Overwhelmed Heres a Great Way to Take Control of Your Job Search

Overwhelmed Heres a Great Way to Take Control of Your Job Search I have a confession to make: I am not naturally an organized person. If left to my own devices, I generally do whatever comes into my head to do at the moment. I am easily sidetracked and have a tendency to think I can do everything without regard to priorities. Sound familiar? If so, and if you are a job seeker, you might be experiencing some overwhelm as you conduct your search. Thankfully, there are tools available that can help. To tackle my lack of focus, for example, I have chosen to participate in a business coaching group where I am forced to create priorities and follow them- at least to some extent! You might benefit from some prioritization tools as well. Let’s say you decide to research companies you might want to work for. First, you’ll read my blog from last week, Top 5 Web Sites for Your Job Search Over the Holidays, and start listing companies that interest you. What’s next? The answer is not Apply to all the jobs and accept the first one that will take me. The answer isn’t even, Do extensive research on the 50 companies on my list. Instead, take some time to prioritize. First, make a list of your top 20-30 companies based on your research. Then get clear about what’s important to you so you can gather further information on the companies that best meet your requirements. Factors to consider: Job Function/Title Industry Commute Salary Benefits Opportunity for Growth Travel Company Reputation Size of Company Products I Resonate With Pick 5-6 of these items that are most important to you and score each of the companies in your list from 1-5 (1 = bad/low, 5 = good/high) on how they match up on each factor. You can make a simple chart to do this: Â   Factor #1 Factor #2 Factor #3 Factor #4 Factor #5 Factor #6 Total Company #1 Company #2 Company #3 Company #4 Look at the total scores and rank the companies from highest to lowest. Then start your information gathering, such as finding contact people at the organizations, with the highest-scoring companies. Concentrate on finding the hiring managers at those top companies and start to discover what challenges the companies are facing and how you can add value. Once you know your first choice, second choice, third choice, etc. you will be in a much stronger position as you approach the companies. You will know what you want so you can focus on that, rather than let the job market dictate your search. And you will reduce overwhelm by taking things one step at a time in a clear, organized way. Do you have methods you use to stay focused in your job search? Please share in the comments! Category:Job SearchBy Brenda BernsteinJanuary 27, 2014

Extra points Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Extra points - Essay Example Generally typical unlawful immigrant household has only a 10th grade education. Consequently non-immigrants have low paying jobs hence pay less tax. On the other hand most house hold heads of lawful immigrants are well educated. Lawful immigrants headed by well-educated household tend to pay higher taxes that exceed the direct benefits they receive from the government. According to this report, lawful immigrants with college education heads generates a fiscal surplus of approximately$29250 which the government uses to finance the benefits of unlawful immigrants with less education who consequently contribute less taxes leaving the government with huge fiscal deficit. The benefits they receive exceed the taxes they pay to the government. Unlawful migrants unlike lawful migrants do not have access to social security, Medicare and other tested welfare services. However their children benefit from highly subsidized public education, medical benefits and welfare services offered by the go vernment. Unlawful immigrant household heads also benefit from the use of sewers, roads, parks, police, fire and state security. These available resources get overburdened due to congestion effects hence leading to decline of quality of services to be offered to lawful migrants and non-immigrants. It’s assumed by analysts that nearly half of the unlawful immigrants do not pay income or FICA taxes because most of them work â€Å"off the books†. In 2010, the Pew Hispanic Centre estimated children residing in US with unlawful parents to be 5.5 million. Out of this, 4.5 million were born in the US while the remaining 1 million migrated with their parents to the US. They therefore qualify to be legal citizens and are entitled to state welfare and subsidized education. In average, unlawful immigrants have about 3.7 percent of persons in their households as compared to non-immigrant who have 2.7 persons in their households. This indicates that households of unlawful immigrant s are larger than the household of non-immigrants. How has the relative education of unlawful immigrant households changed over time, and how does it compare to the education level of lawful immigrant and non-immigrant households? Data from the NELS indicate that the children of unlawful immigrant’s households will improve more than the educational levels of their parents. However 18 percent of these children are likely to drop out of school without even a high school degree while about 13 percent are likely to graduate with a college degree. The rest will either attain high qualification or some college training school. College graduates with degrees need to be improved to 30 percent to match with the levels of lawful immigrants and non-immigrants. In assessing the distribution of government benefits and costs, the study uses 6 categories of benefits/expenditures. Briefly describe what is in each category Government benefits and services are distributed into six categories a s follows: Direct benefits - : This involves the cost of services offered to the citizens or the direct cash transfer. They include the costs of Medicare services, unemployment insurance, workers compensation and social security. It’s calculated on the per capita of the Medicare cost that the government spends on its citizens. Means-tested benefit - : These are welfare costs that are channeled

