P R E M I U M
E D I T I O N
THE WORK ISSUE SPRING 2016
Tailored to millennials
Dress for the job you want
Employers gear jobs to a new generation
Expert tips to pick an outfit that will get you hired
SOCIAL MEDIA SAVVY • HOT CAREERS • COOL COMPANIES
THEIR WORDS
Massachusetts has
a diversified economy … This is exactly the type of growth you want to see.” Christopher Geehern, executive vice president of marketing and communications for Associated Industries of Massachusetts. [Page 4]
William DiAntonio, president and founder Reputation 911. [Page 7]
networking media such as LinkedIn. Gary Gekow, a recruiter and employment coach who leads workshops for job seekers. [Page 10]
positions posted right now.” Steven Taranto, Massachusetts General Hospital Director of Human Resources. [Page 14]
LENS | SPRING 2016
online resume.
We make a very strong distinction between social media like Facebook, versus professional
We have 900
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“Nowadays, Google is kind of like your
“I think the millennial cohort is looking for
jobs that will excite them. They’re looking to be able to telecommunicate and have flexibility on their schedule. Jon Bryan, a business and management professor at Bridgewater State University. [Page 16]
THE TEAM Sean Burke
PRESIDENT, GROUP PUBLISHER GateHouse Media New England
THE WORK WE DO
Lisa Strattan
SVP/EXECUTIVE EDITOR & PUBLISHER Wicked Local
Chuck Goodrich PUBLISHER
The MetroWest Daily News The Milford Daily News
Mark Olivieri PUBLISHER
The Enterprise The Herald News The Patriot Ledger Taunton Daily Gazette
Linda Murphy EDITOR
Emely DelSanto
PAGE DESIGNER Lens is a premium edition of GateHouse Media’s Massachusetts daily and weekly publications. These papers will publish up to 12 Premium Editions each year, with a surcharge of up to $2 for each edition. Current subscription term lengths reflect basic subscription rates without additional charges for Premium Editions. These papers will adjust the length of your subscription, which accelerates the expiration of your subscription, when you receive these special editions. © 2016 GateHouse Media. No reproduction or reuse of material without the express written consent of GateHouse Media. All rights reserved. To request permission to reprint any material from this publication, please contact Mark Olivieri at
[email protected]. To order additional copies, call 1-888-MY-PAPER (697-2737).
I
love my job. Not a days goes by that I’m not grateful I have a job, and even more grateful that job offers me the opportunity to meet fascinating and inspiring people. Dr. Corinne Slaughter is one of those people. I first met her when I was writing a feature story about people whose names were at odds with their professions. She’s a veterinarian who works with farm animals. In the interview, I found out she started the nine-year educational process of becoming a veterinarian when she was 41 years old, after raising four kids as a single mom. Read more on Page 7 about how she went from seamstress/waitress/ secretary all the way to the Royal Veterinary College in London, and finally realized her dream career. In “The Work Issue” of Lens, you’ll find plenty of information about fields with promising prospects now, and into the future. As expected, the healthcare field is booming, and not just for doctors and nurses. Read more about various
aspects of healthcare careers on Page 14 and elder care careers on Page 29. My job, like most, has changed over the years. I’m part reporter, feature writer, photographer, videographer, special section and premium edition editor, and social media maven. Social media is not only an essential for many types of work these days, it’s also a necessity for the job-hunter. Find out how to land a job through social media on Page 9; how reputation management firms reshape your online presence on Page 11, and how to create your personal brand on Page 33. If you’re pondering a post-graduate degree, check out Page 31 to see if the investment makes sense for your chosen field. Graduating from college this spring? You’re in luck; the job market is heating up. Find out more on Page 21, and check out Page 18 to get the right look for the job you want. Of course, not everyone is setting out on a new career path. So if you want to up your game in the job you have now, get time management tips on Page 34 and business etiquette tips on Page 23.
ON THE COVER
CONTENTS 4 On the upswing Outlook optimistic for Massachusetts jobs
IN FOCUS
7 Worth the wait For vet, it wasn’t too late to pursue her dream 18 The right look How to pick an outfit that will get you hired 24 The company you keep Some employers who go the extra mile for their workers
AT ISSUE
31 Extra education? Ponder the cost of a post-secondary degree
TO KNOW
9 The new resume The effect of social media on job searches today 10 To say or not to say Words to watch in an interview 12 Labors of love Public sector jobs demand effort, offer security 21 Into the real world Graduating college seniors enter a promising market 22 Manners matter Don’t underestimate the value of business etiquette 35 It all adds up Jobs numbers to know
TO DO
Photo by Greg Derr A closeup of professional attire options at Lord and Taylor in the South Shore Plaza.
11 Reputation management Shape what the Internet says about you 33 Building a personal brand Know what you’re known for
Story on Page 18.
Linda Murphy
34 Everyone gets 24 hours Tips for time management
INNOVATORS
14 Careers in care Wide spectrum of jobs as healthcare field expands
COMING THIS SUMMER What’s new in the world of health and fitness? In the next issue of Lens, we’ll take a look at the latest trends and fitness options for the whole family.
16 Make way for millenials Jobs for the next generation 28 Early education Child care has evolved into highly specialized field 29 ‘Age Boom’ What’s new in elder care LENS | SPRING 2016
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ON THE UPSWING B
OUTLOOK OPTIMISTIC FOR JOBS IN MASSACHUSETTS, ESPECIALLY FOR HIGHLY SKILLED EMPLOYEES
STORY BY GERRY TUOTI | PHOTOS BY MIKE GAY usiness is booming in Massachusetts, with the healthcare and high-tech industries fueling much of the state’s economic growth. “I think it absolutely reflects the strength and diversity of our economy,” said Ron Walker, the Executive Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development for Massachusetts. In 2015, Massachusetts added 73,800 jobs, the most in 15 years. Employment in the education and health services field grew by 3 percent, while the number of jobs in the professional, scientific and business services sector rose by 4.4 percent.
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Nurses and software developers are among the most in-demand workers in Massachusetts, according to the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, followed by truck drivers. “There’s also been some growth in construction, manufacturing and financial services,” said Christopher Geehern, executive vice president of marketing and communications for Associated Industries of Massachusetts. “What it speaks to is — and it’s almost a cliché to say — Massachusetts has a diversified economy … This is exactly the type of growth you want to see.” Given those trends, education is becoming
increasingly important when it comes to succeeding in the Massachusetts economy. “Education is key at all levels,” Walker said. “Massachusetts does a great job with four-year degrees.” The labor secretary added that education comes in other forms than bachelor’s degrees. Ten-year projections predict there will be a continued demand for the types of skills learned from vocational schools, trade schools and community colleges. Last year, Gov. Charlie Baker signed an order creating the Workforce Skills Cabinet, an ini-
tiative designed to better align the state’s job-training infrastructure to meet the needs of the economy. “It brings the Secretary of Education, Secretary of Economic Development and Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development together to leverage resources to meet the economic and workforce demands of the commonwealth,” Walker said. While he sees many positives in the job growth figures,
economic analyst Michael Goodman said not everyone is benefiting from the expanding labor market. “I do think that relatively strong performance masks a number of significant imbalances in the labor market,” said Goodman, the director of the Public Policy Center at UMass Dartmouth. “Job creation has not been evenly spread across the country and is disproportionately favoring those with high levels of skill and education.” While there have been many lowerskilled jobs created, “the wages and fringe benefits make it very difficult for those workers to make ends meet,” Goodman said. Jobs with “livable wages,” he said, typically require a bachelor’s degree or high level of skill. Still, he remains encouraged. “Both the state and the nation are in the midst of an economic expansion,” Goodman said. “Both are fully recovered and are regaining and adding on top of that the jobs that were lost in the Great Recession. We haven’t seen a period of job growth like this in Massachusetts since the late 1990s, with the dot-com bubble.”
TWO ECONOMIES? Home to world-renowned universities and hospitals, the Boston metro region is not only the largest population center in Massachusetts, it’s a major driving force in the state’s economy. “One of the real challenges going forward is the Boston-Cambridge tech corridor develops its own gravitational field,” Geehern said. The fact that it’s already a center of medical research and bio-tech research attracts more companies and qualified workers.” While that trend is positive in terms of adding jobs and value to the economy, other regions of the state aren’t benefiting in the same way. Companies farther away from Boston are more greatly impacted by traditional factors, such as the cost of health insurance and regulation, Geehern said. “A danger is that you’ll develop two economies: one inside 128 and one outside 128,” he said. Fueled by a stream of educated workers coming out of the colleges and universities in and around Boston and Cambridge, the state’s innovation economy has found a home inside the Route 128 belt. Research and devel-
opment companies, bio-tech firms, advanced manufacturing centers and tech start-ups continue to thrive there. “Areas of the state that don’t have that density or most highly skilled workforce have continued to lag,” Goodman said. Tom Perreira, director of the Bristol Workforce Investment Board, is very familiar with the workforce and employers outside of Route 128. Serving Fall River, Taunton, Attleboro and 11 other communities in Bristol County, he has seen the region’s economy change significantly as many factory and textile jobs have disappeared. Hospitals, not factories, are now the region’s largest private-sector employers, he said. He also sees a demand for skilled manufacturing and retail workers. While the Workforce Investment Board is successfully helping many unemployed people find employment, there are some jobseekers who could benefit from improving their basic skills, Perreira said. He recommends that people take advantage of training opportunities and services at statefunded career centers.
OPPOSITE: Healthcare and technology fields are booming in Massachusetts. Bottom left and center, occupational therapists and nursing assistants help residents at All American Assisted Living in Raynham. Bottom right, job seekers search for positions with the help of the Taunton Career Center. BELOW: Fox Rehabilitation exercise physiologist Peter Calandra, left, works with Suzanne Swensen, center, and Arthur Nato, right, during an excercise class at All American Assited Living in Raynham.
