Friday, November 29, 2019

The Best Animal Internships

The Best Animal InternshipsThe Best Animal InternshipsAre you looking for an amazing animal internship? There are many unique internship opportunities available with a wide variety of animals and many opportunities offer compensation via a stipend or college credit. Here are some of our favorite animal internships Summer Research Experience Indiana UniversitysSummer Research Experience for Undergraduates in Animal Behaviorgives 10 students the chance to participate in both field and lab work over a ten-week period. The program, founded in 1990, is one of the premier animal behavior internship opportunities and is funded by the National Science Foundation. Interns accepted into the program cover topics such as behavioral development, ecology, genetics and evolution. The key driver is how and why animals behave the way they do. Students must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, and must be enrolled as an undergraduate during the internship. Because of the nature of the program, interns cannot take outside classes or hold down a job during the 10-week period. All students are compensated with a stipend, a private dorm room on campus, all meals and travel expenses. Applications are due in February. The program generally runs between May and July. Equine Internship TheDarley Flying Start programoffers students the opportunity to travel the world while working with Thoroughbreds in all aspects of the racing industry. The two-year program offers twelve students the chance work at top farms and racetracks in England, Ireland, Dubai, Australia and Kentucky. Applicants must submit a resume, college transcripts, three references, a cover letter and a 90-second video answering three pre-selected questions. Interviews are then set before candidates are selected. Students receive a stipend, housing, transportation and health insurance. Wildlife Rehabilitator Internship Interested in becoming a wildlife rehabilitator? The National Wildlife Rehabilitators Assoc iation in Illinois offers a wildlife rehabilitation internship opportunity at its wildlife hospital. Students have the chance to help with exams, critical care, feeding, orphans, releases, fundraising and mora. These intensive internships average a 60-hour work week, but interns receive a $700 stipend plus free housing and utilities. Marine Animal Internship Do you want to work with marine animals?Sea Life Park Hawaiioffers several internships opportunities including marine mammal care and training, reef and sea turtle care, andveterinary technicianservices. Interns may work with dolphins, sea lions, seals, penguins, sea turtles, stingrays, sharks and reef fish. Internships are unpaid but lunches are provided. There are spots available for the spring, summer and fall periods. Candidates must be a least 18 years of age, be enrolled in or graduated from a college or university. Skills required include swimming and public speaking, and applicants must be physically fit. The commitm ent is 40 hours per week. In order to be accepted, applicants must submit two letters of recommendation, transcripts, a stellungnahme of interest and a resume. Vet Tech Internship TheUniversity of FloridasSmall Animal Hospital offers a 12-month veterinary technician internship for recent graduates (or experienced techs) interested in anesthesia oremergency care.There is also a rotating internship, which allows interns to rotate through a series of specialties before choosing other elective services to study as well. The program accepts one intern per program for a total of three interns. Compensation includes a salary of $31,000, health and dental insurance, and ten days of paid vacation. Applications are due in March and the internship begins in June. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and must be graduates of an American Veterinarian Medical Association (AVMA)-accredited school. Avian Internship TheKellogg Bird Sanctuary(in Michigan) offers an avian care internship program t o college upperclassmen and recent graduates with a degree in biology, zoology, pre-vet, or a related area. Summer internships run for 12 weeks, while spring and fall internships run for 22 weeks. Interns provide daily care for captive birds, glove train raptors, present educational programs, and complete research projects. Compensation includes housing, a stipend of $2,500, free housing at KBS, free meals, transportation and college credit. Applicants must include copies of their resume, college transcripts and a list of all college courses relevant to the internship. A statement of interest and contact information for at least one reference must also be included. Deadlines vary based on the internship date. Reptile Internship TheKentucky Reptile Zoo internship programis a 3-month program that gives upperclassmen college students or recent graduates the opportunity to work with a wide variety of reptiles. Students learn handhabung techniques, give educational speeches and condu ct research. Interns are not permitted to handle any venomous species. College students may receive academic credit and a small weekly stipend is offered. Graduates of this program have had a 95% success rate in finding professional employment in the field. Internships are offered for all seasons - the spring between March and May, the summer between June and August, the fall between September and November, and the winter between December and February. The internship comes with housing and a $55 per week stipend. Students must be majoring in biological or natural sciences, have a valid drivers license and must be willing to work weekends. Primate Internship TheSouthwest National Primate Research Centerin Texas offers undergraduate and graduate student internships for 8 weeks each summer (and on a limited basis year round). The facility boasts the largest captive baboon population plus a variety of other species such as chimpanzees, macaques, marmosets, and tamarins.Summer inter nship applications are due in January and up to six interns are selected. Students must provide two references, college transcripts, a resume and a statement of interest. They must also choose a mentor from the staff list - each of whom has agreed to serve as mentors. Interns receive an hourly