Key Factors About Open Enrollment for Benefits

Key Factors About Open Enrollment for BenefitsKey Factors About Open Enrollment for BenefitsInterview About Open Enrollment for Benefits Erich Sternberg of Unum Group participated in an interview about open enrollment for benefits. Take a look at his responses to the questions posed by TheBalanceCareers to learn the goals of and the happenings that occur during an organizations open enrollment for benefits time period. You can make the enrollment period beneficial for your employees and for your organization. Employees who understand the cost and the benefits of their full compensation package appreciate them more. QA About Open Enrollment for Benefits What is open enrollment for benefits? Open enrollment is a period of time set aside by an employer to educate employees on the group benefits available to them. The goal of open enrollment is to ensure that all employees receive a comprehensive overview of the benefit offerings to enable them to make informed decisions on what ar e the best benefits for themselves and their families. This is especially true and important when the employer offers voluntary benefits wherein the employee is responsible for paying the full cost of the benefit. What else can employees do during open enrollment periods of time? The open enrollment for benefits period offers employees the opportunity to make changes to their benefits. They can add coverage, terminate their coverage, or make a change to an existing policy. Open enrollment is also a time for employers to educate their employees about any changes they may have made to their employee benefits package. What do employees do during open enrollment for benefits? Open enrollment is the employees time to attend enrollment information meetings, speak with the benefits diensts and Human Resources staff, and make their benefit selections. They have the opportunity to compare all of the employers offerings so they can select the appropriate mix of benefits for their family. H ow Employees Can Ensure They Make Good Choices To ensure that they make the best choices for their families and their personal situation, during the open enrollment, Sternberg recommends that employees need to do the following. Do their homework. Thoroughly review open enrollment materials about benefits even if the benefits provider is staying the same. Benefits can change annually so employees should review written materials and websites and write down questions to ask the organizations benefits representatives. Review their familys past health care expenses. No one can identify better than the employee which insurance plans will best fit their familys medical needs. This review will allow the employee to assess,for their family situation, the value of the plans offered, based on the cost of premiums, required co-pays, and their anticipated annual spending. Talk to their healthcare providers. Every benefits provider will have a different network of healthcare providers. While an employees physician or dentist may belong to several networks, it is important for employees to verify, in advance, that their healthcare providers are participants in the network of the plan they are considering electing. Consider buying disability insurance or more disability insurance, if the employer offers some coverage. According to the National Safety Council, every 7 seconds, a worker is injured on the job. Work-relatedmedically consulted injuriestotaled 4.5 million in 2017. When a disabling injury occurs, it can result in an employees inability to earn a living. Most employees have never thought about this possibility. Employees need to add up their monthly costs of living and compare the total to their current disability insurance coverage. Employees will want to make sure the insurance will pay all of their bills in case of an accident. Review the adequacy of their life insurance coverage. According to LIMRA grenzberschreitend (you must be a member to access), over 68 mil lion Americans have no life insurance. 70% of millennial employees have life insurance although as with the other generations, the insurance is generally inadequate. Employees need to consider a life insurance policy during open enrollment if their employer doesnt offer a policy. If they have a personal or an employer-provided policy, they need to check their coverage amounts and the beneficiaries they have listed to make sure their families are financially protected in case of death. Benefits Covered During Open Enrollment What benefits are covered by open enrollment time periods? The employer works with their agent during open enrollment to determine the benefits offered and the contribution the employer will provide. If the employer cannot afford to provide employees with a standard benefits package, they can offer voluntary benefits. Voluntary benefits allow employers to offer their employees the benefits they want and need at a more affordable price, paid by the employee. W hen is open enrollment held? An open enrollment period is usually held annually and typically occurs 30-60 days prior to the benefits renewal or the effective date of coverage. Stay in touch with your employer to make certain that you dont miss open enrollment for benefits in your organization. How to Make Open Enrollment for Benefits Successful How does an employer make open enrollment successful for employees? To make sure the open enrollment period is as successful as possible requires effective communication. Communication methods vary during open enrollment depending on whether benefits have changed. Changes may require educational meetings with the benefits providers. Other times, group meetings to summarize benefits are adequate. Employers may want to make benefit providers available for individual employee meetings. Employers will want to include employee spouses in the meetings whenever possible. Notify employees of open enrollment meetings 3-4 weeks prior to the meetin gs. Time the meetings so that the employer has time to submit enrollment changes to insurance providers and verify that employees are appropriately enrolled in their chosen benefits. Provide enrollment kits to employees that provide comprehensive information about the benefits and their portion of the cost. If a Section 125 plan is in place, inform employees of what benefits are available on a pre-tax fundament such as a healthcare flexible spending account. Employees need adequate time to review the materials and consult with family members in order to make informed decisions. Final Thoughts on Open Enrollment for Benefits To get the most out of the open enrollment and their benefits, employees must fully understand the benefits their employer provides. To understand, they need to participate in the employers benefits education program. Information meetings by insurance professionals and comprehensive enrollment materials are key to providing employees the support they need to make informed benefit decisions.

