As an undergrad I didn’t get involved in extracurricular student societies for two reasons. The first was that I felt like I didn’t have any free time to spare (a thought shared by many students, I’m sure). The second was that the idea flat out terrified me! I felt like my introverted nature would prevent me from making a difference and my ideas would never be heard.

Jump to my doctoral degree and I was applying for a scholarship that required a one-page description of my leadership roles. For me, this page was virtually blank. I panicked. I realized that people would notice this obvious gap on my CV and it would affect me negatively in the future. Around this time, vacancies on our department’s graduate student association executive opened. Although getting involved made me very nervous, I signed on for the role of Communications Rep. From what I had seen in the past, being the Communication Rep involved sending department wide emails and maintaining the website. That seemed simple enough and (lets be honest) it would begin to fill that hole on my CV.

Eight months in and I’ve realized that my time as the Communications Rep has been more than just an entry on my CV. At its core, this experience has provided exposure to situations that I’m guaranteed to face once my degree is over. Here is what I’ve learned:

1. New faculty members are required to volunteer on committees. Its inevitable. Whether it’s the library or faculty council, exposure to typical meeting logistics and agendas is invaluable. As a new assistant professor you will already be stressed out; why add inexperience with committee meetings to the mix?

2. Its a networking opportunity. I’m quite shy and soft spoken, but almost everyone knows who I am now because I regularly communicate with the department on behalf of our association. I think of it as a low stress way to network with my peers.

3. How to contribute. When I began my position I read our constitution to determine what the position required versus what I had seen people do in the past. Upon reading it, the Communications Rep was to publish a newsletter three times a year for students, faculty, and staff – something that had not been done for years. I now act as editor and gather information from other students about research experiences, recently published articles, and recap events from earlier in the term. Our first issue was a success and I’m happy that we can communicate and celebrate the successes of everyone in our department.

4. How to ask for help. This isn’t easy and I still struggle with it. At times, an association needs external help to hold events or purchase equipment so it is important to learn how to effectively ask for external resources or funding. For example, for our upcoming holiday party we looked for donations from the community for a charity raffle. I had NO IDEA how to do this. Who was I supposed to talk to? What do I say to them? Wait, I need to give them a letter too? So I prepared myself by asking around and doing some research online, went across the street to a store, felt completely awkward, and got a donation! This may seem trivial to some, but for me this meant learning a new skill and doing something I used to be scared of doing. Another example is that our executive recently renovated our 1970s-esque student lounge after asking for additional funds from the department and a university wide graduate student endowment fund. Our department now has a new student lounge and our executive gained valuable experience on how to implement a project.

5. CONFIDENCE. As researchers, we’re required to constantly propose and execute novel ideas. Since most of us at one time or another deal with negative thoughts or Imposter Syndrome, we need outlets to reassure ourselves that we know what we’re doing. The most valuable lesson that I learned was that I have ideas that will have an impact and I’m fully capable of executing them. Along with the newsletter, I organized a scavenger hunt during orientation week for the new students. We usually have a hard time getting first-year graduate students to come out to events early in the week. This year, we had about half of the new students participate and the event was a huge success. I was so nervous it was going to be a bust, but after this experience I feel so much more confident about presenting my ideas to the group and leading a project.

I know what you’re thinking: I HAVE NO TIME! I’m still selective of what opportunities and roles I take on; I do have a degree I’d like to get done in a reasonable amount of time. So I feel to get the most out of any experience you still need to be selective. In the end, make sure you enjoy it and have a passion for making a difference. Whether you decide to enter the world of academia or not, the bottom line is to GET INVOLVED. Don’t pass up the opportunity to learn invaluable lessons that will help make the student-to-career transition a less rocky one!

retrieved from GradHacker.org

Pictures of dead presidents have never made anybody happy. And how can you be successful if you’re not happy? And buying things with that all money isn’t much better. A new car, for instance, might tickle your fancy for a day or two–but pride of ownership is temporary.

Real success comes from the quality of your relationships and the emotions that you experience each day. That’s where these 10 questions come in.

