Understanding the Big Decisions of Open Enrollment

Understanding the Big Decisions of Open EnrollmentUnderstanding the Big Decisions of Open EnrollmentAs youre ticking off the many good things that roll around each year in the fall- crisp air, leaf peeping, pumpkin lattes- theres a pretty good chance open enrollment doesnt make the list. Nearly 3 in 4 respondents to Aflacs Open Enrollment Survey say reading about their benefits is long, complicated or stressful. And alfruchtwein half would rather do something truly unpleasant- like talking to an ex or walking over hot coals- than complete this years benefits enrollment. The upshot? Most punt. Four out of five say they spend less than an hour on their benefits decisions, and even more just choose the saatkorn benefits year after year. The Price of Inaction That can getexpensive if you choose wrong. Say you opt for a plan where a doctor you landsee once a year is out of network. That may be a cost youre willing to bear. But if you end up needing that doctors services for an unexpec ted additional procedure? You could end up paying 300% of what it would cost if youd found an in-network doc from the get-go, according to a 2015 study by the AHIP Center for Policy and Research. Likewise, if you opt to pay the higher premiums that come with plans that have lower deductibles, but rarely see a doctor or fill prescriptions because youre healthy as a horse, you could end up paying more in up-front costs than need be. And the price of sticking your head in the sand is only heading higher. The total cost of healthcare in the US is about $3 trillion a year, of which consumers pay out of pocket about $400 to $500 billion- and our share is rising about 10 percent a year. Im willing to bet that our share is just going to go up, says Thomas Torre of Copatient, a company that helps consumers negotiate their doctor and hospital bills. That trend is unstoppable. Making the right benefits decisions, therefore, depends on arming yourself with a real understanding of the first havi ng a basic understanding of the terms you see when you read about todays health plans. (Aflac tested this, too. Most people dont.) And second, being able to answer a couple of questions that will tell you which kind of plan is likely to be best for your wallet. Making the right benefits decisions, therefore, depends on arming yourself with knowledge and understanding of the fundamental insurance concepts at work. Speak the Language First, you need to have a firm grasp on common health insurance terms. In its survey, AFLAC found most people dont have a grip on a basic healthcare vocabulary. Its hard to make a decision if you dont know the following terms PPO A preferred provider organization. This is a health plan that doesnt typically limit you to in-network healthcare providers (or make you get referrals for specialists) but will require you to pay higher out-of-pocket costs for out-of-network healthcare providers High Deductible PlanA plan that requires you to pay for most of your care (doctors and prescriptions) until you meet your deductible. Qualifies you to open an HSA or Health Savings Account. HSA To help defray the costs of your higher deductible, youll have a health savings account into which you and your employer can deposit pre-tax money that can be invested and grow tax-free. If you use the money to pay for qualified healthcare expenditures, you generally wont have to pay any taxes on it when you use it. PremiumThe amount you pay- typically monthly- to purchase health insurance. Deductible The amount you pay out of pocket for healthcare before the insurer starts to pay its share. Co-pay The amount you pay for an office visit or prescription that supplements what the insurer pays (until you meet your out-of-pocket maximum). Coinsurance The percentage of a healthcare service you are required to pay until you meet your out-of-pocket maximum. The Big Decisions Now you can move on to picking the right plan for you. Here are the big decisions yo ull need to make. PPO vs. high deductible plan with HSA. If youre getting a plan through your employer, these are likely your choices. To make the call, look back at your medical usage over the past year.How many times did you see a doctor? How many prescriptions did you fill? If youre healthy and dont take a lot of medications, youre generally better off with a high deductible plan. If you have high expected medical expenses, including pharmaceuticals, youre generally better off with a PPO. Compare the deductibles against those premiums. Notice, I said generally better off. It is possible to follow those guidelines and make mistakes. Pick a health plan based on premiums alone, according to the Copatient survey. Premiums are important, but theyre not the only element to consider, says Justin Sydnor, Associate Professor at the Wisconsin School of Business. Add up your yearly premiums and compare what youre paying on a higher-priced policy to what youre saving on the deductible. If yo ur employer is making a contribution to a Health Savings Account to defray a high deductible, make sure to take that into account. Consider the doctors, formularies and other costs. Make sure you take into account the variables that dont have a price tag attached. Are the doctors that you want to see on your plan? Are the drugs youre likely to take? How much will you pay- in the form of a copay or coinsurance- every time you go for medical care? Look at last years health history, and assume your behavior will be largely the same. And if you cant afford the pricier plan?Remember A cheaper plan is better than no plan at all. With Kelly Hultgren