Featured Australian Resume Template from Catriona Herron Watt

Featured Australian Resume Template from Catriona Herron wattenmeerFeatured Australian Resume Template from Catriona Herron WattIn conjunction with Jobscans new resume optimization checks which include formatting checks for headings, dates, file types, and more weve invited career coaches and resume writers to share exclusive resume templates with ur readers. Next up is Catriona Herron Watt of CV Saviour from Sydney, Australia. Be sure to follow her on LinkedInor Facebook.Learn more about Jobscans new resume checks at the bottom of this article, or try them out.About Catriona Herron Watt and CV SaviourCV Saviour is an Australian-based career marketing service. While the majority of our clients are in Australia, we work with clients all over the world, in particular, those in the UK, the USA, Asia and the Gulf States, as well as job seekers looking to relocate to Australia.While we work across the full range of job types and sectors, I love a challenge and specialise in established careers, career changers, career returners and newcomers to the Australian job market. I work with a cracking team of brilliant writers who have various areas of specialisation that range from Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM), to Education, Banking and Finance, Teaching, Human Resources (yes, even recruiters need resumes), Administration, Law, Medical and Allied Health Care, Professional Services, Academia the list goes on. Ive got a raft of qualifications (Marketing, Business, Nursing, and Resume Writing to personenname a few) to back up my 21 years resume writing experience and with years of experience marketing professional services in Australia, the US and the UK, today, I market people for their next career moves.Challenges for Australian job seekersOne of the biggest challenges for Australian job seekers is that much of what can be found on the internet (and in books) is written for markets other than the Australian job market (although Im working hard to change that). Many people think that a one-page resume is the norm in Australia, but thats a bit of a myth. I always say that a resume only needs to be as long as it needs to be, to get the message across that the job seeker is the best candidate for the job.Sure, a school-leaver may have a one-page resume, however, we find most Australian resumes tend to be 2 3 pages, which also means that our resumes tend to have a lot more words in them. (Big thanks to Jobscan for making Australian job seekers aware of this on the Jobscan ATS tool). Other market-specific idiosyncrasies include spelling (we use British English as standard), grammar, the meanings of certain words, measurements etc and things such as paper size.Australians arent great at shouting about their achievements, and many have very bland I did this, I did that statements on their resumes. In our experience, people (recruiters and employers) buy people (job seekers), so what we do is really turn our clients resumes around to focus on authentic, personality-driven documents that shout out just how amazing our clients are by providing tangible evidence of the outcomes of the work they have done. Its a winning formula.Download Catrionas Australian resume templateDownload .docxWhy do you recommend this resume template?This CV Saviour hybrid style of resume (international A4 paper size) works really well for anyone really, but in particular for those with challenging career histories, career changers, job hoppers, those who have juggled multiple concurrent jobs, those with little work experience or job seekers who want to take the focus off their past job titles or the fact that they have very little paid work experience, so they can emphasise the value they bring to their next role.The style aims to capture 70% of the key information about a candidate on the front page. Where colour has been used in blocks, it is shading only, so it wont cause issues for ATS, and the Key Skills section uses ATS-friendly hard set tabs. For those with very little experience, but heaps of knowledge on a subject, they should use the heading Areas of Knowledge and Understanding instead of Key Skills, if they dont yet have the hands-on experience in a skill.Whats new at JobscanJobscans resume optimization toolnow checks your formatting based on applicant tracking system and recruiter best practices. New intelligent checks make even the best resume templates more ATS compatible and recruiter-friendly than ever.ATS ChecksHard skills, soft skills, and keyword matchingJob title and education matchingATS-friendly section headingsNEWATS-friendly date formattingNEWATS-friendly file typeNEWTables and ColumnsNEWNeed more ideas? Check out Jobscans newATS-friendly resume templates. Get a nachschlag template by signing up here.Recruiter ChecksMeasurable results, word count, and words to avoidSentence lengthNEWPredicted skills missing from the job descriptionNEWIndustry-specific insightsNEWFont checksNEWPage size and marginsNEWKeep an eye out for additional new features. Jobscan is updated every two weeks and new formatting checks are on the way