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“Employers are indicating trouble finding individuals who are job-ready for entry-level positions and possess teamwork skills, customer service, communication skills and common core job skill sets,” he said. “They tell us, ‘If you give us someone with mainstream skill sets, we’ll do the occupational training.’”
LOOKING FORWARD In 2012, the state released a study projecting job growth over the ensuing decade. The projection forecasted the number of jobs across the state would increase by 11.3 percent by 2022, with the number of jobs in healthcare and social assistance
rising by 21.4 percent. If those projections hold, healthcare, which is already experiencing rapid growth, will be the fastest-growing sector. The field includes nurses, medical assistants, home care aides, physical therapists and assisted living staff. That projection corresponds to a demographic shift. As members of the Baby Boom generation
become senior citizens, many will find themselves in need of medical treatment for age-related conditions, assisted living or home healthcare. “It also reflects the kind of relentless push of Massachusetts being the center of bioscience technology and discovery,” Geehern said. “As the technology is pushed into clinical use, it creates a market for more people in the medical field.” In state government, officials are working to improve access to education and training, as well as a program to combat chronic long-term unemployment, Walker said. While the state’s 4.7 percent unemployment rate is fairly low, people with disabilities, recently returned veterans and members of some ethnic minority groups have historically faced higher unemployment. There are 32 career centers across Massachusetts. “Our focus on the workforce side continues to be working with career centers to make sure they’re providing training and resources to citizens of the commonwealth — not only those who want new jobs, but also those training to get better jobs.” In 2016, the Executive
Office of Labor and Workforce Development predicts there will be 33,620 personal care aides in the state, a 8.37 percent increase over last year. The office also anticipates there will be more than 11,000 healthcare social workers, a 4 percent increase from 2015. Elsewhere in the economy, analysts expect there to be a niche demand for skilled manufacturing workers, such as computer numeric control machinists. The Bristol Workforce Investment Board recently started a program to bring unemployed adults to vocational high schools on the weekends for training in machining and welding. “There’s been a shift in the manufacturing workforce,” Perreira said. “It’s not in what you traditionally look at in laborintensive manufacturing. A lot of machinists are retiring, and there’s not an existing training pipeline.” The finance, transportation, education and retail sectors are also expected to grow in coming years. Highly educated and skilled workers will continue to have a major advantage in the evolving Massachusetts economy. “All of these areas are areas that have had job growth and where employers are having the most acute difficulty finding enough qualified people to run the business,” Geehern said. “Nursing, computer software, engineering and the technology fields are clearly the fields that are growing.”
TOP: The Taunton Career Center offers assistance for job seekers, such as this listing of job search websites.
WORTH THE W A I T
FOR VET, IT WASN’T TOO LATE TO PURSUE HER DREAM
STORY BY LINDA MURPHY | PHOTOS BY DAVE SOUZA
A
s Dr. Corrine Slaughter stitched up a hole in a cat’s mouth, she attributed the fastidious needlework to a former job as a seamstress. Back then, she was a single mother of four working three jobs to pay the bills. As each of her four kids graduated from high school, Slaughter tried to convince them to become veterinarians, but they chose other career paths. Then it finally dawned on her: “I realized I was the one who wanted to be a veterinarian,” she said. She was already surrounded by animals: a bunch of rescued cats, three horses and two dogs. By then she was remarried and after giving her husband, Thomas Slaughter, “101 reasons why I shouldn’t do it,” she decided to go for her dream career. So at age 41, as her youngest son was joining up with the Marines, she headed to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth for the first step, a bachelor’s degree in biology. “When I was there filling out the application, the woman looked at me and said, ‘Do you know how long this is going to take you?’” Slaughter recalled. Undaunted by the long stretch of study ahead of her, Slaughter said she replied: “I waited 40 years to pursue my dream ... If UMass doesn’t accept me, I’ll apply to URI.” She’d already proven she could handle challenges and unexpected hurdles. Slaughter, who grew up in the farmlands of Rochester, worked a series jobs in Greater New Bedford to help support herself and her kids throughout a marital separation and bitter divorce. She delivered newspapers in the morning and worked an office job during the day, in addition to juggling a third job as a seamstress for a bridal shop. She taught herself to sew to make outfits for her kids and she learned the intricacies of beading dresses. LENS | SPRING 2016
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and headed off to London for the Eventually she opened her own next phase. First two years of study custom-designed wedding dress in London, followed by three years business out of her house. of hands-on experience based out And then there’s the date she can’t forget: Jan. 6, 1996. “We had of Hertfordshire, about 25 miles north of London. “It was a really a fire in our house and lost everytough course. We lost 25 percent thing. I didn’t lose any animals of the students in the first year,” or children, but I was basically said Slaughter. homeless for a while.” She added In Hertfordshire, she worked another job to her list: waitressing out of a three-generation farm. at the Lebanese Kitchen in New The house she stayed in was Bedford. 450 years old. Like the English Her luck began to change in country vet James Herriot, who 1998 when a friend introduced wrote about his adventures her to her future husband, in the book “All Creatures Thomas Slaughter. “He Great and Small,” was looking for Slaughter cared someone to run [Closeup] for family pets his seafood proand farm anicessing business,” Merriam-Webster defines glass ceiling as “an intangible barrier mals. In the she said. within a hierarchy that prevents spring, she spent She went to women or minorities from three weeks work for him at obtaining upper-level positions.” lambing, or as Sea Tide; they she described married; and he it, “pulling baby was her biggest supporter as she headed off UMass sheep and shoveling poop.” In 2011, she graduated from Dartmouth in 2003. “It was very the Royal Veterinary College. She weird. Here I was this mom of turned 50 the same year. four (and a grandmother, too) When she returned from walking around campus with my England, Slaughter worked at vetbackpack.” erinary offices in Fall River and But she embraced it with her Swansea. She also opened her own typical enthusiasm. She invited mobile practice, Hidden Brook “the kids” to her house for study Veterinary Services, to provide ongroups, especially needed for site care for animals. A few years organic chemistry, one of the later, she opened the doors to her tougher courses. “I had a great own office of the Hidden Brook teacher — Dr. Toby Dill, he was Veterinary Services in Dartmouth. the head of the chemistry departA member of the Royal College ment,” she said. of Veterinary Surgeons, Slaughter When she graduated magna is the only veterinarian in the cum laude in 2006, Dill was so SouthCoast with training in large happy for her he picked her up animals, those found on the farms and spun her around, she said. where she regularly makes house Nowadays, Slaughter is vetcalls in the mobile unit. On this erinarian to Dill’s dog, an Old particular day, after stitching up English Sheepdog named Sally. She applied to several veterinary the cat’s mouth, Slaughter got a call to help a sick chicken, and in programs and out of the blue, the afternoon, she was heading to she got an invite from overseas. Middletown, R.I. to vaccinate five The prestigious Royal Veterinary sheep. College in London sought her out When asked what kept her and asked if she wanted to apply. motivated on her long journey to “It was meant to be,” she said. attain her goals Slaughter simply So at age 45, Slaughter left her replied, “I’m stubborn.” husband behind in Dartmouth 8
LENS | SPRING 2016
“IT WAS VERY WEIRD. HERE I WAS THIS MOM OF FOUR (AND A GRANDMOTHER, TOO) WALKING AROUND CAMPUS WITH MY BACKPACK.” Dr. Corrine Slaughter
TOP: Dr. Corrine Slaughter plays with her Springer Spaniel, Jimmy. CENTER: A special laser that promotes faster healing is used on a cat. BOTTOM: Dr. Slaughter removes stitches from a dog’s stomach.
THE NEW RÉSUMÉ Story by Brian Benson
Photos by Marshall Wolff
THE EFFECT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON JOB SEARCHES TODAY
S
ocial media is growing in importance for job seekers, and it can help and hurt someone’s chances at landing their dream position, career experts say. “We make a very strong distinction between social media like Facebook, versus professional networking media such as LinkedIn,” said Sharon resident Gary Gekow, a recruiter and employment coach who leads workshops for job seekers. Experts say recruiters are increasingly looking at LinkedIn profiles as
they search for talent, and such profiles are becoming even more important than a résumé. Andrea Turner, vice president of operations at The Training Associates in Westborough, said a LinkedIn profile is a job seekers’ brand. It shows publicly the work they have accomplished, recommendations and other valuable information. “There’s really no more selling yourself by a piece of paper. It comes down to building a brand,” said Turner, whose company hires employees for its Westborough office as well as contractors
around the world who provide training services to companies. A decade ago, recruiters relied on information and references that job seekers provided to employers. Now, recruiters can find out much more information on their own by perusing professional networking websites, she said. Turner said job seekers should make sure their profiles are updated, have professional photos and show lots of connections and activity in groups. “They’re building this online community for
themselves,” Turner said. Gekow said personal social media accounts can pose problems. He said he’s heard about people running into problems because of photos on social media of them drinking or being on vacation when they said they were sick. Gekow said people should separate professional and personal social media.
Employment specialist and career coach Gary Gekow says professionals’ profiles on LinkedIn are a key component of their resume — becoming even more important than the resumes themselves. LENS | SPRING 2016
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Employment specialist and career coach Gary Gekow runs a website called resumeyourcareer.com.
TO SAY OR NOT TO SAY Those in the know give their takes on what you should, and shouldn’t, say in a job interview “What I wouldn’t like to hear would be issues of constraints to their working. In other words, ‘Well, I can only work Tuesday and Friday.’”
