This is an opportunity for students to meet prospective employers and learn about internships and employment possibilities. The public is invited to this free event.
ELLISVILLE - Jones County Junior College will hold "Job Fair 2007" from 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. March 7 in the P.E. Building.
Business and industry representatives will be available to discuss possible employment opportunities and take resumes.
To reserve a booth or for more information, call (601) 477-4234.
What makes the list of the top 50 fastest growing career fields in the Unites States and have annual earnings above the US median income of $28,770? According to Career Builder.Com coming in at number 40 is Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC) mechanics and installers with a median pay of $36,260.
Part of the reason for this growth is concern for the environment has prompted the development of new energy-saving heating and air-conditioning systems. An emphasis on better energy management will lead to the replacement of older systems and the installation of newer, more efficient systems in existing homes and buildings. Also, demand for maintenance and service work will be increased as businesses and homeowners strive to keep increasingly complex systems operating at peak efficiency. Regulations prohibiting the discharge and production of CFC and HCFC refrigerants should continue to result in the need to replace many existing air conditioning systems or modify them to use new environmentally safe refrigerants.
Job prospects for heating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers are expected to be excellent, particularly for those with training from an accredited technical school or with formal apprenticeship training, and especially in the fastest growing areas of the country. A growing number of retirements of highly skilled technicians are expected to generate many job openings. In addition, employment of heating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers is projected to increase faster than average for all occupations through the year 2014 by the US Department of Labor. People and businesses depend on their climate-control systems and must keep them in good working order, regardless of economic conditions.
If you are entering the HVAC job field, it is recommended that you first enroll in technical training from a quality technical or trade school. Many options exist, so it is in your best interest to find a school that offers quality, cutting edge training. One example school on the forefront of HVAC training is The Refrigeration School, Inc (RSI) of Phoenix, Arizona. An accredited technical school that offers courses in Refrigeration, Air Conditioning & Heating Technologies, Electrical Technologies, Electro-Mechanical Technologies and Associate of Occupational Studies in Mechanical Maintenance Engineering. Implementing their new STAR system, instructors can emulate scenarios that would be found in real world situations, directly in the classroom. This new technology utilizes a computer interface to "break" HVAC systems and allows students to diagnose and repair the systems in real time. To learn more about the STAR system, visit The Refrigeration School Inc.'s HVAC school resource.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Phil_LaBoon |
Are you managing your career or is someone else? Most professionals don't have a proactive plan to take their career to the next level or even higher. Career plans are nothing new, in fact you have one right now. If your plan is passively driven, however, you're not likely to hit your career goals. A career plan doesn't require fancy charts, statistics, pie-in-the-sky goals and income expectations. It should simply be a clear and thoughtful plan to drive your career to the ultimate position you want to achieve. After all, you will spend most of your life engaged in this pursuit. Doesn't it deserve a little planning?
Career plans are highly individualized. I'll not try to pin you down to a 7-step program or slick template. What I can give you are the pillars you need to support your plan. Like the pillars that allow modern skyscrapers to soar higher and higher, these are the pillars that will lift your career to the heights you strive to achieve. Once these pillars are firmly established your career plan will be robust and effective.
Networking
"Wait a minute." you say, "I don't have the time or the inclination to go glad-handing around cocktail parties or Chamber functions." The personal touch is extremely powerful, but it's not the only tool you have today. With professional networking websites like LinkedIn you can join an electronic network, maintain your privacy, and still let hundreds of thousands know who you are and what you can bring to an organization. (If you'd like to see what I mean, go to my LinkedIn profile and you'll see that I'm networked with over 1,000,000 other professionals. Send me an email and I can invite you to join my network). Sites like LinkedIn have the potential to give you global exposure.
Goal Setting
Goals are vital of any career plan. They are the measuring stick of your plan's effectiveness. They help you frame your next career move, your next job, or your next academic achievement. Set a goal for the next 90 days, then the next six months, then the next year or even the next five years. You can't tell if have arrived if you don't know what your destination looks like.
Marry Change
If you fear change then you'll need to throttle back your career plan - and dreams. The 21st century professional not only thrives on change, he or she must also learn to drive it. In the late 1990's I was working for a large corporation going through another reengineering program. Someone remarked that they would be happy when things got "back to normal". Incredulously our CEO told him "this (an environment of change) is the new normal". How much more is that true of today? The height of your career advancement is directly related to the strength of your Marriage to change. Whether it is a new job, a new company, a new education, or a new location, career plans must be married to change.
Knowing Yourself
You should capitalize on your career strengths. Leverage them, cultivate and develop them, let them drive your career forward. Just don't lose sight of that hidden part of your resume. It's the part that all of us has, but don't want to admit or even acknowledge it to ourselves. It is our skills and talents that are underdeveloped.
We believe we can soar so high on our strengths that our altitude will save any fall. This will work sometimes, but it's a dangerous flight plan. Often times your career crash will come in the "dream job" you finally landed. Not acknowledging or admitting an underdeveloped skill is as dangerous to your career as not leveraging your strengths. Take inventory of what you do best and leverage that list. But also take inventory of what you have no business doing at all. This will keep you from crashing and burning that high performance machine everyone admires.
Managing a career plan takes thoughtful and careful steps. Your individual plan should be a dynamic tool propelling you to the career achievements you so desire. Building your plan upon the four pillars of Networking, Goal Setting, Marrying Change, and Knowing Yourself gives the plan you create solid footing for long-term success.