Why Staying in a Job You Hate May Be Good for You

Why Staying in a Job You Hate May Be Good for You Why Staying in a Job You Hate May Be Good for You Every day, I tell myself I want to be skinny. But what if I stopped and just accepted myself more instead?You may be wondering what this quote has to do with you and your career. The answer is everything.Many people havent yet reached their professional goals, or they are stuck in jobs with which theyre not happy. Perhaps youre one of these people. Rather than constantly reminding yourself that youre not where you want to be, you might be better off staying in a job you hate at least for the moment.Let me explainI welches at the gym this weekend when I heard a twenty-something say the quote at the top of this post to her friend. I inserted myself into the conversation bytelling this woman that she was skinny, and that one day, in the future, she would look back on pictures of herself from this period of her life and realize how skinny she was.The conversation then shifted to our pro fessional lives. I learned that this woman was a lawyer a professionally unsatisfied lawyer. She said she spends most of the day reviewing contracts and legal documents in seclusion. Her work environment didnt even come close to the collaborative environment she longed for.I chimed in again. Why stay in a job youre unhappy with? I asked.Financial freedom was the biggest reason, she said. Then, she shared advice a friend had given her Suck it up. This is what you have to do if you want to play in the big leagues.We debated the merits of her staying versus her leaving. Ultimately, she seemed resigned to stay where she was for a few more years, at least until she felt she was in a better position to make a meaningful move.Rather than focus on whats making her unhappy in the present,this woman has decided to accept herself professionally for the time being. That way, she can focus on getting a better job in the future.Its not always easy to accept the things we dont like or that dont f ulfill us in the moment, nor is it easy to resist the urge to change the situation as soon aspossible. Staying in a job you dont like isnt the most common advice youll find on a career site. Its also not the right advice for everyone but neither is the advice to immediately seek out a new opportunity. Everything is relative to your situation and your future goals.In a world that places so much emphasis on the need to be happy, it can be easy to overlook what we gain through struggle. In fact, listening to your feelings isnt always the best way to make professional decisions. Certainly, your present happiness should be considered, but it should also be integrated with your long-term goals.Looking to make a change or even totally reinvent yourself? Before you make a decision based on your current emotions, ask yourself What do I stand to gain by staying in a jobI hate? What doI stand to lose?The answers will help you decide what your next move should be.A version of this article orig inally appeared on theAtrium Staffing blog.Michele Mavi isAtrium Staffings resident career expert.