wage based on experience plus up to $1,000 per student to use toward supplies or research expenses. Goat Internship Surfing Goat Dairy in Maui, Hawaii, offers internship opportunities at its goat dairy facility.Interns can assist with cheese making, milking, husbandry, catering, deliveries, marketing, tours and sales. Compensation includes furnished housing, internet access, most meals, use of a shared car, an employee discount on purchases and a stipend of about $200 per week. Dairy Internship TheMiner Agricultural Research Institutein New York offers a Summer Experience in Farm Management for undergraduates that runs for 12 weeks. The program introduces students to the business aspe ct behind the modern farm, so they should be prepared to work the long hours many farmers do. Interns are involved with herd management, milking, livestock shows and research projects with a herd of more than 300 Holstein cows. Compensation is $3,000 less a $300 fee for housing and meals - breakfast and lunch are included on weekdays. Applications are due in February and internships run from May to August. A one-year dairy internship is also available for college graduates.Miner also offers equine internships with its Morgan herd. In order to apply, students are required to complete the application and submit college transcripts, two letters of recommendation and a letter outlining their career goals.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Flextime Description, Hours, and Benefits

Flextime Description, Hours, and BenefitsFlextime Description, Hours, and BenefitsEmployees dont have one-size-fits-all schedules. Many aspects of their personal lives can conflict with the standard 9-to-5, Monday through Friday hours. Whatever the reason, most employees appreciate being able to follow a flexible schedule, also known as flextime. Flextime allows employees to customize their schedules within a certain range of hours and days. About 27 percent of U.S. employers and organizations offered flextime to their employees in 2014. Gallup put it at 33 percent by 2017, so the concept is gaining in popularity, particularly in the absatzwirtschaft and advertising sectors. It can benefit employees and employers alike. What Hours Does Flextime Include? Tzu siche are no set timeframes that flex time must cover or include, nor are there any legal requirements that employers must offer their workers flextime. Its at the discretion of each business to decide if it wants to offer thi s type of arrangement, to whom, and what days and hours its willing to let employees work. Examples of flextime given to employees can include Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.Tuesday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.Wednesday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Can Anyone Have Flextime? Flextime is possible for any job function, but its much more difficult to offer it to customer- and client-focused employees. This is especially the case when its expected that those employees be on premises during certain hours. Other industries that arent customer- and client-driven can allow workers to come in a certain number of hours a week at their own discretion. Still other industries, such as information technology, might operate on a 24-hour cycle and need staff both day and night. A flextime schedule is in everyones best interest for these businesses. Why Should You Give Your Employees Flextime? A work-life balance is among the greatest benefits of flextime. Employees can have all sorts of con flicts in their personal lives that dont allow for a typical 9-to-5 day, but they nonetheless need to work a full-time position for financial reasons. Some employees have to coordinate a childcare schedule with their spouses. It would help them considerably if they came in earlier and left earlier to pick up their children. Others might be going back to school and need to leave early to attend classes. Still others have ongoing doctors appointments that cause them to come in late and leave late on a regular basis. Another benefit of flextime is allowing employees to avoid rush hour. Any opportunity to avoid sitting in traffic is welcome for employees with long commutes. This unpaid perk can keep a highly qualified employee on staff and prevent her from looking for a position closer to home. Whats in It for Businesses? Depending on how flextime is broken out, you might find that you have lower overhead costs. If employees work drastically different hours, they can share office sp ace and equipment, saving the company money. But the bottom line is that happy employees who arent stressed to the max trying to maintain a work-life balance are less likely to go job hunting. They want to stay put, according to a study by the Society for Human Resource Management. And happy employees are productive employees, so theres definitely something in it for your company. Flextime can also reduce those disruptive, unplanned absences when an employee calls in at the last minute. You can let him take care of whatever he needs to take care of and schedule his shift at another time. Watch for trends. Does he frequently call in on Wednesdays? Ask him if working Wednesday evening or Saturday morning would be more doable for him. If so, you can achieve a little more consistency and productivity in your workplace. Implementing Flextime in Your Company Its important to set a policy for both employees and managers. Flextime can be offered to anyone, but it must not discriminate. Employers can limit flextime to certain situations. The best place to spell out a policy like this is in the employee handbook. Be sure to include your expectations as to what each employee on flextime is expected to accomplish, as well as how and when. In other words, give her a flextime job description, just as you would give her a regular job description if you were planting her at a desk during all normal business hours. Set up a specific means of communication between you if youre not both going to be on the premises at the same time. Her hours dont have to be a free-for-all, nor should they be. Youre not saying, Work when you feel like it. Youre accommodating her life by changing her schedule, not giving her carte blanche to work whenever she wants on an ever-changing schedule. A Final Word Giving employees flextime allows them to schedule their lives around work without sacrificing work productivity. When employees are free to get their personal objectives accomplished wh ile still working full time, theyre free to focus on doing the job at hand. Theyre not worrying about their personal lives or how theyll get everywhere on time.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Six things that kill morale in the workplace