Turner said people should keep social media posts clean, particularly ones made publicly. Meanwhile, legislation introduced by state Sen. Cynthia Creem, D-Newton, aims to help ensure private social media posts are private. Creem’s bill prevents employers from requesting prospective and current employees’ passwords and user names for personal social media accounts and pre-
vents employers from requiring employees to add people to a personal social media account’s contact list. She said she is “thrilled” to see the bill, which imposes similar restrictions on schools and their relationship with students, pass the Senate. The measure, which is currently in the House, helps distinguish between public and private social media postings.
It also includes exceptions for certain circumstances when employers or schools need to ensure compliance with state and federal rules or are conducting certain investigations. Chris Geehern, of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, said his organization is working to make sure the appropriate exceptions are included as the bill works through the legislative process. Geehern said employers have to be careful when they look at social media because they could face discrimination accusations based upon what they learn about a job seeker they reject. “Employers tread very carefully in this whole area of social media,” Geehern said. He said employers generally search on Google for someone. They are looking for information about a candidate’s professional accomplishments and suitability for the job. Geehern said they are generally not interested in uncovering old fraternity photos from a candidate’s college days. He said social media can give job seekers access to reviews of a company, salary comparisons and other important information. Geehern said employers are trying to learn more about the role of social media. “It’s a new world for most employers,” he said.
Dudley Darling, general manager of Juniper Hill Golf Course in Northborough
“When one of their first questions is ‘When will I get my first raise?’” Elaine Baci Snow, Human Resources Manager at Imperial Cars
“The one thing I would say to applicants — and it’s amazing how many of them don’t do this — but, do your homework. Know the company…To me the impression that gives is, are you really interested in a job at this company, or are you just interested in a job?” Joya Casey, HR director, MetroWest YMCA, Framingham
“‘How much money am I going to make and what are my benefits?’” Dawn Ross, Framingham State University’s director of career services
“What makes you stand out? Don’t just give the answer you think they want to hear. Be honest and accentuate what really makes you stand out from the competition.” Wendy Caruthers, senior vice president of human resources for Boston Scientific
“A lot of people come in and say they worked 10 jobs in the last two years. That’s the worst thing you can say. The best thing you can say is you’ve been with one company for numerous years.” Alex Voyiatzis, owner of Pizza Chef in Milford
COMPILED BY METROWEST DAILY NEWS STAFF
REPUTATION MANAGEMENT COMPANIES SHAPE WHAT THE INTERNET SAYS ABOUT YOU STORY BY JIM HADDADIN PHOTOS BY JOHN THORNTON
A
fter she was crowned Miss Arkansas USA 2016, Abby Floyd faced a modern-day conundrum. Floyd wanted to reshape her personal brand. She was preparing to represent her home state in the Miss USA competition, but when people searched her name on Google, her teenage persona “flooded” the results. Floyd, a former teen beauty pageant winner, said the most prominent hits on Google included photos of her taken a few years earlier. The pictures were either “outdated” or didn’t represent her “clearly,” she said. “There was never anything bad or negative out there,” Floyd said. “It’s just not what I wanted people to see when they first looked me up or were
searching for me.” Floyd consulted with a team of PR experts at Reputation 911, a Mendon company that specializes in online reputation management. They helped her get the images removed and achieve better search rankings for other content that reinforced her new image. William DiAntonio, Reputation 911’s president and founder, said the articles and websites that appear when people search your name on the Internet are increasingly important not only for beauty queens, but also the average job seeker. “Nowadays, Google is kind of like your online resume,” said DiAntonio, a former private investigator who founded the company five years ago. With a staff of 10 to 15 people, DiAntonio helps clients rejigger the information that appears in web searches, whether by getting negative content removed, or pushing more flattering
content to the top of the list. In some cases, that Web history might include a past arrest, an embarrassing photo or an offhand remark on social media. Some employers might even be turned off by a bad restaurant review penned by a potential employee, DiAntonio said. In other instances, job seekers simply don’t have enough polished content available about them online to impress an employer. DiAntonio’s staff creates professional websites, social media profiles and other content to help burnish his clients’ Google results. “You’re being judged now on how you look online,” he said. For those with a minimal presence on the web, brand management can be a costly endeavor. Dave Caputo, owner of Positronic Design, another reputation management
company in Holyoke, said his firm charges around $2,000 per month for services such as building websites. In some cases, projects can stretch on for as long as six months while Caputo’s team works to improve his client’s search rankings, often by building a series of sites that help move one positive piece of content to the top of Google’s list. “You’ve got to do a lot of work to convince Google one thing’s more important than another,” he said. Caputo agreed search results are increasingly relevant for people seeking a new career. “If what people feel about you is going to affect your money, your bottom line, then obviously you need to care about that,” Caputo said, “because that is where people go to look up information about other people now.”
Reputation 911 employees Holly Blade, left, and Kim Mahan work with owner William DiAntonio at the Mendon office.
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NUMBERS TO KNOW Average annual income for public sector workers in Massachusetts Police officers
$60,000 Firefighters
$55,000
LABORS OF LOVE
STORY BY JESSICA TRUFANT
School teachers
$52,000 Median salary statewide
$57,000 SOURCE: U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
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W
hen he joined the Fall River Police Department nearly four decades ago, Sgt. James Machado said the job provided a sense of security he wouldn’t have found in the private sector.
LENS | SPRING 2016
PUBLIC SECTOR JOBS DEMAND EFFORT, OFFER SECURITY
“You wouldn’t make an exorbitant amount of money, but you’d always have a job,” said Machado, who also serves as executive director of the Massachusetts Police Association. “For many years, people would always say ‘there will never be layoffs.’”
But the public sector wasn’t immune from the Great Recession, and Machado said tight budgets and limited resources hit fire, police and school departments in unforeseen ways. Fall River laid off dozens of
Photo by Marc Vasconcellos ABOVE: Brockton firefighters battle a blaze during a house fire. Photos by Greg Derr BELOW: Quincy police motorcycle officers clear the way for the start of a parade. OPPOSITE: Third grade teacher Rachel Mack works with her students in Rockland.
officers and firefighters in 2009, and other public employees across the state and nation saw layoffs, while salaries stayed stagnant or were slashed. The economy has greatly improved in the last five or so years, and many positions that communities cut are being restored. Those who work in the classroom or for police and fire departments say public service is still a secure career choice and rewarding in other ways. “I think generally it’s driven by a desire to help out and make your community better, if you see things wrong and you want to right them,” Machado said. “You have some security people don’t have in the private sector, but more so it’s a rewarding career.” In 2014, Massachusetts police officers had an average annual income of nearly $60,000, while firefighters made $55,000 on average and elementary and secondary school teachers about $52,000, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The annual median salary statewide was about $57,000. Those salaries were slightly higher in cities such as Boston, Cambridge and Quincy, where police officers and
that such jobs are “truly a labor of firefighters on average made more than $61,000 in 2014. Teachers in love.” “While we’ve worked hard those cities made on average nearly $52,000, with elementary teachers over the years to increase benefits, staffing and equipment averaging $70,000 per year. levels, the reality is Unions provide that we are still in public servants a very dangerous a degree of job [Closeup] profession and security not Pharmacists are at the every call could afforded to top of the pay charts in the be our last,” he employees in retail realm. As of May 2014, said in an email. private industry. the median annual wage for pharmacists was $120,950. “We take an oath According to a to protect and January report serve the people from the U.S. of our community Bureau of Labor and those are our guiding prinStatistics, public-sector workers ciples.” had a union membership rate Tim Considine of the Bureau more than five times higher than the private-sector workers in 2015 of Labor Statistics said projected job growth for firefighters and – 35.2 percent vs. 6.7 percent. police officers between 2014 and Median weekly pay of nonunion 2024 is about 5 percent, while workers was also about 21 peroverall employment nationwide cent less than union workers, or will increase by about 6.5 percent. $776 vs. $980. Public employees Those projections, however, also belong to public pension sysonly take new positions into tems, which promises all vested account, Considine said. While employees a fixed, predictable departments nationwide expect pension at retirement age. to add about 34,000 new officer Although careers in public positions, there will be nearly a service have perks, Edward Kelly, quarter-million openings through president of the Professional 2024 due to retirements. For fireFire Fighters of Massachusetts fighters, there will be more than and a Boston firefighter, echoed 110,000 job Machado’s sentiment opening through 2024 – 95,000 of which will result
from replacement needs. The number of teaching positions will increase about 6 percent at the elementary and middle school level, Considine said, and more than a half-million positions will open across the country due to retirements. Arlie Woodrum, the dean of the college of education at Framingham State University, said a generation of teachers is approaching retirement, creating an opportunity and demand for new educators. The number of students entering Framingham State’s education program has remained steady, but Woodrum said the profession itself has become “far more demanding than it used to be. “Massachusetts is ranked number one in the country for education, and part of that is a result of the high demands placed on candidates coming into schools of education, who must go through rigorous curriculums,” he said. “Schools are asking for more highly trained teachers, otherwise they don’t get licensed, or they don’t get a job.” The demands and expectations of other public service jobs are also evolving and expanding. While police officers were once seen strictly as crime fighters, Machado, the Fall River police sergeant, said they now act as care givers and social workers as they grapple with issues like homelessness and addiction.
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MEDICAL FACILITIES OFFER WIDE SPECTRUM OF JOBS AS HEALTHCARE FIELD EXPANDS
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ith a staff of 26,000 employees, Massachusetts General Hospital is a city unto itself. It runs several cafes and cafeterias, gift shops, hair salons, libraries, a museum, a chapel, and a public safety division that is
CAREERS IN
BY DEBORAH ALLARD
CARE
larger than the police departments in some small towns — plus, a world-class hospital and multimillion dollar research program. It’s a powerhouse in the healthcare field with a 999-bed medical center and top-notch care in virtually every medical and surgical specialty. That’s a recipe for being a major employer in the region.
