posts online—he misbehaved at work and should be punished.
Now, this does become more complicated if his offense isn\’t necessarily fireable. Let\’s say someone complained that he made one dirty joke. That wouldn\’t (generally) be enough for a termination. If that\’s the case, here are a few other questions to consider.
Is His Online Behavior Just Icky, or Is It Illegal?
This is important because in some states or cities, you can\’t terminate someone for doing something controversial outside of work if it\’s legal. So, if you find his behavior objectionable but happen to live in one of these jurisdictions, you can\’t terminate him for that behavior.
If you live outside these areas, employees don\’t have the right to do icky things and brag about them on the internet, even if it\’s outside of the workplace. There\’s no free speech in the workplace, and as long as his questionable behavior didn\’t include him starting a union, you can terminate him for outside activities.
Are You Discriminating Based on Gender or Sexual Orientation?
If a woman were saying the same things online as the employee in question, would you be okay with it? If your answer is yes, then you\’re discriminating illegally. If he were a different sexual orientation, would you be okay with it? If so, then you need to be extra cautious. The courts have reached mixed verdicts on whether you can legally discriminate against someone based on sexual orientation, but the reality is, even if your bias falls within the law, you shouldn\’t act on it. You should be judging people based on their work.
Does the Behavior Reflect Badly on the Company?
Assuming that his behavior at work wasn\’t serious enough for a termination, and assuming that it\’s not illegal to terminate him, should you still do it? Generally, managers should stay out of their employees\’ online lives. You wouldn\’t invite yourself over to dinner at their house, so why should you invite yourself onto their Facebook pages?
With that said, you should take action if the employee\’s behavior reflects badly on the company. If there\’s nothing online linking him to your company, you should probably let it go. If it\’s easy to link him to your company, however, that\’s another story.
Regardless of your decision you need to do two things: consult with your employment attorney and enforce the same standard across the board, regardless of age, gender, position or tenure.
But crunching numbers is not how graduates in this field will spend their days.
Medical Coding and Billing Job Description
Reimbursement and coding specialists immerse themselves in understanding biology and medical terminology. They have to understand how the body works, what diagnosis is linked to that body part and then learn to correctly code those using the appropriate medical reimbursement codes so that insurance companies can accurately pay each claim.
People often ask if medical coding is hard to learn. In most cases, students are able to learn the basic concepts quickly and easily as long as they put in the effort. Students will pick one of two tracks to study: hospital (inpatient) or physician’s office (outpatient) that reflect the two areas of concentration for most medical records and health information technicians.
Once the claims are coded, the billing side of the operation submits the claims. Depending on the size of the employer, there may be a separate department for each step in the process, meaning employees may only code or only bill. In a smaller physician’s office, a much smaller staff may be tasked with the entire process.
This field also offers a huge ability to work from home and potentially work for yourself, completing coding assignments for different physicians. However, that requires experience and becoming well-known in medical circles.
Basic facts for Medical Records and Health Information Technicians, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (for 2014, the last available data)
Median Pay: $34,160 per year ($17.84 per hour)
Number of jobs, nationwide: 188,600
Rate of job growth: 15 percent per year
What will you study: physiology, biology, HIPPA laws
Growth Opportunities: Some doctors will hire experienced employees without credentials, if you have any dreams of moving up in the industry, or working from home as a contractor, you have to become credentialed and work toward earning more certifications to add to your degree.
Professional Resources: To learn more about careers as a medical reimbursement and coding specialist, check out these professional associations related to the field. Each of these organizations can help you find information, connect with mentors and research job opportunities.
The Professional Association of Healthcare Coding Specialists, http://www.pahcs.org/
Considering a job or career change? If so, you may want to invest some time in identifying your work preferences first to ensure the change you’re making turns out to be a great fit. To start developing a solid picture of what your ideal work situation might look like, consider your responses to the following either/or combinations. Naturally, for some choices your responses may be more of a mild preference than a strong response, but this still gives you useful information, by telling you that this particular issue isn’t a deal maker or breaker for you.
Nonprofit vs. for-profit: Nonprofits may include political and religious groups and professional and trade associations as well as socially beneficial or community-based organizations, but they are usually mission- rather than profit-driven.
Technology-focused vs. technology-neutral: Technology-focused organizations assume and demand a high level of tech expertise, and necessitate an ongoing commitment to staying ahead of the technology curve.
Emerging industry/discipline vs. established industry/discipline: Organizations based on emerging industries and disciplines tend to offer exciting and challenging opportunities, while those in established or maturing disciplines often provide saner workplaces.
Large organization vs. small: Large organizations generally bring the tradeoff of stable job expectations vs. rigid management structure, while smaller organizations may tend to be more responsive to new ideas but offer less direction and management control.
Established organization vs. start-up: Established companies can usually offer superior benefits, while start-ups may be more willing to negotiate other perks such as stock options and flextime in lieu of traditional benefits.
Local or community-based vs. national: Local or community-based groups often invest more in being good community citizens, but are prone to mirror the ups and downs of the local economy, whereas national organizations may have less of a commitment to your community but are also less damaged by its economic woes.