Executive Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 11

Executive Summary - Essay Example With respect to the element of place, the company has retail stores in every place with target consumers. Proportional presence and wide availability in regional markets enables timely delivery of products to both domestic and international consumers. In order to provide the right product at the right time, Old Navy employs selective distribution techniques in linking producers with consumers through distribution facilities in consumer markets. Theoretically, effective promotion and pricing techniques are among the essential pillars of a strong marketing strategy. Old Navy employs promotional strategies like television advertisements, visual merchandisers, social media marketing and drive-by campaigns using celebrities. All these promotional approaches are meant to not only enhance publicity of the company’s products but also promote the fun side of shoppers’ experience. With respect to the element of pricing, Old Navy uses approaches like pricing flexibility, markups and psychological pricing techniques. These approaches are synchronized with sales-oriented objectives in order to enhance the competitive aspects of Old Navy. Aside from the aforementioned approaches, Old Navy also employs pricing incentives like discounting, credit card rewards and coupons. All pricing approaches are meant to entice customers into buying Old Navy products. Old Navy is a brand that has become well known throughout most of Northern America. As an apparel company, it serves the needs of its clients by providing quality goods at an affordable price. Such apparel consists of maternity clothing, footwear, and clothes for newborns. Not only does Old Navy focus on apparel, but it also offers a wide range of accessories for customers to choose from when shopping. The company, a subsidiary of Gap Inc., tries to stay at the forefront of current fashion trends in order to retain its customer’s interests. Old Navy’s goal is to make

Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Case Study Example Corporate accountants have always maintained a degree of confidentiality about companies’ finances. Confidentiality principle of accounting requires accountants not to disclose information acquired during their practise to third parties. It clearly stipulates that information acquired from professional or business relationship be kept confidential unless there is legal or professional right or duty to do so. Such information belongs to the company and should not be put into any personal use. Therefore, an accountant must take the necessary measures to mitigate any threats that might occur in the course of practising. However, each engagement and work assignment differs in threats it presents, which means that it is the work of an accountant to identify, evaluate, and deal with the threat to confidentiality. Professional competence and due care is another principle applicable to this scenario. Accounting profession keeps changing to incorporate new skills and information. It is the duty of an accountant to ensure that they keep themselves updated. They must maintain professional knowledge and skill to ensure that the clients receive competent services. Any developments in the profession or in the legal system must be included in the practise. An accountant who acts in due care is one who follows all the technical and professional standards in their practise. Objectivity is another principle applicable to the scenario that requires accountants to act independently. He should not allow undue influence from thirds parties. Corporate accountants should not allow bias in their work and should relinquish their personal interests to accommodate professional judgements. Additionally, a professional accountant must act with the highest level of integrity because of they are entrusted with preparing financial accounts of organisations. Although the principles of loyalty and confidentiality should

Poverty and Pollution Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Poverty and Pollution Case Study - Essay Example Firms that manufacture chemicals, which are too unsafe to manufacture within the first World will always acquire a market within third World Nations (The Environment..., 2013). There exist no regulations within the Third World Nations that govern dumping and pollution. Generally, Third World nations have to choose between food and a contaminated environment. Third World governments cannot limit nor have regulations, as it would be too expensive to their countries more specifically since most of their people are trying to earn a living (Hardoy, 2011). This paper is an analysis of the Pollution and Poverty Case Study. Ethical effects of pollution in a third world nation would directly affect the inhabitants of the Third World Countries (Hardoy, 2011). For instance, the dumping of toxic electronics within the south of Chinese town of Guiyu had Women melting hard drives and motherboards from CPUs to extract gold from them. This exposed them to toxic fumes. Ghana is another country, which has had wastes dumped in one of its regions. On the borders of Agbogbloshie town, there is an enormous wasteland as well as one of the highly polluted water bodies on Earth(The Environment..., 2013). ... Once they obtain the personal data in them, they sell the data for roughly $35 for each hard drive. Information obtained from these hard drives includes private financial facts, credit-card numbers, account data and reports of electronic transactions. Mostly, the original holders of the hard drives do not know that such information had been left in those drives. It becomes easier to clear out accounts with the account information. Ghana is listed as among the top cybercrime perpetrators in the globe conferring to the American State Department (Ghana Dumping..., 2012). During an off-camera interview, one of the drives purchased had a $22 billion United States government contract. The hard drive had come from an American military contractor known as Northrop Grumman; it is among the largest military contractors in the U.S. The hard drive contained very sensitive details such as multi-million dollar deals of the United States government with agencies such as the DIA (defense intelligenc e agency), Homeland Security and NASA (Ghana Dumping..., 2012). This poses an enormous security risk that places everyone at the vulnerability of the perpetrators. If regulations and laws had been established to govern e-waste disposal and pollution, then cybercrime might not be a huge issue as it is currently. Obtaining personal information about people is one thing, but it is another to obtain detailed information on government contracts (News Week Magazine, 2013). When 3rd World nations do not have any regulations or laws shielding them from 1st World Nations polluting and dumping in their nation, then it renders it difficult for them to prohibit 1st World Nations from dumping and polluting in their countries. Initially, some counties embraced the e-waste. A

