As a graduate student and self-professed “researcher,” I feel obligated to say first that I do not have personal empirical evidence regarding municipal human resources practices. However, I recently read the article “Determinants of Local Government Workforce...
How do you apply for a federal job? Many people go straight to USAJOBS.gov and start searching for jobs they might like. They look at the Duties section of the Vacancy Announcement and say to themselves, “I can do that.” Then they apply. These same folks upload their...
You may be wondering, "What the heck is she talking about?" When I ventured back into to the workplace working for the federal government, I did not consider ALL THINGS! I just wanted to get back out there and regain my independence and feel like I was on my way...
In almost every aspect of life, the term likeability is at the center of decision making. This idea holds true in political campaigns, speed dating, beauty contests, American Idol, selection of church pastors, straw polls, hand in marriages, choosing favorite foods, a...
One of the first questions I ask any candidate who is applying for a role with our company is "Why are you interested in working here?" I use this question, not as an ego trip of "tell me why we're so good", but rather to see how much the candidate knows about us, and...
For many professionals in government, interacting with the media is an unwritten part of their job description. Media interviews can happen when your department’s public information officer asks for coverage of news, or when a reporter comes to your organization for a...
It’s that time of year when we tend to get the winter blahs. The holidays are over, we’ve lost steam on our New Year’s resolutions, and spring is not yet on the horizon. Blah, blah, blah. How do we turn our dissatisfaction with the doldrums into creative new ideas?...
During President Obama’s latest State of the Union address, he encouraged more private sector investment in public infrastructure projects. His proposal outlines the application of Qualified Public Infrastructure Bonds, or QPIBs, which would expand a previously...
A simple online news search for the term “city branding” yields results from cities as varied as Fargo, North Dakota, Wichita, Kansas, and Hermiston, Oregon. While the core of my research focuses on how U.S. cities undertake brand identity strategies, this practice is...