Richard Yadon is President, CEO, and Founder of Health Career Professionals, an executive search and employee development firm for health care professionals. He contributes articles to online publications, is a guest expert in the JobLounge blog, and speaks about career change, employee motivation, leadership, and management.
In the modern age that we live in there really isn’t a good grasp of what the employee and employer relation is. Of course there does still seem to be a sort of animosity, but there will probably always be that. But what about what the employee and the employer really want from each other? Communication is the key to obtaining the top employees and explaining right from the start what the real expectations are of them.
Quite often employers have a tried method of hiring employees and they don’t really think about what they are doing. It is such an old hat process that the employer just goes through the motions.
More times than not, they are the standard questions such as, “so where do you see yourself in five years.” What does that really tell the employer about how well this person can get along with co-workers or if this person is quite capable of handling the tasks of the open position? Not much, yet you will find this questions asked at interviews all over the world. So what does an employer do to find good employees?
First of all, as the employer, think about the needs of the position. Don’t just go along with the standard hum drum job description the human resources passes along. Most of the time the HR department has a very limited idea of what is really needed for a person to excel in the needed position. As the hiring manager, you know what it really needs to be done. Fire from the hip, take charge and ask the questions that you need to.
One excellent way of finding the top employees is by going through an employment agency. If you are contacting a great firm, they will have the pulse of the job market out there today and they will know who the big players are, the ones who are really making a difference in the line of work that you need filled.
Aside from this, the employment firm has already done much of the prescreening for you. They’ve already asked the, “where do you see yourself in five years,” type of questions and they can relay that to you before you ever waste a moment of your precious time talking to people who aren’t really going to fit into the desired position.
In addition, the employment firms don’t charge you, normally, until you’ve hired an individual from them. Therefore this is no out of pocket expense up front, aside from your time.
Take the advice above and don’t be a slave to human resources protocol, and ask the questions you know need to be answered. Look to place job postings on boards for a lot of feedback.
Think about making a change in your staff. Quite often there is someone who is not pulling there weight, you know who they are. Take charge of this situation and place a confidential add for the position that you need with www.e2bs.com
Matt Ide lives and writes in northern Michigan. Don't make the mistake most employers make with posting jobs and paying a lot for low quatiy people. Post jobs for anywhere in the world for free and only select the right person...the first time. Go to http://www.e2bs.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matt_Ide
We interviewed recruiters who participated in our Job Fair this February 2007 in Charlotte, NC and compiled a video to help job seekers know what it is like to attend a job fair. Watch and hear what recruiters look for in candidates who attend a job fair, what kind of questions you can expect to be asked, what makes a recruiter offer an interview to a candidate at a job fair and advice that the recruiters have to job seekers who are thinking of attending.
The average person works for 40 hours a week for around 40 years – that’s 80,000 hours of your life – and one in four people are currently thinking about changing their job.
Many people find themselves in a situation where they have the “Monday morning blues,” feeling dissatisfied in their job, or believe it is time for them to move on. If this is an area that is affecting you, please read on and ask yourself the following questions.
For what reasons do you want to change your job?
Some people may want to change their jobs on a whim, but the grass is not always greener on the other side. Be sure that you are leaving your current employment for the right reasons and that the new job is going to help you in your chosen career path.
Is this a passing phase or a real desire to do something new?
Most people become frustrated with their job at some stage in their career. I would ask you to consider whether it is the right time for you to move on.
What do you enjoy about your job?
Try listing the reasons you enjoy your current job. It can help you to put steps in place to make it better, or assess the most important aspects you may be looking for in a new job. Find out what is important to you and whether you can get this opportunity with your existing employer.
What could be better?
It is likely that there are areas of your job which could be improved. What are they? What control do you have over improving these areas?
What have you done so far to move yourself to a better situation?
If you are unhappy in your job, have you talked to your manager or a trusted colleague? They may help you to find greater fulfillment or a new challenge. You may also want to decide what you would like to change about your job.
If you are still sure that you want to seek a new job, there are other areas to take into account.
What do you want to do?
It is important to consider the area in which you would like to work. Do you want to stay in the same career or are you seeking a complete change?
What skills and competencies do you have that are transferable?
It would be useful to look at the skills you already have and how they can be used in your new job or career.
What training or development may be required?
If you are seeking promotion or a career change, there may be new skills you need to learn or training programs you need to complete. Consideration of these at this stage will help you to focus on your professional development.
Where do you want to work?
Is there a particular industry or company where you would like to work? If not, you may wish to think about the types of organization where you would like to work, based on your ethical stance or beliefs. You may also want to consider the salary, pension or benefits that you are seeking.
Where are you going to find your ideal job?
There are more choices than ever before to help you to find the ideal job, these include Internet job sites, local employment agencies, local recruitment papers and specialist publications.
Alternatively, talk to people you know (or those you don’t know). They may be able to help you to find your ideal job.
How about working for yourself? More people than ever before are considering self employment as an alternative to working for an employer.
The next step
For all of these considerations, think about the pros and cons before you make a decision. I have a few more questions for you to consider before you make your choice.
What motivates you?
What gives you most satisfaction or enjoyment?
What has stopped you making changes in the past?
What three actions could you take today to move you forward with your career?
Think about these wisely, and best of luck!