Structured vs. unstructured workplace: Do you do your best work in a structured environment, or thrive in its absence?
Formal vs. casual: Organizations vary immensely as to their tone and expectations of their employees. Do you feel more comfortable with established standards of dress and behavior or prefer a week of casual Fridays?
Hierarchical vs. flat organization style: This choice is about how decisions are made. Hierarchical enterprises are primarily top-down, flat ones more likely to distribute decision-making responsibilities (which may impact quality and speed of decisions).
High accountability/reward vs. more moderate accountability/reward: The former usually is found in the for-profit world; although it can be financially lucrative, it can also carry a substantial stress factor.
Project-focused or consistent workflow: Projects are typical of client-focused work (for example, in a marketing firm), while a consistent workflow is usually found in more traditional, structured environments.
Established hours vs. flexible or nontraditional schedule: If you prefer a traditional Monday-Friday, eight-hour-a-day work week, avoid jobs that put you on the front lines with customers (for example, any form of customer service/support).
Family-friendly vs. family-neutral: Depending on your life circumstances and what personal responsibilities you are juggling, this may be the most important consideration for you. Think of these questions as a starting point to better understand your preferred work style, then incorporate that information into your career-change choices. In case you missed the “Career Change: Getting from Here to There” webinar, watch the recording now! – Career Change- Getting From Here to There . The “Getting from Here to There” webinar provides advice and tips on how to create and execute an effective career plan, including information on strategic planning, targeted goal setting and identifying valuable contacts and resources.
Acclaimed Career Coach, Kim Dority is a frequent presenter for Bryant & Stratton College Online. Dority is an information specialist, consultant, career coach, published author and adjunct professor at the University of Denver in Colorado. She has written extensively on career development for students and new graduates and is a frequent presenter, lecturer and panelist on career-related topics. Kim’s areas of expertise include professional branding, career transitions and career sustainability.
Vermont is home to hundreds of business and social entrepreneurs looking to create or expand start-ups. Our state also hosts a number of established growth companies and family-run businesses that have built excellent reputations and contributed to local economies for decades.
But what happens once a company that employed five or 10 people suddenly ends up with a staff of 35? How does a company finance an expansion? What do you do when your small business is no longer that small, bringing in several million dollars in revenues?
If you lead a business that is experiencing rapid growth — or you would like to be in that category – then you need the knowledge and skills to make sound business decisions in what has become a much more competitive environment. If you don’t take the time to educate yourself about the ramifications of your growing success, you could lose customers and employees and, even worse, see all your hard work go out the window when your business fails.
With your pressing business needs and growing pains, now may not be the time to sign up for a two-year MBA program. But you might be able to carve out the time to network with and learn from other business leaders, join online communities that support entrepreneurs and business owners or pursue continuing education and corporate training programs in leadership development.
When exploring continuing education and corporate training programs for you and your employees, you need to understand why leadership development is so important in the first place. Leadership development is crucial to your business’ next stage of growth because it helps you and other emerging leaders in your company:
Develop strategies that give your business a competitive edge.
Figure out how your company can become more flexible, enabling you to prepare for and quickly adapt to changes in the marketplace.
Re-examine your business’ priorities, allowing you to pursue new opportunities and drop any efforts that aren’t worth the time or money.
More effectively manage your finances and growing profits, improving your business’ financial performance.
Implement sales and marketing strategies that help you carve out a niche in the marketplace.
Attract, motivate and retain employees who will be deeply engaged in supporting your goals and vision.
With your head down and focused on your day-to-day business needs, it’s not always easy to think about devoting time to leadership development. But in the long run, it will be time well spent and could keep your business on track for success
From a dairy farm to Thailand, Ashley Moran saw a lot before beginning her tenure at Bryant & Stratton College. One of the longest tenured Admissions Representatives, Ashley actually began her career with Bryant & Stratton as a Qualification Center Representative.
After introducing students to Bryant & Stratton and the admissions staff, she made the transition to being an Admissions Representative nearly three years ago. Ashley has formed countless relationships with her students and is always beaming about a recent graduate who she remembered speaking to the first time they called the school over 18 months earlier. In fact, seeing her students graduate is what gives Ashley the most pride in coming to work each day.
A well-traveled individual, Ashley has made her way to Russia and Thailand all before earning her collegiate degree. After trekking to Russia during high school she made her way to the Far East after her junior year at Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, NY. With her travels complete, Ashley now enjoys spending time with her family and settling the household competition over who is the cutest, her son or her pug Lucy (her son is undefeated).
Favorite part of working at Bryant & Stratton College: My favorite part is the team atmosphere. I appreciate that we all work together to reach our goals and help students reach theirs. I am confident that if one of my students needs help when I am not available they will be assisted.
One piece of advice you’d give to current or prospective BSC students: Don’t let where you have come from stop you from where you want to go. There are always going to be challenges in life and how you handle them develops your character. You can choose to give up or face the challenge head on and change your life.
