Key Factors About Open Enrollment for Benefits

Key Factors About Open Enrollment for BenefitsKey Factors About Open Enrollment for BenefitsInterview About Open Enrollment for Benefits Erich Sternberg of Unum Group participated in an interview about open enrollment for benefits. Take a look at his responses to the questions posed by TheBalanceCareers to learn the goals of and the happenings that occur during an organizations open enrollment for benefits time period. You can make the enrollment period beneficial for your employees and for your organization. Employees who understand the cost and the benefits of their full compensation package appreciate them more. QA About Open Enrollment for Benefits What is open enrollment for benefits? Open enrollment is a period of time set aside by an employer to educate employees on the group benefits available to them. The goal of open enrollment is to ensure that all employees receive a comprehensive overview of the benefit offerings to enable them to make informed decisions on what ar e the best benefits for themselves and their families. This is especially true and important when the employer offers voluntary benefits wherein the employee is responsible for paying the full cost of the benefit. What else can employees do during open enrollment periods of time? The open enrollment for benefits period offers employees the opportunity to make changes to their benefits. They can add coverage, terminate their coverage, or make a change to an existing policy. Open enrollment is also a time for employers to educate their employees about any changes they may have made to their employee benefits package. What do employees do during open enrollment for benefits? Open enrollment is the employees time to attend enrollment information meetings, speak with the benefits diensts and Human Resources staff, and make their benefit selections. They have the opportunity to compare all of the employers offerings so they can select the appropriate mix of benefits for their family. H ow Employees Can Ensure They Make Good Choices To ensure that they make the best choices for their families and their personal situation, during the open enrollment, Sternberg recommends that employees need to do the following. Do their homework. Thoroughly review open enrollment materials about benefits even if the benefits provider is staying the same. Benefits can change annually so employees should review written materials and websites and write down questions to ask the organizations benefits representatives. Review their familys past health care expenses. No one can identify better than the employee which insurance plans will best fit their familys medical needs. This review will allow the employee to assess,for their family situation, the value of the plans offered, based on the cost of premiums, required co-pays, and their anticipated annual spending. Talk to their healthcare providers. Every benefits provider will have a different network of healthcare providers. While an employees physician or dentist may belong to several networks, it is important for employees to verify, in advance, that their healthcare providers are participants in the network of the plan they are considering electing. Consider buying disability insurance or more disability insurance, if the employer offers some coverage. According to the National Safety Council, every 7 seconds, a worker is injured on the job. Work-relatedmedically consulted injuriestotaled 4.5 million in 2017. When a disabling injury occurs, it can result in an employees inability to earn a living. Most employees have never thought about this possibility. Employees need to add up their monthly costs of living and compare the total to their current disability insurance coverage. Employees will want to make sure the insurance will pay all of their bills in case of an accident. Review the adequacy of their life insurance coverage. According to LIMRA International (you must be a member to access), over 68 million Americans have no life insurance. 70% of millennial employees have life insurance although as with the other generations, the insurance is generally inadequate. Employees need to consider a life insurance policy during open enrollment if their employer doesnt offer a policy. If they have a personal or an employer-provided policy, they need to check their coverage amounts and the beneficiaries they have listed to make sure their families are financially protected in case of death. Benefits Covered During Open Enrollment What benefits are covered by open enrollment time periods? The employer works with their agent during open enrollment to determine the benefits offered and the contribution the employer will provide. If the employer cannot afford to provide employees with a standard benefits package, they can offer voluntary benefits. Voluntary benefits allow employers to offer their employees the benefits they want and need at a more affordable price, paid by the employee. When i s open enrollment held? An open enrollment period is usually held annually and typically occurs 30-60 days prior to the benefits renewal or the effective date of coverage. Stay in touch with your employer to make certain that you dont miss open enrollment for benefits in your organization. How to Make Open Enrollment for Benefits Successful How does an employer make open enrollment successful for employees? To make sure the open enrollment period is as successful as possible requires effective communication. Communication methods vary during open enrollment depending on whether benefits have changed. Changes may require educational meetings with the benefits providers. Other times, group meetings to summarize benefits are adequate. Employers may want to make benefit providers available for individual employee meetings. Employers will want to include employee spouses in the meetings whenever possible. Notify employees of open enrollment meetings 3-4 weeks prior to the meetings. T ime the meetings so that the employer has time to submit enrollment changes to insurance providers and verify that employees are appropriately enrolled in their chosen benefits. Provide enrollment kits to employees that provide comprehensive information about the benefits and their portion of the cost. If a Section 125 plan is in place, inform employees of what benefits are available on a pre-tax basis such as a healthcare flexible spending account. Employees need adequate time to review the materials and consult with family members in order to make informed decisions. Final Thoughts on Open Enrollment for Benefits To get the most out of the open enrollment and their benefits, employees must fully understand the benefits their employer provides. To understand, they need to participate in the employers benefits education program. Information meetings by insurance professionals and comprehensive enrollment materials are key to providing employees the support they need to make informed benefit decisions.

