How to Prepare for a Job Interview, Have Fun

How to Prepare for a Job Interview, Have FunHow to Prepare for a Job Interview, Have FunCarrie Lewis, a Robert Half recruiting manager in New Orleans, says she wishes she could tell candidates how to prepare for a job interview the same way some people do for public speaking, by imagining the hiring managers in their underwear - but being nervous and giggling is probably a bad combination,she admits.Still, there is something to be said for using creativity to lessen your nerves before that terrifying interview for a finance or accounting job. While the butterflies may not go away completely, there are some things you can do to help calm your pre-interview jitters before your big entrance.Whats the best advice for how to prepare for a job interview? Sure, you need to think about how to answer tough questions. But you also need to chill. Here are some quirky ideas for having fun, followed by mora serious tips from our recruiters, as you de-stress, wipe your sweaty brow and prepare to thrive in the interview setting.1. Count backward and breatheIf youre in accounting, youre already good with numbers. Why not use them to your advantage? Count backward from 50, focus on the numbers, and find your breathing return to normal - voila (You dont have to count out loud if youre in public. It still works.)2. Get silly and walk like a penguinPublic speaking prompts nervousness a lot like getting grilled in an interview, and a presentation coach who calls herself the Impromptu Guru on YouTube recommends you do the penguin to release tension. Scrunch your shoulders up tightly to your neck and waddle around like a penguin. If that makes you feel silly, consider it a win3. Have a good belly laughWhat cracks you up - cat videos, re-watching the movie Office Space,listening to a comedian like Mike Birbiglia or hanging out with your most amusing friends? Relaxing with humor has been linked to reductions in stress hormones, so make a funny face in the mirror and know that every little bit helps.Go ahead and indulge yourself in some accounting humor, tooNow for more serious adviceNow that youre breathing like a yogi, weve collected some tidbits from our recruiters, starting with Judy Billings, vice president of Robert Half Financial Accounting.Preparation is a process - and the key to a successful interview.Billings advises that you practice answering questions you might be asked and to write down questions you can ask the hiring manager. From past experience, you might know that nervousness manifests itself in different ways. If it causes your hands to sweat, for example, youll know to bring a handkerchief.Past performance is the best indicator of success.Another suggestion is to prepare by using a tool Billings calls the T account. Set up a spreadsheet using your current or previous job description at the top. Then create two columns below it. On the left, itemize What Ive Done, and on the right, How Well I Did. List the meaningful things youve accompli shed, quantifying them with specific results, such as saving the company half a million dollars or cutting three days off the closing.More words of wisdomLewis, who is also a CPA, remembers her interview for her job at Robert Half. I was nervous, she says. I wanted the job, and I told the interviewer, If you dont like my dark-blue suit, I have them in all other colors.Its OK to admit your nervousness at the interview. It shows you care.If you suddenly go blank or stumble on a question, you can always say, Please forgive me. Im nervous, but Im so excited to be here.Many times, the hiring manager is as nervous as you are.Lewis reminds us that the interviewer is just another human being like you, who may also be uncomfortable in this setting.Still nervous? At Robert Half, we can help you improve your resume, find jobs, and prep for interviews.SEARCH FOR JOBSSEND US YOUR RESUME

Drink up Millennials spend more on craft beer than any other generation

Drink up Millennials spend more on craft beer than any other generationDrink up Millennials spend more on craft beer than any other generationCraft beer is at the top of manys lists - including Millenials.A new survey conducted by C+R research found beer drinkers spend an average of $59 per month on craft beer, with Millennials leading the spending pack due to their obsession with craft beer.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreMillennials spend an additional $5 per month because more than half said they prefer having at least one craft beer per week.43% of Millennials said they visit a brewery or brewpub at least once a month.The survey, which polled 2,000 Americans from ages 21 to 70 who said they consume alcohol, found that most drinkers (76%) were comfortable spending more money because they preferred drinking craft beer due to its taste and quality.The monthly spending habits o n craft beer differ between men and women. Male drinkers spend an average of $66 a month while female drinkers spend $50 a month on craft beer, according to the survey.While craft breweries are shrinking in the UK, they continue to rise in the US. Over 7,000 breweries were operating in the US in 2018, according to a recent report.It might be easy to peg Millennials as craft beer snobs, but its not exactly accurate.Research by the Federal Research examining Millennials spending habits found that just 1.4% of Millennials total expenditures was used on alcoholic beverages. Thats the same number for Gen-Xers while Boomers spent the highest, about 1.9% in 1986.Millennials, according to the survey, preferred IPAs as their craft beer.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will ersatzdarsteller your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people