Behavioral Family Therapy

Behavioral Family Therapy Behavioral family therapy focuses on numerous techniques such as operant conditioning, education, communication and problem solving, and contingency management. These techniques were developed through numerous years of observation and research done by researchers known as Gerald Patterson and Robert Liberman. Many issues can be addressed by Behavioral family therapy such as anorexia, alcoholism, mental illness, childhood developmental issues, marital issues, and family problems. By addressing the familys problem directly, the therapist attempts to place the therapy in the familys hands and during this process engagement in the therapy becomes exceedingly important. Behavioral family therapy aims to find the process that fits the family, not fitting a family inside a therapeutic process. Keywords: Behavioral family therapy, communication, mental illness, therapeutic alliance, engagement Behavioral family therapy, also known as BFT, is a type of therapy that focuses on the family as a unit (Lipps, 1999). This family intervention looks at the elements of information giving and skills achievement, as well as aiming to reduce relapses by supporting and improving communication and problem solving skills (Campbell, 2004). With the support of empirical studies, BFT has developed its approach over years of research and practice. Behavioral family therapy not only addresses behavioral issues within the family, but individual family members with mental disorders as well. This type of therapy covers a broad scope of different types of families and issues. Beginning information on behavioral family therapy started with simple cases regarding children that included bedtime tantrums, nocturnal enuresis, aggressive behavior, and language training with autistic children (Falloon, 1991). Outside of working with children, spouses were involved in BFT to support in the desensitization of anxiety disorders (Falloon, 1991). During these early stages of behavioral family therapy the techniques were individually centered rather than family focused, but the family was still considered a large part in the individuals life. During the start of behavioral family therapy it was thought that negative behaviors from family members came from other family members operant reinforcements. From this concept, it was concluded that the strategies used in behavioral family therapy should involve changing; not only the family member with the negative behavior, but the family members behavior who was reinforcing the negative behavior (Falloon, 1991). During therapy, therapists instructed family members with specific directions on how they should respond to undesirable behavior. While in session, the therapist would then mimic the appropriate behavior towards the undesired behavior when a family member was displaying the negative behavior. The success of the treatment was founded on how many times the deviant behavior occurred, and then the amount the deviant behavior decreased. A pioneer in Behavioral family therapy, Gerald Patterson, created an understanding that laboratory experiments are much different than clinical experiments due to the complexity of the family life style (Falloon, 1991). He was a key individual when it came to formulating behavioral family therapy. Patterson provided several research studies that employed several different therapeutic techniques. One strategy that Patterson tried to incorporate into therapy was to develop a method to move the therapists role as the key mediator away from the family, so that the family would be able to make use of social-learning techniques by themselves (Falloon, 1991). In order to change the behavior within the family, Patterson found that it was important to not only change the parents behavior, but the other family members behavior as well, so that the family could then create a sense of reciprocity (Falloon, 1991). Patterson also noted in his research that the coercion of family members only incre ased the negative responses and only provided a short term correction to the negative problem (Falloon, 1991). Patterson created the pathway for behavioral family therapy through his research and application in the therapy session. Other strategies that elevated behavioral family therapy to its current status, were suggested through research done by several other researchers. One strategy includes the give to get approach. The give to get approach is when a family member unconditionally and positively rewards another family members behavior; specifically, with a family member that they are in conflict with (Falloon, 1991). The thought behind this approach is that it is much more likely that the family members behavior will change in order to please someone, who pleases them (Falloon, 1991). Another strategy includes the contingency contract. The contingency contract is an approach where each family member creates a list of behaviors that the individual will perform for other family members (Falloon, 1991). After deciding between family members which behaviors will be able to be performed, a contract is drawn up. These behaviors serve as tokens that are exchanged as rewards for their targeted positive behaviors, not negative behaviors (Falloon, 1991). These strategies are ways for therapists to help families change negative behaviors into positive behaviors by working together and implementing approaches that work for that specific family system. Robert Liberman was a psychologist that worked with mentally ill adult population within the guidelines of behavioral family therapy. Liberman furthered Behavioral family therapy by including two strategies, role rehearsal and modeling (Falloon, 1991). These strategies were used by Liberman with therapeutic alliance and a detailed assessment of functional relationships. Liberman not only looked at the symptoms the family was having, but the interaction patterns, achievement of short and long term goals, and the extra familial issues that affect the family system (Falloon, 1991). The extra familial issues that affect the family system include education, social-services, and medical services. Liberman had the idea to include the extra familial factors within the therapy so that the symptoms were not the only focus in the sessions, but the long term achievement of stability. In a family system with an individual with a mental illness, Liberman found it important to look at all aspects t hat would affect the family (Falloon, 1991). Within behavioral family therapy there are several behavioral-changing strategies that are used, which include contingency contracting, operant conditioning, and communication-skills training (Falloon, 1991). These strategies are applied to produce a specific change that is within the familys therapeutic goals. During therapy the therapist makes the decision when to use certain strategies based on the familys functioning. When reviewing behavioral family therapy, the practice of therapy has found that only a few interventions were used across a broad range of therapy (Falloon, 1991). These interventions include education, communication and problem solving training, operant conditioning approaches, and contingency management (Falloon, 1991). Education can vary in the way it is displayed. Educating families about issues they deal with in their family, such as mental illness