Mozart on how to unlock your inner creative genius

Mozart on how to unlock your inner creative geniusMozart on how to unlock your inner creative geniusIn 1787, one of historys fruchtwein prolific and influential music composers had just arrived in Prague for a second time.Over the next few days, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart would oversee the rehearsals of the first performance of his new opera - Don Giovanni.As the final rehearsals were coming to a close, Mozart and the orchestral conductor - Johann Baptist Kucharz, exchanged words in a brief conversation.During their conversation, Mozart made a distinct commentI have spared neither care nor labor to produce something excellent for Prague. Moreover, It is a mistake to think that the practice of my art has become easy to me. I assure you, dear friend, no one has given so much care to the study of composition as I. There is scarcely a famous master in music whose works I have not frequently and diligently studied. (1)The premiere of Don Giovanni then titled Il dissoluto punito, ossia il D on Giovanni took place at the National Theatre - in Prague on October 29 1787.The opera was extremely well received by the audience - Mozarts many years of deliberate practice on his craft was finally beginning to pay off.Don Giovanni had such a profound impact - that up till today - this piece of work has been widely regarded as the greatest opera ever composed.During his rehearsal conversation, Mozart acknowledged that his great work was simply a by-product of diligent and consistent hard-work on his craft for many years. It had taken Mozart more than a decade of developing his creative talent to finally create this groundbreaking piece of work.In this article, well explore further into what we can learn from this and how you can unlock your inner creative genius.Hi. Before we dive into the main course - Id like to let you know that Ive created a simple one-page exercise worksheet to help you stop procrastinating and stick with your good habits.Download Your Free Worksheet He re.The Myth Of The Creative GeniusThere is a destructive myth that the creative genius is born with an innate, godlike ability to create extraordinary work at the snap of their finger.This couldnt be further from the truth.In a study into elite performance, researchers asked expert violinists from the Music Academy in West Berlin to keep detailed recordings of their daily practice regime for a week. (2)At the end of the week, they analysed the results - comparing the different forms of deliberate practice between the elite violinists and the less accomplished performers.What they discovered was astonishing.On average, the violinists spent the saatkorn amount of time on music related activities- But, the elite performing violinist spent more than twice the time (25 hours) on deliberate practice than the other violinists (10 hours).To further reaffirm their findings, the researchers conducted additional research into the violinists practice habits.This time, they estimated how many h ours of deliberate practice each violinist had accumulated over their lifetime.Once again the results were staggering. the fruchtwein elite violinists accumulated about the same number of hours of deliberate practice (about 7,410 hours) by the age of 18 as professional middle-aged violinists belonging to international-level orchestras (about 7,336 hours) By the age of 20, the most accomplished musicians estimated they spent over 10,000 hours in deliberate practice, which is 2,500 and 5,000 hours more than two less accomplished groups of expert musicians or 8,000 hours more than amateur pianists of the same age. (3)The best violinists had exceeded the 10,000 hours of deliberate practice required to become world-class in any field. This has been well noted by Malcolm Gladwells work in his bookOutliers(audiobook).10,000 hours isnt necessarily the exact threshold - but it does highlight a very important factor in creating genius level work - great work requires a great amount of hours in deliberate practice on your craft.Now that this is out-of-the-way, lets get back to that creative genius - Mozart.From the first day of his birth, Mozart was surrounded by music and exceptional musicians.His sister was a pianist and violinist andHis father, Leopold Mozart, was an intensely ambitious Austrian musician, composer, and teacher who had gained wide acclaim with the publication of the instruction bookA Treatise on the Fundamental Principles of Violin Playing. For a while, Leopold had dreamed of being a great composer himself. But on becoming a father, he began to shift his ambitions away from his own unsatisfying career and onto his children.(SourceThe Genius in All of Us New Insights into Genetics, Talent, and IQ(Audiobook))So we can see that from a very young age, Mozart received professional training from his father, performed in concerts and deliberately practiced daily.By the time of his death, the 35-year-old Mozart had created an impressive body of works. Appro ximately600 works of music in every form imaginable (operas, symphonies, sonatas, duets and more) , some of which have been considered the most iconic and influential compositions in history.So the question then is this - was Mozart a Creative Genius from birth?The answer most likely isprobably note.Anybody that commits to deliberate and consistent practice on a skill or craft for decades is capable of creating extraordinary work at some point in their career- Off-course, with the right training, guidance and support system.Now that weve tackled this myth, lets discuss in more detail on what you can do to unlock your inner creative genius and create extraordinary work.Show Up Everyday And Stick To A ScheduleIn his book,The War Of Art, Steven Pressfield notes a clear difference between those who push through their inner creative resistance - to create extraordinary work - versus those who dont.The professional versus The Amateur.In his wordsThe amateur plays for fun. The professio nal plays for keeps.The amateur plays part-time.The professional plays full-time.The amateur is a weekend warrior.The professional shows up seven days a week .Turning Pro is a crucial identity shift from working on your craft only when you feel like it - into working on your craft becauseit is a part of who you are.When you begin to treat your work like a pro, feelings no longer dictate your actions - You simply show up everyday and stick to your schedule.In his bookOn Writing(audiobook), Stephen King, a prolific writer with 350 million+ in book sales attributes his success to his daily deliberate practice of writing 2,000 words a day- Yes, even on his birthdays and holidays.I have a glass of water or a cup of tea. Theres a certain time I sit down, from 800 to 830, somewhere within that half hour every morning, he explained. I have my vitamin pill and my music, sit in the same seat, and the papers are all arranged in the same places.(SourceLisa Rogaks Haunted Heart The Life and T imes of Stephen King)By showing up everyday and working diligently, you will begin to create consistent work and accumulate many hours of deliberate practice. This will naturally give room for your best ideas to breakthrough into extraordinary work.Get The Rubbish Ideas Out Of The WayThe problem is that you cant have good ideas unless youre willing to generate a lot of schwimmbad ones Someone asked me where I get all my good ideas, explaining that it takes him a month or two to come up with one and I seem to have more than that. I asked him how many bad ideas he has every month. He paused and said, none.And there, you see, is the problem. Seth GodinShowing up everyday is half the battle- getting the rubbish ideas out-of-the-way is the other.American hedge fund manager, entrepreneur, and bestselling author, James Altucher, recommends the following idea generation exerciseStep 1 Write down ten ideasStep 2 If you cant come up with ten ideas, come up with twenty.Yes you read that cor rectly - twenty.The idea behind Step 1 of this exercise is to workout your creative muscles and push them till failure, just like your body muscles.Step 2 may appear counter-intuitive, but its where the magic happens - it forces you to get the bad ideas out-of-the-way.Whether you produce five awful music tracks or write ten bad paragraphs, keep going - because your most creative work will eventually show up.Allow Your Pain To Inspire Your IdeasIn 1970, Marvin Gaye was going through a very painful period in his life.His duet partner, Tammi Terrell had just died with a brain tumor - while his marriage to Anna Gordy, sister of Motown founder Berry, was falling apart.When Marvins brother returned from the Vietnam war and shared the horror war stories with him - his outlook on life drastically changed.Marvin fell into a depression, stopped his live performances and withdrew into seclusion from the public eye.He spent the next three years still writing music but spending much of his t ime reflecting on the injustices of the war.During his hiatus, Marvin began working on a new record in which he would freely express his pain, frustration and anger.The new record was simply called - Whats Going On.Little did Marvin know, that the expression of his pain would create a record that would go down in history - as one of the most influential RB and music albums of all time.In the process of creating your work, allow your raw emotions to drive your creative process and ideas - even If they happen to be negative emotions like pain, anger or frustration.Collaborate With OthersIf I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants. Isaac NewtonMoments of creative inspiration may come from solitude, but collaboration and sharing our work can also be powerful- think Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak creating Apple or Larry Page and Sergey Brin creating Google.In his bookThe Innovators(audiobook), Walter Isaacsonputs forward the idea that every invention is a by-pro duct of a collaborative group that made it happen.First and foremost is that creativity is a collaborative process. Innovation comes from teams more often than from the lightbulb moments of lone geniuses.By collaborating with and bouncing ideas off like-minded people, you can further challenge yourself to generate and execute on great ideas.Dont Be Too Hard On YourselfBe patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender its holy ground. Theres no greater investment. - Stephen CoveyResearch shows that self-judgement and criticism may result in lower levels of creative potential. Conversely, higher levels of self-compassion have been linked with higher levels of creativity.(4)We have a natural tendency to judge and criticise our work - even though its a self-sabotaging habit.The truth is the quality of our work has nothing to do with our self-identity or self-worth. Its okay to make mistakes and create work less than perfect. By practicing self-compassion, you will naturally give room fo r the imperfections and failures required on the path to expressing your creative genius.Just like a mothers birth pains before giving birth to a child, we will also experience many struggles before creating something great.It is this struggle that makes all the hard-work well worth it.TakeawayUnlocking your inner creative genius can be achieved by following these stepsShow up everyday and stick to a scheduleGet the rubbish ideas out-of-the-wayAllow your pain to inspire your ideasCollaborate with othersDont be too hard on yourselfAnd most importantly, be patient with yourself. It may take many years to see the rewards of your hard-work - your moments of creative genius will soon show up at the right time.In the meantime, what can you do today to take that first step? - Do it.Mayo Oshin writes atMayoOshin.com, where he shares practical self-improvement ideas and proven science for better health, productivity and creativity.To get practical ideas on how to stop procrastinating and b uild healthy habits, you can join his free weekly newsletterhere.

