Tuesday, February 11, 2014

How To Look For A Job [**Reposted from HealthyButJuicy.com**]

I just read this article on LinkedIn (Don't Meet the Hiring Requirements? This Could Help...) and thought: #garbage. It doesn't help. It didn't me, anyway.

Tip, Tip, Step? Here's a tip: If you're going to make a list, be consistent.

Source: from cited link above

I've never found job-hunting suggestions like these to work. I'm an introvert and no one is interested in really helping you find a job (not that I necessarily blame them).

Below are some of my tips if you're on the hunt for that 'second home' [aka. home away from home, aka. next job].
  • Work full-time when you're unemployed: Set your alarm, get up, and work. Because applying to jobs is work— a lot of it. But the harder your work, the faster you will get out of the seemingly never-ending, dreaded task itself. Likewise, though, take breaks and weekends. It's one thing to work hard but it's another to overwork and lose productivity.

  • Set goals: Shoot to apply to X number of jobs per day or send X number of emails. The more you apply and contact people, the more likely people will know you are looking and available. Don't get overwhelmed by the number you have to send. Applying to jobs takes practice and some have more practice than others. Start at your level and slowly increase your count/quota every other day, or something like that.

  • Apply in different ways: Personally, I think the best way is to try to figure out who the hiring manager is for the position you want. Email that person direct. I've heard snail mail is effective to because it's so old school and unexpected— I wouldn't know though because I've never tried it. Even though I said no one's really interested in helping you find a job, blast that you're looking anyway to your social networks because, hey, you never know&mash; maybe the stars will align. Google 'creative resumes'— there you'll find infographics, videos, etc— that's another way to stand out. Try to approach it with 'outside-the-box'-thinking. That's a personal bias but the idea is to help make you stand out using your skills to demonstrate your worth.

  • Mix it up: Apply in all sorts of places— direct to hiring manager and/or recruiter, someone interesting at the company, company website, job boards, even recruiters. Yes, recruiters. There are spammers out there, for sure, but some of them can actually hook you up with a job you might end up liking.

  • Don't just apply: don't spend all your time applying to jobs. Use the time to build skills and/or portfolios. That doesn't mean you have to spend money. Use the internet to teach yourself things, spend your time doing 'voluntary' work&mash; doing/creating things that could build your portfolio and demonstrate your strengths.

  • Follow inspirational quote boards: Because being jobless with no income, having to spend your full-time energy on the act of looking for a job, and getting rejected sucks and can sorely get you down. Quote boards can help because even reading one positive thing a day can lift up your spirits.

  • Don't give up, be persistent, believe in yourself: You will find a job. And it will be great. Be confident. You have a lot to offer. Write down a list of your strengths. Remind yourself of those things when unemployment seems never-ending. Hold your head up when you walk into an interview. Believe in yourself because if you do, it'll be a lot easier for the hiring manager to do, too.

Good luck! xo

Happy Healthy Juicy Job Hunting!



This was reposted from HealthyButJuicy.com.

Sunday, February 9, 2014

How To Get Kids To Eat Their Vegetables | #HealthyButJuicy

I just read this story on Reuters Flavor-Pairing May Teach Kids To Like Vegetables. And, meh.

Here are my unsolicited tips (take it or leave it):
  • Cook vegetables in a way that taste good: So good that YOU like eating them yourself, too, and actually do. Forget the vegetables for a second. Kids are heavily (primarily?) influenced by their role models, which includes you (the parent). Don't overanalyze how to get to them to eat vegetables. The problem might be that you might not be eating them either.

  • Really show them your eating vegetable: Ok, so say you really do like eating vegetables and eat a decent portion no less. Kids have short attention spans and get easily distracted. You are a role model, yes, but they're not necessarily watching your every single move. Eat it out— plain and clear. Just like you have to create sentences for them to say to teach them how to speak, the same could go for eating vegetables. If your kid is not eating theyr vegetables, tell them how much you love eating yours. Verbally tell them you're doing it as you are doing it. Chew. Open your mouth and show them how you do it. Swallow. Smile. Verbally tell them how 'yummy' it is.

  • Eat together: Kids love doing things together. As you wrap up the above bullet point, verbally suggest, 'let's eat it together!'. As they pick up their vegetable(s), cheers your forks (or hands). Make it fun and something to celebrate. Because isn't it something to celebrate? :>

  • Let it go and try again... later... and again and again: If all that doesn't work, let it go. Don't force your kid to do something s/he doesn't want to (if it isn't absolutely necessary). Kids are smart and they remember. A) It's not worth the struggle or energy. B) It might leave them with negative associations. C) As the article mentions, it does take several times of offering/tasting before kids will like a food. The number of times it takes varies and can be great [ie. up to 20 times?] but I definitely learned that one in grad school after getting it wrong on a quiz— it's stuck with me ever since. Thanks, Ellyn Satyr. But when the vegetable is available, always offer it to your kid, rather than say, 'O, s/he doesn't like it.' By doing that, you're only reinforcing that belief.

  • Offer variety, offer daily: Do you love every single food that exists? Probably not. Your kids won't either. But the odds of your child not liking every vegetable is silly. Try to figure out different textures and cooking methods of a wide-variety of vegetables— they're bound to like something. Also offer vegetables daily. Be sure to make vegetables a given. Keep dinners, for example, consistent, like carb (rice, bread, pasta), protein (chicken, beef, pork, beans), and vegetable.

  • Be mindful of kids' development, cook appropriately: Be sure to cook or serve vegetables that are somewhat easy (or just easy) for them to chew and swallow. Cook leafy greens soft and cut it up into kid-bite-sized pieces. Peel off the outer layer of broccoli stalks. Yes, by doing so you are losing some fiber and nutrients but this, I think, is more effective than dousing the vegetable(s) in cream cheese, for example, which has an even more canceling/negative effect. Serving vegetables by themselves, I believe, will get kids to like them for 'who' they are vs. masking them in over-poweringly flavored costumes/dress.



  • Take it with a grain of salt: The cohort of the study— that is, the number of people participating in the study— amassed to 29 kids. Twenty-nine. That's not very many kids whatsoever. What other factors could have twisted the results? How did the kids feel about the vegetables by the time they reached adulthood? What culture/environment do these kids/families live in and are they applicable to everyone outside that bubble? These are the questions you should be asking yourself when deciding on the strength of the study and whether you want to apply the results to your own behavior.

I take pics of what I eat. For ideas on meals and portioning, check out my Instagram @mdesenna!



Have some tips of your own? Share them in the Comments below, we'd love to hear! :>

Happy Healthy Juicy Kids Eating Vegetables!



This was originally posted on HealthyButJuicy.com.

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