Karen Williams is a Life and Career Development Coach and runs her own coaching practice, Self Discovery Coaching. She has over ten years experience of working in Human Resources, training, coaching and management roles and is a Chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). Copyright Karen Williams 2007. All Rights Reserved For more information, go to http://www.selfdiscoverycoaching.co.uk/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Karen_E_Williams
There are 3 basic element to change your life, you need to ask, believe and receive the new life, you also need to live your new life, just don't imagine it but really believe and feel that your life has changed, you should set specific goals, create plans, but the most important is to always stay positive and be grateful for the things you have. This science proves beyond any doubt that what the success scientists of the 20th century were teaching us is absolutely true. These experts coach and educate those who want to become a success in life and those who want to become a success in business.
When you create your life's new plan remember it is a journey and you need to act like you are living this journey using your thoughts and imagination, and see the vision as if you are there in this new life. To stop the negativity you need to think of something positive quickly, think of a pet, listen to music, start thinking of the opposite of the negative thought.
When planning a personal development plan you need to alter your life style and career path. Defining a personal development plan would mean altering the career path life cycle. If you develop a personal plan and believe in it, and practice this and see yourself in this new plan it will be only a matter of time before in comes in reality. will be only a matter a time. A good plan will also act as a performance assessment tool and a blueprint of all your day-to-day operations.
The personal development plan will only work if you truly are motivated and believe in this new life. Without the unpredictable variable such as luck, coincidence and the like, to rely on an emotional impulse such as motivation to drive us forward is like waiting for food to appear in your cupboards without going to the store to buy it. And the most convenient source of motivation comes from these books and seminars.
The problem is 99 percent of success psychology can't provide the guarantee that 95 percent of the population needs in order to be convinced it works. These experts coach and educate those who want to become a success in life and those who want to become a success in business.
Everybody has one or another personal aspect to improve and better and hence a personal development coaching business could be a good idea as not only will you be making money, you will be helping so many individuals develop and improve their skills.
There are lots of self declared gurus on the internet as well as in the book stores who want you to follow such rigid routines and they are not actually interested in helping you but want you to continue following them so that you become dependent on them and thus, be able to use you as a predictable source of income. Oh sure, I liked to believe that I was in control of myself, but why then was I not able to motivate myself if I did indeed have so much control. The speaker is able to tap into your emotions.
You get so caught up in "what if" that you end up not doing anything. Furthermore, they have the nerve to complain and cry about it when they are doing nothing to try to better their situation.
David Marc Fishman is the owner of repairs. The new way to give advice by video. Online auction shopping experience.
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of high tech computer jobs open for those with Oracle expertise. The highly reputable and popular Oracle products are used by firms in every part of the globe. As a result, experts who can walk in the door ready to start work on Oracle and keep the applications running efficiently are in great demand.
Knowing what employers are looking for when they seek to hire for high tech Oracle computer jobs helps students or would-be students and job candidates prepare their skills. So, let's take a look at a few of these Oracle jobs available now.
In Phoenix Arizona, for example, we found 58 Oracle related high tech computer job openings. Positions included Windows Administrator II and III, business analyst and Oracle developer, database management senior specialist for Oracle 10g, Oracle DBA and senior Oracle DBA, business applications analyst, clinical applications support, Cerner PathNet support analyst, Oracle / Java developer, and database manager, among many others.
The high tech Windows administrator computer jobs were both senior level position in a OneNeck Windows administration group. Requirements were ability to administrate a medium to large environment of Windows server without supervision. The primary focus of these positions was work on projects directed by the firm's customer management team.
The employer seeking the business analyst and Oracle developer wants someone with high tech computer knowledge whose job skills include writing functional specifications, analysis of programming activities and excellent team and communication capabilities. The candidate for this Oracle job should have a strong technical background including business analysis. Development of Crystal reports experience is a plus as well. This employer specifies that the firm does not seek DBAs.
A senior level data base management position including 10g RAC specialization requires two years of Oracle 9g RAC experience and five years of Oracle DBA. This is not a full time permanent position, but rather a contract position for one month, with responsibility for decision making critical to the database architecture, as well as the control and deployment processes to implement and maintain 10G databases using RAC.
Oracle DBA jobs at the senior level are abundant, full time and contract. One, a six-month contract position that might be extended to as long as one year, is a three-day week job. The work will be at two locations fifty miles apart, working with data services of the firm's clients.
A more entry-level Oracle DBA computer job is as part of a high tech team environment that supports engineering and MIS groups within the firm. This employee will focus her or his efforts on product and service support both internal and external. The specific functions of this high tech Oracle computer jobs include maintaining the database as well as its applications. Requirements include technical expertise and user interface capabilities. User support will be a part of the job tasks too. Knowledge to qualify for this Oracle job include Oracle database in a Sun environment. At least two years experience with Oracle DBA is a must.
Additionally, this employer is looking for someone with excellent communication skills, autonomy, top-notch phone skills and vendor troubleshooting capability.
To land the advertised Oracle applications business analyst position, the candidate would need experience with Oracle applications and Order management.
For the highly specialized clinical applications support job in the medical field, the candidate would need to be an registered nurse who also has clinical application support training as well as Cerner clinical applications help desk proficiency.