Featured Australian Resume Template from Catriona Herron Watt

Featured Australian Resume Template from Catriona Herron WattFeatured Australian Resume Template from Catriona Herron WattIn conjunction with Jobscans new resume optimization checks which include formatting checks for headings, dates, file schrifts, and more weve invited career coaches and resume writers to share exclusive resume templates with ur readers. Next up is Catriona Herron Watt of CV Saviour from Sydney, Australia. Be koranvers to follow her on LinkedInor Facebook.Learn more about Jobscans new resume checks at the bottom of this article, or try them out.About Catriona Herron Watt and CV SaviourCV Saviour is an Australian-based career marketing service. While the majority of our clients are in Australia, we work with clients all over the world, in particular, those in the UK, the USA, Asia and the Gulf States, as well as job seekers looking to relocate to Australia.While we work across the full range of job types and sectors, I love a challenge and specialise in establishe d careers, career changers, career returners and newcomers to the Australian job market. I work with a cracking team of brilliant writers who have various areas of specialisation that range from Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM), to Education, Banking and Finance, Teaching, Human Resources (yes, even recruiters need resumes), Administration, Law, Medical and Allied Health Care, Professional Services, Academia the list goes on. Ive got a raft of qualifications (Marketing, Business, Nursing, and Resume Writing to personenname a few) to back up my 21 years resume writing experience and with years of experience marketing professional services in Australia, the US and the UK, today, I market people for their next career moves.Challenges for Australian job seekersOne of the biggest challenges for Australian job seekers is that much of what can be found on the internet (and in books) is written for markets other than the Australian job market (although Im working hard t o change that). Many people think that a one-page resume is the norm in Australia, but thats a bit of a myth. I always say that a resume only needs to be as long as it needs to be, to get the message across that the job seeker is the best candidate for the job.Sure, a school-leaver may have a one-page resume, however, we find most Australian resumes tend to be 2 3 pages, which also means that our resumes tend to have a lot more words in them. (Big thanks to Jobscan for making Australian job seekers aware of this on the Jobscan ATS tool). Other market-specific idiosyncrasies include spelling (we use British English as standard), grammar, the meanings of certain words, measurements etc and things such as paper size.Australians arent great at shouting about their achievements, and many have very bland I did this, I did that statements on their resumes. In our experience, people (recruiters and employers) buy people (job seekers), so what we do is really turn our clients resumes aroun d to focus on authentic, personality-driven documents that shout out just how amazing our clients are by providing tangible evidence of the outcomes of the work they have done. Its a winning formula.Download Catrionas Australian resume templateDownload .docxWhy do you recommend this resume template?This CV Saviour hybrid style of resume (international A4 paper size) works really well for anyone really, but in particular for those with challenging career histories, career changers, job hoppers, those who have juggled multiple concurrent jobs, those with little work experience or job seekers who want to take the focus off their past job titles or the fact that they have very little paid work experience, so they can emphasise the value they bring to their next role.The style aims to capture 70% of the key information about a candidate on the front page. Where colour has been used in blocks, it is shading only, so it wont cause issues for ATS, and the Key Skills section uses ATS-friendl y hard set tabs. For those with very little experience, but heaps of knowledge on a subject, they should use the heading Areas of Knowledge and Understanding instead of Key Skills, if they dont yet have the hands-on experience in a skill.Whats new at JobscanJobscans resume optimization toolnow checks your formatting based on applicant tracking system and recruiter best practices. New intelligent checks make even the best resume templates more ATS compatible and recruiter-friendly than ever.ATS ChecksHard skills, soft skills, and keyword matchingJob title and education matchingATS-friendly section headingsNEWATS-friendly date formattingNEWATS-friendly file typeNEWTables and ColumnsNEWNeed more ideas? Check out Jobscans newATS-friendly resume templates. Get a bonus template by signing up here.Recruiter ChecksMeasurable results, word count, and words to avoidSentence lengthNEWPredicted skills missing from the job descriptionNEWIndustry-specific insightsNEWFont checksNEWPage size and ma rginsNEWKeep an eye out for additional new features. Jobscan is updated every two weeks and new formatting checks are on the way