“We have 900 positions posted right now,” said Mass General Director of Human Resources Steven Taranto. Jobs in the field of healthcare are booming and are expected to have the fastest employment growth and add the most jobs through 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Jobs at Mass General run the gamut from food services and chaplains to nurse practitioners
and cardiovascular perfusionists. They’re recruiting dental hygienists, vascular technologists, grant managers, lab scientists, medical coders, interpreters and financial analysts to name a few. “Healthcare is a great industry,” Taranto said. “Healthcare at Mass General truly is all industries.” It’s not out of the ordinary for hospitals, health centers and doctor’s offices to offer the majority of jobs in their community today. In 2013, 16.9 percent of the
Photos Courtesy of Bristol Community College Students in the Health Sciences programs at Bristol Community College get hands-on experience.
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Massachusetts workforce worked in healthcare, according to David Smith, Massachusetts Hospital Association senior director of Health Data Analysis and Research. Smith said jobs in healthcare amounted to four times the number of people who worked in construction fields, twice the number of those in education, 2.2 times those employed in manufacturing, and 2.7 times more than those who worked in financial services. The MHA keeps close track of recruitment and employment in hospitals and health fields throughout the state. Opportunities in home health care are predicted to become even more bountiful as the population lives longer. “That’s in line with the basic tenet of the Affordable Care Act and preventing people from being hospitalized,” said Pat Noga, MHA vice president of Clinical Affairs, and a registered nurse. “It’s reinforcing the way we think of healthcare in the future.” Smith said hot jobs in healthcare today include various types of home health services, nursing, medical coding, occupational and physical therapy, pharmacy, case management, and nursing specialities. Advancements in healthcare mean even more new jobs will be created in the future. Many of the fastest growing occupations are in the healthcare field. By 2024, jobs for occupational therapy assistants is expected to grow by 42.7 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Physical therapy assistants, physical therapy aides, and home health aides were next on the list, followed by nurse practitioners and physical therapists. Gains are also expected for hearing aid specialists, optometrists, diagnostic medical sonographers, personal care aides, emergency medical
technicians, and nurse midwives. At Bristol Community College in Fall River, a new $27 million Health Sciences Technology building is set to open by summer. It will fill the need for additional healthcare and science curriculum for a growing number of students interested in those fields. BCC offers seven associate
degrees in healthcare and multiple medical certificate programs to hundreds of students. “Healthcare is very fast growing,” said Patricia Dent, BCC dean for Health Sciences. BCC is offering new degree programs in biology, biotechnology and forensic DNA, and veterinary healthcare, to its already
popular degree programs in clinical lab science, dental hygiene, biomedical manufacturing technology, health information, nursing, and occupational therapy. Certificates are offered in medical coding, electrocardiography technology, emergency medical technician, pharmacy technician, phlebotomy and more. “We really try to meet the need in the SouthCoast region,” Dent said. “We always want to be responsive.” In the city of Fall River, Saint Anne’s Hospital, run by Steward Health, employs 1,500 and has about 100 open jobs each week. Southcoast Health, the entity that owns Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River, St. Luke’s in New Bedford, and Tobey in Wareham employs 7,300. Charlton alone reported 2,437 workers in 2013, making it the city’s largest employer. Saint Anne’s trains more than 500 students each year through affiliations with more than 150 secondary and grad programs, ranging from clinical fields like nursing, rehabilitation, phlebotomy, social work, radiology, to medical records and interpreter services. “Many of these students go on to become hospital employees,” said Kathy Finn, director of Professional Practice, Research and Development at Saint Anne’s. Saint Anne’s is currently hiring physical therapists, registered nurses, emergency room technicians, surgical technicians, nurse assistants and ultrasound technicians. Steward Health’s Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton is consistently looking for registered nurses and hires new graduates. They also expect the demand for trained surgical technicians, medical technologists and nursing assistants to continue. Good Samaritan posts an average of 50 jobs at any one time, and employs roughly 1,800. LENS | SPRING 2016
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ROLLING OUT JOBS FOR A EMPLOYERS GEAR OPPORTUNITIES TO MILLENIALS
NEW GENERATION STORY BY CODY SHEPARD | PHOTOS BY MARC VASCONCELLOS
G
one are the days of employers only offering 9-to-5 jobs during the week with little vacation time. The millennial generation is here and won’t be going away anytime soon. Employers across the country — and even the globe — are changing
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job descriptions and creating new positions to cater to a new age range. They are for people roughly ages 18 to 34 and include birth years ranging from the early-to-mid-1980s to the late 1990s. And, according to several recent studies, millennials are expected to make up more than 50 percent of the global workforce by 2020.
“As the baby boomers retire, there certainly is going to be a need to address the wants and needs of millennials,” said Jon Bryan, a business and management professor at Bridgewater State University. Those desires range from flexible hours to competitive benefits and wages to the ability to learn while working.
ABOVE: Mike Rodrick, from Sign Design, rolls up a photograph in Brockton. Sign Design, like many companies today, offers jobs and opportunities that appeal to millenials.
[Closeup] According to the Bureau of Labor
level or expe“I think Statistics, those with a bachelor’s degree rienced and the millenor higher spend the most amount of they could nial cohort time working at home. The BLS’ American Time Use Survey for the come work is looking years 2010-14 found 37 percent either for us right for jobs that worked out of their home, or added to out of high will excite their workdays after hours at home. school or them,” Bryan trade school,” said. “They’re he said. “Most looking to be able people are within that age group.” to telecommunicate and have The company, which has 65 flexibility on their schedule. They employees, also has designers, fabwant to engage in work and do a ricators and installers, as well as good job at it.” The trend can be seen at several administrative positions. “I’d say all our designers actubusinesses in the greater Brockton ally fit within that age range,” region. Ferrigno said. “Probably 50 to Sign Design, which is located 75 percent of our employees are on Liberty Street in Brockton, within that group.” provides custom design, producOther companies with an older tion, installation and service to workforce recognize the shift thousands of businesses. It is a and are looking to hire younger manufacturing, sales and service workers. facility all together in Brockton. Among them is Jones & And the company hopes to Vining, a footwear company with attract millennials, said Ron administrative offices in Brockton Ferrigno, the company’s owner and a manufacturing facility in and general manager. Bridgewater. It’s one of the few “We have a wide range of jobs remaining footwear last companies, – technicians that can be entry
creating wooden shapes, called lasts, similar to a human foot that are used by shoemakers to manufacture and repair footwear. There are only a handful of people left in the world who are manufacturing shoe lasts, and Jones & Vining is the only American manufacturer. Because the designers are baby boomers who are nearing retirement, the company hopes to attract millennials as it expands its Bridgewater location. “Model making for footwear is slowly becoming a lost art with most master model developers in the latter part of their working careers,” said Charles Liberge, the company’s executive vice president. “J&V is beginning to work with local trade high schools, colleges and trade associations in order to recruit, train and establish a new breed of millennium model makers.” Millennials also want to have fun while they’re working. Ferrigno said he knows the trend
is for companies to offer unlimited vacation time, games at work and free food, but there needs to be a balance. “Sometimes it’s a ‘get your work done and everything else doesn’t matter’ kind of philosophy. We’re not there,” the Sign Design owner said. “We’re more of a production facility. We need probably 50 percent of employees to be here and producing to be successful.” But he believes his is a fun business that offers competitive wages and a bonus program, and one that understands family comes first. As for the future, Bryan believes companies might need to shift what they offer to attract millennials. “The technology is changing,” he said. “It’s clear that the millennials who are coming out of school, college or technical school will have more of the skill sets and attributes that these employers are looking for. They have to do anything necessary.”
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HERE’S HOW TO PICK AN OUTFIT THAT WILL GET YOU HIRED
THE N RIGHT LOOK
othing is more unnerving than walking into a job interview. When it comes to making a solid first and lasting impression, your visual resume is as important as the one printed on that fancy ivory paper.
STORY BY DANA BARBUTO PHOTOS BY GREG DERR
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Pick the right outfit and “walking in you send an instant signal that you’re serious,” says Mary Lou Andre, who runs DressingWell.com, a wardrobe and fashion consulting firm in Needham.
T H E
Andre, author of the book “Ready To Wear: An Expert’s Guide to Choosing and Using Your Wardrobe,” advises to make fashion choices that amp up confidence — something that is always en vogue.
“Style is a very strong communicator,” Andre says. “It lets people know you are a current thinker.” To differentiate yourself so you actually get hired, Andre tells clients to follow the “Four Good F” words:
fit, fabric, function and flair. “A well-functioning wardrobe can put you at ease,” Andre says. Her final piece of advice: “Put that hand out. Make eye contact and own your power.
G O O D
F
F O U R
Lisa Duncan gets some fashion help as she starts the search for a new career. Fashion consultant Mary Lou Andre helps her find business professional outfits and accessories at Lord and Taylor in the South Shore Plaza.
W O R D S
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FU N C T I O N
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Develop a look to match your lifestyle, Andre advises. “Take core pieces through the paces of your typical day.” If you’re a commuter, consider a good tote bag to store pumps for a quick change. Make sure that cute slit in your skirt doesn’t reveal too much when you’re seated. And don’t make outerwear an afterthought. “You might ride the elevator with the person you’re interviewing with.” Select protective and sharp jackets and coats for each season.
FL A I R
Master the first three “F” words, then add your own accoutrements such as a pop of color, jewelry or scarf. And remember, a little accessorizing goes a long way.
FA B R I C FI T Ill-fitting clothing sends a negative message. If clothes are too big, “you’re literally drowning,” Andre says. Too tight and you’ll feel restricted. “Proper fit is the single most important factor in wearing your clothes well.”
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Stiff and heavy fabrics are passé, Andre says. Seek textiles that enhance a polished appearance. “If you sweat when you’re nervous, you need fabrics that breathe.” Opt for lightweight wool and 100 percent cotton dress shirts. Avoid fabrics that easily wrinkle, like linen.