Have you ever wondered why the hiring process is so freakishly slow? It should be easy—at the moment a manager has a vacancy (or knows there will be one), a recruiter should jump in and screen candidates, the manager should schedule interviews with a few promising applicants and, collectively, they should make a final offer to the best one.
That’s how it should go. From the outside, it may look like this process is happening in your organization. But here’s the catch: even if you’re following these steps, you’re likely following them at a glacial pace, and running into obstacles at every turn.
Why is hiring so much harder than it seems? Let’s take a look behind the scenes of the hiring process to understand the common hold-ups, and how to address them.
Step 1: Manager Has a Vacancy
First, ask why a vacancy occurred: Did someone quit? Was someone promoted? Has the workload increased and the team just needs a new hire? Second, evaluate your resources to actually fill this vacancy: What’s the budget? If the vacancy is due to someone quitting (or being promoted), is the current budgeted salary competitive enough to hire from the outside? Does the current job description still work?
As you can probably see, even the very first step in the hiring process is far more complicated than it looks. If you don’t have solid answers to the above questions, it will throw a wrench into the rest of the process.
Step 2: Advertise the Opportunity
For many jobs, putting up a job description and gathering applications is the easiest part of hiring. But what if it’s a position with a very specific skill set? Sometimes, the recruiter has to go out and hunt for someone with the right qualifications. These “head hunters” spend a lot of time and energy on this part of the hiring process, since they have to proactively find—and then convince—people to apply.
Alternatively, while an entry-level or general job should receive an influx of applications, it’s important to carefully define the job in step 1. Two weeks into the live job application, you don’t want the hiring manager to call up the recruiter and say, “I know we said we needed someone with X, but actually we need someone with Y.” Unless a good portion of the X applicants can also do Y (unlikely), you’ll have to start the process all over.
Step 3: Screen Candidates
Your relationship and communication with the recruiter will determine whether this step is productive or not. While some recruiters are well-versed in the role or department and know the right questions to ask, many others are general recruiters who are sourcing candidates across four or more skill sets. They may accidentally exclude someone who would be awesome in a position because they don’t fit the job description to a “T”.
Make sure to provide as many details as possible, and offer various examples of candidates that would make a great fit.
Step 4: Interview the Applicants
Most people don’t do a ton of hiring, and conducting interviews is not an easy feat—it’s one that takes a lot of practice, intuition and patience. That’s obstacle number one.
Second, people who apply for new jobs are typically applying for more than one. Scheduling by itself can take forever—especially if your leadership team prefers to have multiple people interview each candidate.
So, make sure you’re taking into account the candidate experience in this step—remember, not only is the hiring manager picking a candidate, but the candidate is picking a job. Your interviewer should be well-prepared, communication should be prompt and the process itself should run smoothly.
Step 5: Make the Job Offer (and Hopefully, Celebrate!)
There’s no guarantee that your offer will be accepted, or that you will be able to meet the candidate’s negotiation asks.
The key to this step is preparing for wiggle room—don’t post the job at the highest salary you can offer, and expect some pushback on things like flexible working hours or vacation time. If the candidate is employed, it’s likely their current company will come back with a counter-offer—and you need to be prepared to meet it.
If you’re able to meet the various challenges that crop up throughout the hiring process, you’ll be much more likely to find and hire the right candidate faster. When it comes to hiring, the secret is to never underestimate the collective power of details, communication and flexibility.
Tamryn Spruill was standing in a cranberry field, on an island off the coast of Finland, and thinking. She had headed to Europe as a reprieve after the economic collapse in 2007 forced her out of her job at a Manhattan law firm where she worked as a finance editor. She had climbed the corporate ladder there after beginning her professional life by earning a journalism degree at the University of South Carolina.
Now, with Wall Street in ruins, Tamryn stepped back and realized that this was her new beginning. And she embraced it.
“It became clear that when I returned to the U.S. I would get out of the rat race of New York City to pursue something that excited me creatively, intellectually, and spiritually. Like many who endured the hardship of layoff but found it to be a blessing in disguise,” she said.
Tamryn left New York City and headed to Vermont where she was accepted to the acclaimed MFA program at Goddard College. Never one to shy away from risk, or stray from her goal, Tamryn sent one application, to one school, Goddard. And it paid off. She was accepted and in her third semester taught fiction during a teaching practicum to local students in a charter school for the arts.
“I had sought creative, intellectual, and spiritual excitement and I found it – both in my graduate studies and in classrooms filled with talented young people,” she said.
Now as a faculty administrator, and English and literature Instructor for Bryant & Stratton College, Tamryn teaches two classes each session and supervises a group of about 20 adjunct instructors. Get to know Tamryn with our quick Q&A
Which classes do you teach?
ENGL101: Research & Writing I, a foundational English course which helps students to build the types of researching and writing skills that will help them to succeed not only in future courses but in the workplace as well.
ENGL250: Research & Writing II, a course devoted to workplace-specific writing which affords students the opportunities to draft common workplace documents like memos, professional letters, and proposals, and to sharpen their research and information literary skills which also are critical to the competitive workforce.