Five Victim Mentalities to Drop During a Job Hunt

Five Victim Mentalities to Drop During a Job HuntFive Victim Mentalities to Drop During a Job Hunt We all have different filters through which we see the world that influence our attitudes and behaviors. One filter that is common to many is that of the victim. When circumstances become challenging, we sometimes use this victim filter, to ease certain ego bruises we experience. This filter leads us to feel victimized by events perceived to be beyond our control.When going through the interview process , we subject ourselves to all kinds of vulnerabilities that may compel us to play the victim card. This kind of mentality can be especially detrimental when it manifests during a job hunt.As a candidate, its your job to ensure thatIf you cant check these boxes, then theres work to be done beyond adjusting your attitude. However, if youre confident that youve met the criteria discussed above, and youre mucksmuschenstill experiencing interview rejection, its important to counter the negative thoughts that may result. Lets examine some common victim mentalities.People are usually well-intentioned and willing to help. Before assuming that someone has dropped off the face of the earth to avoid helping you, consider that they may have simply forgotten, or your approach didnt work People get inundated with messages all day, so its your job to be thoughtful about standing out.Consider the following strategies before writing a person offReframe your thoughts to This person forgot to get back to me, but its my job to follow up and make a great impression.Job descriptions often set out a wish list of qualities required of candidates that are more aspirational than mandatory. Though you might not have the years of experience, your skill set might nonetheless still fit the bill for a given position. Less experience also means a lower pay grade, which can be an advantage for an organization.Break the job description down into tasks, and if you feel you could succeed in each area, dont hesitate to apply.Reframe your thoughts to I cant change my work experience, but if I get rejected at least I went for itWhether youve been laid off, fired, or left a job, its tempting to think that youre the only one struggling. You need to acknowledge that job hunting is hard for everyone and you cant pretend that there wont be rejection involved. Youll need to build the confidence to move on from setbacks and get back on the horse, says Work & Life Coach Minda Miloff . Its important to fill your life with meaningful hobbies and projects, so when a challenge presents itself in one area, your confidence remains intactReframe your thoughts to Job hunting is hard for everyone. I will show empathy and help those in their job search whenever I can.When an organization makes a choice about who gets the job, the decision may not always be based on criteria that is transparent to you. Though the outcome might not be what you hoped, there is always something to learn and a tangible skill to be gained through each interview, says Miloff. Assume that the competition is stiff, and you cant predict how things will unfold. Focus on what you can learn from each interview, and use that to drive yourself forward.Reframe your thought to Ive been rejected from so many jobs, but Ive learned from each rejection and I know that all it takes is one person to say yes.While you need to project the confidence that youll be successful, its important to monitor your expectations and be realistic that there is a chance things wont work out. Interviews should be viewed as a performance about delivering the best of who you are on the spot says Miloff . At some point, you have to say, I did my best, and thats a helpful countermeasure to feeling knocked down.Reframe your thoughts to I will land the right job eventually. I accept that it might take time, commitment and grit on my behalf.Its normal to indulge in some necessary pity parties. However, career dev elopment requires mental toughness, strength to recover and self-awareness to recognize your own weaknesses or alternatives for why things didnt work out. Rejection is an unavoidable part of the process, and so the quicker you learn to bounce back and re-strategize, the more success youll findStacy Pollack is a Learning Specialist with an MA in Educational Technology. She is passionate about building leadership programs that engage and contribute to the success of her organization. She loves to share her perspective on job hunting, career building, and networking for success. Connect with her on LinkedIn or Twitter .