Six things that kill morale in the workplaceSix things that kill morale in the workplaceWhat makes you happy at work? Maybe you have a great boss who gives you the freedom to be creative, rewards you for going the extra mile, and helps you to reach your career goals.Maybe you have none of the above and are updating your rsum as we speak.Its pretty incredible how often you hear managers complaining about their best employees leaving, and they really do have something to complain about- few things are as costly and disruptive as good people walking out the door.But managers tend to blame their turnover problems on everything under the sun while ignoring the crux of the matter people dont leave jobs they leave managers.Bad management does not discriminate based on salary or job title. A Fortune 500 executive team can experience mora dissatisfaction and turnover than the baristas at a local coffee shop. The more demanding your job is and the less control you have over what you do, the mo re likely you are to suffer. A study by the American Psychological Association found that people whose work meets both behauptung criteria are more likely to experience exhaustion, poor sleep, anxiety, and depression.The sad thing is that this suffering can easily be avoided. All thats required is a new perspective and some extra effort on the managers part to give employees autonomy and make their work feel less demanding. To get there, managers must understand what theyre doing to kill morale. The following practices are the worst offenders, and they must be abolished if youre going to hang on to good employees.1 Overworking peopleNothing burns good employees out quite like overworking them. Its so tempting to work the best people hard that managers frequently fall into this trap. Overworking good employees is perplexing for them as it makes them feel as if theyre being punished for their great performance. Overworking employees is also counterproductive. New research from Stanfor d showed that productivity per hour declines sharply when the workweek exceeds 50 hours, and productivity drops off so much after 55 hours that you dont get anything out of working more. Talented employees will take on a bigger workload, but they wont stay if their job suffocates them in the process. Raises, promotions, and title-changes are all acceptable ways to increase workload. If managers simply increase workload because people are talented, without changing a thing, these employees will seek another job that gives them what they deserve.2 Holding people backAs an employee, you want to bring value to your job, and you do so with a unique set of skills and experience. So how is it that you can do your job so well that you become irreplaceable? This happens when managers sacrifice your upward mobility for their best interests. If youre looking for your next career opportunity, and your boss is unwilling to let you move up the ladder, your enthusiasm is bound to wane. Taking away opportunities for advancement is a serious morale killer.Management may have a beginning, but it certainly has no end. When blessed with a talented employee, its the managers job to keep finding areas in which they can improve to expand their skill set and further their career. The most talented employees want feedback- more so than the less talented ones- and its a managers job to keep it coming. Otherwise, people grow bored and complacent.3 Playing the blame gameA boss who is too proud to admit a mistake or who singles out individuals in front of the group creates a culture that is riddled with fear and anxiety. Its impossible to bring your best to your work when youre walking on eggshells. Instead of pointing fingers when something goes wrong, good managers work collaboratively with their team and focus on solutions. They pull people aside to discuss slip-ups instead of publicly shaming them, and theyre willing to accept responsibility for mistakes made under their leadership.4 Frequent threats of firingSome managers use threats of termination to keep you in line and to scare you into performing better. This is a lazy and shortsighted way of motivating people. People who feel disposable are quick to find another job where theyll be valued and will receive the respect that they deserve.5 Not letting people pursue their passionsTalented employees are passionate. Providing opportunities for them to pursue their passions improves their productivity and job satisfaction, but many managers want people to work within a little box. These managers fear that productivity will decline if they let people expand their focus and pursue their passions. This fear is unfounded. Studies have shown that people who are able to pursue their passions at work experience flow, a euphoric state of mind that is five times more productive than the norm.6 Withholding praiseIts easy to underestimate the power of a pat on the back, especially with top performers who are intrinsically m otivated. Everyone likes kudos, none more so than those who work hard and give their all. Managers need to communicate with their people to find out what makes them feel good (for some, its a raise for others, its public recognition) and then to reward them for a job well done. With top performers, this will happen often if youre doing it right. This doesnt mean that managers need to praise people for showing up on time or working an eight-hour day- these things are the price of entry- but a boss who does not give praise to dedicated employees erodes their commitment to the job.Bringing it all togetherIf managers want their best people to stay, they need to think carefully about how they treat them. While good employees are as tough as nails, their talent gives them an abundance of options. Managers need to make people want to work for them.This article first appeared on LinkedIn.