13 body language blunders that make you look bad

13 body language blunders that make you look bad13 body language blunders that make you look badOur bodies have a language of their own, and their words arent always kind. Your body language has likely become an integral part of who you are, to the point where you might notlage even think about it.If thats the case, its time to start, because you could be sabotaging your career.TalentSmart has tested more than a mio people and found that the upper echelons of top performance are filled with people who are high in emotional intelligence (90% of top performers, to be exact). behauptung people know the power that unspoken signals have in communication and they monitor their own body language accordingly.Body language is a very powerful tool. We had body language before we had speech, and apparently, 80% of what you understand in a conversation is read through the body, not the words. Deborah BullWhen youre working hard and doing all you can to achieve your goals, anything that can give you an edge is powerful and will streamline your path to success. Just make certain you dont fall victim to any of these body language blunders.Exaggerated gestures can imply that youre stretching the truth. Aim for small, controlled gestures to indicate leadership and confidence, and open gestures- like spreading your arms apart or showing the palms of your hands- to communicate that you have nothing to hide.Crossed arms create a physical barrier that suggests youre not open to what the other person is saying. Even if youre smiling or engaged in a pleasant conversation, the other person may get a nagging sense that youre shutting him or her out. Even if folding your arms feels comfortable, resist the urge to do so if you want people to see you as open-minded and interested in what they have to say.Inconsistency between your words and your facial ausprgung causes people to sense that something isnt right and they begin to suspect that youre trying to deceive them, even if they dont know exactly why or how.For example, a nervous smile while rejecting an offer during a negotiation wont help you get what you want it will just make the other person feel uneasy about working with you because theyll assume that youre up to something.Turning yourself away from others, or not leaning into your conversation, portrays that you are unengaged, uninterested, uncomfortable, and perhaps even distrustful of the person speaking.Try leaning in towards the person who is speaking and tilt your head slightly as you listen to them speak. This shows the person speaking that they have your complete focus and attention.Slouching is a sign of disrespect. It communicates that youre bored and have no desire to be where you are. You would never tell your boss, I dont understand why I have to listen to you, but if you slouch, you dont have to- your body says it for you, loud and clear.The brain is hardwired to equate power with the amount of space people take up. Standing up straight with your shoulders back is a power position. It maximizes the amount of space you fill. Slouching, on the other hand, is the result of collapsing your form- it takes up less space and projects less power. Maintaining good posture commands respect and promotes engagement from both ends of the conversation.Avoiding eye contact makes it look like you have something to hide, and that arouses suspicion. Lack of eye contact can also indicate a lack of confidence and interest, which you never want to communicate in a business setting. Sustained eye contact, on the other hand, communicates confidence, leadership, strength, and intelligence. While it is possible to be engaged without direct, constant eye contact, complete negligence will clearly have negative effects on your professional relationships.Eye contact thats too intense may be perceived as aggressive, or an attempt to dominate. On average, Americans hold eye contact for seven to ten seconds, longer when were listening than when were talking. The way we break contact sends a message, too. Glancing down communicates submission, while looking to the side projects confidence.Watching the clock while talking to someone is a clear sign of disrespect, impatience, and inflated ego. It sends the message that you have better things to do than talk to the person youre with, and that youre anxious to leave them.Exaggerated nodding signals anxiety about approval. People may perceive your heavy nods as an attempt to show you agree with or understand something that you actually dont.Fidgeting with or fixing your hair signals that youre anxious, over-energized, self-conscious, and distracted. People will perceive you as overly concerned with your physical appearance and not concerned enough with your career.Scowling or having a generally unhappy expression sends the message that youre upset by those around you, even if they have nothing to do with your mood. Scowls turn people away, as they feel judged. Smiling, however, sugge sts that youre open, trustworthy, confident, and friendly. MRI studies have shown that the menschenfreundlich brain responds favorably to a person whos smiling, and this leaves a lasting positive impression.Weak handshakes signal that you lack authority and confidence, while a handshake that is too strong could be perceived as an aggressive attempt at domination, which is just as bad. Adapt your handshake to each person and situation, but make sure its always firm.Getting too close. If you stand too close to someone (nearer than one and a half feet), it signals that you have no respect for or understanding of personal space. This will make people very uncomfortable when theyre around you.Bringing it all togetherAvoiding these body language blunders will help you form stronger relationships, both professionally and personally.13 body language blunders that make you look badOur bodies have a language of their own, and their words arent always kind. Your body language has likely become an integral part of who you are, to the point where you might not even think about it.If thats the case, its time to start, because you could be sabotaging your career.TalentSmart has tested more than a million people and found that the upper echelons of top performance are filled with people who are high in emotional intelligence (90% of top performers, to be exact). These people know the power that unspoken signals have in communication and they monitor their own body language accordingly.Body language is a very powerful tool. We had body language before we had speech, and apparently, 80% of what you understand in a conversation is read through the body, not the words. - Deborah BullWhen youre working hard and doing all you can to achieve your goals, anything that can give you an edge is powerful and will streamline your path to success. Just make certain you dont fall victim to any of these body language blunders.Exaggerated gestures can imply that youre stretching the truth. Ai m for small, controlled gestures to indicate leadership and confidence, and open gestures - like spreading your arms apart or showing the palms of your hands - to communicate that you have nothing to hide.Crossed arms create a physical barrier that suggests youre not open to what the other person is saying. Even if youre smiling or engaged in a pleasant conversation, the other person may get a nagging sense that youre shutting him or her out. Even if folding your arms feels comfortable, resist the urge to do so if you want people to see you as open-minded and interested in what they have to say.Inconsistency between your words and your facial expression causes people to sense that something isnt right and they begin to suspect that youre trying to deceive them, even if they dont know exactly why or how.For example, a nervous smile while rejecting an offer during a negotiation wont help you get what you want it will just make the other person feel uneasy about working with you beca use theyll assume that youre up to something.Turning yourself away from others, or not leaning into your conversation, portrays that you are unengaged, uninterested, uncomfortable, and perhaps even distrustful of the person speaking.Try leaning in towards the person who is speaking and tilt your head slightly as you listen to them speak. This shows the person speaking that they have your complete focus and attention.Slouching is a sign of disrespect. It communicates that youre bored and have no desire to be where you are. You would never tell your boss, I dont understand why I have to listen to you, but if you slouch, you dont have to - your body says it for you, loud and clear.The brain is hardwired to equate power with the amount of space people take up. Standing up straight with your shoulders back is a power position. It maximizes the amount of space you fill. Slouching, on the other hand, is the result of collapsing your form- it takes up less space and projects less power. Ma intaining good posture commands respect and promotes engagement from both ends of the conversation.Avoiding eye contact makes it look like you have something to hide, and that arouses suspicion. Lack of eye contact can also indicate a lack of confidence and interest, which you never want to communicate in a business setting. Sustained eye contact, on the other hand, communicates confidence, leadership, strength, and intelligence. While it is possible to be engaged without direct, constant eye contact, complete negligence will clearly have negative effects on your professional relationships.Eye contact thats too intense may be perceived as aggressive, or an attempt to dominate. On average, Americans hold eye contact for seven to ten seconds, longer when were listening than when were talking. The way we break contact sends a message, too. Glancing down communicates submission, while looking to the side projects confidence.Watching the clock while talking to someone is a clear sign of disrespect, impatience, and inflated ego. It sends the message that you have better things to do than talk to the person youre with, and that youre anxious to leave them.Exaggerated nodding signals anxiety about approval. People may perceive your heavy nods as an attempt to show you agree with or understand something that you actually dont.Fidgeting with or fixing your hair signals that youre anxious, over-energized, self-conscious, and distracted. People will perceive you as overly concerned with your physical appearance and not concerned enough with your career.Scowling or having a generally unhappy expression sends the message that youre upset by those around you, even if they have nothing to do with your mood. Scowls turn people away, as they feel judged. Smiling, however, suggests that youre open, trustworthy, confident, and friendly. MRI studies have shown that the human brain responds favorably to a person whos smiling, and this leaves a lasting positive impression.Weak hands hakes signal that you lack authority and confidence, while a handshake that is too strong could be perceived as an aggressive attempt at domination, which is just as bad. Adapt your handshake to each person and situation, but make sure its always firm.Getting too close. If you stand too close to someone (nearer than one and a half feet), it signals that you have no respect for or understanding of personal space. This will make people very uncomfortable when theyre around you.Bringing it all togetherAvoiding these body language blunders will help you form stronger relationships, both professionally and personally.This article first appeared on LinkedIn.

