How Completing a College Certificate Program Can Boost Your Career

If you are at a point in your career where you are considering additional education, whether it be an associate, bachelor’s or master’s degree, you may be hesitant to commit the time or money. But there may be another option you haven’t considered—a certificate. You can complete a college certificate program in nearly half the amount of time as a bachelor’s degree, and flexible certificate options often allow students to work while they further their education. Plus, career training certificates can be used to demonstrate a person’s expertise in a specialized area to future employers.

Typically the programs are shorter and less expensive than traditional programs, but there are still a number of ways a certificate can boost your career. Here are a few reasons you should consider this path for your professional life.

It allows you to specialize

If you’ve already started a career, you likely have the basics down that allow you to work in the industry in general. However, by completing a career certificate program, you can gain more intimate knowledge of a specialized area. This expertise can give you an edge over others in your field, who may only have a foundational knowledge. Perhaps you have a bachelor’s degree in accounting. Obtaining a certificate in a specialized area of accounting can help you hone certain skills, like tax preparation, which can be an asset to your resume. Even if you don’t have a formal degree, obtaining a certificate demonstrates a certain level of training and understanding that is appealing to employers.

It will give your résumé a boost

Adding a certificate to your résumé automatically gives it a bit of a boost. If you’ve earned a certificate in addition to a bachelor’s degree, not only does the certificate demonstrate your capability, but also your motivation to learn new skills and pursue different avenues. These additions can help your résumé stand out from competitors.

It can launch a new career

The goal of completing a certificate program doesn’t necessarily have to be moving forward on the path you are currently on—it could also help you start an entirely new career. Perhaps you don’t like the industry you are currently working in, find it difficult to get a job in the industry, or maybe you’re just looking for a fresh start. A certificate is a quick, cost-efficient way to launch a new career. There are many fields (web development and software programming included) that do not require a full-fledged bachelor’s degree in the topic. Completing a certificate program (and having examples that can demonstrate your proficiency in the field) are sufficient qualifications for many fields.

It can help you meet new people

Completing the certificate itself isn’t the only way a certificate can boost your career—you may also make some useful connections along the way. Certificate programs are great opportunities for networking. Many of your fellow classmates are likely already working in some sort of profession, and they may prove to be valuable connections. Networking with professors may also be helpful. Make as many connections as you can—networking is still a viable tool for online students. You never know which contact may prove to be useful in the future.

Certificate programs can be a cost-effective and time-efficient way to boost your career—but you have to be willing to put in the time, money, and effort. Consider your personal long-term goals and interests before jumping into a certificate program. A certificate program could be just the opportunity you’ve been looking for to move forward in your career.

Catherine Martin is a contributing writer for UniversityTutor.com, the world’s largest global marketplace for finding independent tutors.

LEARNING CORNER WITH JEFFREY PFEFFER: LESS IS BETTER THAN MORE WHEN IT COMES TO INCENTIVES

Some years ago, Men\’s Wearhouse founder George Zimmer came to a class I taught to discuss a case study I had written on his company.

Zimmer commented on a bonus program I had written about where each store employee (except the store manager) would receive $20 if the store met its “good\” sales target for the month, and $40 if it met its “excellent\” sales goal. My students thought these amounts were quite small, but Zimmer thought the incentives were perfectly sized. They were large enough to provide some recognition of store achievement, he said, but more importantly, the payouts gave people a chance to celebrate success together without being large enough to distort people\’s behaviors.

Zimmer\’s insight that, in the case of incentives, less is often better than more is too infrequently embraced by leaders who instead seek to use substantial rewards to fundamentally channel behavior.

HR Managers and c-suite executives would do well to learn from Zimmer\’s wisdom. While most employees today assume incentives will be part of their job, how large they are and how they are presented can substantially impact an organization.

Incentives Can Undermine or Crowd Out Intrinsic Motivation

Beginning in the 1970s, studies in psychology found that providing people rewards—extrinsic incentives—could undermine intrinsic motivation for engaging in inherently interesting tasks. One theory suggested that people found incentives controlling, and rebelled against attempts to control their behavior. Another perspective suggested that people interpreted incentives as signaling that a task was inherently unpleasant, reducing their interest in doing it. The takeaway? Incentives have the potential to reduce people\’s motivation and interest in tasks.

Even economists, who have traditionally looked more favorably on incentives, have also argued that incentives can backfire. They argue that providing extrinsic incentives “crowds out\” intrinsic interests in doing something. Consequently, incentives can backfire, and make it less likely that people will do what the incentives want them to do. For instance, one study observed that parents were more often late in picking up their children from a day care center when a fine was imposed, while yet other researchers observed that volunteers who were paid a small amount worked fewer hours than volunteers who were not paid. Here, the evidence suggests that using incentives to drive desired behavior may not work.

