Health and Human Services Professional Development

Randy Pausch on Time Management by   Jill Bowers   on   July 30, 2013   This is a longer, but inspirational talk by Randy Pausch on goals, prioritizing, planning, and avoiding procrastination. He has an incredible way of framing and summarizing important advice on this subject. For example, he talks about “doing the   right   things adequately rather than doing the wrong things in a polished manner” or how to recognize excuses we are making for ourselves, such as “I don’t want to make a plan because my schedule might change.” He also explains how we procrastinate by using Steven Covey’s 4 quadrants to do list, how to write proper thank you notes, and how to avoid being on the phone for long periods of time. He is one of my favorite people to listen to, gives awesome advice on time management here, and if you have not heard any of Pausch’s talks, I highly recommend! *Originally posted on the Career Skillet website (Permission gran...

Putting Off Until Tomorrow…Stop Procrastinating by   Jill Bowers   on   July 30, 2013 Many successful leaders have said, “never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” Easier said than done sometimes. Procrastination, or postponing a inevitable task, is easy to do. Mark Twain put a different twist on it when he stated, “Never put off till tomorrow what may be done the day after tomorrow just as well.” But what if an important deadline for school or work IS tomorrow? Are you a procrastinator? Do you tell others (and yourself) that you “work better under pressure”…Do you ACTUALLY work better under pressure or might you simply be a habitual procrastinator? And if so, you are not alone. According to the  McGraw-Hill Center for Teaching and Learning , many [even successful] individuals procrastinate, and the causes of procrastination are rooted in psychology (i.e., your own fears and anxiety) rather than laziness or poor time management skills. They stat...

Find a Mentor: Think Out of the Box by   Kimi Crossman   on   July 31, 2013 Still feeling hesitant about identifying a mentor, despite Dr. Sherwood’s encouragement (see  What is a Mentor, and How Do I Find One )? Chew on this statistic: “Professionals who have mentors make between $5,610 and $22, 450 more annually than those on their own.” Thus, having a mentor will not only help you develop your professional identity, but it can also improve your chances of landing that higher-salary job. An advantage of our technological era is that your potential mentor doesn’t have to be within your immediate circle of friends, colleagues, professors, or employers. You don’t even have to limit yourself to creating one mentoring relationship. You can connect with multiple mentors from all around the world through social networking (see  Successfully Using Online Networking ). Read more tips from Aaron Pitman on how to use social media:  How Social Media ...

Listen, Learn, Lead! by   Mikki Sherwood   on   August 1, 2013   Four-star general Stanley McChrystal was commander of U.S. and International forces in Afghanistan where he worked with various people of various ages and skill sets. The ability to lead effectively can mean life or death in the military. In this Ted talks video he explains his experiences with leadership and shares some advice. • Leaders need to understand the changing world and the changing needs of those that they are leading. • Good leaders can let you fail, but not let you be a failure. • Good leaders allow others to depend on themselves. • Relationships are the key to leadership. Everyone must support one another and leaders must set the example. blob:https://embed.ted.com/7d446574-0b54-4f84-96b5-460dbaec3682 *Originally posted on the Career Skillet website (Permission granted by Jill Bowers).

Start Planning for Grad School by   Jill Bowers   on   August 6, 2013   If you are a junior or senior, you have probably started thinking about whether or not you want to go to graduate school or what programs you may want to apply to. If you are just beginning your undergraduate studies, graduate school may not be on your mind at all yet being proactive NOW will ensure you have good options later…AND many of the things you can do now to start preparing for applying for graduate schools are similar to activities that will help you on the job market! Whether or not graduate school (for example, getting a Master’s Degree or PhD) is right for you depends on your career goals, your major, and many other factors. Many individuals want to pursue graduate school because it gives them greater earning power and more opportunities to advance their career, allows them to switch career paths, buys them time to think more about what they want to do after their academic...

Phone Interview Etiquette by   Jill Bowers   on   August 9, 2013 It’s just a phone interview, so relax, tell your friends not to leave, put your feet up, and get out a bag of chips while you are at it…OR NOT. These would all be great if you want to set yourself up for FAILURE. You want to prepare for the interview and treat it with the professionalism you strive to exhibit in a face-to-face interview. I’ve been on conference calls where I can hear others eating, talking, blowing their nose, or other background noise…there is nothing more distracting and in an interview, it is a reflection of your professionalism and could make employers believe that you are really not that interested in the job. Here are a few tips for phone interview etiquette: If it is not scheduled ahead of time and you are not place where you could or should take the call (e.g., at work or class, driving, or out with friends), let it go to voicemail and call back Practice for the interview as...

How Your Career Path and Everyday Habits Influence Longevity by   Jill Bowers   on   August 2, 2013   National Geographic writer and explorer, Dan Buettner, and colleagues (from National Geographic and The Institute on Aging) examined 4 geographic locations (“blue zones”) in which individuals live longer than they do in the United States. They found these individuals had some things in common in (eating habits, outlook, exercise, and more – see infographic for more): This information reveals the importance of healthy choices and balance in your life….and hopefully you have chosen a career path that gives you a sense of purpose and makes you happy. For more information, see Dan Buettner’s Ted Talk, “How To Live To Be 100+” here: blob:https://embed.ted.com/e7ba03a4-05ca-4280-a89e-21da733b5e9f *Originally posted on the Career Skillet website (Permission granted by Jill Bowers).