Staying awake The surprisingly effective way to treat depression

Staying awake The surprisingly effective way to treat depressionStaying awake The surprisingly effective way to treat depressionThe first sign that something is happening is Angelinas hands. As she chats to the nurse in Italian, she begins to gesticulate, jabbing, moulding and circling the air with herbei fingers. As the minutes pass and Angelina becomes increasingly animated, I elendice a musicality to her voice that Im sure wasnt there earlier. The lines in her forehead seem to be softening, and the pursing and stretching of her lips and the crinkling of her eyes tell me as much about her mental state as any interpreter could.Angelina is coming to life, precisely as my body is beginning to shut down. Its 2 am, and were sat in the brightly lit kitchen of a Milanese psychiatric ward, eating spaghetti. Theres a dull ache behind my eyes, and I keep on zoning out, but Angelina wont be going to bed for at least another 17 hours, so Im steeling myself for a long night. In case I doubted h er resolve, Angelina removes her glasses, looks directly at me, and uses her thumbs and forefingers to pull open the wrinkled, grey-tinged skin around her eyes. Occhi aperti, she says. Eyes open.This is the second night in three that Angelina has been deliberately deprived of sleep. For a partie with bipolar disorder who has spent the past two years in a deep and crippling depression, it may sound like the last thing she needs, but Angelina and the doctors treating her hope it will be her salvation. For two decades, Francesco Benedetti, who heads the psychiatry and clinical psychobiology unit at San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, has been investigating so-called wake therapy, in combination with bright light exposure and lithium, as a means of treating depression where drugs have often failed. As a result, psychiatrists in the USA, the UK and other European countries are starting to take notice, launching variations of it in their own clinics. These chronotherapies seem to work by ki ck-starting a sluggish biological clock in doing so, theyre also shedding new light on the underlying pathology of depression, and on the function of sleep mora generally.Sleep deprivation really has opposite effects in healthy people and those with depression, says Benedetti. If youre healthy and you dont sleep, youll feel in a bad mood. But if youre depressed, it can prompt an immediate improvement in mood, and in cognitive abilities. But, Benedetti adds, theres a catch once you go to sleep and catch up on those missed hours of sleep, youll have a 95 percent chance of relapse.The antidepressant effect of sleep deprivation was first published in a report in Germany in 1959. This captured the imagination of a young researcher from Tbingen in Germany, Burkhard Pflug, who investigated the effect in his doctoral thesis and in subsequent studies during the 1970s. By systematically depriving depressed people of sleep, he confirmed that spending a single night awake could jolt them out of depression.Benedetti became interested in this idea as a young psychiatrist in the early 1990s. Prozac had been launched just a few years earlier, hailing a revolution in the treatment of depression. But such drugs were rarely tested on people with bipolar disorder. Bitter experience has since taught Benedetti that antidepressants are largely ineffective for people with bipolar depression anyway.His patients were in desperate need of an alternative, and his supervisor, Enrico Smeraldi, had an idea up his sleeve. Having read some of the early papers on wake therapy, he tested their theories on his own patients, with positive results. We knew it worked, says Benedetti. Patients with these terrible histories were getting well immediately. My task was finding a way of making them stay well.So he and his colleagues turned to the scientific literature for ideas. A handful of American studies had suggested that lithium might prolong the effect of sleep deprivation, so they investigated th at. They found that 65 percent of patients taking lithium showed a sustained response to sleep deprivation when assessed after three months, compared to just 10 percent of those not taking the drug.Since even a short nap could undermine the efficacy of the treatment, they also started searching for new ways of keeping patients awake at night, and drew inspiration from aviation medicine, where bright light was being used to keep pilots alert. This too extended the effects of sleep deprivation, to a similar extent as lithium.We decided to give them the whole package, and the effect was brilliant, says Benedetti. By the late 1990s, they were routinely treating patients with triple chronotherapy sleep deprivation, lithium and light. The sleep deprivations would occur every other night for a week, and bright light exposure for 30 minutes each morning would be continued for a further two weeks a protocol they continue to use to this day. We can think of it not as sleep-depriving people, but as modifying or enlarging the period of the sleep-wake cycle from 24 to 48 hours, says Benedetti. People go to bed every two nights, but when they go to bed, they can sleep for as long as they want.San Raffaele Hospital first introduced triple chronotherapy in 1996. Since then, it has treated close to a thousand patients with bipolar depression many of whom had failed to respond to antidepressant drugs. The results speak for themselves according to the most recent data, 70 percent of people with drug-resistant bipolar depression responded to triple chronotherapy within the first week, and 55 percent had a sustained improvement in their depression one month later.And whereas antidepressants if they work can take over a month to have an effect, and can increase the risk of suicide in the meantime, chronotherapy usually produces an immediate and persistent decrease in suicidal thoughts, even after just one night of sleep deprivation.Angelina was first diagnosed with bipolar diso rder 30 years ago, when she was in her late 30s. The diagnosis followed a period of intense stress her husband was facing a tribunal at work, and they were worried about having enough money to support themselves and the kids. Angelina fell into a depression that lasted nearly three years. Since then, her mood has oscillated, but shes down more often than not. She takes an arsenal of drugs antidepressants, mood stabilisers, anti-anxiety drugs and sleeping tablets which she dislikes because they make her feel like a patient, even though she acknowledges this is what she is.If Id met her three days ago, she says, its unlikely I would have recognised her. She didnt want to do anything, shed stopped washing her hair or wearing make-up, and she stank. She also felt very pessimistic about the future. After her first night of sleep deprivation, shed felt more energetic, but this largely subsided after her recovery sleep. Even so, today she felt motivated enough to visit a hairdresser in a nticipation of my visit. I compliment her appearance, and she pats her dyed, golden waves, thanking me for noticing.At 3am, we move to the light room, and entering is like being transported forward to midday. Bright sunlight streams in through the skylights overhead, falling on five armchairs, which are lined up against the wall. This is an illusion, of course the blue sky and brilliant sun are nothing more than coloured plastic and a very bright light but the effect is exhilarating nonetheless. I could be sitting on a sun lounger at midday the only thing missing is the heat.When Id interviewed her seven hours earlier, with the help of an interpreter, Angelinas face had remained expressionless as shed replied. Now, at 3.20am, she is smiling, and even beginning to initiate a conversation with me in English, which shed claimed not to speak. By dawn, Angelinas telling me about the family history shes started writing, which shed like to pick up again, and inviting me to stay with her in Sicily.How could something as simple as staying awake overnight bring about such a transformation? Unpicking the mechanism isnt straightforward we still dont fully understand the nature of depression or the function of sleep, both of which involve multiple areas of the brain. But recent studies have started to yield some insights. Eva Bee for