Consistent with the idea that smaller is better, smaller incentives will be less likely to crowd out or reduce intrinsic motivation because smaller incentives are less psychologically prominent and salient. For organizations concerned about maintaining intrinsic task motivation—which is probably most workplaces—the crowding out and undermining research provides one more reason to be cautious in the use of incentives.

Incentives Drive Behavior, But in Often Unanticipated—and Counterproductive—Ways

As Bob Sutton and I pointed out in our book on evidence-based management, a huge problem with incentives is that they are too effective at influencing behaviors. And most people and companies aren\’t great at anticipating how behaviors will change in response to incentives. There are enough examples of this to fill a book—or maybe several.

In 2018, William Dudley, CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, noted that “misaligned incentives contributed greatly to the 2008 financial crisis.\” In the scenario that Dudley is referring to, many mortgage brokers were compensated for the number of loans they made—not necessarily for making sound loans that would be repaid. And many of the incentives for mortgage brokers for senior financial industry executives were short-term rewards. Meanwhile, the assets being created (the loans) and the financial results were inherently longer-term. The time horizon on incentives needs to match the time horizon of the results being affective. Simply put, short-term incentives aren\’t going to be very good for creating long-term results.

How to Make Incentives Work

Based on extensive empirical evidence, there are some simple but important implications for implementing incentives in ways that aren\’t likely to cause misbehavior that adversely affects organizations.

First, and most importantly, keep incentives small enough to not overly influence behavior. That may seem counterintuitive—many workplaces implement incentives precisely to influence behavior—but, as noted, people are often quite bad at predicting the ways in which incentives may drive behavior.

Second, spend time trying to anticipate how people could achieve the goals signaled by incentives in ways that are harmful to the organization\’s interests and try to put up various guardrails to detect and deter such behavior. One way to do this, is to monitor how rewards are being received and the behaviors associated with them based on consistent conversations with employees who are benefiting from the rewards program.

And third, if incentives are driving bad behavior, don\’t do what many workplaces do, which is to try and solve an incentive-based problem by implementing even more incentives. Many companies try to use incentives to substitute for leadership (coaching and feedback) or a strong, positive organizational culture. As research going back decades from places like shows, leader behavior matters a lot in motivating performance and reducing turnover. Incentives are a poor substitute.

In the case of incentives, the inescapable conclusion is that less—less reliance, less use, less magnitude—is most often better than more.

TALENT MANAGEMENT HELPS SUPERMARKET CHAIN LIVE BRAND PROMISE

More retailers are enjoying the advantages that effective talent management processes, supported by technology, can offer. This includes strategies for attracting, developing and retaining employees, ensuring a pipeline of qualified people, and building a culture of engagement and productivity. Gallup research shows companies with higher-than-average employee engagement also have 27 percent higher profits, 50 percent higher sales and 50 percent customer loyalty.1

United Supermarkets, a family-owned retail grocery chain in based in Texas, is an example of an organization leveraging talent management to live up to its brand promise, maintain customer loyalty and control costs. While there may be slight differences among their 50 locations, one element remains consistent: United Supermarkets still embodies the philosophies of its founder.

“United’s mission is to provide ultimate service to our guests, ensure superior employee performance and make a positive impact in the community,” said Tom Weis, director of training and development for United Supermarkets.

This is especially important during the winter holidays – the busiest shopping season of the year. With increased store traffic and sales, it presents an opportunity for team members to “wow” first-time shoppers with superior service and fair-priced, high-quality products – and hopefully convert them into return customers.

Saving Time and Money

In 2007, United Supermarkets decided to invest in Cornerstone OnDemand’s learning and talent management software solution in an effort to streamline training and performance evaluation processes for its 10,000 team members.

“Our performance review process was paper-based, making it very time-consuming and difficult to track,” said Weis.

Automating the review process has allowed United to make employee evaluations more streamlined and reportable, so that managers can more easily complete reviews without getting behind on other responsibilities. Additionally, they now conduct 45-day reviews for new salary and hourly team members, which has helped to increase retention rates.

United’s training program presented a different set of challenges. “We needed to figure out how to reach employees across all of our stores with targeted training while also minimizing out-of-store time,” said Weis.

In previous years, United team members had to travel to one of the chain’s five hubs for training –requiring nearly three hours of driving round-trip for a three-hour class for most employees. With the new, Web-based learning management system (LMS), branded “United Spirit University,” the company now offers online learning courses that can be accessed anytime, anywhere via computer or in-store kiosks.

The ability to easily distribute mass training to large groups of people has saved the company an estimated $120,000 in new hire training alone the past year. The learning portal also makes it easier for United’s learning and HR team to track course completion. For example, United rolled out a new in-store labeling program, which they communicated to employees via a 13-minute online video accompanied by five questions. Using the system, administrators were able to monitor employee response and share results with management, which showed an 88 percent course completion rate within the first month.

Custom Courses Embrace Team Culture

For United, one of the benefits of online training has been the ability to create and share custom courses tailored specifically to support the company’s business objectives and instill United’s philosophies in its employees.

To emphasize solutional selling in its stores, United created video vignettes featuring real employees in suggestive selling situations for specific departments, such as the bakery or deli. Employees can view the vignettes through the LMS and then work with their managers to utilize these skills in their respective departments.

“Being able to customize our training modules to include our own team members has really helped management and senior executives see value in the programs and create more buy-in,” said Weis. “This was particularly important to our CEO, for which fostering a sales culture is a top priority.”

For the holiday season, United is distributing an online training series featuring the company’s COO to reinforce basic service concepts. “He’s worked on the front lines and is well respected by our team. For him to say directly to our team ‘Let’s not forget who we are,’ makes for a much more positive, credible and impactful message to our employees,” said Weis.

Expanding Initiatives

With positive returns on United’s investment in talent management software to include its learning and performance processes, the company is expanding its use to support succession planning and leadership development initiatives. The company also is creating a new onboarding curriculum to help new hires embrace United’s history, culture and mission from day one. Initial use of the new LMS as part of the orientation process has already resulted in increased time-to-productivity of new hires, as well as an over 80 percent employee retention within 90 days of hire.

“We believe our growth and success are tied to our commitment to service. By aligning our talent management processes to support this commitment, and using the right technology solution, we’re more capable than ever of living up to our brand promise throughout the organization.”

1. Crabtree, S. Engagement Keeps the Doctor Away, Gallup Management Journal. January 13, 2005.

Medical Assisting Grant Now Available to New Students

UPDATE: The Medical Assisting Grant offered for the September 2016 semester is no longer being offered. To determine if you’re eligible to receive grant, scholarship or loan funding to help pay for your education, please contact the financial aid department at Bryant & Stratton College.

Bryant & Stratton College has recently introduced an exciting educational grant program for new Medical Assisting students who begin their degree program in September 2016. Students enrolling in the Medical Assisting associate degree at Bryant & Stratton College, this fall, now have another way to help pay for school.

New students enrolling in the Medical Assisting degree program may be eligible for up to $6,000 in grant funds that will be applied to their tuition cost. This grant provides students valuable savings as students complete some of the most important courses of their 60-credit associate degree in Medical Assisting. The Medical Assisting associate degree program provides a high-quality education designed to propel graduating students into the medical assisting career field.

In addition to academics, Bryant & Stratton College focuses on career-ready education as a cornerstone of this program. Key employer feedback was utilized in determining the courses and career preparation which make up this degree program. A strong mix of classroom and lab work ensures student complete the program with a foundation in the theory and practice necessary to succeed as a Medical Assistant. With the Medical Assisting grant, students will gain a decided financial advantage towards a degree program in an exciting, growing professional field.

Upon applying for the Medical Assisting program, students will work with their personal admissions and financial aid representatives to apply for the grant. If eligible, the grant will be applied to their tuition costs in separate increments as they complete the degree program, ensuring the tuition savings are spread across multiple semesters.

To learn more about this exciting grant program, call 1-888-836-9748 or apply today!

COLLABORATION IS KEY: TIME FOR HR TO TAKE A DOSE OF ITS OWN MEDICINE

Collaboration is a buzzword that\’s thrown around often in the world of HR, and business in general – and for good reason. Getting great minds to work together often produces results greater than the sum of its parts. And often, companies look to HR for advice and guidance on how to get employees to emerge from their own little worlds and collaborate to effect big change.

So why then, is it so difficult for HR pros themselves to embrace the concept of collaboration in their daily work? For starters, according to Carol Anderson, a seasoned HR veteran:

1. Many skills in HR are highly specialized and not transferable

2. HR pros prize autonomy

\”HR pros want to run their own show,\” she writes on Human Capitalist. \”I know I certainly did when I was in these roles.\”

But what if HR managers took a dose of their own medicine and worked collaboratively to achieve the greater goals of the company: hiring great people, helping those people to reach their full potential, and doing everything in their power to retain top talent. By making sure the entire HR department is on the same page and continuously working together to achieve these goals, the silos that impede collaboration will come tumbling down. Think of the possibilities.

If your company\’s HR department is still operating with an every-man-for-himself mentality, maybe it\’s time for an HR performance review?

Exploring New Horizons: Studying in Uganda

Liz Hoey will never forget playing with children in the Ugandan village of Kamuli, where she studied for three weeks last summer with the UVM Travel Study program.

“The children loved having their photos taken and they would just laugh seeing themselves,” Hoey says. “Because many of the children do not have a mirror at home, they aren’t used to seeing their reflection.”

For Hoey, an Environmental Studies major with a concentration in Environmental Health, studying in Uganda heightened her interest in personal and academic pursuits.

“I wanted to study abroad in a location that was different and more adventurous than going to Europe,” she says. “When I heard about studying with UVM in Uganda, I knew that was exactly what I wanted to do.”

Studying in Uganda with UVM

Studying in Uganda was clearly different from classes on campus. Students spent three weeks immersed in the country’s culture, participating in service projects in the villages, working with a non-governmental organization called the 52 Kids Foundation, visiting schools, and enjoying a three-day safari. Working side by side with community members was one of the most memorable and rewarding aspects of her journey abroad.

UVM students in the Uganda program each took part in job-shadowing with a community member who worked in their area of interest. While some students observed a Caesarian birth at the hospital. Hoey worked with a local botanist, who taught her how to plant coffee crops.

“Everything just really came to life because we were there living it,” she says. “I think I didn’t even realize how much I was learning at the time. It’s difficult for me, even now, to express how much I learned.”

Students stayed in a guest house and worked with the 52 Kids Foundation, which supports youth orphaned by HIV/AIDS. For Hoey, who is interested in public health, the work offered an inside look at community health and advocacy.

Returning from the trip resulted in some culture shock for Hoey, which is common for students returning from non-traditional, study abroad locations. “When I got home, I found everything to be a little less exciting and just normal in comparison to my weeks in Uganda,” she says. “I found myself not caring too much about technology, and I was choosing to ignore my cell phone or social media for more human interactions.”

A New Outlook on Life

The real-world experience of Uganda helped Hoey recognize a new side of herself – just as the young children did when they saw their own reflections in photographs.

“I was that person who was unsure about studying abroad,” Hoey says. “But I’m glad I took this opportunity because it helped me to expand my perspective and gain some experience in a different setting.”

Her advice to other students unsure about studying abroad? “If you don’t explore the opportunities available to you, then you could be missing out on the chance of a lifetime.

HOW TO FUTURE-PROOF YOUR ORGANIZATION IN 2018

What does the future of hiring look like at my organization? Who should we be hiring to set ourselves up for long-term success? How are we helping talent get from where they are now to where they want to be?

As head of talent acquisition at Cornerstone OnDemand, I’ve been thinking about these questions lately as we prepare to ring in a new year. With artificial intelligence and machine learning entering the space at breakneck speed, not only will the role of talent acquisition shift, but the industry as a whole will evolve.

There are a lot of forces of change at work here.

The unemployment rate in the U.S. has dipped to 4.1 percent — the lowest we’ve seen in the last decade –and employers are feeling the impact. According to the 2017 Manpower Talent Shortage Survey, 40 percent of employers currently report talent shortages.

Plus, the gig economy continues to grow. A study by Intuit predicts that by 2020, 40 percent of American workers will be independent contractors. This is a new type of candidate, one who is more interested in having short-term work, a flexible schedule, and the ability to jump between gigs rather than permanent work. Beyond this, influencing everything, is the fact that we are experiencing a technological revolution –not only are job demands evolving, but employees’ skills and work styles are also changing. A talent transformation is inevitable in the next three years, McKinsey research predicts, and we need to be ready.

Here are four ways talent acquisition professionals can future-proof their organizations in 2018.

Be Proactive, Not Reactive With Your Talent Pipeline

Technology is dramatically changing the skills your future hires will need. Just a few years ago, handling accounts payable was a manual task — you needed someone to look at each invoice, evaluate it and pay it. Now, there are systems in place that largely automate the process, and you need someone who understands technology to manage it.

Given this rapid pace of change, it’s critical for talent acquisition to work with leadership and HR to evaluate how they expect the business, as well as specific roles, to transform. Once there’s a clear vision, start planning how to upskill employees to ensure they live up to future role expectations.

Take time to identify critical skills and talent needed for the next three to five years. Determine how prevalent these skills are in the market and in your current workforce. Finding the right candidates could require bringing in university talent and shaping them through learning and internships, or setting up internal training programs for existing employees. Identifying talent and skill gaps early will enable you to build a pipeline and be proactive instead of reactive as your company evolves.

Use Learning to Shape Potential Candidates

Just because you didn’t hire a candidate the first time doesn’t mean you won’t in the future. For promising external candidates that you don’t hire, provide them with specific learning criteria to help them prepare for a future position with your company. Create a tangible path forward with specific competencies and skill sets they can learn. You can also provide them with an internship or apprenticeship and train them directly for potential future opportunities.

With internal candidates, think about how you can create your own “gig economy” within the organization. Creating opportunities for employees to learn new areas of the business, meet others in the organization and retain your talent by engaging them in new ways with new work they love.