Work-life balance Heres why its impossible to achieve

Work-life balance Heres why its impossible to achieveWork-life balance Heres why its impossible to achieveI was drowning in work.I was convinced this was because my job was demanding, but as I shuffled my responsibilities around, switched jobs, and ultimately became a freelancer so I could call my own shots, I was still drowning in work.It finally caught up to me that its me. I have a tendency to drown myself in work.The problem is bedrngnis the jobOne of the reasons why work-life balance is hard is because we attribute the problem to our environment when its us.I am the problem.I adore making my clients happy. Dushka, your work was incredible. Dushka, we would not have survived without you.This is primal. Me, a kid, making someone I love proud. Good girl.What can get in the way of work-life balance is that approval often matters more than the balance I claim I want.I am ambitious and want to do great things, and as soon as a project is done, Im hungry for the next one. I want hard w ork, and I want to push myself, test myself. In addition, I want to learn.Sometimes work-life balance is hard because there is a discrepancy between what I say I want and what I really, truly want. Im sending everyone mixed signals, including myself.I dont know what I want. I want conflicting things I want everything.My life is constantly changing. If a friend is visiting from out of town, I want to work less.If I happen to be particularly inspired, I want to work more. And if a family member needs me, I dont want to have to worry about work at all.Our definition of work-life balanceis a moving targetIt means different things to me depending on where my life is at.What is work-life balance, anyway? Does it mean I get to go home every day when the clock strikes 5 p.m.? Does it mean that I work hard for a few weeks and then take a long weekend off? Do I want daily balance, or do I want things to balance out over the course of a few weeks, even months?Sometimes work life balance is har d because my demands on it are a poor fit in relation to the job that I am in.Work-life balance can be hard if you believe that the only way to do something well is to do it yourself. This means you can never delegate, and as such you are not scalable. Your ego gets in the way of you being free, and it gets in the way of the growth of everyone who works for you.Work-life balance can be hard if you are worried someone else can do your job better than you. Then you live in a constant state of suspicion and paranoia and never allow yourself to step away. Your fear is calling the shots, not your lifestyle ambitions.Were more worried aboutlooking good than doing good workIf you want to make sure everyone sees you are the last one to leave, if you want to make sure everyone is a witness to you being the first person in the next morning, what others think of you has more weight than your aspirations of getting home in time for dinner.My boss assures me that employees come first, that peopl e are the most important thing, yet I dont see him telling me its time to go home after lunch because I worked really late the night before.Wait a minute. Why should my work life balance be the companys problem, in particular if Ive already identified that my needs are ever-changing? How can I expect someone else to stay on top of that? The only person responsible for me is me.Work-life balance can be hard because blame is easier and much more comfortable than accountability.This article originally appeared on Quora.