ASME Introduces New Advanced Manufacturing Fellowship

ASME Introduces New Advanced Manufacturing Fellowship ASME Introduces New Advanced Manufacturing Fellowship ASME Introduces New Advanced Manufacturing FellowshipApplications are now being accepted for the Societys newest Federal Fellowship opportunity - the ASME Advanced Manufacturing Fellowship. The Advanced Manufacturing Fellow will serve a yearlong term as an advisor to the America Makes innovation institute.America Makes, which launched two years ago as the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute and is managed by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining, was established to help the U.S. expand its capacities in additive manufacturing by facilitating collaboration among leaders from business, academia, non-profit organizations and government agencies, focusing on such areas as entwurf, materials, technology and workforce development. The ASME Advanced Manufacturing Fellow will be expected to provide scientific, technical, curricular and intellectu al leadership, as well as analytical support contributing to the advancement of the institutes goals, particularly as they apply to workforce development and educational outreach. The Fellow will also serve as a liaison with internal and external partners, including policymakers, to help America Makes enhance its network of education and workforce development solution providers and help organize the development of the body of knowledge on additive manufacturing processes, materials, and design understanding and methods - both emerging and currently in practice - that offer promise for engineering design and technical implementation in the production process. The Fellow will support the America Makes partners in the development and marketing of online, hybrid and traditional continuing education courses and workshops in the interest of developing the current engineering and technician workforce in industry. The Fellow will also provide instruction and content resources to engineeri ng and technology faculty at universities and community colleges to assist in evolving their curricula to prepare the technical workforce of the near future with the latest in additive manufacturing tools and techniques. The Advanced Manufacturing Fellow will serve for one year, preferably from January through December 2015, depending upon his or her availability, and will be required to relocate to Youngstown, Ohio, for the fellowship term. The ASME Foundation, which is sponsoring the program, will provide a stipend of $60,000 for the yearlong fellowship.Applications for the new fellowship will be accepted through Sept. 30. For more information on the ASME Advanced Manufacturing Fellowship program and how to submit an application, visit the programs page on ASME.org or contact Kathryn Holmes, director, ASME Government Relations, by e-mail at holmeskasme.org. For more information on America Makes, visit americamakes.us.Kathryn Holmes, ASME Government Relations

Boost Employee Productivity

Boost Employee ProductivityBoost Employee ProductivityYour finance kollektiv is almost always a well-oiled machine, hitting reporting deadlines and closing books with precision. But even companies with top-notch leadership occasionally wobble and suffer from subpar performance. As long as everyone recovers their balance and gets back in the groove, its all good. However, if management doesnt right the wrong, employee productivity keeps falling.As the leader of your department or company, its up to you to motivate workers and make sure employee productivity, morale and stress remain at healthy levels. To do that, you need to recognize the situations in which effectiveness on the job tends to slip, take steps to avoid them and take action if you binnenlandsee them.Here are five situations to watch for, along with advice for how to maintain and boost employee productivity.1. Ship on autopilotWhen theres a vacancy in management, a finance team can temporarily operate and still get its wo rk done. But at some point, someone needs to step in full time to steer the ship, make course corrections and set new goals. Of the CFOs responding to a recent Robert Half Finance Accounting survey, 70 percent said leadership vacancies either greatly impede or have a somewhat negative impact on workers performance.See an infographic, below, which shows how unfilled manager positions sap productivity.Employee productivity tip Dont take so long to hire. Most companies arent quick enough during the recruitment process, especially for positions in management. It takes an average of five weeks for employers to fill a senior position, according to another Robert Half Finance Accounting survey. The sooner you have someone in place to oversee a team and really care about its performance, the less worker productivity should slump.2. Exit of rock star employee This is especially damaging to smaller accounting firms, where workers typically wear many hats. If a payroll specialist leaves a la rge company, others in the department can cover various projects until the position is filled again. But in a small organization, where one person may be in charge of payroll, human resources and accounts payable/accounts receivable, a vacancy can seriously hamper productivity. Whats more, when top performers depart, other employees sometimes follow them out the door, which creates a staffing nightmare.In a new Robert Half survey, when employees were asked if they were likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months, more than four in 10 workers (42 percent) said they were. For respondents ages 18 to 34, the number likely to seek new employment in the next year jumped to 68 percent.Do you know How to Make Retaining Top Talent a Priority at Your Company?Employee productivity tip Prevention is key. Minimize the odds of losing talent with an effective employee retention program. This includes financial incentives such as bonuses and raises, but also quality-of-life perks - especial ly flextime and remote working arrangements - that help workers balance their professional and personal lives. Dont forget to have career-path conversations with top performers, who are less likely to leave if they see a future within the firm.But since most people dont stay with one employer for life, management needs to prepare for vacancies. Whenever possible, cross-train staff so the departure of one person doesnt hobble productivity. Also, develop a good relationship with a recruiter or staffing agency so you can quickly and easily fill vacancies.3. Fatigue falloutBeing busy is great for an accounting firm, but not so much for staff motivation. In fact, 31 percent of CFOs in our survey said the greatest cause of lost productivity is increased workload. Employees can multitask only so much before efficiency drops and the error rate increases. Plus, job satisfaction dips when working evenings and weekends becomes the norm rather than the exception.Employee productivity tip Incre ase staffing as necessary so your workers dont burn out. For peak periods like tax season and year-end closing, bring in part-timers or contractors to handle extra reports and other work. Also, encourage employees to use all their vacation days. Everyone needs to get away from the workplace to unplug, unwind and recharge.Need to hire? Let us help you find the right finance or accounting professional for your team.LET US HELP YOU HIRE4. Meeting maniaGroup get-togethers are necessary for planning, brainstorming and debriefing. But too much of a good thing is counterproductive.Employee productivity tip Take a close look at your teams calendar to see where you can cut back. Change weekly meetings to every other week where possible. Feel free to cancel a regular phone conference if the same information can be covered in an email. People are most productive and innovative when they have large blocks of time to focus on a task. Recognizing this fact, some companies even institute no-meetin g days.5. Bad tech rolloutsThis happens to countless workplaces You upgrade a system or platform with the goal of saving time and effort, but something goes wrong - leading to downtime - or worse, data loss. Management then scrambles to come up with a fix or workaround so productivity doesnt come to a grinding halt.Employee productivity tip Invest time upfront to reduce the risk of a failed upgrade. Start by meeting with all shareholders - staff, vendor, IT - to plan the rollout. Dont skimp on the QA phase have actual users test each functionality in addition to the developers. And if possible, opt for a series of smaller upgrades than one massive one.Your business can ill afford a slump in employee productivity. Recognize the situations when workplace efficiency is likely to drop, and then either head them off or take immediate action to get employees right back on track.What else helps with productivity? Read 5 Ways Managers Can Promote Happiness at Work