A global provider of business solutions and information technology is seeking a Cerner PathNet support analyst to support the clinical departments' business needs for project execution and enhancement. Application support and maintenance is the primary job task. Problem resolution will include system functions, operations, reporting, input and output, and general operations. This analyst will install patches, install vendor fixes to problems, create ad hoc reports and extraction of data and on call troubleshooting and system support.
The person who lands this high tech Oracle computer job will have knowledge of service operations in an acute care environment, experience in clinical applications support, as well as Cerner Classic PathNet and hospital acute care experience.
Familiarity with Cerner Millennium Lab application, Oracle database tools and VMS or AIX operating systems are plusses. Strong problem solving and analytical skills as well as effective communication skills both written and verbal are required.
www.oraclejobs.com Copyright 2007 KC Dynamics Inc
I have now had the opportunity to teach or consult to leaders from various walks of life for over thirty years, and so I’ve probably encountered every possible motive in people aspiring to leadership positions. For some people, born in poverty, leadership provides the opportunity to “be somebody.” For some, positions of leadership are like mountains to climbers, they are achieved because they are there. A few are driven by the need to have power over others. Others have been trained from their youth to think of themselves as leaders, and to seek leadership; for them, leadership is fulfilling a destiny or plan. There are people who are comfortable only when others are subordinated to them, and power provides emotional safety. Some simply enjoy the process of grappling with ever greater challenges of ever greater risk and complexity. I was at a conference several years ago when a friend asked an executive vice-president why he continued to work when he had all the money he could ever possibly need or spend. His response was, “I have no place to go that offers more interesting and diverse challenges. What would I do that offers more?”
Some leaders simply drift upward, not really knowing why, but simply being moved along by corporate decision makers who choose them for new responsibilities. Some like the perks and status. Some like the enhanced opportunities for creativity. For others it’s just a natural progression; as they gain in experience and competence, they move on to positions where they can apply those gains. Some feel that they must do something, make a contribution, and have a positive impact on what is done and how it is done. Some feel a need to be known by others. Others are quite personally pragmatic; they see leadership positions as excellent routes to extrinsic rewards such as income, material well-being, and security. Still others are functionally pragmatic; they see jobs to be done and they do them. By way of contrast some others are motivated by being noticed, standing out in the crowd. Many leaders simply enjoy the process of leading people, of guiding, and being a mentor or coach to others. A few find in leadership a platform for inspiring others, an opportunity to express their charismatic natures. And still others are control freaks; leadership positions offer them power, and increase their ability to control what they personally see as a disorderly world.
Most commonly, leaders are motivated by a combination of these drives and urges. This doesn’t come close to being an exhaustive list. Some of the best leaders, Churchill and Lincoln, for example, came to real leadership through crisis, responding to what they saw and felt as a compelling need. In truth, human motive is so complex that virtually any urge could call a person to leadership.
Leadership, a Sacred Responsibility,
At the highest reaches of leadership, we find an attitude of profound and sacred responsibility. Great leaders view wisdom, courage, self-sacrifice, and strength of character, as responsibilities of leadership, and set out to meet those responsibilities. For these people, every opportunity for leadership can properly be understood as containing a great potentiality, one that is realized through the quality of engagement that the leader brings to the position. This is as true of being a little league coach, a member of the school board, or a business leader, as it is of being a spiritual or political leader.
Can we make the claim that all leadership, properly understood, is a sacred responsibility? I think so. First of all, ninety-nine percent of recognized leadership is sanctioned leadership. This means that, through trust, leaders are given resources, power, and yes...people, or through ownership they have acquired the same. The moment one is given or obtains such resources, power, and people, then one’s responsibilities go up; and these responsibilities extend beyond the simple and practical. To hold power is potentially to be more dangerous, or more beneficial.
For the purposes of illustration, do a mind experiment with me. Suppose there is a small culture or tribe, and the tribe owns one gun. Whoever is chosen as leader gets to be the sole possessor of the gun and its ammunition, and this leader who holds the gun is deemed to be the sole arbiter within the culture. If you are a member of that culture, what sort of sense of responsibility, what sort of wisdom, courage, and character do you want that leader to possess? While this example is intentionally extreme, it can perhaps help us to understand the relationship of power and responsibility. The greater the power dispensed to, or possessed by the leader, especially relative to that which others hold, the more that we would want that leader to behave with a profound and sacred sense of responsibility. The more power, resources, and people the leader commands, then intrinsically, the greater the responsibility he or she holds.
To wield power is to have influence over the content and quality of others’ lives, and to be able to disproportionately shape outcomes that affect others. A person of common sense will quite naturally, knowing human nature, mistrust the concentration of power in the hands of the few. Similarly he will resist being subordinated in any manner that is excessive or potentially dangerous. Power in the hands of the right person can be a public good; power in the hands of the wrong person can be a public menace.
Leadership Barriers
So how should leaders hold this responsibility? Interestingly enough, in my interactions with supervisors, managers, and executives, as well as people occupying positions of leadership in non-business sectors, I repeatedly encounter those whose aspirations for leadership are very high. In seminars and conversations I find that, right out in the open or just below the surface, many or most who hold positions of leadership feel that they are seriously under-delivering on their dreams and desires. The sense of responsibility they feel, and the desire to really do something with the position, are often left unfulfilled. A very large percentage seem to feel soul-dead in their work, stuck and unable to actualize the possibilities for greatness that they know are contained in the situations around them, and lying latent within themselves. Many find themselves entangled in bureaucratic complexity, their time and energy eaten up in the trivia and irrelevancies of organizational life. Others are simply consumed by the practical demands of business, the exigencies of building products and services, of making sales, of attending meetings, of organizing people and resources, of simply getting the job done. Nevertheless, most leaders I meet feel some yearning to actualize the higher possibilities that leadership offers. But my impression is that in most cases, the lack of desire and commitment, and the giving in to complacency and fear, are what defeat their dreams of genuine leadership.
