October/November/December 2018                                               Volume 13 Number 4
Note: Articles that are marked with an asterisk (*) can be read for continuing education credit by NAPS certificate holders. Any CPC, CTS or CERS who reads any six of the linked articles can count two hours of contact time toward the 17 hours he or she must earn each year as a part of their certification maintenance. In this edition, for example, 8 items qualify for professional reading. Reading all four quarterly editions of The NAPS Credential and their links over the course of the year can qualify the reader for eight contact hours or .8 CEUs annually.
In This Issue
Career Development ~ A Series of Life Span Empowerment Experiences*
by Frank Burtnett, Ed.D., NAPS Certification and Education Consultant


 
Our lives offer a host of opportunities to acquire knowledge and enjoy experiences that will collectively contribute to our personal career development. Some of the knowledge we acquire casually as the result of a real life experiences offered as "hands on" exposures or intelligence shared by parents, family, colleagues or friends. Other knowledge and skillset nuggets come our way through our formal education and training experiences. Exposure to either formal or information learning typically results in an empowerment that can have a positive impact on one's career journey through life. 
 
Individuals at all life stages (i.e., childhood through the senior years) need to know something about the career development process, particularly where they are and what they need to know and do to achieve their personal goals and aspirations.  That knowledge has to be general (what happens to everybody) and specific (how it applies to them).
 
Unfortunately, too many are clueless about the basic ingredients of a fundamental process that each will have to navigate throughout their entire life. Candidates for employment (first, second or umpteenth job) need to know where they've been, where they are now and what lies ahead of them in the future. Regrettably, too many acquire this knowledge of career development reactively. A better way is to learn it up-front so the individual can be proactive in piloting their personal circumstances.
 
A primer in career development would emphasize the following four knowledge points:
  • Career development is a process that parallels human growth and development, a series of unique experiences that span childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, adulthood and the senior years. 
  • Our ability to understand what is happening or will happen in each of these stages can determine the degree to which we can guide or control (be proactive) or mend and fix (be reactive or remedial) what is occurring in our educational and work lives.
  • Every person is going experience the follow eight stages of the career development process:
    1. Self-awareness
    2. Exploration
    3. Goal-setting
    4. Decision-making
    5. Knowledge, skill acquisition and competency attainment
    6. Job procurement, orientation, entry and adjustment*
    7. Growth, mobility, and maintenance*
    8. Wind-down, adjustment and exit*
From: Career Errors: Straight Talk About the Steps and Missteps of Career Development, Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group, 2014.
  • The experiences, events and activities associated with career development are seldom strictly linear. Rather, they are cyclical and often repeated (sometimes numerous times) on the way to career success and satisfaction.
Candidates are most likely to interface with search and staffing professionals at the stages marked with an asterisk (*) above, but need to promote an awareness of the full life-span continuum.  If the career development process sounds complex, put it in perspective by imagining your personal transition through the eight stages to where you are presently. 
 
Search and staffing professionals have a unique opportunity to work with candidates in the creation and implementation of a career development plan that empowers them to achieve realistic and desirable goals. Below readers will find a link to a PowerPoint presentation the author prepared for the NAPS Lunch N Learn series in 2016. The presentation addresses the message above in greater detail.

Employee Engagement on the Rise in the U.S.*
According to a late summer report from the Gallup Organization, the percentage of "engaged" workers in the U.S. -- those who are involved in, enthusiastic about and committed to their work and workplace -- is now 34%, tying its highest level since the public opinion magnate began reporting the national figure in 2000.
 
Read more...

Dealing with Dead End Jobs*
Search and staffing professionals know better than most the impact what "dead end" situations mean for capable, energetic and enthusiastic individuals who want nothing more than to have access to a reasonable array of growth and advancement opportunities within their current place of employment. An essay by Dorie Clark in a recent Harvard Business Reviewblog tackles this phenomenon head-on and offers guidance for those finding themselves in this situation.
 
Read more...

Stefanie Kivi Named 2018 Frank Burtnett Education Scholar

NAPS President Trinette Cunningham announced recently that Stefanie Kivi is the 2018 recipient of the Frank Burtnett Education Scholarship. Stefanie is an Employment Consultant with AllianceStaff LLC in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The prizes associated with this scholarship include complimentary registration for the upcoming NAPS national conference and the Certification Immersion Class, along with a waived CPC application fee. Congratulations Stefanie!

Mental Health Needs of Young Adults Entering the Workforce*
The education-to-career transition is a critical and often difficult developmental time, one that places multiple personal, emotional, social and related challenges before the onboarding employee. A new whitepaper from the JED Foundation addresses the unique mental health challenges faced by young adults entering the workforce and offers guidance to facilitators regarding the positive roles they can play in these transitions.
 
Read report...