Take Charge of Your Story

As always-on technology blurs the line between work and life, it’s becoming more important for candidates to connect with companies on a deeper level and be passionate about their work. Glassdoor found that a candidate looks at 18 sources of influence to learn about a company before applying to a job. Make content readily available across these channels to help candidates connect the dots. Build profiles on sites like The Muse, Glassdoor and BuiltInLA, bolster your employees’ social presence and create articles or listicles that share your company culture and clearly communicate your purpose and values in a genuine way.

Customize Your Interview Process

With competition for talent rising and candidates becoming more selective, recruiters need to personalize the interview process for individuals. Bots, machine learning and automation will help accomplish this by giving recruiters the freedom to become interviewer concierges instead of administrators.

While it’s easy to get caught up in the future talent needs of your organization, don’t forget to take some time to be critical of your own role. Do you have the skills you need to lead your organization into the future of work?

Where to get the Best UVM Food

Whether you’re new to campus or a seasoned senior, you’re bound to want be on the lookout for some comfort food on campus. If you need a study break or you’re afraid that you’ll run out of points before the semester ends, these on campus eateries will provide you the best of food and service.

UVM Food Choices – The Best of:

Bang for your Buck: The Harvest Café

Looking for a meal after hours? Within the hours of 5am and 3am, you can fill your tray with healthy, locally harvested options for just a few dollars. The Harvest Café prepares meals worth the walk across campus. Whether you’re stuck on campus when the dining halls are closed or you’re looking to meet a date in scrubs, YELP gives this hospital food 4 stars.

If your parents are visiting: The Waterman Manor

Show off a little at the Waterman Manor, where you can enjoy an a la care menu of local foods served to you by a friendly and knowledgeable wait staff. Rub elbows with University administrators, bring a date, or just enjoy the views of the lake from the back balcony!

For specialty items that meet your dietary needs: The Marché

Enjoy the specialty items offered in The Marche, from the pizza oven, to smoothie bar, to make your own salad station. There are Vegan / Gluten-Free / Kosher options, including a mini grocery for your convenience!

For a stacked sandwich: Alice’s Café

Whether for breakfast or lunch, the staff at Alice’s make a mean sandwich. With your choice of bread and all the right fixings, a sandwich from Alice’s Café is one of the most satisfying ways to spend your points on campus. Plus! Bring your own mug for coffee – all vessels charged the same price!

For the International Palate: The Marketplace

Looking for something with cultural flare? Check the menu at the Marketplace, which changes every day of the week. Sample Sukhi’s samosas & pakoras, or enjoy freshly prepared sushi. You’ll find plenty of comfort foods with an international twist.

For the underground music scene: Brennan’s Pub

Enjoy this unique on-campus pub, conveniently located on the ground floor of the Davis Center. Find a cozy lounge chair, where you can snack on complementary popcorn and listen to live music while you wait for your specialty burger and fries to be ready.

Still need some inspiration? Check out these tasty on-campus culinary creations by nom de plume Dude Hubris on Tumblr. You’ll be skipping off to the cafeteria in no time! There’s food on campus for every palate and if you can’t find it the way it’s cooked at home, you can put your skills to the test and create your favorite flavors in a new way.

Earning Experience to Land your Dream Job

The infinite cycle of needing a job to gain experience but needing work experience to get that job leaves some job seekers dizzy – and perhaps a little panicked too. This stipulation can seem an especially cruel obstacle if you’re a new graduate or starting a career in a new field. So, when every job posting today seems to require one to two years of experience, how can you meet it before getting the job?

What is work experience?

Work experience is any time spent actually doing a job. It can come from part-time jobs held before or during college or work placement internships or from working experience gained at a previous job or career. Work experience is most valuable for employment opportunities if it is in the same field as the job sought.

Bryant & Stratton College hosted a “Job Ready or Not?,” an Employability Summit featuring HR and hiring experts from several top companies. Below are some thoughts these experts had on gaining experience as a new graduate.

Create a pitch that explains your skills gap

All job seekers should start with an honest assessment of their individual skills and strengths. “Know yourself,” said Carleen Haas, Vice President of Talent Strategies at Humana, Inc. “If you’re not aware of your strengths and your character flaws, if you’re not aware of what you are passionate about and how you like to work, then you’re doing yourself a disservice. You really need to do some internal landscape work to really understand what you’re about.”

Not only is this helpful in creating your professional story and sharing with employers why you would be a good fit, but it can also unearth any gaps in skills and experience you may have in filling the open position. “Really understand where the gaps in your experience may be,” said Heather Tinguely, Program Manager of Global Talent Labs at Microsoft. Ms. Tinguely suggests coming up with a short pitch or sentence about how you would overcome lack of experience or a weak skill in the first six weeks of a job.