Model Resume Guide

Model Resume Guide Our resume examples offer inspiration, but more importantly guidance on the best way to structure and compose the elements. You would like your summary statement to be this compelling that hiring managers cant quit reading. An acting resume template makes it possible for you to be spared from the pressures of needing to create a resume from ground up. Our Acting resume sample will definitely help you discover the role you desire. The Battle Over Model Resume and How to Win It In addition, you can look for call center jobs on Monster. When applying for employment, you need to always be searching for an advantage over other applicants, and pointing out that youre a specialist in one or more regions of the job is a significant method of doing that. On the east coast, its the specific opposite. Take a look at the following links to get started browsing for exciting job positions in your town. Nobody expects you to have a good deal of work yet. Excellent lu ck and should you ever need help, dont hesitate to get in touch with us Make it seem clean with plenty of white space. Theres no design frills involved. Life, Death and Model Resume On the base of your resume, theres a section devoted to your special skills. You are able to list the particular kinds of classes your child has taken, along with the elements of each program. Making your resume is vital. Fun layout especially made for children. If you believe that youve got potential of being a prosperous teen model then theres excellent news for you, since the growth within this field is increasing day-by-day and you may easily work towards of becoming a top model. Some companies are always searching for models with experience. There are lots of modeling agencies, which cater the necessities of the teen models by giving them good web modeling assignments. If youre a model or actor whos actively searching for work, you can require an acting and modeling resume format that will help you put your most helpful efforts forward in securing work. The most significant step in the modeling career is to get an ideal professionalized portfolio. Also, it basically depends on your looks. Below you will discover an acting and modeling resume format which will help you easily compose a new resume. It is very important to realize that different fields demand that you write your resume in various ways. When writing a resume, it helps to review resume examples that are linked to your occupation. It is possible to look at generic resumes, but engineering resume samples will be the absolute most useful due to their specificity to your area. As a consequence, no 2 resumes will look the exact same. The Honest to Goodness Truth on Model Resume You cant send the specific same promo model resume to different business for assorted job. Dont invent modeling jobs to create your child appear good. When you submit an application for work outside the modeling industry you re predicted to have a resume. In addition, you can look for acting jobs on Monster. Remember to make certain you display your contact and any applicable representation information clearly on top of your resume, below your name. Please be aware that the posting of academic positions is at no charge. You ought to be aware that a great deal of resumes are screened by software that looks for keywords associated with the job which youre applying for. When its an on-line portfolio, do that with a hyperlink. The Benefits of Model Resume The Blank Resume Model can likewise be structured in the way which best presents your abilities and experience. Teaching jobs usually need specific degrees and certifications, so be certain to highlight your education. Training proves that youre serious. The Child Acting Resume Template was generally created for everyone who can perform a child actor. Work aspirants must be aware of a resume template instead of a programs vitae template. The templates are helpful since it will allow you to earn a professional resume even should you not have the idea of formatting a customized resume which could incorporate all the exact important particulars. Distinct templates are supplied for different purposes. Opposite to what you may have heard, the area of fashion modeling offers practically everyone a gunst der stunde to take part. Therefore, if your latest experience was in film, then all your film experience is going to be written on top, even if some of that experience may be older than your television or theater experience. When an entertainment industry professional sees your kid is altruistic and cares about helping others, that person may want to work with your son or daughter. Some folks might think that fancy is better, but in the event of a prosperous executive resume, easy and professional is the best way to go. Details of Model Resume Any roles both big and small ought to be included in an acting resume, in ad dition to any extra classes or training past a conventional education. All appropriate experience also needs to be included on your acting resume. If you are only beginning, you can consist of information like training, skills, etc.. Other than that, in addition, it showcases any distinctive skills present. At precisely the same time you do not need to list all youve done but the most essential roles and events first followed by others performances and emphasize on the critical roles you have performed. Achieving success in the modelling sector isnt always simple. In it, showcase all of the good work youve done to date. For that reason, its important to highlight upon your major accomplishments.