For most of them there are many practical barriers. Just dealing with the demands of the business, and the demands of personal life, is enough of a challenge. Every day they wake up to face a relentlessly busy pace of life and work. The yearnings for deeper meaning, for a deeper and richer engagement, get pushed aside in order to deal with the practicalities of life--until it becomes a habit to do so. One forty-eight year old upper mid-manager confessed, “I am beginning to think that this is it. I’m nearly fifty years old. I can see myself now doing this for another fifteen years and then retiring. I feel a tremendous emptiness when I contemplate that future, and it scares me that it may come true.” I ask him what he intended to do. “I honestly don’t know. I have kids going to college, and not enough saved for a secure retirement. Every day at work my time is entirely taken up with just getting things done. The truth is that I never catch up with all there is to do.”
This example is not so unusual. Beneath a public facade, a thin veneer of appearing to be fine, this man was facing a collision with himself. Two parts of one person, one very practical and orderly, and the other yearning and searching, were now bumping hard against each other. He was now becoming aware of two powerful and separate urges within himself, not integrated and seemingly irreconcilable. In fact, he was in the early stages of a crisis of meaning. As he could more clearly see the end of his life approaching, that part that wanted a deeper meaning and a much more substantial sense of engagement with life was no longer so willing to be subordinated to practical considerations, to a life defined by ordinary external conditions.
Is there a way out? I suggest that not only is there a way out, a way to live and lead, but that it is a responsibility of leadership to find and express that way. If leaders are subordinating some of the highest and deepest parts of their own beings, then they are designing and leading institutions that demand such subordination from others. The net effect of such leadership is to build cultures, organizations, and institutions that are dead…lacking in both spirit and imagination.
What do Leaders do?
A great leader looks into the future and imagines. In business this becomes the core of a strategic vision, and is the foundation for moving the company into the future. The strategic vision becomes the centerpiece of the direction of the company, and is the primary element around which company people and resources are organized. At lower levels of the company the strategic vision is translated into goals for business units, teams, and individuals.
Leaders articulate that strategic vision. They begin the process of transferring it from their own minds into the minds and workings of the organization, so that it becomes a shared conception. Many of them are utterly religious in communicating that vision; they preach, explain, enroll, persuade, and use every other imaginable communication device, personal and organizational, to spread the word, to achieve shared understanding and commitment. They build purpose, direction, and focus. They work to flesh out the vision, and they add substance and detail. The best of them inspire others by embodying the vision; they provide someone and something around which others can organize themselves, and their thoughts and efforts.
They work to create order and coherence, to build a meaningful whole, a means for people and resources to meet the challenges and opportunities contained within the strategic vision. They demand that people aim higher, perform better, and deliver more. They ask people to turn the vision into reality. They help build a map through the complexity and confusion, and chart the way through difficulties. They work to build the culture that is needed for achieving the vision. They build and enforce networks of accountability that are critical to achieving the vision.
They recollect the past, and stand with one foot in the present and the other in the future. They seek to describe, in a meaningful way, the movement from the past into the present, and the present into the future. They grapple with the complexity of time, the big picture and the details, and they work to arrive at an integrated and coherent conception that can be communicated to all relevant and interested parties. They communicate purpose, values, and vision. All of this is as true of the little league coach as it is of the CEO of a major corporation, the difference being only in scope and complexity.
We are rightly inspired by Churchill’s call to sacrifice, by Roosevelt’s challenge to fear only fear, by Mother Teresa’s life of humble devotion to Christ and service, by Lincoln’s translation of death into heroic metaphor at Gettysburg. But we also can remember that in the most common and mundane circumstances the potential for leadership exists. The little league coach, the teacher leading the group of students to learning, the supervisor hidden in the 100,000-person corporation, in all these arenas exists the possibility for great leadership. The question for each of us as leaders is whether we will rise to the occasion.
Dr. Gary Koyen has over thirty-five years of experience as a consultant and educator, and has designed and delivered some of the highest quality programs for corporate transformation in the world. Dr. Koyen has provided consulting expertise to large companies, and is an experienced international consultant. He brings a unique blend of attention to both the rigorous and soft sides of business. Dr. Koyen is a creative and provocative consultant, valued by CEO’s for his insight, candor, and courage.
Earlier in his career, Gary was a Professor in Management and Administration at the University of Oregon, where he taught courses in management, statistics and research methods, and organizational diagnosis and development.
Gary was born and raised in Fremont, Nebraska. He is an avid outdoorsman and athlete, has helped successfully raise his children, has an ever-increasing number of grandchildren, and lives with his wife and business partner, Becca O’Connor, in Boulder, Colorado.