MosaicThe brain activity of people with depression looks different during sleep and wakefulness than that of healthy people. During the day, wake-promoting signals coming from the circadian system our internal 24-hour biological clock are thought to help us resist sleep, with these signals being replaced by sleep-promoting ones at night. ur brain cells work in cycles too, becoming increasingly excitable in response to stimuli during wakefulness, with this excitability dissipating when we sleep. But in people with depression and bipolar disorder, these fluctuations appear dampened or absent.Depression is also associated with altered daily r hythms of hormone secretion and body temperature, and the more severe the illness, the greater the degree of disruption. Like the sleep signals, these rhythms are also driven by the bodys circadian system, which itself is driven by a set of interacting proteins, encoded by clock genes that are expressed in a rhythmic pattern throughout the day. They drive hundreds of different cellular processes, enabling them to keep time with one another and turn on and off. A circadian clock ticks in every cell of your body, including your brain cells, and they are coordinated by an area of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, which responds to light.When people are seriously depressed, their circadian rhythms tend to be very flat they dont get the usual response of melatonin rising in the evening, and the cortisol levels are consistently high rather than falling in the evening and the night, says Steinn Steingrimsson, a psychiatrist at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Swed en, who is currently running a trial of wake therapy.Recovery from depression is associated with a normalisation of these cycles. I think depression may be one of the consequences of this basic flattening of circadian rhythms and homeostasis in the brain, says Benedetti. When we sleep-deprive depressed people, we restore this cyclical process.But how does this restoration come about? One possibility is that depressed people simply need added sleep pressure to jump-start a sluggish system. Sleep pressure our urge to sleep is thought to arise because of the gradual release of adenosine in the brain. It builds up throughout the day and attaches to adenosine receptors on neurons, making us feel drowsy. Drugs that trigger these receptors have the same effect, whereas drugs that block them such as caffeine make us feel more awake.To investigate whether this process might underpin the antidepressant effects of prolonged wakefulness, researchers at Tufts University in Massachusetts took mice with depression-like symptoms and administered high doses of a compound that triggers adenosine receptors, mimicking what happens during sleep deprivation. After 12 hours, the mice had improved, measured by how long they spent trying to escape when forced to swim or when suspended by their tails.We also know sleep deprivation does other things to the depressed brain. It prompts changes in the balance of neurotransmitters in areas that help to regulate mood, and it restores normal activity in emotion-processing areas of the brain, strengthening connections between them.And as Benedetti and his team discovered, if wake therapy kick-starts a sluggish circadian rhythm, lithium and light therapy seem to help maintain it. Lithium has been used as a mood stabiliser for years without anyone really understanding how it works, but we know it boosts the expression of a protein, called Per2, that drives the molecular clock in cells.Bright light, meanwhile, is known to alter the rhythms of the suprachiasmatic nucleus, as well as boosting activity in emotion-processing areas of the brain more directly. Indeed, the American Psychiatric Association states that light therapy is as effective as most antidepressants in treating non-seasonal depression. Eva Bee for MosaicIn spite of its promising results against bipolar disorder, wake therapy has been slow to catch on in other countries. You could be cynical and say its because you cant patent it, says David Veale, a consultant psychiatrist at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust.Certainly, Benedetti has never been offered pharmaceutical funding to carry out his trials of chronotherapy. Instead, he has until recently been reliant on government funding, which is often in short supply. His current research is being funded by the EU. Had he followed the conventional route of accepting industry money to run drug trials with his patients, he quips, he probably wouldnt be living in a two-bedroom apartment and driv ing a 1998 Honda Civic.The bias towards pharmaceutical solutions has kept chronotherapy below the radar for many psychiatrists. A lot of people just dont know about it, says Veale.Its also difficult to find a suitable placebo for sleep deprivation or bright light exposure, which means that large, randomised placebo-controlled trials of chronotherapy havent been done. Because of this, theres some scepticism about how well it really works. While there is increasing interest, I dont think many treatments based on this approach are yet routinely used the evidence needs to be better and there are some practical difficulties in implementing things like sleep deprivation, says John Geddes, a professor of epidemiological psychiatry at the University of Oxford.Even so, interest in the processes underpinning chronotherapy is beginning to spread. Insights into the biology of sleep and circadian systems are now providing promising targets for treatment development, says Geddes. It goes beyond pharmaceuticals targeting sleep with psychological treatments might also help or even prevent mental disorders.In the UK, the USA, Denmark and Sweden, psychiatrists are investigating chronotherapy as a treatment for general depression. A lot of the studies that have been done so far have been very small, says Veale, who is currently planning a feasibility study at Maudsley Hospital in London. We need to demonstrate that it is feasible and that people can adhere to it.So far, what studies there have been have produced mixed results. Klaus Martiny, who researches non-drug methods for treating depression at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, has published two trials looking at the effects of sleep deprivation, together with daily morning bright light and regular bedtimes, on general depression. In the first study, 75 patients were given the antidepressant duloxetine, in combination with either chronotherapy or daily exercise. After the first week, 41 percent of the chronotherapy group had experienced a halving of their symptoms, compared to 13 percent of the exercise group. And at 29 weeks, 62 percent of the wake therapy patients were symptom-free, compared to 38 percent of those in the exercise group.In Martinys second study, severely depressed hospital inpatients who had failed to respond to antidepressant drugs were offered the same chronotherapy package as an add-on to the drugs and psychotherapy they were undergoing. After one week, those in the chronotherapy group improved significantly more than the group receiving standard treatment, although in subsequent weeks the control group caught up.No one has yet compared wake therapy head-to-head with antidepressants neither has it been tested against bright light therapy and lithium alone. But even if its only effective for a minority, many people with depression and indeed psychiatrists may find the idea of a drug-free treatment attractive.Im a pill pusher for a living, and it still appeals to me to do something that doesnt involve pills, says Jonathan Stewart, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University in New York, who is currently running a wake therapy trial at New York State Psychiatric Institute.Unlike Benedetti, Stewart only keeps patients awake for one night I couldnt see a lot of people agreeing to stay in hospital for three nights, and it also requires a lot of nursing and resources, he says. Instead, he uses something called sleep leiter advance, where on the days after a night of sleep deprivation, the time the patient goes to sleep and wakes up is systematically brought forward. So far, Stewart has treated around 20 patients with this protocol, and 12 have shown a response most of them during the first week.It may