Tips for landing a government job – AZ Central.com

Landing a government job can seem like a tough proposition, as the number of U.S. government employees fell by 280,000 in 2011, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Jamise Liddell, business liaison for Phoenix community and economic development, says research is key. She suggests visiting government websites to read through job postings and cull information, such as position descriptions, minimum requirements and preferred attributes, to see which jobs fit your strengths. When you’ve found that perfect match, make sure to highlight the most attractive qualifications from the job description on your resume to catch the employer’s eye, she says. “People have one resume and send it in for everything,” which is a big mistake, Liddell says. “No, you are not getting that job.” Laura Neal, senior human resource analyst for Phoenix, agrees that your resume should reflect the specific job for which you are applying. Start your resume with professional experience that is most related to the job, no matter whether it was five or 15 years ago, and then move on to supporting education and work background, she says. Limiting your resume to one page isn’t required anymore, Neal says. Letting the employer know your full skill set and how it applies to the job listing is more important, she adds. “That shows the employer that you are the one they are looking for,” Neal says. Networking Mention networking to a roomful of job seekers and you’ll likely hear a groan. “People get tired of hearing the word ‘networking,’ because they don’t know how to network,” Liddell says. Networking is about joining information sessions, having interesting conversations with people and helping each other out, she says. To network, applicants can join professional associations and groups, and talk to people in the department that they are interested in, suggests Mike Hayes, owner of Momentum Specialized Staffing in Phoenix. This helps applicants make contacts, know the job better and see whether they fit the criteria. Experience working in government reduces the training cost your employer has to spend, and makes you more trustworthy. Internship opportunities, according to Neal, can be found at universities’ career services and government websites. She also suggests that applicants use their personal contacts, from university professors to former colleagues, who can provide recommendations for landing a government internship. A Canadian pharmaceutical company on Monday said it has agreed to purchase Scottsdale-based Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. in a $2.6 billion deal. Montreal-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals International would purchase Medicis for $44 a share in an acquisition that represents a 39 percent premium over Medicis’ closing price of $31.56 on Friday. The boards of both companies have approved the deal. If shareholders approve the merger and other regulatory requirements are met, the deal could close by mid-2013.Medicis has been a rumored takeover target for some time as one of the company’s flagship products, the acne drug Solodyn, has faced competition from generic manufacturers. The company also markets the wrinkle-busting products such as Restylane, a skin filler, and Dysport, a competitor to Botox. Medicis CEO Jonah Shacknai on Monday described the offer as a “compelling all-cash transaction” that reflects Medicis’ value and “the strength of our brand in the specialty pharmaceutical market.” It’s unclear how the deal will affect employees at the company’s corporate headquarters, located at 7720 N. Dobson Road near Via de Ventura and Loop 101. Neither Medicis nor Valeant representatives answered questions about the deal, which was announced on Labor Day, a holiday in the United States and Canada. Valeant will host a conference call this morning before the start of trading. Shacknai added in a written statement that the “combined portfolio under the Medicis name will be well positioned to capitalize on meaningful opportunities in the growing dermatology and aesthetics markets.” The combined company would base the commercial dermatology business in Scottsdale under the Medicis name. The deal is expected to save Valeant $225 million each year in “cost synergies,” a news release said. Medicis had 646 employees at the beginning of the year. Many of those employees work at the company’s headquarters, although that figure also includes more than 250 sales representatives who are based in Arizona and in cities across the United States and abroad. During Medicis’ most recent quarter that ended June 30, the company reported a 3percent increase in quarterly sales but a sharp decline in profit. The company also disclosed that is paid $1.2 million in fees related to a Federal Trade Commission probe of the company’s settlements with multiple generic makers of Solodyn. Shacknai said during a conference call after the second-quarter earnings that the company would reduce costs even as it sought to develop new aesthetic and dermatology products. He also lamented the regulatory and government policies that he said favored generic manufacturers that spend little on research