For more information about Gary or Cruxpoint Consulting, please visit http://www.cruxpoint.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gary_V._Koyen
The 6 most frequently asked questions in a job interview
Here are the 6 most commonly asked job interview questions I've gathered from my own experience and the ways to answer them:
- Question 1: Why Don't You Tell Me About Yourself? -
The interviewer does not want to know your life history! Instead, he or she wants you to explain how your background relates to doing the job. Following is how one person might respond:
"I grew up in the Southwest and my parents and one sister still live there. I always did well in school, and by the time I graduated from high school, I knew I wanted to work in a business setting. I had taken computer and other business classes and had done well in them. The jobs I've had while going to school have taught me how many small businesses are run. In one of these jobs, I was given complete responsibility for the night operations of a wholesale grocery business that grossed over $2 million a year. I learned there how to supervise others and solve problems under pressure."
This answer gives a brief personal history and then gets right into the job seeker's skills and experiences. A different job would require you to stress different skills. Your personal history is unique, but you can still use the three steps to answer the question for yourself.
- Question 2: Why Should I Hire You? -
This is the most important question of all! If you don't have a good reason why someone should hire you, why will anyone? This question is not often asked so clearly, but it is "the" question behind many other interview questions.
The best answer shows how you can solve a problem for the employer, help the business make more money, or provide something else of value that the company needs. Think about the most valuable thing you can do for an organization. You should probably include that information in your answer. Here is a sample response from a person with recent training but little work experience:
"I have over two years of training in this field and know about all the latest equipment and methods. That means I can get right to work and be productive almost right away. I am also willing to work hard to learn new things. During the entire time I went to school, I held a full-time job to help earn the tuition and support myself I learned to work hard and concentrate on what was important. I expect to do the same thing here. Since I won't be going to school now, I plan on putting in extra time after regular work hours to learn anything this job needs."
- Question 3: What Are Your Major Strengths? -
This is a direct question with a little hidden meaning. These are the skills employers are most concerned about. Here is one answer from a person who had little prior work experience:
"I think one of my strengths is that you can depend on me. I work very hard to meet deadlines and don't need a lot o f supervision in doing so. If I don't know what to do, I don't mind asking. In high school, I got a solid B-plus average even though I was very involved in sports. I always got my assignments in on time and somehow found the time to do extra credit work, too."
- Question 4: What Are Your Major Weaknesses? -
This is a trick question. Most job seekers don't handle this one well. If you discuss what you don't do well, you may not get the job. If you say you have no weaknesses, the interviewer won't believe you. Ask yourself what the interviewer really wants to know. He or she wants to know that you are aware of your weaknesses. The interviewer wants to know that you have learned to overcome them so that they don't affect your work. Using the second step of the three-step process would result in a response like this:
"I do have some weaknesses. For example, in previous jobs I would get annoyed with coworkers who didn't work as hard as I did. I sometimes said so to them, and several times I refused to do their work when they asked me to."
You have answered the question, but the response should not end there! Using step three of the three-step process would result in a statement like this:
"But I have learned to deal with this better. I still work hard, but now I let the supervisor deal with another worker's problems. I've also gained some skills as a supervisor myself I've learned to motivate others to do more because they want to, not because I want them to."
Did you notice that this weakness isn't such a weakness at all? Many of our strengths began in failure. We learned from them and got better. Your answer to any interview question should always present your positives.
- Question 5: Why Are You Looking for This Sort of Position and Why Here? -
Employers know that you will do better in a job you really want. Employers want to make sure you know what you want. They also want you to tell them what you like about the job, and what you like about doing the job in their organization. The closer you come to wanting what they have, the better.
The best answer for this is the truth. You should have a clear idea of the type of job you want before the interview. You should also know the sort of organization and the type of people you want to work with. You gathered all of this information earlier in this book. If you are interviewing for a job you want, in a place where you think you would enjoy working, answering this question should be easy.
- Question 6: How Does Your Previous Experience Relate to the Jobs We Have Here? -
This one requires a direct response. The employer is really asking, "Can you prove you have the experience and skills to do the job?" The question is directly related to the employer's expectation on skills and training. In some cases, other people with better credentials than yours will want the job you're after. You can even mention this, and then explain why you are a better choice. Here is an example of how one person answered this question:
"As you know, I have over five years of experience in a variety of jobs. While this job is in a different industry, it will also require my skills in managing people and meeting the public. In fact, my daily contact with large numbers of people on previous jobs has taught me how to work under pressure. I feel very able to deal with pressure and to get the job done."
About the AuthorMr Benrick is a professional resume writer and creater of http://Free-Resume-Samples.blogspot.com
There are many reasons for wanting to have more time. You might want to make more money, spend more time with your family, have more time for recreation or you just feel as though there aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done.
You're not alone!
Most people feel this way. You may feel that learning to manage time will be like a magic wand to help you get all of the things that you want. It can be that way, but unfortunately there's a dirty little secret when it comes to effective time management. You can't manage time and no one else can either. Everyone has exactly the same amount of time, every single day. Sleeping less isn't the answer either.
If you are truly seeking time management skills then you need to understand one very important thing: time itself cannot be managed.
The good news is you can learn to manage yourself and that's what time management really means. Any time you hear the word time management, simply understand it's about you, managing yourself. Before you think of this like some sort of self-imprisonment try to view effective time management as the ultimate source of freedom. When you learn what you want and learn how to focus some of your energy on taking regular action towards achieving it, you will actually see the results in your life. You will be able to get the things that you want and this is ultimately what time management is all about.