ENGL350: Research & Writing III, a course which fosters and challenges critical thinking as students create a primary research study related to a subject in their degree field, and includes a thorough research design (sample, data collection, and data analysis methods) and survey for collecting data.
LITR320: World Literature, a survey course of twentieth century literature from around the world that focuses on critical analysis of short stories and poems, development of cultural awareness through the act of reading literature, and application of cultural concepts to life, community, and career.
Do you continue to work in your career field outside the classroom?
I absolutely love my job! And I appreciate the ability to learn something new each session, with the goal of continual improvement. But all of this is to say that I do work in my career field outside of the classroom, as much as I can. But given the demands of my position with the college, I try to concentrate this work during breaks between sessions because I am a person who needs at least eight hours of sleep each night! In 2012, I founded an indie press that publishes poetry and hybrid/cross-genre or experimental literature. So far, seven titles have been published with another four set for release in 2016! I take great pride in sending highly imaginative and thoughtful literature out into the world, and I feel honored to work with so many talented writers.
What do you wish students understood about their time in college?
More than anything, I wish students understood and embraced that education is a precious opportunity. Of course, it is a means to an end; for example, it is a path toward gaining better employment in the future. But embracing the journey of education as a precious opportunity – rather than as something to be endured to achieve an end result – will allow students to get all they can from the experience. Instead of holding an attitude of doing as little as possible to pass a course, I would love to see more students seek to learn as much as they can. To treat a course like a milkshake and suck very hard on the straw to taste every last drop and not leave anything in the cup!
I realize this can be difficult because many students work and/or have families. These are real life demands that do not leave much time in the day for completing textbook readings and writing papers. But I know from personal experience that it is possible to immerse fully in learning despite these challenges. Often, a measure of sacrifice is required along with good organization and solid time management.
I encourage students to be introspective and consider: What are you willing to do to pass the course and earn the degree that will lead you to the employment you desire? For example, are you willing to give up watching TV for 7.5 weeks while you complete the course? (With Hulu and Netflix, students can binge watch the shows they missed during the session – as a reward for doing well in class!) For students who are very concerned with grades, my advice always is to instruct them to immerse themselves more fully in what they are learning. If they do this, they will gain the knowledge that will lead to the end result of good grades. If students focus on learning as much as they can – completing all assigned readings, listening to lectures and so forth – the grades will take care of themselves.
Just as the tradition of annual performance reviews is on the wane, the concept of one-and-done training sessions is becoming increasingly outdated. The pace of technology continues to accelerate each year, and HR professionals can no longer expect to train people once a year (or even once a quarter) to keep up to speed—instead, employees need opportunities to constantly learn and improve their knowledge.
But it\’s also clear that HR can\’t serve as the only source of this knowledge. According to a recent study from Deloitte, the gap between the importance of L&D and the ability to act on it grew by 211 percent over the past year. In order to bridge this gap, learning not only needs to be continuous, it also needs to be communal.
Source Knowledge from Inside the Company
For years, I\’ve been an advocate for a learning model that I informally refer to as “inside-out\” development. It takes \”build\” in the \”build vs. buy\” argument to another level: If you want to build a custom training program for your employees, do it by leveraging the skills, talents and expertise of those same employees. Don\’t limit your construction team to HR if you want a truly valuable and comprehensive learning program.
At Cornerstone, putting the \”inside-out\” model to practice has proved invaluable. Here, the L&D function isn’t necessarily defined by the number of employees officially on the “L&D team.” Our L&D team, with inside-out training, has a team of about 1,500 – that is, everyone in the company is in learning now.
And it shows: Cornerstone employees have completed 8,500 training hours in just a year and a half—all employee-generated, employee-designed and employee-delivered.
How can you apply the \”inside-out\” approach to your learning program? Here, four key lessons I\’ve learned about cultivating a community-led learning environment.
1. Focus on Culture First
While I wouldn\’t consider myself a traditionally creative person, I\’ve learned how to foster an environment where creative people thrive—and that\’s the key to inside-out development. You need to establish a company culture where trying new ideas is celebrated.
By empowering employees (regardless of title) to come forth and share their knowledge with coworkers, you\’ll create a more intimate organization where internal teaching will begin to occur naturally.
2. Identify Your Learning Champions
In order to make employee-led training work, you need employee advocates. Find people throughout the organization who are excited about the idea and willing to support you!
To start, conduct a basic needs assessment of your organization and identify the core opportunities for learning. Then, seek out potential presenters who excel in these areas and offer to help them develop a session or training course. You can coach them on presentation skills, ensure the content is relevant and accessible, and help them market the session—all of which are critical employee skills, regardless of department.
3. Embrace the Unexpected
If you want your learning program to be user-generated, it\’s going to be unique and unexpected. Remember: it\’s all about embracing new ideas.
The first time I sent around a survey asking people what they would be interested in teaching, I received more than a few outside-the-box responses: from a cooking lesson on cake pops to teaching people how to ride a bike. So, on our first \”Development Day,\” one of the sessions we had was on cake pops—it filled up almost instantly and was a great team-building experience. The cyclist also gave a great session on bike safety and commuting to work.