and development and offer lower-cost products. “We have to manage against extremely predatory generic companies who often have no respect and often contempt for intellectual property position,” Shacknai said on the conference call. When analysts asked whether Medicis’ board would consider selling the company, Shacknai said that Medicis preferred to stay independent but needed to put shareholders’ interests first. “I can assure you my personal wishes would never interfere with a thoughtful consideration that came along from a legitimate party,” he said. The deal could be a lucrative one for Shacknai, who is the Scottsdale-based company’s founder and chairman. He owned 858,995 shares and held options for 996,625 shares as of March16, giving him “beneficial ownership” of nearly 1.9 million shares of common stock, according to the company’s securities filings. More recent filings show he exercised options and owned 941,325 shares of Medicis common stock as of July3. Based on the merger price of $44 per share, the deal would return Shacknai $41 million based on shares he currently owns. The deal would net him more after he exercised existing stock options. Shacknai experienced personal tragedy last year when his 6-year-old son, Max, died from injuries sustained during a fall at his California mansion. Two days after Max was injured, Shacknai’s girlfriend, Rebecca Zahau, was found dead at the mansion, hanging from a balcony with her hands and feet tied behind her back. Authorities concluded that Max Shacknai’s death was an accident and that Zahau, who was caring for Max at the time of the boy’s fall, had committed suicide. However, some family members have not accepted law enforcement’s conclusions for the two deaths. Zahau’s family insists she was a homicide victim, and Shacknai’s ex-wife, Dina Shacknai, has questioned whether her son’s death was an accident. Marcie Edmonds was tearing open a box of air-conditioner filters in her garage last June when she felt a sharp sting in her abdomen. The 52-year-old Ahwatukee Foothills woman had never felt a scorpion sting before that day. She had no intention of seeking medical help, but within an hour of the sting, Edmonds’ mild tingling sensation worsened with throat tightness, blurry vision, darting eyes and tense muscles. She could not walk and had trouble breathing. With the help of a friend, she called Poison Control and was advised to go to the nearest hospital that had scorpion antivenom, Chandler Regional Medical Center. At the hospital, an emergency room doctor told her about the antivenom, called Anascorp, that could quickly relieve her symptoms. Edmonds said the physician never talked with her about the cost of the drug or treatment alternatives.Her symptoms subsided after she received two doses of the drug Anascorp through an IV, and she was discharged from the hospital in about three hours. Weeks later, she received a bill for $83,046 from Chandler Regional Medical Center. The hospital, owned by Dignity Health, charged her $39,652 per dose of Anascorp. The Arizona Republic reported last year about the pricey markup Arizona hospitals were charging for the antivenom made in Mexico. Pharmacies in Mexico charge about $100 per dose. After the Food and Drug Administration approved the drug last year, Tennessee-based Rare Disease Therapeutics sold the drug to a distributor for $3,500 per dose. The distributor charged hospitals about $3,780 per dose. The Republic polled several hospitals in November, finding that hospital charges for the serum ranged from $7,900 to $12,467 per vial. At the time, Chandler Regional declined to tell The Republic how much it charged for Anascorp. Edmonds’ insurer, Humana, has paid Chandler Regional $57,509 for the bill. The hospital has asked Edmonds for the balance of $25,537. Chandler Regional issued a statement indicating that Edmonds’ charges represented the out-of-network costs for her treatment. Chandler Regional is not part of Humana’s network, so she was charged the hospital’s full billing rate. “We believe no one should delay seeking needed medical care because they lack insurance or have high medical costs,” the hospital’s statement said. Edmonds, who is a counselor, knows the intricacies of health-care billing, but she believes the hospital’s wholesale charges should be explained to the public.If you’re in a job you love and know you have more to give to your career, the next step is likely a step up. But convincing others, especially your boss, that you’re ready for a promotion isn’t always easy. Whatever your current position, be the best at it. Always fulfill assigned tasks and gain additional points by completing subsequent tasks — without being asked. Your boss will appreciate the initiative. The path to job growth comes only when you “fully understand the goals of your organization, the specific goals that your boss has and how the role of a new job fits in accordingly,” says John Millikin, former vice president of human resources at Motorola Inc. in Phoenix and member of the management department at the W.P Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.

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Tips for landing a government job – AZ Central.com