Is Providing Social Support the Leader’s Job?
Many recent graduates in business and public administration find themselves valued by their “bosses” because they bring new and “cutting-edge” ideas and skills to the organization. For example, a young woman with strong analytical and methodological skills is hired...
Public-Private Partnerships: An Emergency Management Perspective
When a disaster occurs, communities must be rebuilt and survivors require reasonable care and attention. In order for this to occur, adequate funding and staffing is necessary in order to meet or exceed the necessities of those involved. Individuals whom have been...
Place Branding: The Role of Social Media
Digital technologies can change the way public administrators interact with citizens and stakeholder groups. Since their inception, these technologies have gone from one-way, static web platforms that allowed citizens to, say, pay bills online to interactive,...
Local Government: Valuing People is an Investment In Success
The need to develop a workforce to meet the current and future demands of government operations, as well as foster an environment that values people is no small task. This effort compels our need to fully understand business priorities, citizen engagement, strategic...
College Isn’t Enough Anymore
One of the most common statements recent college graduates say is, “I don’t know why I can’t find a job, even if I went to a good college.” They seem confused when they send out 50 resumes, and only get 2 responses back. Why is this the case? On the flip side,...
How To Become a Lawyer with the Federal Government
The federal government is a major employer of attorneys in the United States, and many of the most promising graduates from top law schools seek employment there. These highly sought-after positions task attorneys with determining the outcomes of many of the most...
What is a Foreign Policy Graduate Program?
One of the core functions of the U.S. government, and many governments, is to interact abroad with both state and non-state actors, such as international organizations, large corporations, terrorist organizations, and NGOs. This purposeful, strategic interaction to...
Does an MPA degree help in a career pursuit?
What if you are in a particular job that you love and you would like get promoted or advance in your organization? Obtaining a master’s degree in Public Administration or Public Policy is definitely an achievement that could assist you developing a career with lasting...
Public Speaking: A Simple Strategy for Improving Your Skills
Over the last decade I have performed public debates and speeches in four countries and three continents in a variety of venues ranging from two-person rooms to theaters with hundreds of spectators to the maximum security wing of the Oregon State Penitentiary. In all...
Show Humility For Job and Career Success
All three of my daughters have volunteered abroad (two of them are in Africa as I write). Spending time seeing the world in vastly different contexts and cultures, political and socio-economic circumstances, can be a humbling experience. We can sometimes lose...
Is an HR Career Right For You?
I have had this HR career conversation with many a person looking to get into the field of Human Resources. Often it is with either a student who has commenced their studies in HR or has just graduated from an HR program. Sometimes this discussion takes place with...
Crisis in Blue Within the Policing Profession
Over the next 20 years, and more importantly the next five years, we will see a huge rush of Baby Boomers and older Generation Xers exiting the workplace and entering into their retirement years. This organizational memory and labor exodus is especially true of the...
Spin Sucks: Public Sector Communication Strategies in the Digital Age
Public relations for state and local governments has many parallels to its private sector counterpart. By definition, PR is a strategic communication process that “builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.” (Public Relations...
Gender Inequality in Public Service
As we know, our elected officials are our representatives. They are our voices within government, influencers regarding our healthcare and other significant issues whether at the municipal, state, or federal levels. It is important for diversity to be present within...
Public-Private Partnerships: An Innovative Solution?
One of the many challenges facing all levels of government is consistently finding new techniques to innovate and undertake policy and project necessities while saving the taxpayers’ money and employing individuals. Local, state, and federal government all have strict...
Public Service: A Passion
When I started the University of North Carolina MPA program in August 2013, I knew that I had a passion for public service and that I was attracted to government work. But I wasn’t sure what level of government would be the best fit for my interests. In a previous...
The Psychology of Unemployment
According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 3.5 million people fall into the category of the long-term unemployed—defined as those individuals who have not had a job for 27 or more weeks. To put this into greater perspective, the long-term unemployed make...
Active Duty Mindset For Human Resource
Entry into the military is difficult. The training you receive will break you down, than rebuild you back up to become a basically trained combatant, than leader, and finally a specialist within an array of occupational fields. This process is where we lose the...