A New Way to Clean the Air

A New Way to Clean the Air A New Way to Clean the Air A New Way to Clean the AirIndoor air is, on average, five times as polluted as outdoor air. It can worsen allergies and asthma, and over the long term can cause respiratory diseases and cancer. Yet todays air purifiers and HVAC systems use decades-old filtration technology, and they often miss microbes, pollen, mold and nasty airborne chemicals that cause these problems.A new air-purifying technology could help. Instead of a filter, the device blows air over a photoactivatable catalyst to create highly reactive chemicals that destroy VOCs, pollen and other allergens, and microbes.Back in the mid-1990s, Yogi Goswami, a solar energy researcher who directs the Clean Energy Research Center at the University of South Florida, had a personal reason to switch gears and investigate air purification technology. His son Delip, whos now 35, had severe asthma and allergies as a boy, and conventional air filtration devices did not ease them.El iminating pollutants at a microscopic scale. Image MolekuleIn his previous work, Goswami helped develop a solar-powered water purification technology that used sunlight to activate a catalyst, which oxidized organic chemicals to destroy them. In air, you have mostly organic chemicals, too, said Goswami, including biomolecules in air-borne pollen, animal dander, mold and microbes. I saw that we could oxidize them as well, Goswami said.Over almost two decades, Goswami and his students and colleagues optimized air flow, light source, catalyst chemistry and more. The resulting device, called the Molekule, uses a fan to pull air over a nanocatalyst - a nanometer-scale material with controlled molecular properties that catalyzes a chemical reaction.Harmless long wavelength ultraviolet (UV-A) light shines on the catalyst, which is a semiconductor. This kicks out an electron, leaving an electron hole that oxidizes water vapor to create highly reactive chemicals called hydroxyl radicals. The se are the chemicals that attack and destroy VOCs, pollen, and microbes.The device removed all 3.9 million E. coli bacteria that were aerosolized and sprayed into it,according to tests by Goswamis San Francisco-based startup, also called Molekule. In a company-run trial of 28 people, the device eased self-reported allergy symptoms to that of nonallergy suffers.The company began selling the device to consumers in May. Later, they hope to adapt the technology for HVAC systems and in cars and airplanes, Goswami said.Learn the best practices of bringing your research to market and creating marketable solutions at ASMEsCOMS2016 For Further Discussion The resulting device uses a fan to pull air over a nanocatalyst - a nanometer-scale material with controlled molecular properties that catalyzes a chemical reaction.

A Fools Guide to Resume Summary Generator

A Fools Guide to Resume Summary Generator The Resume Summary Generator Game You might also see thesis summary. You could also see executive summary. Whether an objective summary isnt proper for you, you may also use a career summary for your resume. For entry level applicants, your objective summary needs to be practical and right to the point. The point is that a saga is comparable to an individual thread in your application thats solely accountable for side results. You might also see chapter summary. Being at the very top of the resume, the summary statement is very likely to be among the very first things the reader will see. You could also see summary writings. The 30-Second Trick for Resume Summary Generator Dont add resume categories in the event you cant list at the very least a few things in every single section. Theres a great deal of competition for jobs for high school students, and that means you need to make certain you stick out from the crowd. Before you apply to jobs, you need to make aya your resume sets you aside from the competition. Therefore, if youre searching for a new job, it is very important that your resume stands from the crowd to guarantee you a spot on the shortlist. The Downside Risk of Resume Summary Generator In spite of no experience, you still ought to show experience. How to describe administrative experience to receive any job you desire. To begin with, you should know there are two unique forms of skills. By this time, you understand which skills youve got. It is imperative that jobseekers incorporate a well-composed beginning statement to supply the hiring manager with a succinct introduction to the application. Finally, most recruiters and hiring managers expect some type of statement at the peak of your resume. Despite the fact that its not a strict requirement to incorporate a resume objective in your resume, a well-written objective is able to help you catch the interest of the recruiter. If yo u wish to submit an application for a lifeguard position, your resume objective should mention all certifications you have gotten. The resume summary is simply a bridge to have the hiring manager in your experience. On the flip side, functional resumes are ordinarily used by fresh graduates or individuals who have less experience but want to grab the work vacancy. Before you begin to doubt yourself to take another degree in medical billing, return to your Medical assistant resume. All that it entails is to do a small study of the HR assistant job description printed by the employer to determine the important objectives and objectives for the role, along with the competence and experience needed to be successful at work. When youre asking for work, your very first aim is to let employers know your abilities and talents align with the demands of their open position. Most high school students have a tendency to submit an application for a food services position. Utilizing an onl ine resume builder is a powerful tool that will help you compose a winning resume. OurA Sample Resume FormatsA will help direct you through the vital requirements required for a nice and presentable resume with clear layouts which are available for print or download. plattl one or two from the above mentioned list and you will be fine. In the end, should you need help with the many sections of your resume, employing a resume builder is the perfect answer. Writing objectives for resumes can be hard. Resume is a sort of document utilized by individuals that are seeking for employment. Now imagine whether that SAME resume had had a summary statement on top clearly outlining why youre an ideal candidate. Resume writing can be challenging. A well written objective summary must include your precise skill set, your primary goal and the way youre able to be of help to the business. When brainstorming ideas for what to have in your summary statement, there are a few things you should think about. Even though theres a great deal of information which may be included in the summary statement, the best ones are extremely selective in their content, and are concentrated on the requirements of the position. Based on who you ask and the way youre using it, summary statements can be a whole waste of space or an entire game changer. The work description is another amazing region to use whenever making your resume. When youre asking for a job which relies on the strengths of the person, you want a resume template that you may inject a little more personality into to make it pop. Resume objectives are occasionally regarded as the old schooltype of resume. The very best objective for your resume depends upon your experience, goals, aspirations, and the job that youre trying for.

WorldatWork Receives WLIFE Award for Providing Personal Finance Education To Employees

WorldatWork Receives WLIFE Award for Providing Personal Finance Education To Employees WorldatWork has received the WLIFE award (Workplace Leader in Financial Education) for its commitment to bringing financial education to employees. The award recognizes those that create innovative personal finance education programs for the workplace. Created this year by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Society for Human Resurce Management (SHRM), the award showcases employers who implement programs that help employees understand and improve personal finances.Director of Human Resources for WorldatWork, Kip Kipley, states, WorldatWork provides financial education to take care of our most important investmentour employees. While the real reward for our Financial Fitness Program is the positive change it has had on the overall financial wellness of our staff, it is always ni ce to be recognized with an awardWorldatWork has developed the Financial Fitness Program to help employees understand the principles of personal finance and implement them into their lives, with the goal to decrease financial stress. Partnering with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), WorldatWork has developed various services including Financial Fitness Assessment, coaching, and personal finance seminars.A not-for-profit organization, WorldatWork has been providing personal finance education since 1955 and operates in more than 100 countries. If you would like to learn more, visit http//www.worldatwork.org