or the development of child milestones can provide families with the information they need to reach their goals. Communication training provides families with the ability to directly transfer information from one family member to another member. Effective communication can provide resolution to problems and attainment to their goals (Falloon, 1991). Operant conditioning strategies include time-out and shaping procedures to increase sought-after behaviors. Operant conditioning approaches are often taught to parents with children or families who have severe disabilities (Falloon, 1991). Operant conditioning goes along with education in that both deal with training and learning. The contingency contract is used to substitute hostile, coercive, blaming patterns of family behavior with more satisfying behaviors (Falloon, 1991). The therapists role in behavioral family therapy is to maintain a supportive therapeutic alliance and to be able to keep an ongoing assessment of the family so that accurate interventions can be used (Falloon, 1991). As the therapist, it is important to look at the responses made by the family member and use those responses to help the family best cope with their situation. Encouraging family members to take advantage of their strengths by focusing on their own feedback will allow the family members to move towards resolving problems and reaching goals (Falloon, 1991). It is important for the therapist to convey positive and negative feelings in a direct manner that works towards positive behavior within the family. The therapist is the individual who matches the intervention to the family (Falloon, 1991). It is important for the therapist to match the intervention to the family instead of forcing the family into an intervention that may not be able to assist the family with their go als (Falloon, 1991). Not only are interventions thoroughly thought through, but the termination of therapy begins in the beginning of therapy. The therapist tells the family members how many session the family will be given and reminds the family every other session that the termination period is getting closer. By the therapist planning the termination in the beginning it gives the family a chance to become independent from the therapist (Falloon, 1991). Behavioral family therapy can be used with several different types of issues. Three common issues that were found in the research were schizophrenia, anorexia nervosa, and alcohol abuse issues. Past research supports that family interventions for schizophrenic members demonstrates helpful engagement in the family (James, Cushway, Fadden, 2006). James, Cushway, Fadden (2006) provide statistical reasoning that behavioral family therapy has a lower dropout rate than other familial therapy groups by twelve percent. Once families became engaged in behavioral family therapy the entire family was more likely to stay engaged (James, Cushway, Fadden, 2006). Those families who do not begin engaged or stay engaged in the therapeutic process are more likely to drop out. In James, Cushway, Faddens (2006) qualitative research it was found that the more reflective the therapist was towards the family the more engaged the family was able to become with the therapy. Being reflective becomes impor tant when creating a therapeutic alliance because reflection creates trust between the family and therapist. The therapeutic alliance in behavioral family therapy becomes the most important quality due to the amount of change that is going to occur (James, Cushway, Fadden, 2006). When working with schizophrenia, a therapist tends to work harder to gain that therapeutic alliance. This could be due to the family not wanting to change what already works with certain members, or that the family members do not trust anyone making changes in their family when they are worried about the outcome of the mentally ill family member. Being able to engage with each member of the family, including a schizophrenic member, will gain the therapist a trusting relationship; which will in turn, help the family create positive change in their familial structure. Anorexia nervosa and alcohol problems are both issues that behavioral family therapy can address. Ball Mitchell (2004) found through their research that with anorexic clients and their families BFT had shown a high trend towards less negative communication after treatment. The research had also shown that significant improvements over time included eating attitudes and behaviors, self-esteem, depression, and state anxiety (Ball Mitchell, 2004). Regarding alcohol problems, Lipps (1999) found that reinforcement is important in behavioral family therapy. When involving the family in the process of changing an alcoholics behavior supporting the reinforcement from the family towards the family member is particularly important. It is important for family members to reinforce the modification of the environment so that drinking behaviors are changed (Lipps, 1999). Operant conditioning can also be utilized with changing an alcoholics behavior with family members. When behavioral family the rapy addresses alcoholism it assumes that environmental factors manipulate behavior from members (Lipps, 1999). Both, anorexia and alcoholism use a type of reinforcement to work within the context of behavioral family therapy to push for changes within family members. Due to the openness of behavioral family therapy, my family and I went through BFT numerous times, but each time there was a different situation being addressed. Going through behavioral family therapy for the first time when I was younger, my family and I needed help dealing with my ADHD. I was having trouble in school and at home. Our therapist worked with my parents in training them how to respond to desirable behaviors and how to ignore negative behaviors. I was reinforced through the behaviors that my parents displayed towards me. Eventually, my behavior started to change into more positive and desirable ways. I began doing my homework and started doing my chores at home. Concentration was hard for me, but in time with behavioral therapy and medication my ability to concentrate gradually increased. Behavioral family therapy has helped me and my family deal with a hardship. By working through this hardship with my family in therapy I learned to love school and I am now in my mast ers, somewhere my parents and I never thought Id be. Behavioral family therapy addresses numerous issues and involves several interventions that can be used to work within the specific family system. This type of therapy not only puts the family members in the driver seat, but allows the family to work, support, and value the relationships and changes in their system (Campbell, 2004). Behavioral family therapy also allows the family to acquire new skills and these new skills help open communication and trust with in the family (Campbell, 2004). Overall, behavioral family therapy gives the family choices in how they want to run their sessions. The therapist allows the family to run the session while educating and teaching the family techniques along the way. Along with the numerous techniques, it is important for individuals going into BFT to take control and engage in their therapy. Without trying and wanting change, behavioral family therapy can only give the family what the family wants to take from the therapy.