Resume Writing or Editing Ideas

Resume Writing or Editing Ideas The War Against Resume Writing or Editing Offering free resume reviews is one method to discover clients. If youre searching for he best resumes writing service, you have arrived at the proper place. There are many websites with tips around the internet, but most bring just a few them. On top of that, our cost of resume writing services is among the lowest on the industry. Written language skills are an essential part of many positions in virtually every business. You are also able to get a feeling of the internal language used within a specific industry or company. A technical writer should have strong communication skills, together with exceptional writing and grammar abilities. Your own personal writer will allow you to create a modern resume, dependent on your career story and meeting all of the high standards of your industry. Vital Pieces of Resume Writing or Editing Writing and editing is a rather wide category. Student tasked wit h broad array of dissertation writing guides. Writing and editing need a lot of interrelated abilities, and its challenging to understand what to include. Want to Know More About Resume Writing or Editing? Whats more, you can get assistance with the very best way to acquire the job offer and salary you have earned. A resume builder is an internet service which will help you make your resume from scratch. Analyze job ads You will discover lots of useful info on job ads. Even in the event that you customise it slightly, a fantastic recruiter will observe the template a mile off. Simply enumerating your abilities and experiences isnt enough. Trusting a specialist in rewriting or building a new resume will provide you with the confidence in knowing you have an appropriate document for employers to notice. Attempt to comprehend the market of the organization you are asking for work, and identify what sort of difficulties they could be going through. When it has to do with findi ng work in our preferred field, we certainly have to present our very best efforts. The website does not have any limitations concerning your professional experience and specialization. Know the purpose of your resume Some men and women write a resume as though the aim of the document was supposed to land work. If for some reason youre unhappy with your new documents, well work with you to rewrite them until youre Although its a formal document in 1 sense and need a professional feel to it, its also a document which should reflect enough of your personality to stick out from the crowd. Additionally, you can want to increase your LinkedIn profile. A professionally written resume or CV supplies a lot more than simply listing your skills in a normal way. So it is recommended to improve your CV writing. Whether youre looking for a resume, a CV or a cover letter, you can trust us.