Smarter Pest Control Moves through the Orchards

Smarter Pest Control Moves through the Orchards Smarter Pest Control Moves through the Orchards Smarter Pest Control Moves Through the OrchardsSensors and computer analytics have penetrated agriculture and farming, transforming the common tractor and other equipment into high-tech machines that offer precision and predictability in sowing seeds and reaping crops. But one segment has remained largely untouched. Farmers mostly apply pesticides the old-fashioned way, spraying fields and orchards with equipment that hasnt much changed in decades.That is poised to change with the development of what U.S. Department of Agriculture and Ohio State University researchers claim is the first intelligent sprayer, driven by high-speed sensors and algorithms that compute the optimum level of pesticides to apply through each of a standard sprayers 40 nozzles. That could greatly reduce the amount of chemicals used and help alleviate runoff, one of the largest surces of nonpoint source pollution in t he U.S.In most cases, fields are oversprayed, says Heping Zhu, a USDA agricultural engineer and Ohio State University adjunct professor. Current technology is constrained in the rate of application. For instance, in a 100-gallon acre of spray volume, you spray without thinking of crop size, density rate, or other parameters.For You Drones Take Farming to a Whole New LevelZhu, along with OSU agricultural engineering professor Erdal Ozkan and collaborators at Oregon State University and the University of Tennessee, designed a spray ordnungsprinzip using laser sensors to refine the practice. We use the laser sensors like an eye to detect a tree, its size and shape, and plant density to decide spray volume, Zhu says. It only sprays to targets.The intelligent sprayer testing and design team. Image Ohio State UniversityUsing conventional sprayers, growers turn the sprayer on at the beginning of a row of trees and simply stop spraying at the other end. The sprayers are fitted to the front of a tractor that moves up and down rows of plants or trees, but it does not recognize any variations in plant height, density, or terrain. The new system works the same way, but the amount of chemicals used is dramatically reduced, results confirmed by testing in commercial fields over the past four years. It is not a robotic system, some of which are being developed for weed control.Compared to conventional sprayers, the intelligent system reduced pesticide use by mora than half, reduced spray drift by up to 87% and lowered spray loss on the ground by up to 93%. The same level of pest control was reported as from a conventional sprayer.That can mean big savings for growers as well a big boost for the environment. Growers used more than 1 billion pounds of chemicals on crops in 2017, according to statistics from USDA. Much of that excess finds itself polluting rivers and streams. Lake Eries persistent summer algae bloom is tied to agricultural runoff, as is the giant dead zone in t he Gulf of Mexico.Overuse of pesticides may also be linked to the die off of pollinators critical to agriculture. There is a pollinator crisis, Zhu says. The population of bees has decreased due to heavy use of pesticides.Testing began in 2009, initially on nurseries with a wide variety of crops. It was then expanded to orchards and vineyards. Growers who used the intelligent sprayer reported chemical savings reaching $230 per acre annually, says Zhu. That means a grower with a 100-acre field would recoup the capital cost within one year.The sprayer itself has 40 nozzles fitted to an attachment, 20 on top and 20 on the bottom. As the tractor moves along the row, the sensors detect the height, width and density of individual trees or plants. Working from algorithms written for the project, the analytics program computes exactly where to targetand where not to spray. For instance, it ignores gaps between trees, spraying directly on target, and can reach heights of 60 feet, a measure c ommon for pecan trees.We wrote our own program for tree structures, for the system to make the decision where to spray, Zhu says, crediting postdoctoral researchers with the task. The sensors put out 43,200 points per second to read the targets, bouncing the data back to the system.The system is so accurate that it can differentiate seasonal tree cover, for instance. There will be fewer leaves earlier in the year, compared to later in the growing season. It accommodates for the discrepancy, doling out the appropriate volume of chemicals. Zhu says it works with the same efficiencies at any speed. You dont have to worry about how fast you drive, he says. The system takes over.Zhu and other project researchers claim the system, built with off-the-shelf equipment and customized analytics, is unique, and they anticipate commercial commitment soon. No one else has done this, Zhu says.Researchers at Clemson University and Texas AM University joined the project in 2015, expanding the testin g to orchards. The concept has been proven over five to six years of testing in the field, Zhu says.Zhu and his team now are devising a method to retrofit the system to existing sprayers, a development that would further reduce the expense. The system has already won awards from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers and 2018 Innovator of the Year Award from OSUs College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.Read MoreA New Solution to Water Purification in Rural AreasLow-Tech Solutions Fight HungerSelf-Powered Soft Bot Fuels New ApplicationsCurrent technology is constrained in the rate of application. We use the laser sensors like an eye to detect a tree, its size and shape, and plant density to decide spray volume. It only sprays to targets.Heping Zhu, USDA engineer