Ask them at the end of each day and I absolutely guarantee that you’ll become more successful. Here they are:

1. Have I made certain that those I love feel loved?

2. Have I done something today that improved the world?

3. Have I conditioned my body to be more strong flexible and resilient?

4. Have I reviewed and honed my plans for the future?

5. Have I acted in private with the same integrity I exhibit in public?

6. Have I avoided unkind words and deeds?

7. Have I accomplished something worthwhile?

8. Have I helped someone less fortunate?

9. Have I collected some wonderful memories?

10. Have I felt grateful for the incredible gift of being alive?

Here’s the thing.  The questions you ask yourself on a daily basis determine your focus, and your focus determines your results.

These questions force you to focus on what’s really important. Take heed of them and rest of your life—especially your work—will quickly fall into place.

retrieved from Linkedin.com

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoon solive oil
• 1/3 cup chopped Vidalia onion
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms
• 4 cups packed baby spinach leaves or torn Swiss chard
• 2 large eggs
• 4 large egg whites
• 1/2 cup shredded smoked Gouda cheese, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon  salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• Cooking spray

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook 2 minutes. Add mushrooms; cook, stirring frequently, 4 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender. Add spinach; cover and cook 1 minute or just until spinach is wilted.

3. In a medium bowl, combine eggs, egg whites, 1/4 cup cheese, salt, and pepper; mix well. Add spinach mixture; mix well. Pour mixture into an 8-inch round cake pan coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup cheese over frittata. Bake 30 minutes or until eggs are set in center and cheese has melted. Cut into 4 wedges.

Retrieved from Health.com

Plan Your Work, Work Your Plan: Essential Career Competencies for

Ph.D. Students & Postdocs

Start: 02/15/2012 5:30 pm

End: 02/15/2012 6:30 pm

Finding and landing a professional position is more than simply completing a degree or completing a postdoc, internship, or temporary job. It is a complex process that varies by discipline and requires development of and confidence in your abilities, an aptitude to effectively network within and across disciplinary fields, and the capacity to analyze your skills, knowledge, and strengths.  In this workshop students will be exposed to the essential competencies sought by employers of Ph.D.s as identified in Plan Your Work, Work Your Plan: Essential Career Competencies for Ph.D.s (MSU Graduate School Publication).  Students will also assess themselves on the six essential career competencies and begin making their own individualized career and professional development plan. Students will also receive a copy of Plan Your Work.  Overall this workshop is designed to help you: recognize the skills you are acquiring that complement and go beyond your disciplinary specialization; understand the broad uses of those skills during graduate school, the postdoc experience, and your future career; identify ways to strengthen and consolidate those skills while you are a graduate student or postdoc. 

Presenter: Dr. Matt Helm, Director, Ph.D. Career Services.   Limit 150

Feeling cranky, fatigued and unable to focus? You might just need a drink of water, according to new research.

The small study, published in the Journal of Nutrition, tested mood, concentration and mental skills in 25 women who either were given enough fluids to remain optimally hydrated or were induced into a mildly dehydrated state. Dehydration was achieved through either exercise alone or by using both exercise and a diuretic drug that increased urination.

The women’s mood and cognitive abilities were tested during exercise and at rest under the different hydration conditions. On most mental tests, the women’s state of hydration didn’t affect performance, but being dehydrated did cause headache symptoms, loss of focus, a sense of fatigue and low mood both at rest and during exercise. The dehydration induced in the study was not severe: it was around 1% lower than optimal.

Although men weren’t included in the research, the results likely apply to them as well. So if you’re feeling a bit snarky or blah, it might make sense to hit the watercooler or have another type of refreshing drink — especially after a workout. Keep in mind that plain water or other nonalcoholic and caffeine-free drinks are best for fighting dehydration.

To check your own hydration state, peek at the color of your urine: if it’s darker rather than nearly clear, you need more water.

While the old maxim about drinking eight glasses of water a day has been widely debunked as myth, this and other research suggests that maintaining good hydration (if not quite that much!) is healthy.