Don\’t let your expectations of what learning should look like get in the way of a new idea. Hosting the above sessions alongside lessons on coding, remote working and stress management rounded out our entire program.
4. Always Be Iterating
Finally, think about how you can continue to impress and surprise people. Don\’t do something just because it worked before—think of new things to try and new ways to curate and present information.
For instance, how can you embrace new technologies to increase engagement? How can you continue to update existing sessions and identify new ideas? It\’s important to take full advantage of the knowledge offered, and find ways to create ongoing conversations—whether that\’s through virtual communities or ongoing courses.
As you continue to experiment with inside-out development, you\’ll find that your company strength, trust and cohesion will be positively influenced—and all by finding great people within your organization and helping them shine.
One of the challenges of rethinking our careers these days is how to most effectively position ourselves with a potential employer for maximum opportunity (okay, first to get hired, then for maximum opportunity!). In other words, you and your outstanding skills are the solution to the problem or challenge they face.
Whether you’re writing a cover letter, tailoring a resume, or preparing for a job interview, think about how to demonstrate and document your problem-solving track record. The problem or pain point could be as simple as “we need someone reliable who can learn our system quickly and replace the employee we just promoted.” Or it might be “we need someone who knows how to turn our print content into interactive media for our website.” Or perhaps it’s “we need someone who not only understands how healthcare clinics work but also speaks Spanish to help us effectively support the healthcare needs of our growing number of Latino patients.”
Your job is to learn, from the job posting and doing as much research on the organization as possible, what problem, challenge, or opportunity the organization is trying to address through the posted position, and then focus entirely on the value you bring that will help them successfully do so. Basically, your communications should showcase four things:
You have the skills, expertise, and track record necessary to fix the problem This can include education, credentials, work experience, and/or volunteer projects that relate to the challenge the company needs to address. Whether in your resume, cover letter, or interview, your communications need to be about the professional value you bring that lets you help the company resolve its “pain points.”
You deliver results: Prospective employers pay attention when you can point to quantifiable results from work you did (solutions you provided). Being able to say that you increased customer retention by 15% or contributed to a project that came in 20% under budget or achieved some other measurable positive result means that you have a track record of delivering actual results. How to frame this? Companies generally focus on three bottom-line benefits: an increase in revenue, a decrease in costs, or an increase in satisfied customers. If you’re able to point to achievable results in any of those areas, make sure potential employers know it. And if you’re a student without any applicable job history to point to, then be ready to discuss how you would become their solution based on the knowledge and insights you’re gaining in your program.
You learn fast Almost any new job is going to involve a learning curve where you’re trained on existing systems, processes, and practices. The faster you can master these and actually start producing value (that is, being the solution), the happier the company. So be sure to highlight any experiences that demonstrate how you quickly mastered new information and were able to apply that knowledge in previous situations. And if you’re a student, talk about what you’ve learned about how you learn in your classes that will enable you to “learn on demand.”
You’re easy to work with and will fit in with – rather than disrupt – their team In terms of being that great solution, think “seamless transition.” Make it clear that your great people and team skills have helped drive successful solutions in the past, and will do so now as well. So, what problems do your skills and expertise solve?
Is changing your job or career direction on the horizon for 2015? Maybe you want to set new goals or aim for a big promotion. Here are five must-read articles we found on Forbes, Fast Company, Inc., Harvard Business Review, and Mashable with tips and advice on succeeding in the New Year.
Must-Read Articles:
Make it a Good Year for Your Career
Want to create your very own career strategic plan? Forbes contributing writer Lisa Quast explains that achieving success requires more than luck and more than hard work — it actually requires a plan. Luckily, your plan doesn’t have to be difficult to create or complex. Read more in How to Turn 2015 into a Year of Career Success.
Are You Hindering Your Own Success?
Finding success is all about hard work and dedication. It’s also about avoiding a variety of pitfalls – envy, complacency, low self-esteem, to name a few — that will inevitably hold you back. Inc. contributor Larry Kim offers helpful reminders in his article, 7 Things that Will Keep You from Being Successful.
A Word of Caution about Complaining
A half hour of complaining every day physically damages a person’s brain, according to research from Stanford University. Whether you’re the one talking or you’re the one listening, it’s bad for you. Stephanie Vozza tells us why we should choose our words wisely when venting. Read Vozza’s piece in Fast Company on Why Complaining May Be Dangerous to Your Health.
How to Become the Boss’s Trusted Advisor
How does one become a member of the CEO’s inner cabinet? What traits must one possess? Jacques Neatby says it comes down to a few things, including loyalty, numbers, and humor. Read Neatby’s article in the Harvard Business Review on How to Break into Your CEO’s Inner Circle.