Your interest shouldn't be about how to squeeze out every ounce of your energy for your employer. Your focus should be on how to be productive in the hours that your employer pays you for, as well as how to be productive in your own life. In this balance you can have the things that you want.
Learning how to manage yourself better, you can live a balanced life and truly have it all. Consider this: if you had one major goal defined for this year a scheduled one hour of your day to work towards that goal, every day, you would still have 23 hours for everything else. At the end of the year, you have 365 hours towards that goal!
Are you important enough to set aside one hour a day for your goal?
It's true that it's not always that easy. If you haven't practiced these basic time management skills, they are not going to feel comfortable for you at first. Over time they will.
It's important to learn a simple system that you can apply to make time management easy. Once you have that simple system, apply it every day. Even if it's only a little bit at first, each day it will get easier and easier until it becomes a good habit that yields good things for you. This is just like riding a bike. The first time you rode a bike you didn't have very good balance, you weren't able to go very fast and you were probably very nervous the entire time. The more you rode that bike, the better you got. Managing yourself (the essence of time management) is the same. Take it one step at a time and eventually you will be a time management master. You'll be amazed at all of the things that you can do.
Dave Saunders is a national speaker and published author on personal performance. Make more money, spend more time with your family and have time for yourself too. You can have it all when you learn how to master your time at http://www.the-time-management-guy.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dave_Saunders
Everybody remembers their first job. Maybe you flipped hamburgers as a student at the local burger joint. Maybe you delivered pizzas to the good citizens of your town. Maybe you bagged and carried out groceries at the local grocery store. There are tons of these types of student jobs out there.
In fact, after you have one of these student jobs, you will most likely be motivated to work harder and get yourself to college to educate yourself, so you are not stuck in a ‘student’ type job forever. Most major corporations will not hire a 16 or 17-year old kid who doesn’t have a high school diploma.
And don’t worry if your job isn’t the most prestigious or glamorous. Just think of the real-world experience you are gaining, and how good this job will look on your resume when you present it to potential employers in the future.
There are drawbacks to any job of course, but always look at the bright side. Compare the attributes of working in a customer service position to those of a ‘cubicle’ job. Both have advantages and disadvantages, so you simply need to pick the one that works best for you. Some might think a cubicle type job would bore them to tears, but on the bright side, you won’t have to deal with irate customers, etc. which would definitely be a part of the customer service position.
In past times, students just arriving at college and looking for a job might find work waiting tables, delivering food for a pizza or oriental restaurant, or working at the video store. While you won’t get rich at any of those, they will pay the bills for you. And with today’s technology, you have even more opportunity. You no longer have to get black fingertips after scouring the newspaper want ads. No need to waste gas driving on street after street looking in the windows for “Help Wanted” signs. These days, all you have to do is find yourself a computer and start searching. There are many, many places to look for work on the Internet. Sites like Monster and CareerBuilder are certainly two of the most well known sites, but there are PLENTY more out there. And aside from the global sites, there are sites that are more regionalized for your area. Most local newspaper sites also have an online classified ads section, and some even have a separate section for job seekers.
There are many advantages to job-hunting using the Internet. Besides the obvious time saving, the other major upside is the amount of ‘territory’ you can cover. You can literally look for jobs ANYWHERE. You can find part time and full time jobs, temporary positions, contract work, shift work, and more. Whatever type of work you are looking for, you will be able to search for it, and more often than not, FIND IT!
Some of the job-hunting websites even have sections that allow you to post your resume or information about yourself, and potential employers will browse those listings when they are looking for help. That’s right, they come looking for you!
Technology has made the work of looking for student jobs virtually pain free for you! Just get that resume updated and start looking!
Steven French is a recruitment consultant to http://www.UteachRecruitment.com - the specialist UK teaching jobs recruitment agency. STOP PRESS: We have French teaching jobs available now. Visit Uteach Recruitment to find your perfect UK teaching job today.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steven_French
Recently I came across a statement made by Martin Luther King Jr. I realized that without his knowlege of being in the will of God, his efforts to further the good of the civil rights movement would not have been left to his memory. There was another man who set out to prove this point as well. His name was Solomon. I wanted to take a further look at the futile efforts we take in trying to achieve goals on our own. Without God, it simply is all in vain.
"I still believe that standing up for the turth of God is the greatest thing in the world. This is the end (purpose) of life. The end of life is not to be happy. The end of life is not to achieve pleasure and avoid pain. The end of life is to do the will of God, come what may." Marttin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. certainly lived up to those words. He did not avoid pain to gain pleasure. He endured persecution, personal threats and was abused and also arrested 20 times. But through it all, he was the youngest man to receive the Noble Peace Prize. The money he won was donated to further the good of the civil rights movement. He was famous for his "I have a dream" speach that he delivered at a peaceful march in Washington, DC. But his dream was cut off in 1968 when he was fataly shot to death on a balcony in Memphis, Tennessee. It was here that he was leading a protest march in sympathy with the striking garbage workers. He was a man who operated in the will of God and as a result his life left a legacy for all to remember. So his dream still lives on!