also work as a prophylactic recent studies suggest that teenagers whose parents set and manage to enforce earlier bedtimes are less at risk of depression and suicidal thinking. Like light therapy and sleep deprivation, the precise mechanism is unclear, but researchers suspect a closer fit between sleep time and the natural light-dark cycle is important.But sleep phase advance has so far failed to hit the mainstream. And, Stewart accepts, its not for everybody. For those for whom it works, its a miracle cure. But just as Prozac doesnt get everyone better who takes it, neither does this, he says. My problem is that I have no idea ahead of time who its going to help.Depression can strike anyone, but theres mounting evidence that genetic variations can disrupt the circadian system to make certain people more vulnerable. Several clock gene variations have been associated with an elevated risk of developing mood disorders.Stress can then compound the problem. Our response to it is largely mediated through the hormone cortisol, which is under strong circadian control, but cortisol itself also directly influences the timing of our circadian clocks. So if you have a weak clock, the added burden of stress could be enough to tip your system over the edge.Indeed, you can trigger depressive symptoms in mice by repeatedly exposing them to a noxious stimulus, such as an electric shock, from which they cant escape a phenomenon called learned helplessness. In the face of this ongoing stress, the animals eventually just give up and exhibit depression-like behaviours. When David Welsh, a psychiatrist at the University of California, San Diego, analysed the brains of mice that had depressive symptoms, he found disrupted circadian rhythms in two critical areas of the brains reward circuit a system thats strongly implicated in depression. Eva Bee for MosaicBut Welsh has also shown that a disturbed circadian system itself can cause depression-like symptoms. When he took healthy mice and knocked out a key clock gene in the brains master clock, they looked just like the depressed mice hed been studying earlier. They dont need to learn to be helpless, they are already helpless, Welsh says.So if disrupted circadian rhyt hms are a likely cause of depression, what can be done to prevent rather than treat them? Is it possible to strengthen your circadian clock to increase psychological resilience, rather than remedy depressive symptoms by forgoing sleep?Martiny thinks so. He is currently testing whether keeping a more regular daily schedule could prevent his depressed inpatients from relapsing once theyve recovered and are released from the psychiatric ward. Thats when the trouble usually comes, he says. Once theyre discharged their depression gets worse again.Peter is a 45-year-old care assistant from Copenhagen who has battled with depression since his early teens. Like Angelina and many others with depression, his first episode followed a period of intense stress and upheaval. His sister, who more or less brought him up, left home when he was 13, leaving him with an uninterested mother and a father who also suffered from severe depression. Soon after that, his father died of cancer another shock, as hed kept his prognosis hidden until the week before his death.Peters depression has seen him hospitalised six times, including for a month last April. In some ways being in hospital is a relief, he says. However, he feels guilty about the effect it has on his sons, aged seven and nine. My youngest boy said he cried every night I was in hospital, because I wasnt there to hug him.So when Martiny told Peter about the study he had just started recruiting for, he readily agreed to participate. Dubbed circadian-reinforcement therapy, the idea is to strengthen peoples circadian rhythms by encouraging regularity in their sleep, wake, meal and exercise times, and pushing them to spend more time outdoors, exposed to daylight.For four weeks after leaving the psychiatric ward in May, Peter wore a device that tracked his activity and sleep, and he completed regular mood questionnaires. If there was any deviation in his routine, he would receive a phone call to find out what had happened.When I meet Peter, we joke about the tan lines around his eyes obviously, hes been taking the advice seriously. He laughs Yes, Im getting outdoors to the park, and if its nice weather, I take my children to the beach, for walks, or to the playground, because then I will get some light, and that improves my mood.Those arent the only changes hes made. He now gets up at 6 every morning to help his wife with the children. Even if hes not hungry he eats breakfast typically, yoghurt with muesli. He doesnt take naps and tries to be in bed by 10 pm. If Peter does wake up at night, he practises mindfulness a technique he picked up in hospital.Martiny pulls up Peters data on his computer. It confirms the shift towards earlier sleep and wake times, and shows an improvement in the quality of his sleep, which is mirrored by his mood scores. Immediately after his release from hospital, these averaged around 6 out of 10. But after two weeks theyd risen to consistent 8s or 9s, and one day, he even mana ged a 10. At the beginning of June, he returned to his job at the care home, where he works 35 hours a week. Having a routine has really helped me, he says. Eva Bee for MosaicSo far, Martiny has recruited 20 patients to his trial, but his target is 120 its therefore too soon to know how many will respond the same way as Peter, or indeed, if his psychological health will be maintained. Even so, theres mounting evidence that good sleep routine can help our mental wellbeing. According to a study published inLancet Psychiatryin September 2017 the largest randomised trial of a psychological intervention to date insomniacs who underwent a ten-week course of cognitive behavioural therapy to address their sleep problems showed sustained reductions in paranoia and hallucinatory experiences as a result. They also experienced improvements in symptoms of depression and anxiety, fewer nightmares, better psychological wellbeing and day-to-day functioning, and they were less likely to experience a depressive episode or anxiety disorder during the course of the trial.Sleep, routine and daylight. Its a simple formula, and easy to take for granted. But imagine if it really could reduce the incidence of depression and help people to recover from it more quickly. Not only would it improve the quality of countless lives, it would save health systems money.In the case of wake therapy, Benedetti cautions that it isnt something people should try to administer to themselves at home. Particularly for anyone who has bipolar disorder, theres a risk of it triggering a switch into mania although in his experience, the risk is smaller than that posed by taking antidepressants. Keeping yourself awake overnight is also difficult, and some patients temporarily kurze unterhose back into depression or enter a mixed mood state, which can be dangerous. I want to be there to speak about it to them when it happens, Benedetti says. Mixed states often precede suicide attempts.A week after spending the night awake with Angelina, I call Benedetti to check her progress. He tells me that after the third sleep deprivation, she experienced a full remission in her symptoms and returned to Sicily with her husband. That week, they were due to be marking their 50th wedding anniversary. When Id asked her if she thought her husband would notice any change in her symptoms, shed said she hoped hed notice the change in her physical appearance.Hope. After she has spent more than half her life without it, I suspect its return is the most precious golden anniversary gift of all.Linda Geddesis a Bristol-based freelance journalist writing about biology, medicine,and technology. Born in Cambridge, she graduated from the University of Liverpool with a first-class degree in cell biology. She spent nine years as an editor and reporter forNew Scientistmagazineand has received numerous awards for her journalism, including winning the Association of British Science Writers awardfor best investigative j ournalismand being shortlisted for the Paul Foot Award.Her first book,Bumpology The myth-busting pregnancy book for curious parents-to-be, was published in 2013.This article first appeared on Mosaic.