Signs You’re Derailing Your Chances for a Promotion
Getting promoted shouldn’t just be about you. It needs to be about what’s best for team or the company. Lily Zhang writes that before you keep charging blindly ahead to earn that coveted promotion, make sure you don’t derail your plans by making these common mistakes
In a very significant development, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court in a latest, landmark and extremely laudable judgment titled J&K High Court Bar Association v. Union of India & ors. in WP(C) (PIL) no. 14/2016 reserved on February 10, 2020 and pronounced on March 11, 2020 dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that sought prohibition of use of pellet guns. How long can security forces restrain themselves if public becomes unruly and start pelting stones, bottles and what not? Why can’t the public be more disciplined and not always just shout of fundamental rights promised to them by the Constitution but also play a more responsible role like a good citizen by always complying with the fundamental duties as enshrined in the Constitution?
pillet gun
To start with, a two Judge Bench of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court comprising of Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey and Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur sets the ball rolling by first and foremost listing the points made by the petitioner in para 1 which runs as follows: “This petition has been filed by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association, Srinagar, through its Executive Member, Mr. Muhammad Ashraf Bhat, way back in July, 2016, with the following prayers:
“a) That the respondents, their agents and servants be prohibited by a writ of prohibition from using or caused to be used 12-Bore Pellet Gun and or of any other Bore and Cartridges containing pellets as a means of crowd control against any group of people, including protestors in the State of Jammu and Kashmir. The use of pellet gun be totally banned as a means of crowd control.
b) That all the officers, who took the decision of using the pellet guns at the protestors and non-protestors after 8th July, 2016 and those who actually fired the pellet guns be prosecuted. Cases be directed to be registered against them for causing unlawful bodily injury, deprivation of eye sight etc.
c) That the respondents, their agents and servants be directed to compensate all those persons whose names are mentioned in the petition as well as those whose particulars will come to the notice of this Hon’ble Court during the hearing of this petition and the compensation be determined in the context of violation of Article 21 of the Constitution as made applicable to the State of Jammu and Kashmir, as these persons have either been deprived of their eye sight and or have suffered bodily injury, trauma, agony, mental pain etc.;
d) That the Director, SKIMS, Soura, Srinagar, Principal, SKIMS, Medical College, Bemina; Director, Health Services, Kashmir, and the Medical Superintendent, SMHS Hospital be directed to furnish to this Hon’ble Court details of all those persons who reported in the SKIMS, Hospitals, District Hospitals, Sub District Hospitals, Primary Health Centres for treatment on account of pellet injury and the treatment provided to them.
e) That the State of Jammu and Kashmir through Chief Secretary be directed to furnish report to this Hon’ble Court as to the circumstances and the time decision to refer pellet injury patients outside the State was taken. The respondents be also directed to bring competent and well trained surgeons from outside the State so as to provide treatment to those who are not willing to go outside for treatment or have no means for meeting the expenses of such treatment inside or outside the State. The Court may also determine negligence, if any, caused by any authority of the State in dealing with pellet injury patients.
d) Any other appropriate writ direction or order as the Hon’ble Court may deem fit in the facts and circumstances of the case be also passed in favour of the petitioner and against the respondents.””
After hearing the learned counsel for the parties and considering the matter as pointed out in para 2, it is then brought out in para 3 that, “As per the averments made in the petition, the immediate cause for filing of this writ petition has been the unpleasant events which had occurred from 08.07.2016 wherein, according to the petitioner association, people, including teenagers, watching clashes between protestors and security forces, had received pellet injuries in their eyes, skulls and throats. It is alleged that about 4000 persons were injured and about 100 persons were blinded. The petitioner in para 7(f) of the petition has given particulars of 46 persons whose eyes, according to him, were damaged by pellet injuries. Alleging excessive use of force against protestors, the petitioner in the petition has referred to various provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure and other procedures to be adopted for dealing with and dispersal of assemblies. The petitioner association, profusedly, espousing a public interest, has filed this petition with the above prayers.”
Most crucially, it is then laudably pointed out elegantly in para 12 that, “Having considered the matter, in view of the above, we are of the opinion that so far as the constitutional tort is concerned, the State has fulfilled its obligation, inasmuch as they have made ex-gratia payments to most of the injured persons as mentioned above, and with respect to the remaining it is categorically stated that their cases shall be decided in tune with the Government policy in that behalf in due course of time. We think that in the event any individual person feels that he has not been adequately compensated commensurate with the injury he had suffered, nothing can come in his way to claim such compensation as he may wish from the State under the private law in an action based on tort through a suit instituted in a court of competent jurisdiction. This Court in this PIL, in its jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, cannot grant a relief to the satisfaction of every such individual allegedly injured in police action, especially so when there is a finding recorded by the Court in its order dated 21.09.2016 that almost every day, in the guise of protests, the security personnel, their camps and Police Stations were targeted by unruly crowds, and that, if the protest is not peaceful and the security persons are attacked by huge and violent mobs, they have to necessarily use force in their self defence and for protecting public property. Therefore, strictly speaking, it is not a case where compensation is being sought or claimed for wrong doing of any security force personnel, or for violating any fundamental right of any citizen by them, but for discharge of public duty by such security force personnel, or for violating any fundamental right of any citizen by them, but for discharge of public duty by such security force personnel who were being attacked by violent mobs during the relevant period. In any case, since the Government has discharged its obligation, nothing more needs to be done in this PIL.”