Beta-carotene

Found in carrots, sweet potatoes, and green peppers, among other foods, this antioxidant is converted in the body to vitamin A and is important for healthy vision, a functioning immune system, and good skin. But the evidence isn’t really there to recommend it for staving off cancer. In fact, a 2004 study found that supplements may actually raise the risk of lung cancer in smokers.

Bottom line: Skip the supplements if you’re a smoker, and try to get your beta-carotene from fruits and veggies, whether you smoke or not.

Calcium

Our bodies need calcium—mostly found in dairy products like milk, yogurt, and cheese—to maintain healthy bones and prevent osteoporosis.

Bottom line: Supplements aren’t a bad idea if you hate dairy (and can eat only so much kale and canned sardines), but you may want to skip them if you’re prone to kidney stones or are a female over 70. A 2010 report linked supplements to heart-attack risk in older postmenopausal women. If you decide to go with supplements, don’t take more than 500 milligrams at a time, and pair them with vitamin D to improve calcium absorption.

Folic acid

Folic acid, which prevents neural tube defects such as spina bifida in babies, is found in fortified breakfast cereal, dark green vegetables, legumes, citrus fruit juice, bread, and pasta.

Bottom line: Getting 400 micrograms a day of this B vitamin, and 600 if you are pregnant or lactating, is a no-brainer. That amount should come from food, supplements, or both, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The jury’s still out as to whether folate combats cancer, heart disease, or mental illness.

Iron

You may not love the foods highest in iron (liver and other organ meats), but the mineral is critical for the proper functioning of red blood cells and, therefore, the prevention of anemia.

Bottom line: Try to get iron from dietary sources, which also include lean meats, seafood, nuts, and green, leafy vegetables. However, you may need a supplement if you’re anemic, or your doctor might prescribe them before surgery, says Jessica Anderson, a registered dietitian with the Coastal Bend Health Education Center, at the Texas A&M Health Science Center, in Corpus Christi. Women, especially those who are pregnant or menstruating, might also benefit.

Multivitamin

There is limited evidence that multivitamins may help prevent breast cancer, and an NIH panel in 2006 wasn’t convinced that popping the pills was worth it. Neither is the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which said the only benefit could be to reduce cancer risk in people with poor nutrition. And a large 2009 study failed to find any beneficial effects of the vitamins for cancer or deaths among postmenopausal women.

Bottom line: Multivitamins aren’t a bad idea if “you’re on the go,” Anderson says. “But don’t expect major lifesaving benefits.”

Potassium

Potassium can lower blood pressure, even out irregular heart rhythms, and counteract the effects of too much sodium. It’s found in bananas, raisins, leafy greens, oranges, and milk.

Bottom line: Consider a supplement if you’re taking potassium-depleting diuretics for a heart condition, or if you’re African American, a group that’s at higher risk for hypertension and heart disease. Keep in mind that too much potassium can be harmful to older people and people with kidney disease.

Selenium

The body needs only small amounts of this antioxidant, found in meats, seafood, eggs, and bread. A study found that taking 200 micrograms daily reduced the risk of prostate, lung, and colorectal cancers, but other studies have been “complete flops,” Anderson says. That includes a 2011 analysis.

Bottom line: Don’t count on selenium to lower your chances of getting or dying from cancer. It’s likely you’re getting enough from food sources, anyway.

Vitamin C

This much-touted cure-all, found in citrus fruits, berries, broccoli, and green peppers, just doesn’t make the grade when it comes to common-cold prevention. One study did suggest that taking vitamin C regularly might reduce the length of a cold by a day.

Bottom line: Try to get enough vitamin C through your diet. It’s fine to take a supplement, especially if you’re a smoker or nonsmoker who is often exposed to secondhand smoke. But there seems to be little point in upping your intake to combat sniffling and coughing.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D, which helps the body absorb calcium, is necessary for bone health. It’s mostly accessible through sun exposure, not food. Too little vitamin D can contribute to osteoporosis and rickets in children. Some evidence suggests that the vitamin may reduce the risk of type 1 and 2 diabetes and multiple sclerosis, but the jury’s still out on these benefits.