When to Make a Decision for Your Boss - The Muse

When to Make a Decision for Your Boss - The MuseWhen to Make a Decision for Your Boss Your boss is on vacation and something comes up at the office- an executive decision needs to be made. Do you step in? Its a situation that plenty of employees will face at some point in their careers. I know almost everyone on my gruppe has had to deal with it before. Depending on the company you work for, its culture, your role, and a variety of other factors, some employees may encounter this scenario more often than others. When it happens, how do you decide whether you have the right to make that executive decision or not? Here are a few things to consider.1. What Is the Company Culture Like?At some businesses, innovation, ideas, and self-starters are prized, and at others, traditional layers of management are the norm. If you work for a company at which the boss tends to takes a laissez-faire approach, you can feel a more confident in making high-level decisions, even if youre not the boss. Co nsider my company for example For a long time, ShortStack operated on a flat management system, so I relied on almost every employee to be his or her own boss. My public relations manager often wrote and distributed press releases without approval. This process worked for us, because she knew what I wanted to convey to the media, and I trusted her to do her job without needing to be micromanaged. However, if youve never been given the freedom to make important decisions without input from your manager or executives, youll have to tread lightly. For example, if youre a graphic designer and you dont like the colors of your companys web page, you should probably ask a few higher-ups before unveiling a new palette. If its a smaller issue- like you notice a small typo on the site- you have a much better chance of being able to fix it without getting reprimanded. 2. Do You Know All of the Details?The best way to determine whether you should make an executive decision or not is to think li ke an executive. As a CEO, my thought process for nearly every decision begins with the same few questions Do our customers need this? Will it make them happy? Will it help the business grow? And perhaps most importantly, Do I have all the information necessary to make this decision?I recently had an employee make what she thought was a great decision- to switch the companys phone contract to a new provider. On the face of it, it looked like it was going to save the company a ton of money. What she didnt know was that we were two months away from the end of the contract with our current provider and were going to get a leistungspunkt that would have gotten us a free year of phone services. Bottom line You have to make sure you know all the details- otherwise, your do-gooding could blow up in your face. Taking a moment to ask yourself the questions that your boss would ask can give you some insight about whether you should be making a particular decision. This will also help you remo ve your ego from the equation- because you should never make a decision just to win decisions should be made based on data and company goals.3. Have You Talked Through Your Idea With Anyone Else?Before you make an executive decision, its wise to consult with other people in the company, even if they arent executives, either.This is especially valuable if youre at a company thats a little more strict about the decision-making process. When multiple team members rally for a cause, its more convincing than when one person makes a decision single-handedly.Consulting with another team member can also provide a different view on the situation. Lets go back to the web page colors You may think they need to be changed, but by conversing with another designer, you may learn more about why the current colors were selected. There could be a strategy in place that you didnt know about until you communicated with that other team member. Above all else, the best thing you can do to prepare for th ese decision-making situations is to speak with your executives and learn your boundaries. Determine when its acceptable for you to make decisions and when its not. But in the meantime, if youre faced with a decision to be made, ask yourself these three questions, and youll be on your way to making the best decision possible. Photo of banging gavel courtesy of Shutterstock