No doubt, each and every true Indian must be proud for what the Jammu and Kashmir High Court has held so explicitly and elegantly! How can security forces function smoothly if their hands are tied? How can public beating security forces be ever justified under the garb of “right to dissent”? Who will join security forces if the High Courts and Supreme Court justify attack on security forces, blocking of roads, burning of Constitution and national flags and chanting of pro-Pakistani slogans as “right to dissent”?
Mercifully, we see that the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bench comprising of Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey have commendably taken the right stand in this leading case which will send the right message to all citizens that, “You cannot on one hand spread hatred, violence and attacks and on the other hand demand that security forces just keep tolerating everything quietly without saying anything or without retaliating”!
How can attack on police station be ever justified? How can attack on security personnel and their camps be ever justified under any circumstances? How can violence by unruly crowds be ever justified?
How can they be allowed to do what they feel like doing? Have we not seen what the rioters did just recently in Delhi where more than 50 persons have died and the casualty is rising higher and higher with every passing day? Which High Court or even Supreme Court will ever try to justify it in the garb of “right to dissent”?
God help our country if ever Courts try to justify it on any ground whatsoever! Even God helps those who helps themselves! If our Courts try to justify blocking of roads under the garb of “right to dissent”, chanting of anti national slogans under this same garb and attacking our security forces and killing our police men as we saw most recently in Delhi when Head Constable Ratan Lal died of bullet injuries then we are certainly fit to be termed as a “lawless country” where everything is sought to be justified under the shameless garb of “right to dissent” just like Pakistan is fit to be termed as a “terror state” where terror groups operate with impunity with active blessings of Pakistani Army, Government and Judiciary!
Mercifully, again we have not descended to that niggardly level! This is exemplified most recently by this latest and extremely commendable judgment of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court where it has rightly refused any relief from pellet guns to those who attack police station and security forces camps! All courts must draw some lessons from this and advise people to stop justifying attacks on forces, chanting of anti national slogans and glorifying of Pakistan under any circumstances! India is India and it cannot become Pakistan ever! Pakistan split in 1971 when Bangladesh was born but India has remained united from 1947 to 2020 because we are a democratic country where people enjoy maximum freedom as my best friend Sageer Khan said way back in 1993 that, “Muslims enjoy maximum liberty in India. In Pakistan they are suppressed and that is why it split in 1971 and even now Indians who went to Pakistan in 1947 are still treated with contempt, are termed as Mohajjirs and discriminated against! Same holds true for Pashtuns, Balochis, Sindhis and people of PoK along with other regions! But in India Muslims enjoy polygamy even though it was banned among Hindus in 1955 yet Hindus never said a word. Triple talaq was banned in 1961 in Pakistan but we are still enjoying it along with Nikah Halala! Muslims enjoy all facilities in India and are allowed to become President also as also can occupy any other post and Muslim dominated Jammu and Kashmir enjoy so many rights yet they keep complaining but see how Hindus are treated in Pakistan where they have no right to life and are treated as “second grade citizens”! Muslims must learn tolerance from Hindus and treat Kashi, Ayodhya and Mathura as Hindu pilgrim sites just like we treat Mecca and Medina as Muslim pilgrim sites and never allow even a single temple anywhere not just in Mecca or Medina but in any other place in Saudi Arabia or any other Gulf country! Only then can our country become more powerful!”
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. UVM also offers a Doing Business in China 4-credit summer session. We asked two UVM alumni who travel frequently to China to talk about what they’ve learned from a business perspective and why studying in China gives students a competitive edge.
James Candido, ’04, and Chris Bariberi, ’64
James Candido, ’04, of Williston, is the former director of Vermont’s EB-5 program and now works as a consultant for CrossHarbor Capital Partners, a private equity firm specializing in real estate development in China and around the world.
Chris Barbieri, ’64, led the Vermont Chamber of Commerce’s Asia Division for eight years and lived in Shanghai full time from 2003-2007. Barbieri, who lives outside of Montpelier, now works as a consultant helping Vermont companies conduct business in China.
1. What are some important business lessons you’ve learned in China?
James: Attention to detail is key. Every aspect of the deal needs to be carefully thought out and presented, and you must prepare for deep diving questions. Also, it seems as though business partners want to truly get to know you before making a significant business deal. Business dealings in the United States, from my experience, tend to be a bit more subjective.
Chris: It’s absolutely necessary to understand how China works. The culture, business practices, social norms, and history are entirely different than ours in the United States. Chinese people think very differently than we do. To succeed in China, you need to invest the time to dig deep and understand how things work. Chinese business culture is based on personal relationships, not on contracts. It’s all in the handshake.
2. What are some of the biggest cultural and marketplace differences you’ve seen between the US and China?
James: I don’t think that I ever been anywhere that feels as culturally different from the United States as China. I have only spent time in the metropolitan areas of the country, but it feels as if people are constantly moving together as one toward personal and national goals. It’s a trait that does not seem as apparent here at home. No matter what their situation is or their economic status, everyone in China seems to be trying to improve and make sacrifices to move the community forward.