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M U S T - H A V E S MEN
WOMEN
• dark suit in black, navy, gray or brown • a modern blazer • crisp cotton dress shirt • tie • dress shoes
• black jacket • pants • skirt • dress • cardigan • shoes you can walk in “You’re not smiling if you’re feet hurt,” Andre says.
I N A J O B I N T ER V I E W FASHION DO’S • Make sure everything is wrinkle-free and without stains or holes. • Never underestimate the power of the jacket. It should be fitted and in good repair. “It’s a garment that communicates good business.”
• Blue is a color that looks great on every skin tone. • Tone down makeup. A little lipstick and mascara freshen the face. • Look organized. Carry a portfolio binder with pens, resume, etc.
FASHION DON’TS • Don’t wear jeans, even if they’re nice.
• Don’t wear ill-fitting clothes that wear you.
• Don’t wear too much perfume or cologne.
• Don’t show too much skin. Watch necklines and hemlines.
• Don’t be afraid of overdressing. It shows respect for the process.
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GRADUATING SENIORS ENTERING A PROMISING MARKET AFTER COLLEGE STORY BRITTNEY McNAMARA | PHOTO BY JACK FOLEY
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s graduation for college seniors approaches, job anxiety grows and grows. Who will hire a grad with no experience in the field? What happens when you apply and apply but no one calls you back? College career counselors
have good news for those about to enter the “real world,” however. As the economy grows, the stock market rebounds and baby boomers retire, some say the job market is heating up and will only get hotter. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the country’s unemployment rate sat at 4.9 percent as of January 2016, and at 4.7 percent in Massachusetts. The state has added more than 75,000 jobs since Deccember 2015. Dawn Ross, Framingham State University director of Career Services, said students have a great shot at landing a job right now.
“I think from my perspective, we have a lot of employers that want to be partners with us, to come on campus to recruit our students, and to offer internships and jobs,” Ross said. “It’s a very wonderful market right now, definitely a student market.” Kate Basch, career coach at MassBay Community College, said students studying fields like nursing or STEM are entering a booming market, ripe for graduates. “Healthcare is growing because you have an aging population,” Basch said. “High tech is a sector growing really fast with the digital revolution.” Ross said
Framingham State’s computer science majors, early childhood education graduates and accounting and finance majors are also seeing great employment opportunities. Jobs aren’t saved for only those who have a specialized degree, though. Regis College’s Susan Clancy Kennedy, director of the Center for Internships and Career Placement, said the key to getting any job is translating the skills you’ve learned into ones the employer is seeking.
INTO THE
REAL WORLD LENS | SPRING 2016
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MANNERS MATTER STORY BY LINDA MURPHY PHOTOS BY EMELY DelSANTO
“I think one of the things that college graduates (particularly with liberal arts backgrounds) Clancy don’t really understand (is) it’s Kennedy all about the marketable skills,” runs students Clancy Kennedy said. “If I’m an through an exercise English major, I could still be a where they take some pharmaceutical sales representaof their experience, say waiting tive. Look at the job tables, and get creative description, look at as to how that applies the first couple of to a job they want. “IT’S A VERY requirements. Say, “(By waiting tables) WONDERFUL ‘when have I had to they’ve learned cusMARKET do that? When have I tomer services, how had to take initiative to manage multiple RIGHT NOW, on something?’ Match priorities and think DEFINITELY your experiences with quickly on their feet,” A STUDENT what they’re looking she said. for.” Those are the skills MARKET.” Those skills, Ross a student might put Dawn Ross, said, are likely difon a résumé for a job Framingham State ferent for each job. in advertising. University director of Career Services Students shouldn’t With the job send out one blanket market going “gangrésumé, she said, but busters” as Clancy rather tailor the documents for Kennedy put it, Basch said it all each application. comes down to networking. “One résumé doesn’t fit all,” “I say to the students, preRoss said. “I tell this to every stutend… you’re starting your own dent.” business and you need someone to If you’re applying for a creative design your web page. Someone job at a small start up, Ross said you really like and respect a lot your résumé should reflect that. says, ‘I have the perfect person It shouldn’t look the same as if for you,’” Basch said. “You’d be you’re applying for with a large so grateful. That (networking) is corporation. More important than going to be the thing that pulls the look, Ross said, is the content. your résumé from the rest.” 22
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I
f you think business meals are all about enjoying the food, think again. In fact, they’re about everything but satisfying your appetite, said international etiquette expert Sharon Schweitzer. The founder and CEO of Protocol & Etiquette Worldwide, Schweitzer travels the globe sharing her knowledge of business protocol and etiquette to companies, individuals and even universities. Much of this knowledge she picked up while practicing law for 15 years with a law firm that worked with tech companies and as a labor and employment lawyer. As a self-described “third culture kid,” who grew up living in various corners of the world, Schweitzer now advises clients internationally including those in Japan, Czechoslovakia and Canada. Author of “Access to Asia,” Schweitzer was recently in Hong Kong working on a National Geographic project, “Confucius was a Foodie.” “In business meetings, people want to judge you authentically, especially in Asia.
10 TIPS FOR BUSINESS MEALS TO NAVIGATE THE BUSINESS MEAL SUCCESSFULLY, SCHWEITZER OFFERS THE FOLLOWING TIPS
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BUILD THE RELATIONSHIP
Business meals are not scheduled because the host thinks their guests are hungry. Make it about building relationships and getting to know your host, client, or guest. Research your meal companion beforehand. What is happening in that person’s industry? Ask intelligent questions.
Schweitzer tells employers who are deciding between equal candidates to take them out to lunch separately. The lesser candidate will disqualify themselves through poor or mediocre manners. They’re all about building relationships,” she said. Asian cultures have very finely tuned and sophisticated protocols that have developed over long periods of time. Japan in particular is one of the most formal cultures, she said, due in part to the close proximity of the residents of the tiny island. In the United States, by contrast, vast stretches of land have made for a more informal society. “I tell people, France and Japan are two of the most formal cultures in the world and the United States and Australia are two of the least formal.” But in her experience, cultural gaps are narrowed when each party makes the effort to learn the other’s culture. “When they see us make the effort, they want to make the effort,” she said. And just how important is having a strong sense of etiquette and knowledge of business protocol for those entering the job market? It could be the tie-breaker in
landing a job over another equally qualified candidate, said Schweitzer. Major state universities and private colleges hire her to hold dining and etiquette sessions. Schweitzer said she tells employers who are deciding between equal candidates to take them out to lunch separately. The lesser candidate will disqualify themselves through poor or mediocre dining manners. “Companies can’t have someone like that meeting with clients who have high expectations right from the beginning. They need a candidate who can go to lunch with a client and be at their best right from the beginning. Some people don’t think manners matter, but they do.” One tactic professionals use before a business-related meal is to eat first, she said. “Remember, you’re not invited because people think you’re hungry or thirsty, you’re there for an agenda that’s business-related or social. Have a protein shake or a chicken breast before you go.”
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SEATING
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DRESS NICELY
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INTERRUPTIONS
Wait for the host to decide where guests will be seated. If you unthinkingly sit down wherever you please, you may be placed in the awkward position of being asked to stand up again.
Dinner jackets or suits for gentlemen are appropriate, especially when dining with international clients or colleagues from overseas. Ladies should wear suits, or dresses and shoes, not sandals.
Be sure all mobile devices are silent; “vibrate” is not good enough. Avoid placing a mobile device on the dining table, as this indicates that it has more importance than the conversation.
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DON’T SEND FOOD BACK DURING THE MEAL
One should never send food back during a business meal, because the business meal isn’t about food. It’s about business.
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MIXING BUSINESS AND DINNER
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AVOID COMPLAINING
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SHARING FOOD
Never start a business conversation before the conclusion of the entrée. Business should not be discussed until the meal has been cleared away.
Never complain about business colleagues and work during the meal. If you have an issue with a coworker or colleague, it’s between you and the other person, or you can bring it up to human resources or your manager.
At a business dinner or overseas, avoid asking to sample your companion’s food, especially if you don’t know the person well or it’s a business meal. U.S. dining is more informal, and depending on how well the guests know each other, one may unobtrusively pass a bread plate for a sample before a first bite.
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AVOID CERTAIN TOPICS
Remember, this is a professional setting to discuss business. Don’t mix business with such topics as religion and politics.
THANK YOU
A verbal thank-you at the end of the meal is very appropriate. An email thank you is better than none at all, but a true professional writes a handwritten thank-you note on personalized stationery within 48 hours. LENS | SPRING 2016
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COMPANY YOU KEEP TH E
G O IN G THE E X TRA MILE F OR THEIR E MPLOYEES
MEDITECH
BY KEVIN P. O’CONNOR
The first thing you see when you walk into Fall River’s Meditech is the South Watuppa Pond. Floor-to-ceiling windows on the back of the building let in the light and the view — miles of lakeshore glowing gold in the wintery sun. On the left, a cast steel wisteria vine climbs beside the stairs, from the first floor to the fourth. To the right, wooden panels, six by four feet, offer a series of abstract still lives featuring collections of organic shapes. You are only 5 feet into the building. Meditech, 101 Martine St., offers workers the benefits that most workers dream of. The cafeteria serves fresh fruit, food cooked to order, soup and a salad bar. Coffee, tea, soda and bottles of water are free. There are high chairs available for workers who bring their children to the office. The cafeteria opens to a patio that is set up with dining tables in summer months. The company gym is right down the hall with free weights, a few lifting machines and treadmills. Behind the building is a quarter mile walking path that curves along the pond. There is original art from local artists on every wall.