Going the unpaid route

One way to get experience for a job is to look for unpaid positions, like internships or volunteer opportunities. Once you’ve identified your experience or skills gaps look for positions that will help you fill them in. “I think that it’s important, first and foremost, when you’re doing anything unpaid or extracurricular, to really go about it in a very strategic way,” said Ms. Tinguely. She recommends job seekers to think about volunteering on two levels, “I’m going to give unpaid time to X organization, one, because I’m a good person and I love the organization, but secondly, because I feel like perhaps that organization has a good reputation, and they’re going to give me in return some skills in a real-world setting that I need, as well as some references.”

How to Find your Dream Job

Holding out for your dream job is understandable. If you’ve put in the hard work to earn a degree, you’re eager to put what you’ve learned to work. But, sometimes getting your foot in the door is just as important as finding the perfect position. By taking a position that isn’t your ideal job you are earning experience that may be transferable in the future. Soft skills are something all employers value and they can be earned in every type of position. Sometimes the path to your dream job is not a direct path.

Additionally, even if you don’t have your dream job that doesn’t mean you can’t take on additional activities that earn you beneficial experience in your desired career field. It may be hard work and require an investment of time but that preparation could pay off. “I think you have to take advantage of every single opportunity to volunteer and do things that I would call extracurricular, outside of your day-to-day work or your day-to-day life as a student, if that’s the situation,” said Jessica Lee, Director of Digital Talent for Marriott International. “It takes a sheer amount of hustle and hard work and a willingness on your own end to really dig deep and say, ‘I’m going to take it a step above, beyond what everyone else is doing.’”

Some ideas Ms. Lee suggested were start a blog, Tweet about professional topics, or reach out to friends and family members to see if they have opportunities available that could help you gain experience.

Whatever you do, don’t lose hope if you are not able to land your dream job right away. Today’s employment landscape can be challenging but with a little persistence and some grit you’ll fully launch your career in no time!

Bryant & Stratton College is dedicated to helping students improve their employability skills and become job ready. Through outcomes-based education and career training, Bryant & Stratton College 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, please call 1.888.447.3528 to speak with an admissions representative.

Career Insight: Nursing Home Administrator

Medical and healthcare students and workers are in a great position to remain employed and to advance into the ranks of management and nursing home administrators are no exception

Baby boomers currently make up a large portion of the population and as they age, the demand for medical and health care services is growing. In fact, the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Statistics projects it to grow 17 percent between 2014 and 2024. Doctor and Nurse with patient at desk

That’s quite a bit more than the 11 percent average growth for all occupations. And, it translates into an addition of 56,300 jobs! In May 2014, medical and healthcare managers held 33,300 jobs nationwide not in hospitals, but in nursing care facilities.

So if you are a student who is considering a career as a nursing home administrator, you have a long, secure career to look forward to.

Entry into the realm of management in medical and health care services requires at least a Bachelor’s Degree, though Master Degree holders fare better.

Health administration and healthcare management majors are better prepared for the higher levels of management in this field since they require courses like hospital management, accounting and budgeting, law and ethics and strategic planning. In other words, the best prepared workers are well-trained in both patient care and financial management.

If you are pursuing a career specifically in nursing home administration, round out your studies with a concentration in long-term care, gerontology, patient rights or nursing home administration.

Nursing Home Administrator Job Description

Nursing home administrators are responsible for managing ‘the whole ball of wax’ including the employees, the admissions process, financial matters, the building, and of course, the patient care and nursing home activities. Large facilities may also have assistant administrators who help with daily decisions and who may manage clinical aspects of the facility such as surgery, therapy or medical records.

All states require nursing home administrators to be licensed, so check out this table of state-by-state requirements at the National Association of Long Term Care Administrator Boards website (http://www.nabweb.org/nursing-home-administrators-licensure-requirements)

Salary and Hours

Nursing home administrators typically work full time like their other medical management colleagues and may work nights, weekends, overnight and even on holidays. However, in 2014, median pay for Nursing and residential care managers was $78,540per year.

Medical services management, including nursing home administration is definitely a field to explore for a healthy career over the next ten years.

DEAR REWORKER: THE NEW GENERAL MANAGER IS CLEANING HOUSE

Dear ReWorker,

I am a manager in a retail business and have been there for over six years. Recently, a new general manager took over, and she seems to be cleaning house and hiring her own team. I have found out that a supervisor (we\’ll call him John) that reports directly to me is being asked to step down and he does not want to. The GM targeted him because he said he wanted to leave retail and was looking elsewhere. His replacement is coming from within our district, and she is a \”favorite\” of my district manager. I feel this is just an ill attempt to promote her and find an easy spot for her. John has had no performance documentation or any write ups for performance. He is actually very good at his job and isn\’t disengaged.

Can my managers and company do this? It\’s also important to note that I don\’t believe that my corporate HR knows the real actions behind this internal promotion and that someone is being pushed out to make it happen.