This ties into the marketplace as well, as people seem to work incredibly hard regardless of their position. I have to admit it’s a little startling to come back to the United States after a trip and experience the difference in how service people – even at a McDonald’s or Subway – go about their jobs.
Chris: The cultural differences between China and the USA are very, very different. Marketplace differences are apparent as well and it’s critical for a foreigner to understand these differences in order to succeed in China. Here are a few basic differences:
Work ethic: Chinese workers are as hardworking as any country I’ve ever visited. Long hours and doing the job right dominates. Employees will work late because “I didn’t complete my assignment by quitting time.” This may change as Western business culture gets more exposure in China.
Personal responsibility: Chinese people take responsibility for their actions. The blame game is rare in China.
Business relationships are based mostly on the personal relationship of those involved.
Contracts exist of course, but often mean little as the legal system is still in its infancy.
Communications: Americans tend to get to the point and be straightforward in expressing their opinions whether delivering good or bad news. This is not so true in China.
Education is held in high regard and Chinese students are under great pressure to do well in their studies.
Crime rate and drug use are much lower than in the United States as a result of penalties and cultural norms.
3. What surprised you most about China?
James: As much as there is significant growth, the Chinese marketplace seems like a challenging place to operate. Anecdotally, I’ve heard of the difficulties of growing a business due to the necessity of having central government approval.
Real estate is being built in such magnitude that you often see massive malls and office buildings that are half – or in some instances – totally empty. You will also often see seven or eight people working in a store with almost no customers. It will be very interesting to see how the Chinese market evolves over the next 10 years.
What I found the most amazing about the economic marketplace in China is its scale. It’s impossible to adequately express how big it is. China has massive manufacturing areas, transportation hubs, and metropolitan areas with some cities having a population of more than 25 million.
Chris: What surprised me early on and has kept me coming back are the opportunities for Vermont, the work ethic, the food, the positive energy, the low crime rate, and the pure excitement of being there.
4. The University of Vermont will offer an 18-credit China Semester Abroad program in fall 2014. Why is studying abroad in China so important?
James: China’s marketplace is still one of the most important in the world. I think anyone who would want to be involved in the global economy would almost have to spend significant time there. I also think the perspectives learned can be used across the board in a variety of fields, even if those perspectives involve lessons learned on how not to operate.
Since China is such an emerging global power, there are many lessons to be learned from immersion in Chinese culture. Be it in the social or business arena, there are just so many fascinating differences in how the country operates that will give students incredible perspective.
Chris: If a student wants to understand where the opportunities will be in the future, then they must understand China. I will tell any young person who will listen that if they want an exciting and rewarding future, they should learn Mandarin and pursue a degree in international trade.
Personal relationships are everything in China. Hard work is rewarded and quality education counts. Personal responsibility and discipline count in business. China will soon be the world’s largest economy, and it has 1.4 billion people with rapidly increasing incomes. American products, services, education, and technology are held in high regard by Chinese people. China is where the action is, and students should remember that.
Nursing students can often spend 40 hours a week attending class, clinicals and internships. Who has time for extracurricular activities?
The National Student Nurses’ Association is not a typical activity. This club can help students further their career. Tiyana Thomas, president of the National Student Nurses’ Association chapter at Bryant & Stratton University’s Richmond Campus said the organization’s primary goal is to mentor and help professionally develop nursing students. And organizers start by making sure nursing students can join.
With little time to hold down jobs, the $35 national membership fee can be a burden. The Richmond chapter instituted a Play to Pay program. If students attend two meetings, and volunteer at a NSNA event, their fee is reimbursed. Thomas said the program has doubled the chapter’s membership after a single semester.
While the chapter does typical campus activities such as meetings, held during the day, fundraisers and campus health fair, the crux of their focus is to help nursing students succeed scholastically and professionally. The chapter offers educational resources by mentoring new students and offering fellowship opportunities not just with other students but with faculty members as well. NSNA members can engage in leadership opportunities by interacting with professionals in their field at the annual conference, hosted by the Virginia Nursing Student Association.
Each spring members of Richmond’s NSNA attend Legislative Day. Here, students mingle with politicians and learn to “be a powerful advocate for nursing and for the health of all Virginians,” Thomas said. The day is also a dizzying study in the critical issues the nurses, and the nature of healthcare, face at both state and national levels. Finally, NSNA’s Richmond chapter’s latest accolade may help its members pay for school. Last semester the chapter achieved constituency status, meaning chapter members qualify to apply for scholarships, grants and awards through the national organization.
The problem or pain point could be as simple as “we need someone reliable who can learn our system quickly and replace the employee we just promoted.” Or it might be “we need someone who knows how to turn our print content into interactive media for our website.” Or perhaps it’s “we need someone who not only understands how healthcare clinics work but also speaks Spanish to help us effectively support the healthcare needs of our growing number of Latino patients.”
And organizers start by making sure nursing students can join.
Eduindex News 
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