The Power of Delegation Essay -- Delegate Engineering Management Essay

The Power of Delegation Delegation is a management tool that can be used to empower or when abused can be a detrimental force in a company. Delegation can aid employee growth and development while getting the job done efficiently. The true purpose of delegation is to accomplish the task by assigning it to someone else (Blair, 1992). Many misunderstand the concept of delegation and therefore either will not delegate or improperly apply the principle which provides unsuccessful results.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The primary reason to delegate tasks is to get the work done. The manager must be wise enough to know that he or she cannot be everywhere and do everything. A manager must also realize that along with the assignment of the job to the subordinate, the authority to complete the task must also be given. The delegation of authority is the hardest, most difficult part for some in management positions. If the task is assigned without the authority to use independent discretion the result is frustration and incomplete production. The manager must clearly communicate the expected result also ensure that the subordinate is properly trained and/or has the required skills needed to accomplish the assigned task.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Communication is a major component of successful delegation. A system of regular exchanges of information between management and employees ensure that each party is aware of what others are doing (Blair, 1992).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My current employer is a nonprofit organization, which is run by a Chief Executive Officer/President who was hired 22 years ago. Her background is in education, as a principal, with a master’s degree in Education Administration. The CEO answers to a board of directors, which have been very good at delegating the responsibilities of running the corporation to the CEO. The board meets monthly to receive reports on the activities and financial status of the facility but other than that have no real hands-on role in the management of the company.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The CEO has a very different approach to delegation than the board of directors; she tends to micro-manage her staff. Her idea of delegation leans more to assignment of a task and proceeding to dictate exactly how she desires the task to be accomplished or assigns the task without giving authority to carry it out. The CEO makes assignments to members of her Corporate Leadership Team (program direct... ...tion for his staff. The director is not confident in his own competency yet feels the need to improve upon the work his staff produces. This is not a simple problem because the director, a vice president in the company, needs to work out personal issues in order to stop the offending actions. He can however recognize that the problem exists and redirect his interference. Overall this company would benefit from formal training in the functions of management along with methods of applying the principles of management in their own jobs. A section on delegation would need to consist of the definition of delegation, the importance of communication, developing effective and efficient controls, how delegation aids in employee development, how to maintain proper access or assistance to the delegate and awareness of the possible outcomes and failures when using delegation as a management tool (Blair, 1992). References Blair, GM, The Art of Delegation, IEE Engineering Management Journal, vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 165-169, Aug 1992. Retrieved August 19, 2005, from University of Edinburgh School of Engineering and Electronics web site: http://www.see.ed.ac.uk/~gerard/Management/art5.html