Health and Human Services Professional Development

Is it REALLY not a good fit, or do you just suck at interviewing? by   Jill Bowers   on   April 20, 2014   In most places, you will have a few hours, sometimes minutes, to create impressions that make them believe “this is someone I want on my team,” or “we cannot let this one get away.” Based on my own interview faux pas and stories I’ve heard others tell, I give you five general tips for not sucking: If you suffer from  permanent mean face , figure out how to change it.  See  Chronicles of a Girl with Chronic Bitch Face  if you need a more refined definition of “permanent mean face.” In other words, think about how the look on your face might come across to others. Interviewers are often looking for someone with whom they want to work. Your focus and seriousness may appear to interviewers as cold or unfriendly. You may be fun, a great team player, and all of your peers and former coworkers may rave about you in this regard. Yet, you have ...

WHAT IS GERONTOLOGY? Many Human Service Program Administration programs offer or are affiliated with gerontology undergraduate degrees or minors and or graduate degrees in gerontology. Gerontologists can be found across disciplines (e.g., social work, nursing, medicine, optometry). Students who are gerontology majors learn about physical, cognitive, and social changes in individuals as they age, as well as the influence of environment, culture, social policies, and public policies on aging. Issues that students in gerontology may study include, but are not limited to: Age-related illnesses Ageism Death and dying WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH A GERONTOLOGY DEGREE? Jobs that one can get with a degree in gerontology (some may require Master’s Degrees in Gerontology or related field) include, but are not limited to:Gerontological or geriatric social worker Senior services assessment specialist Home health aide Nursing home administrator Manager of public/private residential community...

What Can Adults Learn From Children? by   Mikki Sherwood   on   April 20, 2014 Ted talks video reviewed by: Caitlin Sheehan, Graduate Student EIU In this  Ted Talks  video, 12-year old Adora Svitak states that being called “childish” is offensive to her, but not for the reason you may think. She points out that most irrational behavior is perpetuated by adults. However, she points out that young people have made a difference in the world for many generations. For example, Anne Frank provided a riveting account of the Holocaust, Ruby Bridges fought to end segregation in the US, and Charlie Simpson helped to raise £120,000 for Haiti. Therefore, Svitak states, learning should be reciprocal between adults and youth. In fact, progress only happens because new generations become better than the previous generation and kids, with all of their “irrationality,” really can teach adults something. *Originally posted on the Career Skillet website (Permission grante...

Expectations vs Reality of Social Media Experiences by   Jill Bowers   on   March 23, 2014   I saw this YouTube video last year, and I thought it was brilliantly done and wanted to share. The video depicts the expectations and realities of meeting, or rather, reconnecting with a romantic interest via Facebook. Social networking use has been associated with lower levels of social well-being; for example, more social media and smart phone usage has been linked to higher levels of loneliness, social anxiety, and other areas of social-emotional wellness (see examples of research in this area below).Perhaps, having realistic expectations about your social media experiences could prevent feelings of loneliness or social anxiety?! https://youtu.be/UYI1_gPGu7w?list=PL3A3DB46FC00337E6 A few examples of research findings surrounding social media, psychology, and human behavior include: Appelbaum, P., & Kopelman, A. (2014). Social media’s challenges for ps...

Positive Psychology for Your Career and Daily Routines by   Jinwen Ye   on   January 19, 2015 Once an interviewer asked Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar, “what is the WOW factor in Positive Psychology that our readers don’t know?” His simple response was, “If there is a wow, the wow is that there is no wow.” I have been inspired by many of his positive psychology videos.  I’ve included one of my favorites and summarized some of the research he discussed in the infographic   here . I found some of these tips to be particularly valuable as I was reflecting on my own behaviors and goals. As you are beginning your semester, setting your goals, or refining your New Years resolutions, perhaps you will find some of these tips valuable too! *Originally posted on the Career Skillet website (Permission granted by Jill Bowers).

Final exam stress, self-care, and Starbucks by   Jill Bowers   on   May 8, 2014   Many of you are swamped and feeling the end of the semester heat.  The exams and final papers you are turning in could be critical to your course grade, GPA, or graduation. And, it’s important to stay focused and discipline yourself to study and complete coursework. At the same time, you have to take care of yourself along the way. Emotional and academic stress have been associated with  disturbed sleep  among college students, and the links between  sleep habits and academic performanc e are well-documented. Getting adequate sleep is just one example of how you can take care of yourself as you are mastering your end of the semester tasks. See the article,  Be Kind to Yourself , written by college student, Sofiya Ballin, for The Huffington Post and think about other ways you can engage in self-care during final exam week. You may also be comforted ...

Whether or not to attend your own graduation ceremony by   Jori Brownfield, Guest Author   on   May 12, 2014   With graduation quickly approaching, whether or not to walk has been a popular conversation among my friends and I. Some of friends are walking across the stage, and some are not. I ultimately decided to, and here are some things I considered… Are you being recognized?  Yes, many of us want to be modest, but you worked hard if you are given special recognition at graduation. It is important to be proud of your accomplishments. Even if there is no special recognition, it is a big accomplishment to earn a degree. It’s your weekend, and others are there to celebrate you.  The people who have been your support system are proud of you and may want to see you walk. Tickets can be scarce.  For many individual college commencements, each graduate gets a very limited number of tickets. It may be possible to get extra tickets from peer...

Future PhD’s Success Guide         by   Jeremy Kanter, Guest Author   on   May 12, 2014           Many underclassmen don’t realize all of the necessary steps involved in applying for a PhD program, and research training is just one of those steps. Many of us use our first couple of years just to get acclimated to undergraduate life and focus on “the now.” I recently read,   Publish and Prosper , by Nathaniel Lambert, highly recommend if you are pursuing a PhD, and wanted to share some of the guidelines I followed.         Find out what interests you.   This is the greatest place to start. It is VITAL to understand what ignites your passion and find the research questions you want to answer or areas you want to study in graduate school. This can be done by reviewing classes you have taken and topics you have enjoyed learning about. Obviously, as an undergraduate, you will n...

Coping with the Divorce of Your Parents by   Jeremy Kanter, Guest Author   on   May 12, 2014   Many of you have a range of stressful daily experiences, and coping with families issues, such as the divorce of your parents may be one of them. There are programs to help parents cope with the divorce and programs for younger children, but emerging adults are also influenced by the divorce of their parents. I recently posted some information via Buzzfeed on this topic. My recommendations are based on scientific evidence and include reappraising the stimulus, monitoring and labeling your emotions, and writing in a journal frequently. For a complete list of my suggestions via Buzzfeed, see  10 Ways to Decrease Your Stress About Your Parents’ Divorce . *Originally posted on the Career Skillet website (Permission granted by Jill Bowers).

Cut Down on Stress in the Workplace by Being a Cool Coworker by   Elizabeth Shuff, Guest Author   on   May 21, 2014   Stress has long been a part of the workplace, but is it our everyday activities or the roles we have at work that cause the most stress? Researchers have found that stress is individualized, meaning each person experiences stress in his or her unique manner. This may seem obvious to most, of course everyone deals with things in their own way. However, when looking more closely at workplace stress, a study reveals some commonalities among people. It has been shown that politics in the work setting are one of the main causes of stress, and having good relationships with coworkers tends to lead to lower overall stress levels ( Swaminathan & Rajkumar, 2013 ). This makes perfect sense, the better your relationships with co-workers, the better you can work out issues that cause conflict and avoid the dishonesty of “playing politics.” A posit...