Bottom line: Even though very little sun is needed to get your quota of vitamin D, and some foods are fortified with it, deficiencies aren’t unusual. Supplements might be a good idea, especially if you don’t have much sun exposure, are over 50, or have dark skin.

Vitamin E

Once upon a time, researchers thought this antioxidant could protect the heart, but a large trial published in 2005 found that 600 international units (IUs) every other day neither prevented cancer nor lowered the risk of heart attack or stroke in middle-aged and older women. (More recently, a 2008 study found no benefit of 400 IUs every other day in middle-aged and older men.)

Bottom line: Forget the supplements and get your vitamin E from food (oils like safflower, peanuts, eggs, fortified cereals, fruits, and green, leafy vegetables). Bear in mind that cooking and storing foods with vitamin E can reduce the amount you’re getting.

retrieved from Health.com

Video Presentation and Discussion

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Time: 7pm

Location: MSU Union Parlors A, B and C

Stalking affects 3.4 million people each year.  Harvette Williams, Michigan resident and mother of two, was one of those people.  She couldn’t have imagined that Kevin Gary, a man she met at a networking event, would end up obsessively stalking her for years. 

Join us for a video presentation of the documentary E! Investigates: Stalkers, which details the stories of several stalking victims.  The presentation will be followed by a panel Q&A featuring Harvette Williams and campus/community representatives. 

January is National Stalking Awareness Month.  This year’s theme – “Stalking: Know It. Name It. Stop It.” – challenges everyone to fight this dangerous crime by learning more about it.  Stalking is a series of unwanted actions that make you feel afraid or in danger, including phone calls/texts/e-mails, following, damage to property, and other behaviors to control, threaten or frighten you.

For more information and resources, visit: www.safeplace.msu.edu

To view the event on Facebook, visit: https://www.facebook.com/events/312699195437048/

In my career I have reviewed thousands of resumes and conducted hundreds of employment interviews for both The Trademark Company and other businesses for which I have worked. In doing so, I got to see the good, the bad, and the downright ugly in terms of resumes, interviewing skills, and the like. For other CEOs looking to hire, here’s what I think makes a great candidate stand out from the good ones.

1.  Attention to detail

How many times have you heard this one, right? Pay attention to detail. Let me say it again: PAY ATTENTION TO DETAIL!

There’s a great story at the end of the movie Coming to America with Eddie Murphy. It goes something like this:

A man goes into a restaurant. He’s having a bowl of soup and he says to the waiter, “Waiter come taste the soup.” The waiter says, “Is something wrong with the soup?” He says “Taste the soup.” The waiter says again, “Is there something wrong with the soup? Is the soup too hot?” The man says again, “Will you taste the soup?“ “What’s wrong, is the soup too cold?” Replies the waiter.  “Will you just taste the soup?!”  “All right, I’ll taste the soup,” says the waiter, “where’s the spoon??” “Aha. Aha! …”

At this point you may be asking yourself, “So what does this have to do with identifying a great candidate?”

Not less than two months ago I received a wonderful e-mail from an applicant seeking to work for The Trademark Company. The e-mail was personally crafted. The note struck a wonderful tone emphasizing capability and a willingness to learn more about what we do here. Most importantly, the candidate emphasized attention to detail. I was sold. I was ready to open up the resume and see what they had to offer. And then, “Aha. Aha! …”

The applicant had failed to attach a resume. In the blink of an eye, all of the time spent preparing for this submission–researching me, the company, and the job’s requirements–vanished into thin air. Poof!

Some CEOs may have overlooked this and just asked for the resume. But you can’t say you have an eye for detail and then fail to deliver on the point. Everything job candidates do, from cover letter to resume and beyond, must prove that point. Otherwise they are just wasting your time. I passed on that candidate.

2.  Proofread

My contracts professor in law school told this one to the class one day. Although he was an otherwise socially challenged individual, this story has always stayed with me.