Sincerely,

Concerned Manager

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Dear Concerned Manager,

Short answer: Yes. They can do this. The only way it would be \”no\” in this case is if the new general manager targeted John because he was male and she prefers women.

The question you didn\’t ask, but the one I will answer anyway, is should the general manager do this? The answer to that is more complicated.

It is extremely common for new managers to bring in their own people. They\’ve worked with them before, they know this person will bring good results, there\’s no time lost building relationships, and it\’s just more fun. But, it may or may not be good. If the previous general manager had a completely different personality and built up the staff around her personality or leadership style, it can be difficult to get people to change. If the new general manager got her job precisely because her boss wanted big changes, this can be the fastest way to do so.

However, I think you should wait and see in most situations. Find out who will work well with you and who won\’t, then make decisions. Lots of companies don\’t allow a wholesale changing of leadership when a new big boss comes to town.

In the specific case of John, though, he told people he wanted to leave. He told them he was actively job hunting. If you\’re the new general manager, and you have a supervisor who doesn\’t want to be there, no matter how effective he is at his job, and you have an employee you know to be great who earned a promotion and just needs a spot to open up, it makes a lot of sense to promote the person who wants to be there and let go of the person who doesn\’t want to be there .

Lesson is this: Don\’t tell people you don\’t like your job and are looking to move on unless you\’re 100 percent sure they\’ll support you until you do leave.

Your ReWorker,

Suzanne Lucas, Evil HR Lady

Certificate vs Associate Degree – Make the Right Choice

Many students enter the continuing education arena with the belief that an associate degree program and a certificate program are the same thing. While associate degree programs may prepare a student to obtain certification in their chosen area or career field, it is not the same thing as a certificate program. In general, an associate degree is a very broad term, encompassing a varied educational platform. Certificate degrees are extremely focused in their objective(s) and are related to a specific job or career niche.

Besides this general difference, there are three main differences between the two: the requirements to begin the program, the length of time towards completion, and the number of transferable education units earned at the end of the program.

Three differences Between Associate Degree Programs and Certificate Programs

Requirements for acceptance: In most cases, a certificate program will have one or more requirements before a candidate may be accepted. Depending on the focus of the certification, applicants may need to have a certain level of career experience or educational experience before they can be admitted into the program. Associate degree programs differ in the sense that anyone with a high school diploma, or who has passed the General Education Development (GED) test, may begin an AA program.

Length of time towards completion: While there are exceptions, in most cases it takes students one year (two semesters) to complete a certificate program. As mentioned above, the programs are tailored to individuals who already have specific academic and/or experiential knowledge of the subject. Certificate programs provide additional focused education, and further training, towards a measurable level of competence as a certificated “expert” in the subject. Certificates are often obtained as an add-on to an associate degree.

Associate degree programs require two years of full-time classroom attendance in order to complete a degree. Depending on the educational facility’s schedule, students complete the classes by quarter or semester, so it takes eight quarters or four semesters to receive an associate’s degree. While an associate program may allow you to choose a specific area of focus, such as accounting, or IT, it is a platform for furthering your education and requires a host of general education courses as well.

Education units earned at the end of the program: A certificate program may or may not provide you with transferable education units, and therefore may not put you in position to further your education if that is your ultimate goal. For example, if you have been working in an office as a bookkeeper, you may be able to begin a bookkeeping certification program with a few online classes, your current work experience, and the completion of an exam. But should you desire to continue to receive your associate degree or bachelor degree, your certification courses may not count in an accredited university system.

An associate degree program at an accredited college is structured in such a way that students can use those credits to continue their education, pursuing a bachelors or master’s degree immediately, or using the credits to transfer into a different school/program. Students who have achieved an associate’s degree will have completed units from a comprehensive course list, rather than a single subject area.

For further clarification regarding whether or not an associate degree program is right for you, contact the admissions counselors at Bryant & Stratton College.

Tracking Time for Better Results

Going back to school can be quite overwhelming. One of the biggest obstacles new college students face is managing their time appropriately. Time Management can be particularly tricky for online students because although you have the flexibility of logging into your courses at any time, many of you will be working full-time jobs and have family obligations that you must fit your schoolwork around.

So how do you get into the groove of being a new online student?

It all starts with making a conscious effort to use your time wisely. It can be as simple as placing Post-it notes around the house so that you are consistently forcing yourself to be conscious of time. Another option is to keep a journal to log what you are doing with your time throughout the day. Keeping a time journal can be very eye-opening. You might find that the time you spend on the sofa watching television each night adds up to over 12 hours each week!

Or you might find out you spend too much time on Facebook, playing Xbox, surfing the web, playing FarmVille or even sleeping. Don’t panic- I am not saying to give any of these things up. I am trying to help you be more conscious of how you are spending your time, so you can manage it better and also keep up with your schoolwork. There is nothing worse, or easier, than procrastination. Admit it. You have been there at some point in in your life.