Negotiating a Bigger Sales Package

Negotiating a Bigger Sales PackageNegotiating a Bigger Sales PackageDefinitions of and suggestions for eight types of abverkauf compensation packagesIf your initial offer isnt big enough and youre in sales, instead of negotiating more salary, you can negotiate a bigger salary package. Here are some of the more common combinationsstraight commissionvariable commissiondraw against commissionadvance against commissionbase plus commissionsalarysalary and beigaberesidual commisionI will define them here and discuss the rationale behind each packageStraight commissionSometimes straight-commission jobs are the bottom of the sales barrel the company isnt willing to invest anything in you. Sink or swim. Good luck. On the other hand, a straight commission puts your income in your control. On straight commission, your compensation is strictly a percentage of your sales. To many people that arrangement seems like the most risky, but its actually the purist compensation. If you sell well, youre safe no one will fire you. If you sell great, youre leid only secure, you can practically write your own ticket.Bottom line, every job is straight commission of a sort. If you dont bring in more than theyre paying you youre fired. Draws and advances are bedrngnis gifts they come out of your sales. They simply represent payment ahead of time of a portion of your future earnings. If you dont sell, youre no more secure on salary than on commission.The best salespeople love straight commission because they know they get every dollar thats coming to them and that their income is entirely in their control. However, straight commission is not practical if you cant make sales right away. When the sales cycle is lengthy, straight commission is ordinarily not workable.Negotiating tip See if you can get the commission percentage increased or tiered (increased at certain intervals of sales).Variable commissionSame as straight commission, but the rate goes up or down depending on sales circumst ances. You might be paid a higher commission on new accounts, on larger sales or on total volume over a certain amount.Negotiating tip An increase in commission rate for top performance can be very lucrative and motivating.Draw against commissionAlso straight commission, except the employer lets you draw a certain amount of money each pay period to help you get started. So if you have a $3,000 draw and you make only $2,000 in commissions, you would get a check for $3,000 and pay the company $1,000 back out of future earnings. Most draws are forgivable, which means that if the job isnt working out you could quit and not have to pay back any money you owed the company. Draws may last indefinitely or for a specified number of weeks or months, and the draw itself may be reduced or increased over time.Negotiating tip Do check this out, and negotiate it as no payback if you can.Advance against commission Like a draw, but it is normally an occasional, rather than a continual, event. It usu ally will not exceed the amount of commissions already earned.Negotiating tip Try to get an advance if theyre not willing to give you a base and you need more money to cover your life expenses while on the job.kusine plus commission This is the same as salary plus commission. Here the company pays you a certain salary, called your base. Thats yours to keep and rely on. Above that, the company gives you a commission according to a mutually agreed-upon formula. Most sales groups use this combination. The longer the sales cycle, the higher the base needs to be.Negotiating tip Base salary first, then commission rates and tiers.Salary Some sales jobs pay a straight salary no commission. These jobs almost always come with bonuses. If not, you can try to negotiate one. Some companies like to advertise no pressure our sales people are not on commission, they are there to help you. As referenced above, all sales jobs all jobs for that matter are ultimately straight commission. So a salary may take the pressure off any individual sale, but rest assured you have to earn your keep.Negotiating tip Follow the normal salary negotiating rules.Salary and bonus A bonus is a one-time payment of a fixed amount of money for achieving a certain volume of sales. It could be a weekly, monthly, quarterly or even annual bonus - or a bonus that automatically kicks in when you reach your goal.Negotiating tip Bonuses usually have to be uniform across the sales force, but you can totenstill try to negotiate it higher theres nothing to lose in asking.Residual commission This is a type of commission that keeps on paying even if you quit the company. In insurance sales, for instance, after youve been with the company for a certain length of time, youre entitled, for a period of time, to a commission on the payments clients make to the policies you sold them whether or not you work for the company any longer.When your sales work involves a lot of new-account generation, you would be wise to negotiate a residual commission on those new accounts. The justification here is that the reward for selling the account belongs to you after you leave and the account is maintained, a portion of the income should still be yours for a while.Negotiating tip Negotiate both the commission rate and the duration.Watch out Dont get cheated out of your commissions when you leave. One of the most common, but avoidable, misfortunes in negotiating sales commissions is not being clear about what happens when you leave the company.Whatever your commission structure is, make sure you get clear exactly how commissions and pay are handled when you leave the company.What sales do you get paid on, and when is the payment due? Often, commissions are payable when the client pays, not when the client is billed. Those payments may lag several months after the sale is made. Get it in writing now, when you begin. You dont want to fight this battle when youre gone youd lose.So, when the salary isnt good enough, negotiate a draw, a bump in commission, a performance bonus or residuals. There are lots of ways to sweeten an offer.