It seems that at some juncture he was involved in delivering a speech on some topic that involved a “public option.”  He had written and prepared the speech but had left the PowerPoint slide presentation to one of his assistants.

Well, as he began delivering his speech–a seemingly dry speech–he could not understand why a wave of chuckles and murmurs would, from time to time, arise from the audience. It was not until he neared the end of his presentation that he glanced up at the screen projecting the bullet points of his speech behind him. And right there, right in that moment, he understood with perfect clarity why his speech had evoked the unexpected reaction from the crowd.

If you omit the letter “L” from the word “public,” it won’t be flagged by spell check. It will, however, be picked up by anyone else reading the slides as you deliver your speech on the “pubic option.”

This could very well be you at your next sales presentation: pissed and embarrassed because you overlooked your employee’s failure to proofread his resume during the hiring process. So, check the candidate’s resume and cover letter for misspellings that spell check might have missed. In so doing you will make sure that you hire someone that’s thorough and doesn’t rely on spell check to do their job.

3.  Preparedness

One of the first things I always do after an interviewee leaves is to ask every single person who came into contact with them what they thought. Why you might ask? You never know what little windows into your prospective employee this may provide.

Once I asked one of our receptionists what she thought of a particular interviewee. I was very surprised to hear what she had to say. She said she thought the interviewee was pleasant but did have some trouble when she first arrived: It seems that the prospective employee had no idea who she was interviewing with, so the receptionist had to call around the office for 10 minutes until she could figure out who to notify that their appointment had arrived.

I thought this displayed a lack of preparedness on the interviewee’s part, especially as she was interviewing for a job that had primary scheduling responsibilities for me and would require her to know and keep track of all of our most important customers.

In another case, after a 45-minute interview the interviewee stood and said, “Mark, thanks for the second interview.” Big problem: My name is actually Matt. Nevertheless, I shrugged it off–perhaps I had misheard the applicant, or maybe he had simply had a momentary lapse. However, when I walked him to the door he proudly reiterated my name, “Mark, again thanks. I look forward to hearing from you.” Every fiber in my being yearned to reply, “Well, if I meet this Mark fellow, I’ll be sure to have him call you.” I did not. I also did not call him back.

A candidate should know everything about you that they can find out and engage you on a level that you will enjoy and that moves you one step closer to offering them the job.

4.  Phone and e-mail correspondence

Another thing that also gets overlooked is professionalism in e-mail and phone communications. I pay attention to the candidate’s e-mail address and how they answer their personal phone.

Sure we all have private lives, but we all have to be professional in dealing with employers–and, most importantly, prospective employers. So if a candidate’s e-mail address is “bigsexy@gmail.com” or “hunkaburninlove@yahoo.com,” think twice about hiring him. Gmail, Yahoo and other companies have a great price point for new e-mail addresses: free. There’s no excuse for not having a professional-looking e-mail address.

For me, an interview starts when I call you to set up the interview. Recently I called an applicant, and they must have been at a the reunion tour of Van Halen–because when the candidate answered, all I could hear was “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” blasting through my phone. I mean, it was so loud I could actually see people in my office starting to bob their heads to the tunes.

After a few attempts shouting into the phone–“Is [Name Omitted] there?”–finally the music departed and I was able to hear once again. The heads stopped bobbing in my office and the person on the other end said, “Speaking.” Ahhhh. Well, I know they love music…and that they lack judgement.

5.  Honesty is overrated

Yes, you want your potential employee to answer questions truthfully, but answering too truthfully may also show a lack of judgment. For instance, I often ask the hypothetical question, “If you were hired and six months after you were hired another opportunity presented itself, would you go on an interview for that opportunity?” You would be surprised at how many people say they would. Wrong answer!

Let’s take one of my more infamous examples. Once I was asking a prospective employee to explain an 18-month gap in his employment history. To this day I remember his response verbatim. It went like this: “Man, the whole work thing … ya’ know … like, wow.”  I was left mouth agape and speechless. Needless to say: He did not get the job.

retrieved from Linkedin.com

Tuesday, January 24, 2012