This 45-year-old study reveals why its so hard to break addictions

This 45-year-old study reveals why it’s so hard to break addictions This 45-year-old study reveals why it’s so hard to break addictions On June 17, 1971, the President of the United States, Richard Nixon, stood in front of a lectern during a press conference and declared drug abuse, “public enemy number one,” and continued to say that “in order to fight and defeat this enemy, it is necessary to wage a new, all-out offensive.” [1]7 months prior to this date, two U.S. congressmen, Robert Steele from Connecticut and Morgan Murphy from Illinois, traveled to Vietnam for an official visit and returned home with horrific news that stunned the public: over 15 percent of U.S. soldiers fighting in the Vietnam war were heroin addicts. [2]In response to these reports, President Nixon created a new executive agency - the Special Action Of?ce for Drug Abuse Prevention - to promote prevention of “public enemy number one” and rehabilitation of Vietnam war veterans.But Nixon wasn’t done waging this “new, all-out offensive.”Nixon wanted to figure out what happened to the Heroin-addicted servicemen once they returne d to the U.S. And so, he commissioned this task to Jerome Jaffe- the head of the new drug abuse office- who in turn recruited a researcher named Lee Robins to conduct an extensive study into the addicted servicemen.The popular belief at the time was that Heroin is the most addictive substance and once you got addicted to it, you were hooked for life.But when Robins reported her findings from years of research into Vietnam war veterans, something didn’t quite add up.Robins discovered that the number of Vietnam servicemen who took Heroin one year after returning home to the U.S. was shockingly low: only 5 percent. And after three years only 12 percent relapsed. [3]Considering the relapse rates of drug addicts at the time hovered around 90 percent, Robins’ findings shook the foundation of everything the clinical world believed about addictions.A puzzling question then is: why is it so hard to break addictions? And how did so many heroin-addicted Vietnam war veterans, break their ad dictions in such a short period of time?Everything we know about addiction is wrongIn the early 20th century, a series of rat experiments were conducted to uncover the effects of drug addiction in humans, and some were displayed in the form of anti-drug television advertisements across the U.S.One famous 1980s advertisement said: “Only one drug is so addictive, nine out of ten laboratory rats will use it. And use it. And use it. Until dead…. It’s called cocaine. And it can do the same thing to you.” [4]The experiment was simple: you take a rat and put it in a cage with two water bottles attached to it. One bottle is filled with only water. The other contains water laced with heroin or cocaine. Nine times out of ten, the rat will become addicted to the drug laced water, and keep coming back for more of it until it kills itself. [5]It was from these experiments that the widespread belief that drugs caused addiction emerged.But in the 1970s, Bruce Alexander, a researcher at Sim on Fraser University, conducted “Rat Park” experiments to challenge these ideas. [6]To do this, Alexander placed rats in two separate housing spaces. In one housing space, rats were isolated from other rats and lived in small metal cages. In the other, 16 to 20 rats of both sexes lived together in “Rat Park”- a large housing colony with climbing poles, balls, wheels, open-topped cages, and an abundance of food and sex- in short, heaven on earth for rats.In both housing spaces, there were two separate liquids presented to the rats: one contained morphine (an opioid class of drug) and the other,  only water.The results from the experiments were astonishing.Alexander discovered that the isolated rats consumed significantly more morphine solution than the social rats in the “Rat Park.” In fact, during one phase of the experiment where water and morphine were presented in alternative days, the “Rat Park” rats consumed even less morphine than they had done so in previous phases of the experiment.Coincidentally, Alexander had stumbled into the same conclusions about addiction, that Robins had also discovered a few years earlier during the Vietnam war veterans heroin study.This conclusion, which flies in the face of everything we think we know about addiction, was best summarized by Bruce Alexander himself:“Addiction is an adaptation. It’s not you- it’s the cage you live in.” (Source:  Chasing the Scream  (audiobook):  The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs). [7]The hidden force behind addictionAfter Robins presented the study that delivered a heavy blow to widely held beliefs that heroin addiction was unbreakable, a puzzling question still remained: why did so many Heroin-addicted Vietnam war veterans break their addiction, almost overnight?To solve this head-scratching puzzle, Robins interviewed the war veterans and asked them to explain why they had stopped the use of heroin after returning back to the U.S. from Vietnam.  8During the i nterviews, the Vietnam war veterans highlighted that  heroin was much easier to obtain and use in Vietnam than back home in the U.S.In Vietnam, soldiers could easily purchase heroin for an extremely low price of 6 dollars for a high purity bag (90 percent). Conversely, in the U.S., the price of heroin was much higher at 20 dollars for a street bag of 10 percent purity.  9In addition, in Vietnam, Heroin could be easily smoked and did not need to be injected, unlike heroin use in the United States. This eliminated a major barrier to initiating the use of heroin.All of this combined with a social network of heroin-addicted fellow soldiers, extremely poor living conditions and high levels of stress from warfare, created the perfect environment for heroin addiction.But when the soldiers returned to the U.S. from Vietnam, they were exposed to a completely different environment.They no longer woke up to rattles of gunfire in Vietnam jungles and loud noises of helicopter blades in the middl e of the night. Neither did they live with heroin-addicted servicemen or the high stress of warfare.Back home, the soldiers lived in much better living conditions, and like most American citizens at the time, they’d go to work during the day and spend their evenings with their families.The war veterans also noted that the fear of arrest and imprisonment, and strong disapproval from friends and family were strong deterrents from the use of Heroin in the U.S.In short, the environment in Vietnam made it much easier to get addicted to Heroin and much harder to break the addiction, than in the U.S. And vice versa.The answer to puzzling question was simple:  the main reason why the majority of Vietnam war veterans broke their Heroin addiction was not because of willpower or a change in attitude- it was because of a  radical change in their environment.This conclusion meshes well with studies that show that approximately 45 percent of what we do on a daily basis takes place within the sa me environment.  10For example, the mere sight of the entrance to an office building or a regular smoking area, is a powerful environmental cue to a smoker to go to this location and repeat the habit of smoking.Over time these environmental cues become so ingrained in our psyche that we repeat the bad behaviors on autopilot, even when we don’t want to i.e. eating ice cream in front of the TV, reading emails as soon as we wake up in the morning and browsing on social media during working hours.This is why the hidden force behind addiction is environment, and the best way to  break bad habits  and change our lives for the better, is to radically change our environment.Willpower isn’t enoughThe mass media has sold us on the idea that addictions and bad habits are primarily driven by chemicals in our body, genetics, and lack of willpower and motivation.But as we’ve learned from the studies into the heroin-addicted Vietnam war veterans who returned home and broke their heroin addic tions, the main reason why it’s so hard to break addictions is the environment.The easier your environment makes it to act on a bad behavior, the less self-control you have to resist temptation and the harder it is to break the bad habit. And vice versa.We’d like to think that we control our actions, but in reality, environment is the invisible hand that shapes our behavior and nudges us towards the destiny of our lives.Mayo Oshin writes at  MayoOshin.Com, where he shares the best practical ideas based on proven science and the habits of highly successful people for stress-free productivity and improved mental performance. To get these strategies to stop procrastinating, get more things by doing less and improve your focus,  join his free weekly newsletter.”A version of this  article  originally appeared at  mayooshin.com  as  â€œThis 45-Year-Old Study on Heroin-Addicted Vietnam War Veterans Reveals Why It’s So Hard to Break Addictions.”FOOTNOTES Video excerpt  of the press conference during which President Nixon declared drug abuse “public enemy number one. 2. Kuzmarov J. The myth of the ‘addicted army’: drug use in Vietnam in historical perspective. War Society 2007; 26:121â€"41. 3. Lee N. Robins, Darlene H. Davis, and David N. Nurco, “Robins L. N. The Vietnam drug user returns: ?nal report,September 1973. Lee N. Robins et al., “Vietnam Veterans Three Years after Vietnam: How Our Study Changed Our View of Heroin,” American Journal on Addictions 19, no. 3 (2010), doi:10.1111/j.1521â€"0391.2010.00046.x. 4.  Video footage  of 1980s rat experiment advert 5. Morphine experiment. Nichols, J. R., Headlee, C. P., Coppock, H. W.: Drug addiction. I. Addiction by escape training. J. Am. Pharm. Assoc. 45, 788â€"791 (1956) 6. Alexander, B.K., Coambs, R.B., and Hadaway, P.F. (1978). “The effect of housing and gender on morphine self-administration in rats,” Psychopharmacology, Vol 58, 175â€"179. 7. Johann Hari (2015).  Chasing the Scream  : The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs.  (audiobook). 8. Robins L. N. The Vietnam drug user returns: ?nal report,September 1973. 9. Johnson B. D., Golub A. Generational trends in heroin use and injection in New York City. In: Musto D., editor. One Hundred Years of Heroin. Westport, CT: Auburn House;2002, pp. 91â€"130. 10. Neal, David Wood, Wendy M. Quinn, Jeffrey. (2006).  Habits- A Repeat Performance