Whispered Resume for Medical Assistant Secrets

Whispered Resume for Medical Assistant Secrets New Questions About Resume for Medical Assistant End the cover letter by telling that youd be grateful if youre given a personal opportunity to converse about your diverse qualifications in a thorough method. If you are just about to compose a thank you letter regarding a health issue it is fruchtwein likely because youve been greatly helped by somebody. Its important to continue to keep your cover letter short and sweet, so get right to the point and explain why you would like the job, what youre able to offer, and the way in which your skills transfer. Better yet, ask someone who you trust to go through your personal statement letter. Your resume isnt only a showcase for your different abilities and aptitudes. The essential strengths on the first day of the resume are the locations that Steve wants the reader to concentrate on since they review his experience. Basically, you would like to concentrate on the abilities and experi ence you have they are searching for. Although resume objectives are getting mora obsolete in favor of career summaries, in some specific conditions, it is sensible to incorporate an objective. Conclusion Getting work in any position is an important life changing process. My clinical skills are incredibly strong. There are a number of different kinds of health care assistants. They must be active listeners in order to understand and accurately record patient issues and specifications. A cover letter is a document that one wants to supply to the employer by submitting an application for work. It is a crucial part of any resume. Your cover letter ought to be specifically written to deal with the requirements of the employer to which youre applying. It should include relevant details about the qualifications that are not included in your resume. This sample medical assistant cover letters can help you to make your own. A resume is among the most crucial documents you are ever going to write, which explains why you wish to do what you can to help it become honest, inviting, and well written. Or, sample resume templates are available on the internet to guide you. Unique forms of sample resumes can be used depending on the area youre applying to. If you want to employ a health assistant then a medical assistant job description can assist you in putting out an advert. A health assistant resume for externship is comparable to the usual resume, except emphasis is put on the related coursework or skills one acquired during the class of the medical assistant training plan. Your healthcare assistant resume is the very first thing a prospective employer will appear at closely. The very first senior medical assistant resume sample indicates the proper skills. A cover letter helps an applicant stick out from the other applicants that are competing for the exact same job role. A superb idea for your healthcare assistant cover letter is to incorporate a conci se summary of your past relevant experiences and education. Writing a wonderful objective requires the comprehension of what the employer wants from the assistant they need to employ. To become a health assistant, its crucial that you highlight four big areas in your cover letter. Generally speaking, employers shall expect the intern to present a great cover letter together with their resumes while putting in an application for an internship prospect. Recruiters utilize software to get the resumes theyre searching for. A cover letter is something which you send, together with your resume when applying for a new job with a new medical care facility, or it may be when applying for a new job at the very same institution you already get the job done for. Seeing that patients receive high quality healthcare services is my principal objective. For doctors, you need to be certain you have the health history properly encoded. Well, the fantastic part is that today you have a broad ar ray of Administrative Assistant Resume Templates to assist you. Job applicants with minimum or no experience that are recent graduates have a better chance should they put in an application for a position in a physicians office, instead of a hospital or medical center where more formal training is probably going to be required. Tell the business that youll be pleased if you receive a chance to attend their externship program, either youre an entry level or seasoned candidate. If you are only graduating from a medicalbilling and coding program, you may not ever have written a cover letterbefore.

Dont Be Left in the Dark...Collaborate with your Hiring Team

Dont Be Left in the Dark...Collaborate with your Hiring TeamAre you experiencing communication problems across departments? Does your hiring team collaborate with other team members before they make important hiring decisions? Internal collaboration is extremely important for making great hires, and having more people involved with the decision actually increases the likelihood of finding the best cultural fit for your company.In Spark Hires video Dont Be Left in the Dark, you will meet Dale. Dale is a hiring manager for a company whose hiring process is a bit outdated, dark, and sometimes smelly (OK, his office is a bit smelly, but you get the picture). Due to the lack of collaboration with his team members, Dale works in darkness, literally and metaphorically. In this video, youll see how no insights and no internal collaboration has a negative effect on the success of a company.So, whats the next step in solving this problem? First, adopt video interviewing. With video interviews, hiring managers like Dale are better able to screen candidates before even bringing them into the office. Plus, Dale can now share interviews with his team so they can all collaborate and come to better hiring decisions while reducing bad hires.When it comes to investing in your hiring process, video interviews brighten up your process so you arent left in the dark. How does your company make sure your hiring managers are on the same page as the rest of the team?

Customize this Outstanding Payroll Manager Resume Sample

Customize this Outstanding Payroll Manager Resume SampleCustomize this Outstanding Payroll Manager Resume SampleCreate Resume Academic BackgroundAchieved Bachelor of Science Degree in Education from the State University of New York, Cortland, MN in the year 1994.Computer Programming SkillsKnowing Office Package Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft Outlook Express.Knowing Operating Systems Windows9X, Windows2000, Windows ME, Windows XP and Windows Vista.Knowing IBM PC, Lotus 1-2-3, Comchea, LAN and Managistics.Professional Excellence SummaryStrong managerial skills and the aptitude to plan and compose presentations to individual clients or groups.A group performer with good administration, education, instruction and communication skills which are essential to endorse services or concepts.Professional BackgroundSince 2000 working as a Payroll Manager in Jasmine Heart, St. Paul, MN and is responsible for the supervision of multi-state pa yroll for 250 shops in South America and 15 shops in Canada for well-known clothing and interior decoration company.Operate as systems manager for collective Human Resources and Payroll System (produce 7,500 W-2s and 400 T-4s).Operate as connection between Financial, Personal, company executives and external vendors. AccomplishmentsContinued the process of payroll division in Newark, New Jersey while simultaneously re-establishing section in new St. Paul headquarters.Synchronized entire section shift to new headquarters and oversaw all personal payroll-related issues.Recognized programming errors in Personal Payroll System.From 1995-1999 worked as a Payroll Manager in the Adagio Leasing Inc., Mankato. MN and was responsible for supervising subdivision team of 9. The Duties that were assigned to him wereManaging and controlling 25 individual multi-state payrolls with 4 weekly union and non-union payrolls and 6 quarterly payrolls.Acting as an interface connection for all payroll organ ization and absorption for managerial level financial divisions and Internal Human Resources.AccomplishmentsOwed 4 months to rectify, put in order and apply 25 separate payrolls.Changed existing manual-worksheet system to full automated system.Revised dealings for client audits of Adagio records, thus increasing returns.Customize Resume