Industry Professionals Achieving CPC and CTS Credentials
The July/August/September quarter witnessed the awarding of the NAPS Certified Placement Consultant (CPC) and Certified Temporary-Staffing Specialist (CTS) credentials to the following:

 
Ross Coley
Mark C Wolf
Donna Ramierez
Anthony Lopez
Timothy A. Maher
Michael Fox
 
 
Erika Siekert
Carmen Izquierdo
John Easterling
Shannon P. Mulligan

Welcome this fresh cadre of searching and staffing professionals to the ranks of those who have achieved certification!
  
Employment and Wage Growth Uneven*
Pew researchers are reporting that even though private-sector employers have been adding jobs consistently (101 straight months / 19.5 million positions in August), corresponding trends are not being witnessed in wage growth. Accounting for inflation, Pew reports the U.S. real average wage has about the same purchasing power for consumers that it did four decades ago. A closer look at notable wage gains reflects the highest flowing to the upper-tiered workers.
 
Read more...
Email Excess Impedes Manager Effectiveness*
A study generated by Michigan State University researchers and published in the Journal of Applied Psychologyis pointing to excess email handling as the culprit in keeping managers from being highly effective in their work. Specifically, the report suggests that overly frequent attention by managers to their email results in distractions that impact both their productivity and leadership responsibilities.
 
Read more...

Professional and Business Development via the NAPS Lunch N Learn Series
Over the past several years, NAPS members have benefited from the professional and business development programs offered as part of the ongoing Lunch N Learn series. In addition to learning the latest industry trends and catching up on the exemplary practices and strategies of the day, participating CPCs and CTSs can apply these training experiences toward their certification maintenance requirement. Check the www.naps360.orgcalendar regularly for a list of upcoming programs.

Older Workers Profiled as Victims in Current Employment Marketplace*
Older workers wanting or needing to remain employed are finding they are not as welcomed as they would like to be in the current U.S. workforce. This trend runs counter to the federal Age Discrimination Act of 1967 that made it unlawful to discriminate against qualified and competent older workers over the age of 40. The San Diego Tribune New Service focused on this older worker in a recent financial story.
 
Read more...

Quotable Quotes of Notable People ~ Wayne Gretsky on Risk Taking

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take."

Hall of Famer Wayne Gretsky is a former National Hockey League and the leading scorer in league history. Nicknamed "The Great One," he played 20 seasons before retiring in 1999.

Digital Badges Offer Alternative Route to the Workplace*
InsideHigherEd reported recently that seven U.S. colleges and universities have established relationship with business and industry partners to create digital badges where underserved students can display their skills as an alternative route to gaining employment. A list of the participating institutions and partners in the #TeeUpTheSkills project of the Educational Design Lab can be found at the link below.
 
Read more...

Certification Question ~ Trainer Time and Continuing Education Credit

Question: Will NAPS allow me to use my time as a trainer as continuing education for certification maintenance?

Answer: NAPS uses the definition of continuing education advanced by the International Association on Adult and Continuing Education and that body does not recognize training or presenter time toward continuing education credit. You can, however, use the study time required to make your presentation as a learning experience and note the hours on your reporting log. Further, if you co-present or are part of a panel, you can count the portion of the workshop or seminar presented by others as learning and educational time for you.
Men and Women Approach Careers from Different Value Systems*
Canadian researchers are reporting in Frontiers of Psychologythat when it comes to career values, men express different beliefs and significances than women. Most notably, male study participants placed less importance on care-oriented careers. The findings might explain why men are markedly underrepresented in certain healthcare, early education and domestic careers.
 
Read more...

Message from the Editor ~ Let The NAPS Credential Hear from You
Have a question about certification or continuing education? Let us know the issues and concerns that are on your mind and they may become FAQ subjects for future editions of The NAPS Credential. NAPS encourage readers to submit information about certified persons and accredited firms who are making the news and performing outstanding professional feats. Our goal is to provide news, research and resources that will help CPCs, CTS and CERSs do a more effective job. Direct comments and input to Frank Burtnett, Ed.D., NAPS Certification and Education Consultant at ednow@aol.com.
About The NAPS Credential
Copyright © 2018.
 
This electronic newsletter is distributed to NAPS members and to all active Certified Personnel Consultants (CPCs), Certified Temporary Staffing-Specialist (CTSs) and Certified Employee Retention Specialists (CERSs) whose credentials are posted in the National Registry of Certified Staffing Professionals and for whom NAPS has a working email address.
 
The reference to a product, service or activity or the appearance of a website in The NAPS Credential does not imply endorsement by NAPS. Any views and opinions are those of sponsoring organization and may or may not be shared by NAPS. Direct comments, questions and submissions to ednow@aol.com. All submissions will be subject to review by NAPS for accuracy, timeliness and relevance to the readership and may be edited to meet space parameters.
 
Bruce J. Putman, CPC
Chairman of the NAPS Board of Directors
A-1 Careers
 
Trinette Cunningham
President
 
Carolyn Boyer
Vice President
 
Maria Palladino
Design, Marketing and Website Manager
 
Frank Burtnett, Ed.D., Editor
NAPS Certification and Education Consultant
 
National Association of Personnel Services web site:
 
National Registry of Certified Staffing Industry Professionals website: