Jason McDowell holds a BS in English from the University of Wisconsin-Superior and an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. By day, he works as a mild-mannered freelance writer and business journalist. By night, he spends time with his wife and dogs, writes novels and short stories, and tries in vain to catch up on all of those superhero television shows.
https://www.justaboutwritellc.com/
Battling the Skills Gap Through Self-Directed Professional Development
Kelly Palmer is the chief learning and talent officer at Degreed and the coauthor, with Daivd Blake, of The Expertise Economy: How the Smartest Companies Use Learning to Engage, Compete, and Succeed. She has held prestigious positions with a variety of organizations, including chief learning officer at LinkedIn, vice president of learning at Yahoo!, and executive roles in learning,...
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Encourage Your Employees to Have a Work BFF
When you spend one-third of every weekday in the same place with the same people, you're bound to make a few connections that are as personal as they are professional. Office friendships represent a unique type of social interaction, but one that is crucial to employee happiness and retention. While the received wisdom may say socializing at work leads to low productivity and other...
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Express Yourself in Your LinkedIn Photo — As Long as It Fits Industry Norms, That Is
By this point, most of us are familiar with LinkedIn. The social media site for professional networking has become a staple of the recruiting world. Job seekers use it to connect with opportunities, and recruiters and hiring managers use it to scope out leads. Every part of an applicant's LinkedIn profile says something about them — even the profile photo. Be certain that if you are...
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Thinking Outside the Box? Overrated.
At one time or another, every business professional has been told to "think outside the box!" After all, that's the only way to drive innovation, right? Not exactly. Not only has "thinking outside the box" become more of a generic stock phrase than real, actionable advice, but it may have never been good advice in the first place. "Outside-the-box thinking is often valued because the...
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How to Get the Most Out of Your Meetings
Gathering your team in one place to brainstorm new ideas or disseminate information seems like a good idea in theory. In practice, however, meetings are often nothing more than a waste of time. Employees are easily distracted — and for good reason. They may be thinking about the work they had to put on hold while they sit at the table. If workers are staring blankly at walls or...
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Facing a STEM Talent Shortage, Many Organizations Choose to Reskill Existing Workers
From Silicon Valley to the manufacturing sector, HR and recruiting professionals are plagued by a lack of quality science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) talent, resulting in higher-than-normal salaries, creative perks and benefits, and no small amount of poaching between competitors. Businesses requiring STEM talent have also been forced to broaden their scopes of acceptable...
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Top Talent Won't Apply for Your Role — Unless You Tell Them What They Want to Know
It is difficult enough to find quality candidates, but securing the best of the best in times of widespread talent shortages can seem downright impossible. Luckily for your organization, it is doable — but only if you cater to the needs and desires of the workforce. Transparency about salary, benefits, and perks can be a key differentiator in the minds of applicants, according to a...
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How Automated Workforce Management Can Address the Healthcare Skills Gap
The vast majority of nurses are overworked because of an ever-growing skills gap in the healthcare sector, and nursing managers are not immune. The more time spent on administrative tasks, the less time spent on critical patient care. Without an efficient labor management plan in place, it is ultimately the patient who suffers. When scheduling healthcare workers, managers must account for...
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Benefits on the Fringe: Paid Time Off for Voting in Elections
Welcome to Benefits on the Fringe, the monthly Recruiter.com column where Jason McDowell covers the most unique benefits today's employers are using to woo talent, as well as advances and innovations in the employee benefits realm. Voting is arguably the most important civic responsibility of any citizen living in a democracy, yet voter turnout in the United States is typically much lower...
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Management Collaboration With HR Is Crucial to Employee Well-Being
It's the job of the HR department to recruit and retain staff, manage employee benefits, and spearhead internal branding and engagement initiatives. But HR sinks or swims according to the level of support it receives from managers and board members. No matter how bold or innovative the strategies developed by HR professionals, little can happen without support from internal leaders and...
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Liar, Liar, Applicants on Fire
Competition in the job market is fierce. While unemployment is staying low, that means those without work are competing for fewer jobs. Nearly every open roles receives a wide range of applicants of varying skill levels, and many of those applicants are so desperate for work they misrepresent themselves in an effort to land a steady paycheck. In fact, recent data from HEC Paris shows that...
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The Risks and Rewards of Taking Political Stances as an Organization
As the political divide between the right and left widens in the United States, many companies are finding it necessary to take a stand for what they believe in. Adopting a clear political stance as an organization can inspire brand loyalty among consumers, vendors, and other stakeholders — but it can also trigger boycotts and other protests. For example, major brands such as Google,...
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