Accomplished Undergrad Seeks Consulting Position

Accomplished Undergrad Seeks Consulting PositionAccomplished Undergrad Seeks Consulting PositionTejasvi Srivangipuram is a junior at UC Berkeley who would like, upon graduating, to work as an analyst at a consulting firm. A double major in business and economics, TJ is already very accomplished, having racked up a good deal of relevant experience and impressive achievements and awards. His resume has been revised and customized to be attractive to hiring managers at consulting firms.VIEW TJs PRE-REVISION RESUME WITH COMMENTS

9 things you should never say to your coworkers at the office holiday party

9 things you should never say to your coworkers at the office holiday festivitt9 things you should never say to your coworkers at the office holiday partyToo much booze, end-of-year stress, and coworkers can be a recipe for disaster.Thats why office holiday parties are such a minefield of awkward situations.Many offices are doing away with alcohol, or the party altogether, in the wake of sexual misconduct scandalscurrently plaguing a range of industries.But if your office is having festivities this year, its crucial to remember thatyoure pretty much still at work, even if its a party.You need to be able to loosen upand enjoy yourself withoutlooking like a complete foolor jeopardizing your job.Business Insider spoke with HR and career professionals to highlight topics youll want to avoid at your office holiday party1. Could you introduce me to your daughter/son?Avoid hitting on your coworkers relatives. Its awkward and it wont end well.Be careful about jokes or crude remarks there is bedrngnishing like your colleague asking to be introduced to your daughter that really makes the night and subsequent days at work uncomfortable, Rebecca Henderson, CEO of HR firmRandstad Sourceright, told Business Insider.2. I never realized you had such an amazing body - the way you dress in the office is far too conservativeTriNetdirector of human capital services Jackie Breslin said, Give a compliment that is appropriate and wont make a coworker uncomfortable. A ritterlich number of workplace complaints regarding inappropriate conduct have an origin at the company holiday party.CEO of HR consulting firmOperationsInc.David Lewis agrees, noting that even statements as simple as You look great can come across as creepy. Avoid anything that suggests anything sexual in lieu of the word great, he said.On a similar note, the holiday party is usually not the time to confess your office crush.Dont use the holiday party as an excuse to share your intimate feelings with a colleague, saidT opResumecareer advice expert Amanda Augustine.Basically, dont forget that youre still at work.3. Can I drive you home?If you and your coworkers have been drinking, its important to make sure your coworkers are safe to drive. However, if youre not sure about a colleagues level of intoxication, you dont want to sound overbearing or off putting.Instead, try, I hate driving home after a party, dont you? Lets call it a night and call an Uber, said All the Leader You Can Be author Suzanne Bates.If alcohol is served, the one thing you dont want to say is Can I drive you home?4. Im so drunk right nowSpeaking of alcohol, dont bethatperson at the party. You know, the one who drinks too much and inflicts terrible karaoke or tearful confessions or some other form of sloppy drama on everyone else.Augustine says that its important to have the right mindset. Its one thing to have a drink or two throughout the evening, she said. Its another thing to make it your mission to get drunk at the company party. This event is a unique opportunity to network with colleagues outside the office in a fun, relaxed environment. Dont drink too much and say things youll regret the next day.5. Have you heard Dont engage in gossip or feed the rumor mill at the office party, staffing agencyRobert Halfsenior executive director Paul McDonald said.Its not the time or place.Unless its very innocuous, spreading office gossip is just rude and unprofessional.Avoid mean-girl gossip and instead engage with colleagues about their lives outside the cubicle, Augustine says.6. I hate my boss / Im putting in my noticeYikes. The holiday party is neither the time nor the place to whine about your supervisor or announce that youre quitting. Save serious complaints and news for a regular workday.Holiday parties should not be used as a chance to vent or complain - no one likes a GrinchAdecco Staffingsenior vice president Amy Glaser said. Plus, its very unprofessional. Whats more, you should be careful not to di vulge sensitive information or start conversations that should be had in a highly professional setting. For example, if there is a coworker you arent getting along with, or if you have a big career move coming up, recognize that a holiday party is not the appropriate environment to share such information with your peers or your supervisor.Even if youre just mouthing off to your work buddies, your words can have serious consequences down the road.7. Did you get your bonus yet?Avoid talking about money at all costs.McDonald noted that bonuses can be a particularly sensitive topic. In all likelihood, not everyone in your company is getting a bonus this year. Avoid compensation-related talk in general.In a social setting like a holiday party, it can feel more permissible to talk about subjects youd normally save for behind closed doors, said management consulting firmRight Managementexecutive vice president Bram Lowsky. Instead, save those types of conversations for another time and use the easy-going atmosphere to make new connections and relate to others on a personal level.8. Lets spike the eggnogDeloittes Leadership Center for ClientsNational Director Kim Christfort said there are certain behaviors that can tick off your coworkers.At work parties, while there are many things to avoid doing in general (drunken karaoke being high on that list in my experience), there are also things that are particularly unappealing to specific individuals based on their different working styles, she told Business Insider. So dont say shall we spike that eggnog to someone who doesnt like to break the rules.9. Everythings going pretty well in our department Many of the professionals Business Insider spoke to agreed on one thing Work is a major topic to be avoided at the office holiday party.Maestro HealthCEO Rob Butler said to treat the festivities as a chance to get to know colleagues on a more personal level. Encourage your employees to turn off work-mode and learn about their coworkers passions and hobbies, he says.Its also important to warn your guests not to bring up jarring questions about work. AsSAPsoftware company executive vice president of HR Brigette McInnis-Day said, Oftentimes, I find that employees spouses or partners will ask me about opportunities for advancement or raise issues of concern at a holiday party. For example theyll ask about bonus achievements, stock options success, reorganization, or if their loved one will get a new opportunity they applied for and if they didnt get it, give feedback on how displeased they are. This is always uncomfortable, but even more so during a fun social event which is meant for people to relax and connect.Senior vice president at career networkBeyondJoe Weinlick explained that discussions revolving around work can make people feel uncomfortable.Never ask, When will that project be finished? at your holiday party. The holiday party should be a fun event free from the stress of the job. Save shop talk f or when youre back in the office.So, if you cant talk about work with your colleagues, what should you talk about? LinkedIn career expertCatherine Fisherrecommended doing some research in order to get the conversation flowing. If small talk isnt your strong suit, feel free to look up your colleagues recent activity on LinkedIn for potential topics of conversation.This article was originally published on BusinessInsider.