The evening is dwindling away; your assignment is due at midnight and you are thinking of all the other times that you could have (and should have) been getting your assignments done. By making an effort to be aware of how you are spending your time, you will be more likely to plan ahead so you don’t end up a victim of procrastination. It is important to remember that to be successful at managing your time, you will need to reward yourself.

Set your boundaries and make sure that for so every so many hours you spend being productive, you also allow yourself an hour to do something you truly enjoy. I hope this helps you get on the right path to being more productive and having less stress in your life.

Please add any additional questions, comments or tips that you have about time management in the comment section below.

Where to get the Best UVM Food

UVM Food Choices – The Best of:

Bang for your Buck: The Harvest Café

If your parents are visiting: The Waterman Manor

For specialty items that meet your dietary needs: The Marché

For a stacked sandwich: Alice’s Café

For the International Palate: The Marketplace

For the underground music scene: Brennan’s Pub

DEAR REWORKER: AS A MIDDLE MANAGER, HOW CAN I IMPROVE THE TOXIC CULTURE AT MY COMPANY?

Dear ReWorker,

I took a new job in middle management. The company culture isn’t great, and my staff is unhappy. I can’t change policy, and I can’t fix the CEO. How can I make it a better place to work when I don’t have any real power?

Sincerely,

Stuck in the Middle

_________________________________________________________________________

Dear Stuck in the Middle,

The bad news is that a terrible CEO (and a board that refuses to act) is almost impossible to fix from below. The good news is that there is a lot you can do to protect your staff. But, there’s one essential thing you need to remember:

You’re not obligated to sacrifice yourself for your team.

Yes, a good manager makes sacrifices to help lead people, but there is a limit, and that limit is sacrificing your health (mental and/or physical). I give this caution because good people at bad companies tend to want to make everything better, and so they try so hard that they end up burning out. If the CEO is toxic and you feel like you need to get out, you’re under no obligation—legally or morally—to stay. This is a job. You are under at-will employment. Leave if you’re miserable. Your employees can do the same.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s figure out what you can do to potentially make things better for workers.

Determine Why Your Staff Is Unhappy

You say the culture isn’t great, but the first thing you need to do is figure out what specifically makes it not great. Is the CEO super picky about arrival times? Is the culture such that people who deserve to be promoted aren’t recognized, while those who don’t necessarily deserve it get ahead?

Depending on the issue, you may be able to drive some change. For example, if promotions are being handed out unfairly, recommend formalizing the process. Highlight the problems to the CEO and offer to create criteria that employees can work towards before they can be eligible for a higher title.

Don’t Be Afraid to Confront the Toxicity

No matter how “toxic,” the CEO hired you because he (presumably) liked what you had to offer. So, do what you were hired to do and bring problems to his attention. But, the way you do it matters.

Try saying something like this: “I’ve noticed that X is common. I’m going to give Y a try, and I’ll let you know how it goes.” Notice that you’re not asking permission. You’re just doing it. Trust me—the CEO will say no if he’s opposed.

Now, of course, you can’t do this with everything. “I’m going to give my staff six weeks of vacation,” probably isn’t the best start. But something like this might be more effective: “I’m going to focus on outcomes rather than facetime, so if you see my staff coming in a little late or leaving a little early, they have my blessing.”

Unless you get a hard “no” to these suggestions, go ahead and start making the changes you see fit. And be sure to be transparent with your team—explain to them that you’re going to try to do things differently and would appreciate their open mindedness. At the very least, they’ll appreciate you trying, which can boost morale in and of itself.

Report Back on Positive Change

Hopefully, your efforts will help change your department for the better—despite an overall lousy company culture. And then, you can go to your boss and say, “Since we started doing X, we’ve seen Y as a result.” Sometimes all people really need is evidence that there are better ways to do things.

If you’re lucky, it might kick bigger, cross-company changes into gear. It’s worth a try.

Sincerely,

Your ReWorker

Suzanne Lucas, Evil HR Lady

Image via Creative Commons

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UVM Food Choices – The Best of:

Bang for your Buck: The Harvest Café

If your parents are visiting: The Waterman Manor

For specialty items that meet your dietary needs: The Marché

For a stacked sandwich: Alice’s Café

For the International Palate: The Marketplace

For the underground music scene: Brennan’s Pub

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UVM Food Choices – The Best of:

Bang for your Buck: The Harvest Café

If your parents are visiting: The Waterman Manor

For specialty items that meet your dietary needs: The Marché

For a stacked sandwich: Alice’s Café

For the International Palate: The Marketplace

For the underground music scene: Brennan’s Pub

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Determine Why Your Staff Is Unhappy

Don’t Be Afraid to Confront the Toxicity

Report Back on Positive Change

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