“This cafeteria is wonderful,” said Nicole Lund of Fall River, a marketing coordinator with the company. “We have a cafeteria in every building. I haven’t packed a lunch in four years.” Meditech was founded in Boston in 1968 by A. Neil Pappalardo with the plan to use computers to file medical information and provide doctors with reference works. The company now has almost 4,000 employees and 10 sites, eight of them in Massachusetts. In each one, the company has built in food and fun — cafeterias, coffee stations on every floor, gyms and art work. Employees are generally welcome to chose the site most convenient to them to lessen their commute. If they can work from home, that is allowed. They can take breaks at will. “The philosophy is, as long as you get your work done, go ahead,” Lund said. Programmers, software designers, marketing professionals, accountants mix in open offices. In some buildings there are seating areas with couches and easy chairs arranged in circles and information ports located nearby for laptops and tablets. “Meditech would rather have you work where and how it is convenient for you,” Lund said. “It makes it a great place to work.”
South Watuppa Pond, above, and local artwork, left, offer plenty of visual interest at Meditech’s Fall River office. 24
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HARBORONE BANK
BY CODY SHEPARD HarborOne Bank offers competitive wages, tuition reimbursement, a new fund to help employees in financial emergencies and community programs. With corporate office is located on Oak Street in Brockton, HarborOne Bank prides itself on offering great benefits, but the administration says it’s more than that – it’s about creating a favorable environment to work in. “It is a place where there is mutual respect,” said Patricia Williams, the senior vice president of human resources. “People treat each other well. We have fun, but get the job done at the same time.” Among the employee benefits is a new emergency care fund, which has $100,000 available. Employees who have an emergency situation can apply for money. “Somebody just had a fire in their home and needs a temporary place to live, clothes and food. They
GRANITE TELECOMMUNICATIONS Rob Hale Jr., founder and CEO of Granite Telecommunications in Quincy leads by example. He’s up by 6 a.m. and at the gym, which conveniently means he is also at work. “We believe in health and wellness at Granite. The gym is on-site and open 24/7, and we host a lot of competitive and intramural sports,” Karen Hogle, vice president of revenue, insurance and benefits, said.
Employees can participate in football, softball, yoga, mixed martial arts or CrossFit, thanks to complimentary gym memberships provided by Granite, and that’s just the beginning of the benefits. Granite Telecommunications handles voice and data intracommunications for over 5,000 corporate clients. With about $1.1 billion in annual revenue and nearly 1,400 workers, Hogle said Granite strives to reinvest in its employees.
Photos by Marc Vasconcellos ABOVE: State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, left, and community education trainer Aaron Wilson speak at HarborOne Bank. LEFT: Aguinaldo Fonseca is seen in the HarborOne Multi-Cultural Banking Center. can apply for this fund,” Williams said. “We may have somebody who had a tragic accident or something happened with a child and need additional time off or to stay in a hotel.” The company also offers community events where employees may volunteer. Staff gave 3,000 hours of community service last year. And employees can be recognized for going above their job duties. Employees who are selected each quarter get to sit on the
president’s council and have lunch a few times during the year with the chief executive officer. Wellness programs also abound at the bank. An online portal encourages staff to live a healthy lifestyle through on-site supports, seminars and menu planning. More than 65 percent of employees participate. “The CEO and senior management are incredible. They are all about approachability – there is no question that can’t be asked,” Williams said.
BY LIAM HOFMEISTER
“Granite sets financial goals for itself, and when we hit a goal, everyone in the company gets something like a $1,500 bonus,” Hogle said. Granite also sends over 15 percent of its top performers to a four-day, all-expense paid annual conference in Miami. To help workers rank as top performers, Granite maintains Granite University, an in-house training program to help employees earn
promotions. “Employees have this thing called a ‘Path to Progress,’” Hogle said. “We’ll tell you what you need to do and what classes you need to take, whether it be in communications, negotiation or Excel. Granite wants to see employees succeed.”
ROB HALE JR.
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CORNERSTONE
Photos by John Thornton Executive Director Carolyn Smith, right, speaks with a resident at Cornerstone at Milford Senior Living Residences.
BY CORIN COOK
Cornerstone at Milford Senior Living Residences’ priority is to serve its senior residents, but its staff also makes a real effort to involve the entire community in its day-to-day activities. Cornerstone at Milford is a senior living facility that opened in Milford in January 2014. Although it is “relatively new to the Milford community,” said Executive Director Carolyn Smith, since it has opened, Cornerstone has been “an active part of our community,” which she said makes it a great place to work for its 90 or so staff members. Smith said the company organizes events to serve the entire
community including its residents, local seniors and other community members. In December, for example, the company organized “Stockings for Seniors,” not for its own residents, but for “our senior population within the community.” Cornerstone associates got the community involved by reaching out to local Council on Aging representatives to get an idea of what area seniors may want or need, and then solicited over 20 local business to collect some of these items. Cornerstone associates then stuffed and distributed over 70
stockings to area seniors with items including socks, mittens, toiletries, games, notepads, stamps, batteries, band aids and gift cards. Many of the regular events that Cornerstone hosts for its residents are also open to the public, Smith said. The facility regularly hosts an event called “Grab your Passport,” for residents and community members to gather and learn about a country and its music, food and culture.
SIGNATURE HEALTHCARE BROCKTON HOSPITAL They’ve dressed in pink and danced to support breast cancer research – and they pick each other up on a daily basis through notes and recognition. Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital, which is located on the city’s East Side, provides its employees with a wide range of activi-
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ties, events and programs that make it an attractive place to work. Each winter, the walls inside the hospital’s cafeteria are lined with tables featuring crafts and food. It’s an event for the employees and by the employees,
as they make, sell and buy the crafts, said Lorraine McGrath, the hospital’s director of marketing. In December, the hospital holds a catered holiday luncheon for employees at all 17 sites operated by the hospital. But what could make the hospital one of the city’s top employers is the camaraderie among staff, McGrath said. Each day at the beginning of the three shifts, every department meets for about 15 minutes in what they refer to as a huddle. “We discuss how we can achieve our depart-
“It’s fun and engages the community as well,” said Smith. Director of Community Relations Beth Patras said that the work atmosphere at Cornerstone is “incredibly upbeat.” “I love my job. It is a great place to work,” she said. Patras said she is thankful to be part of a place with “a lot of value that the company puts into their associates.”
BY CODY SHEPARD
ment goals,” McGrath said. “We also recognize other people who did something special the previous shift.” Each month, employees can also nominate other staff members who have gone above and beyond as vision and action nominees. It then goes to a recognition committee and anyone who is selected to receive the award has their name in the monthly staff letter and is recognized by the chief executive officer. And the programs don’t stop there. The hospital has dozens of wellness programs that encourage employees to become or stay
Photos by Marc Vasconcellos From Zumba classes to an annual employee craft fair, Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital puts its employees first. healthy, like walking or stair challenges and exercise programs. “A lot of the activities are absolutely designed to build camaraderie,” McGrath said.
JOHN MATOUK & COMPANY BY KEVIN P. O’CONNOR
Factories are built around the needs of machines and production. The people employed there are expected to adapt to those needs. But, examine the notion. Does it really make sense? John Matouk & Company in Fall River concluded the answer to that question was “no.” Matouk, 925 Airport Road, completed a $10 million expansion in June, expanding its plant from
47,000 to 87,000 square feet. But the expansion did more than increase capacity. “When we did the expansion, we wanted to redefine the experience of working at Matouk,” said George Matouk Jr., the president and CEO of the company. “Of course, we also wanted to expand our ability to produce bed and bath linens.” So they started at the back door to the factory — the door that every employee at Matouk walks
THE TRAINING ASSOCIATES It only seems appropriate that a company that focuses on training services knows a thing or two about employees — what makes them tick and what can make them more productive. Before founding The Training Associates in Westborough in 1994, Vic Melfa, now the
through to go to work. That door has become the center of the Matouk plant. Everything revolves around it, Matouk said. The door opens into a new cafeteria and lounge with easy chairs along with the tables and computers available for employee use. To get to the door, you walk across a patio with tables set up during the good weather. The company also set aside an acre of land that is planted with
GEORGE MATOUK JR. grass as well as fruit and flowering trees. A quarter mile walking track winds around it. Employees working in the production area can see into the business offices and walk through a corridor, with glass walls on either side, so they can see the design teams and their works in progress and look in on company leaders meeting in conference rooms. “The cafeteria is really important here,” Matouk said. “It was deliberately placed at the center of
the building, where all the different job functions at Matouk can come together.” Employees are encouraged to go outside for a walk during their breaks. “We want to show the world that we can redefine the experience of working in the textile industry in Fall River,” Matouk said. “We want to destroy the concept that attaches to working in a textile factory. “No matter what you do here, we want it to be a good job.”
BY BOB TREMBLAY
company’s chairman of the board, owned a computer distribution company called Vitronix Corp. Because clients needed training on the software and computers they sold, he decided to add training to the company’s scope of services. That side of the business took off and his daughter, Maria Melfa, joined the company as its operations manager. When Vitronix was sold in 1993, the Melfas launched The Training Associates in
Westborough to focus entirely on training services after seeing the demand to be very high. TTA is the now the nation’s largest provider of on-demand learning and talent development. Its offerings feature more than 30,000 learning and development resources specializing in adult learning for all technologies, business/soft skills and learning modalities. “We have educated more than 1.5 million learners at thousands of companies of all sizes, including most Fortune 500 companies,” says Maria Melfa, who is now the company’s president, CEO and owner. TTA itself consists of 75 employees. What makes it a great company to work for? “It is a woman-
spend the majority of owned, their waking hours at family-owned, work so it is important privately held to have a lot of fun as company that long as we all get our supports the work done.” professional Adds Lippert, development “TTA goes above and and individual beyond to provide a personal MARIA MELFA workplace that is proneeds of its ductive and energetic employees,” at the same time. As we say to says Keith Lippert, TTA’s director our clients when consulting about of marketing communications. their learning and development “Examples include flex-time, needs, they spend a lot of time 401k, insurance, holiday parties, and financial resources to bring an seasonal outings, vacation time, employee into the company only to fitness room, mindfulness classes, have them ‘rot on the vine’ without training and development.” further development or maximizing Says Melfa, “We take great their talents. With professional pride in taking care of our roadmaps in place and true care employees and offering as many for the well-being of individuals, benefits and perks as possible. TTA continues to grow and thrive.” Being in the professional develThe Training Associates opment industry, we know the is at 287 Turnpike Road in importance of having a happy and Westborough. productive team. Most employees LENS | SPRING 2016
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Brockton Day Nursery
In years past, a career in childcare may have called to mind visions of a young woman watching over a room of napping infants, sleeping peacefully under her supervision.
N O I T A C U D E Y L R A E NGA
O BY ED D
However, as research has yielded new evidence about the developmental significance of a child’s early years, the field has undergone seismic shifts with a premium now placed on education not only for the children, but for the individuals caring for them as well. The shift can even be seen in the words people now use to describe the profession. What was once commonly referred to as “childcare” is now called “early childhood education.” “Research has demonstrated that age 0 to 5 is really, really important for brain development,” Lisa Botelho, the executive director of Brockton Day Nursery said. She added that the work early childhood educators do now focuses on preparing their students 28
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for kindergarten, such as developing self-help skills and socialemotional skills. For instance, early childhood educators can teach children tasks like buttoning their coat or tying their shoes on their own. Social skills are also improved as children learn to play and share with each other under the supervision of their teachers. “Teachers are always watching kids while they’re playing and taking anecdotal notes for assessment,” Botelho said. The teachers will use those observations to help children develop skills specific to them during small group activities. As the focus on education in regards to the children has increased, teachers are now expected to attain a higher level of educational achievement before
entering the field. In the past, Botelho said that individuals used to be enter the field with a high school diploma, a course on child care and nine months’ experience. “Now, there is a big push to have an associate degree or a bachelor’s degree,” Botelho said. Louise Marchione, the chairwoman of the Department of Child Care Education at Massasoit Community College, has also witnessed the increased emphasis placed on education for those trying to enter the field. “There is a lot of opportunity for those people who are welltrained and have education,” Marchione said. She added that Massasoit has partnered with other higher education facilities such as
Bridgewater State University and the University of Massachusetts Boston and it encourages their students to go on to receive a bachelor’s degree after obtaining their associate. “It tends to be a low paying field, especially if you don’t have a lot of education,” Marchione said. “If students want to make a living wage, the more education and training you have the more marketable you are.” There has also been an increased demand for early childhood education for the public as people learn how vital it is to their children’s development and as more households feature two parents who both work full-time. “I don’t see the demand decreasing for it any time soon. I really don’t,” said Botelho.
‘AGE BOOM’ BRINGS MORE CHOICES IN JOB MARKET STORY BY SUE SCHEIBLE | PHOTOS BY GARY HIGGINS
NUMBER TO KNOW
10,000
As more people join the senior population — 10,000 Americans turn 65 every day — the types of jobs are changing, with more choices, from home health care to local senior centers and lifelong learning and travel.
R
ita Evans was a registered nurse in a Boston hospital emergency room with 25 years of experience when she decided on a career change. Her chosen field: elder care, where the Scituate resident could blend her passion for helping older people with good growth prospects for her business, Senior Care Advisors in Braintree. As a nurse and certified case manager, Evans advocates for older people and their families as they arrange needed services and negotiate medical and health insurance choices.
Her business partner, Thomas Clougherty of Bridgewater, is a board-certified elder law attorney. In the legal profession, elder law is one of the fastest growing sectors. Clougherty, also a financial planner, provides counsel on a variety of matters, from wills, estates and trusts to long-term care planning. Every day, 10,000 Americans turn 65 and many live longer and healthier lives than past generations. One result has been an increase in job opportunities in elder care and senior services. The biggest growth area has been home
health aides, certified nursing assistants and personal care attendants, according to Al Norman, executive director of Mass Home Care. Home heath and personal care aides are projected to increase by 70 percent by 2020 and are among the 30 fastest growing careers, according to US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Certified nursing assistants are also in demand. But other types of opportunities are expanding as entrepreneurs create new alternatives. Personal trainer Lauretta Jennings, 46, developed a new business,
Activities abound at the Village at Proprietors Green, in Marshfield. The senior living residence offers independent living, assisted living and memory care. Server Brian Kelliher, center, greets residents with dessert: From left, Janet Carlson, Dorothy Kilcoyne, Maura Rand and Edith Seacord.
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Cheeretta Fitness Inc. in Hingham, by bringing chair exercises and movement to 75 assisted living residences, nursing homes, adult day health centers. She is now training others to work with her. Financial services are an obvious target, but Evans foresees
an increasing need for independent money managers or “trusted people who can do financial and bookkeeping tasks, go to the bank, etc.” for frail or homebound elders who are alone. Local programs serving seniors in the community are another opening. In her 40s, Susan
human resources and a clinical Curtin of Norwell was laid off director of the nursing unit. after 16 years in the financial Offering a range of posiservices industry. She ran a busitions is becoming a trend. Welch ness with her husband for six Healthcare and Retirement Group years, while volunteering at the in Norwell, a Norwell Senior leader on the South Center teaching “THERE IS A BIG Shore for some 60 computer classes. years, owns and She enjoyed the DEMAND FOR operates skilled people and when an CARE WORKERS nursing and rehaoffice job opened BECAUSE OLDER bilitation centers, up, she took it and independent living returned to college PEOPLE HAVE and assisted living for her master’s CHOICES AND senior residences, degree in gerIT ISN’T JUST IN adult day health ontology. programs and a “I decided SKILLED NURSING home care agency. this is what HOMES.” “There is a big I wanted Richard Welch, president demand for care to do,” of Welch Healthcare and workers because she said Retirement Group in Norwell older people have She is now choices and it isn’t program just in skilled nursing homes,” coordinator at the center Richard Welch of Braintree, the with the goal of eventucompany’s president, said. ally becoming director of Physical and occupational thera council on aging. “I’m apists, their assistants, registered keeping my eye on the job dieticians and pharmacists are also market,” she said. part of the teams. “I’ve had many Joanne Moore, presistudents in degree programs doing dent of the Massachusetts their internships at our facilities,” Association of Councils on Welch said. Aging and Senior Centers, is As educational travel and lifeencouraging. “As the senior population continues to grow, long learning programs expand, they look for affiliations with indiso will opportunities in elder viduals or companies that can proservices,” Moore said. “Job vide instructors and group leaders. opportunities are updated The nonprofit Road Scholar, once weekly and posted on the Elder Hostel, now targets baby state association’s website.” boomers and has programs in 150 Moore is also director of countries. Duxbury’s senior center. Older workers themselves, howRegional aging agenever, “are apt to find other jobs,” cies are another prospect. Norman said, “...jobs less stressful “We’ve grown by leaps and bounds in the last year,” said than working as a home care aide, traveling from client to client, Nancy Munson, CEO at doing very physical and unglamBristol Elder Services in Fall orous tasks.” River. “We’ve added 50 new A certified nursing assistant in positions and seven or eight are a nursing home will have a higher open now.” starting wage than a sales clerk, he The jobs range from entrylevel office positions to meals on said, “but it is much more physically challenging.” wheels drivers, case managers, Pamela Pelligrini, director of fitness, assists Peter Stanley on the treadmill at the Village at Proprietors Green, in Marshfield.
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W
THE PURSUIT
OF HIGHER
EDUCATION
STORY BY MICHAEL GAGNE PHOTOS BY DAVE SOUZA
WORTH THE
CLIMB?
hen this semester is all said and done this May, Bianca de Barcellos, 23, will be only one course away from earning her master’s degree in Public Policy. De Barcellos, a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and a New Bedford native, said it was never a question she would continue her studies after earning her bachelor’s degree two years ago. “I’ve always wanted to pursue higher education,” she said while standing behind the circulation desk at her campus’ Claire T. Carney Library — where she’s worked part-time every academic year since she was an undergraduate student at the same campus. De Barcellos said she enrolled in a graduate program immediately after her undergraduate studies, and said initially she had thought about pursuing a law degree. But after looking at what appears to be a tight labor market for lawyers she decided, “I thought it would be wise to go into a master’s degree program.” Earlier in the academic year, the National Center for Education Statistic’s “Back to School Statistics” included a number of students expected to enroll in post-secondary and graduate degree programs — some 17.3 million students in undergraduate programs and about 3 million students in graduate programs. More than 800,000 students are expected to receive master’s degrees and more than 1.8 million undergraduate students are expected to earn a bachelor’s degree this spring,
according to the NCES. Students are motivated to pursue master’s degrees for various reasons, whether it’s the potential for career advancement or increased earning potential. Andrew Hanson, a senior analyst at Georgetown University’s Center for Education and The Workforce, said income opportunities for those who hold master’s degrees vary by the fields students choose. For example, a degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) or business field could fetch “twice as much money” as a degree in other fields, like psychology or humanities. “It matters a lot,” he said. So in choosing whether to start a master’s degree program “students absolutely have to do their homework,” said Marcus Hanscom, director of graduate admissions at Roger Williams University, whose main campus is in Bristol, Rhode Island. It starts with what kind of job students are seeking, he said. Hanscom recommends using resources like the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics to “determine what demand is for that job, determine what the needs are for education.” “If people want to become police officers, a master’s degree is not required. But we’re seeing police coming in for cyber security or public administration,” he said, adding many jobs in those fields require a master’s degree “right off the bat.” In today’s job market, “a bachelor’s degree is a dime in a dozen,” Hanscom said. “A master’s degree can be a differentiator, making one more marketable.” LENS | SPRING 2016
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But with that increased marketability and income-earning potential comes increased student loan debt. “This debt is exploding,” Hanson said, explaining, it’s not uncommon to see those who hold graduate degrees finish school with six-figure debts — particularly those who graduate from law or medical school. Graduate degree holders also hold 40 percent of the total student loan debt in the United States, Hanson said, even though they represent a signifi-
cantly smaller percentage of the total postsecondary student population. “Most often students are sponsoring studies through student loans,” Hanscom added, noting “unfortunately” federal loans for graduate students are no longer subsidized. They are “100 percent unsubsidized loans,” Hanscom said. But there is still some aid for students, including working as teacher assistants on some campuses, and some schools, like Roger Williams have begun to offer scholarships and paid
Lisandra Gonzalez 32
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up. We’re seeing some of those are work experiences. To offset growing student debt, rebounding.” De Barcellos said she found some schools now offer “4+1 “programs, in which students complete after researching graduate programs UMass has one of the a bachelor’s degree at one school most affordable master’s proand then complete a master’s at grams around, and one that she’s that same school — “it’s an ecofinancing primarily through scholnomical way to get a master’s,” arships. Hanscom said. De Barcellos, On how long who currently it takes to com“I KNOW I WILL NEED has an internplete a master’s TO GO TO HIGHER ship with the program at city of New Roger Williams, EDUCATION FOR ME Bedford, said her Hanscom said, TO GET A GOOD JOB long-term career “One to two years IN MY FIELD, SO I goal is helping is average. But it’s CAN EARN A LIVING to reform the hard to paint one state’s foster care brush.” WAGE.” system, which Graduate Lisandra Gonzalez, 23, an she described as school enrollment undergraduate student at UMass Dartmouth “flawed.” had typically Lisandra grown during preGonzalez, 23, vious economic from Roxbury, is in her final recessions, Hanscom said. When semester as an undergraduate stulabor markets had been difficult, dent at UMass Dartmouth. “people had been inclined to go Gonzalez, who was studying on to graduate schools,” he explained. the third floor of the library, said But in the economic downturn she will graduate with a bachelor’s that began in 2008, “people degree in sociology. didn’t have savings or the whereShe’s still thinking about withal” to enroll. So enrollment had been “rela- whether or not to pursue her tively stagnant,” he said, until a master’s — “because I know I will need to go to higher education for few years ago, 2013-2014. “Now we’re actually seeing me to get a good job in my field, so I can earn a living wage.” growth back in that. We’re Gonzalez said she currently seeing an uptick, even works at a preschool located in the though the economy is south end of Boston and will take better. We’re also seeing time to work before she decides reimbursements come on further education. Until then, back,” Hanscom said. “I’m thinking of doing a program He was referring with City Year,” she said. to tuition reimNicole Chahwan, a 21-yearbursements offered old nursing student from North by employers to Attleboro, said she is also thinking their employees education beyond her bachelor’s as an incentive to degree. “upskill.” “Eventually I would like to go “A lot of times, back, to become a certified midthat’s part of a wife,” Chahwan said. benefits package When asked whether it’s the a lot of employers potential career or salary that’s will tout,” Hanson motivating her to eventually added. “As the economy took a hit, pursue a master’s, Chahwan said, “it’s a little bit of both.” those benefits dried
But before she does that, Chahwan plans to work — “So I can pay back some student loans,” she said. For public school teachers in Massachusetts, a master’s degree is one way to acquire professional licensure, which is state-required after five years of teaching. Brittany Ferreira, in her fifth year teaching at Mary Fonseca Elementary School in Fall River, completed that requirement to years ago. Ferreira said she received her bachelor’s degree at Bridgewater State University, in 2009. At her school, she said, in order to earn an education degree, she had to double major. So her second bachelor’s degree is in sci-
NICOLE CHAHWAN
ence. “It took me four and a half years,” she said. “Within a year I got a job. I was shocked,” she said. Ferreira enrolled at American International College, which is based in Springfield, but offers an accelerated satellite program at Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School. So for two years, she took
BIANCA DE BARCELLOS
eight-week courses. They were held on Thursday evenings, 4 to 9 p.m., she said. “Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, it was homework, Thursday was class. I had no life. For two years there was no life,” she said. “I did everything myself. I took Teach grants out.” Ferreira said she began her career at Fonseca as a second
grade teacher, but is now a reading interventionist. “I did like my program. I did like that I learned a lot about reading. It’s a highly specialized area,” she said. But now, “I have $30,000 in student loans. I barely make the minimum payment on those,” she said. And even though the salary schedule is typically higher than those who only have a four-year degree, “You really don’t get all that much money,” Ferreira said. “I do like my job. I love the kids,” she said. But, for the advance education needed in her field, “I really do think that since it is a requirement... there should be help with that,” she said.
BUILDING A BRAND
W
SUSAN PEPPERCORN
hen one thinks of Apple, its easy to define the company’s brand: sleek, modern, always on the cutting edge. Like company brands, personal brands make a statement about who you are, said Susan Peppercorn, founder of Positive Workplace Partners. “I think of a personal brand as someone’s value proposition,” said Peppercorn, a career coach who works with individual clients and corporations. Employed executives who are looking to develop their leadership skills, adults in the middle stages of their careers who are considering a transition, and those who are thinking of making a job transition are among the clients of the company based in three locations: Newton, Cambridge and Boston. Peppercorn, who also consults with clients nationally by phone, email, or Skype, said her clients often don’t know how to position
BY LINDA MURPHY
In addition to LinkedIn, themselves either for a job they Peppercorn said personal blogs want, or one they may not be aware they could attain. Her job is and websites are also a means of conveying one’s personal brand to to help clients sort through their the world. “It’s a great values and skills and way to share your pashelp them put that Thinking of your own sion and expertise,” information into perbrand? Here’s a few she added. sonally branded marquestions from the The process of keting materials for Positive Workplace helping her clients sites such as LinkedIn. Partners website to consider. establish their perQuoting Amazon sonal brands generfounder Jeff Bezos, What’s Important To You? ally involves meeting who reportedly said, with her once a week “Your brand is what Where Do You for a couple weeks. people say about you Shine? At the first meeting, when you’re not in the What’s Your clients will be asked room,” Peppercorn Story? to fill out a personal urges her clients to What’s The Future branding questionunearth their “personal of Your Brand? naire about who they reputation” in creating For more information, are, what they do, their personal brand. visit positiveworkplacepartners.com. what they value, what “Most people have they provide to others, some understanding of and what proof they how they’re perceived, have to back up their claims. but they should ask co-workers, “By the time we’re done, they peers and even their bosses,” she have a really good sense of who said, adding, “Google yourself to they are,” added Peppercorn. see what’s out there about you.”
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MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR
HOURS STORY BY JEREMY DORAN PHOTO BY JACK FOLEY
ELIMINATE DISTRACTIONS
E
veryone has the same amount of time in their day, so why are some people able to get so much more done than others? The simple answer is that they make better use of the time that they have. Time management is not about doing more, it’s about doing the right things. Here are a few things to keep in mind in order to be as productive with your time as possible.
MAKE A PLAN PLAN FIRST. Making a plan for your day should be the first thing 34
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you do. If you start by listening to voicemail or reading email, you will start responding before determining if that is the most important thing to be doing. PRIORITIZE. No one I know gets everything on their to-do list done in a day. That’s OK as long as you get the most important things done, so once you have made your list, prioritize it. Pick the two or three things that, if accomplished, would make it a productive day, and focus on those. CHALLENGE YOURSELF. Throughout the day ask yourself, “Is this the most important thing I could be doing right now?” If not, stop doing it. I have a sticky note with this question on my computer screen.
When working on the most important items for the day, it is important to stay focused. Try to eliminate distractions. CLOSE YOUR DOOR. Open door policies are great, but not when you need to get something done. Let people know that you will keep your door open as often as possible, but when it is closed, you are only to be interrupted in the case of something truly urgent. DON’T HAVE A DOOR? Headphones are a great option. Not the sneaky little ear buds, but actual headphones. They will drown out conversations people are having around you. Plus, people will notice them and be less likely to attempt to engage with you. TURN OFF RINGERS AND EMAIL NOTIFICATION. Even if you don’t answer your phone or read the email, just knowing it is there distracts you from the task at hand and kills your momentum.
BATCH REPETITIVE TASKS There is a set-up time to every task you do. Transitioning from one thing to another sometimes
takes longer than the task itself. Think about what you do many times throughout the day and minimize the transition time by batching them. READ EMAILS AT SET TIMES. Pick two or three times in the day when you will read and respond to emails. You can get through 25 emails in about the same amount of time as you can get through five. DON’T ANSWER YOUR PHONE! Even a one-minute phone call is going to completely distract you from what you were doing. Getting back into the flow of what you were working on takes much longer. WORRIED ABOUT BEING RESPONSIVE? Think about the longest meeting you have in a week. You wouldn’t answer the phone during that meeting, so you can wait at least that long to respond to a voicemail or email. By then, you will probably have more than one and can respond to all of them at once. A few small changes in how you manage your time can have a huge impact on your productivity. Instead of trying to get more things done, focus on getting the most important things done and you will see the results. JEREMY DORAN IS A CORPORATE INSTRUCTOR WITH BRISTOL COMMUNITY COLLEGE’S WORKFORCE CENTER AND THE OWNER AND PRESIDENT OF PINNACLE PERFORMANCE, AN EAST GREENWICH, R.I.-BASED COMPANY THAT HELPS ORGANIZATIONS MAXIMIZE THEIR PRODUCTIVITY.
IT ALL OVER $100,000 ADDS UP The annual wages for experienced workers in the Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math (STEM) occupations.
73,800 The number of jobs added in the state throughout last year.