King Solomon, near the end of his life, had decided to go on a pilrimage to discover what life was really all about. He had been highly favored by God and lacked for nothing. God gave him wisdom such as no one before or after him has ever seen. Solomon put his human wisdom to the test and in the end, after searching "everything under the sun" came to the conclusion that without God in one's life, it has no meaning. Life is all in vain. For many people today, they are searching for the true meaning of life as well. Odds are they are trying to find it in money, material gains, fame, power, and self gratification. If you know of anyone like this who is truly without lack for anything, please let me know. Money doesn't mean happiness, material objects doesn't mean contentment, fame doesn't mean peace, power does not mean joy and self gratification certainly doesn't mean salvation. The outward things are no indication of the inward man.
With this thought in mind, Solomon tried very hard to find a purpose to a man's life without God in it. As he put it; "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity." (Ecc. 1:1) Right off the bat, Solomon begins the book of Ecclesiastes with this observation. He is saying that life without God is in vain, all our endeavors on earth are utterly futile.
He realizes that a man's advantage to gain from his labor is useless. Life is fleeting and whatever a man accomplishes in his life is only a small portion. The only lasting efforts are the ones used to accomplish God's purposes for eternity. He compares man's impermanence with the earth's permanence. The repetitious cycle of a man's life doesn't give him security or meaning. But God's creation continues generation after generation, long after men are dead. All their lives it is wearisome work and in the end, nothing is ever new and nothing will ever be remembered. We are as dust in the wind.
"A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. Also, the sun rises and the sun sets; and hastening to its place it rises there again." Ecclesiastes 1:4,5
He says that no matter what anyone does, the sun will rise and set each day, the winds have their set courses to blow, the rivers flow into the sea and it will repeat this cycle over and over. God has ordained it so.
"That which has been is that which will be, and that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun." Ecclesiastes 1:9
Solomon also writes about the futility of human wisdom. He is writing in terms of practical wisdom as opposed to philosophical wisdom. This is more than head knowledge. Real wisdom is having common sense and wit, proper behavior, and success. He says it's difficult to understand it, yet it is God given. (Ecc. 1:13)
"I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind. What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted. And I set my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly; I realized that this also is striving after wind." Ecclesiastes 1:15,17
He observes that life is futile because it's fleeting. It's like the wind, whatever we desire in this life can not be held in our hands. And even though a person can be wise, no amount of human effort can resolve matters. Some things will always remain crooked no matter how hard we try to straighten them out.
"Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increased knowledge results in increasing pain." Ecclesiastes 1:18
After all is said and done, Solomon declares that there are no guarantees in life. If you asked anyone if they thought wisdom brings success, their answer would be a resounding "yes". This success would bring happiness as well. But this isn't the case. With realizing this truth, Solomon concludes that it brings grief to anyone who puts their happiness in the hope of their human achievements alone.
It is clear that Martin Luther King Jr. learned this valuable lesson early in his life. He knew that a man's purpose on this earth was not just in finding happiness while running from the pain. He knew pain and yet he pressed forward in God's will. His dream was to do that will by setting the captives free from segregation. God does not look at the color of a man's skin. We are all the same in His eyes. We were, after all made in His image. That image is cloaked in LOVE! It was Mr. King's passion to see people of all color, races, and generations be treated with respect. Even though Mr. King experienced cruel treatment during his life, he still emerged as a Negro leader in the first rank. He not only became a symbolic leader to American blacks, but a world figure as well. Since his dream was in the will of God, it became his legacy.
If you (or someone you know) is trying to find happiness without success, search your heart and ask the One Who truly knows your needs. If He has not yet been invited into your life, then ask Him today. Ask God to forgive all your past, present, and future sins. Tell Him you are a sinner in need of a Savior. If you truly believe that Christ died so that you may live, confess it with your mouth and tell God you are sorry. If you have done this and believe it with all your heart, Christ will come into your life through the power of the Holy Spirit. You are now born again into eternal life! Now your life has true meaning! May your journey continue through Bible reading, study, fellowship, hearing the Word and praying in the will of God. May your dreams become your legacy as well. With God ALL things are possible!
There is no dream too big or too small when God is in it.
Vivian Gordon writes articles pertaining to God's instructions and the examples He has given us in order to grow on this Christian walk with Him. She hopes that they can inspire the Christian to grow spiritually and maturely in their lives.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vivian_Gordon
Where do your competences come from? Competence comes from your skills but you would be mistaken to think it automatically means "high-level" skills. What structured interviews are about is establishing whether the competence you already possess is at the appropriate level for the job.
Below are some areas about which you might hear questions during the interview in a structured interview but remember this: a junior person can be competent in any of the areas covered here. A senior person can be competent in any of the areas covered here and the difference is the extent of the competence.
In other words, the junior person can be highly competent in a skill area as it applies to the junior job; whereas the senior person needs a higher level of skill to be considered competent for a higher level of job. So the message is about being competent to do the job at the level you are considering.
Think about these areas which commonly come up at interview and you can see that everybody doing any sort of job would have competence in all of these ability areas. The only differences are in the level at which they would be performed by someone doing a different or higher level of job.
What you should now see is that you don't need to worry about structured interviews and your competences, because they are simply relative to the job you do and not some imaginary scale of high-level skill.
But what you do need to do is think HOW these apply to YOUR job, define exactly what YOU do, then prepare a little story to illustrate it.
1. Planning and Organising is possessing the competence or ability to establish appropriate courses of action for self and /or others to accomplish a specific goal; planning proper assignments of personnel and appropriate allocation of resources.
2. Motivational Fit could be described as the extent to which job activities and responsibilities, the organisation’s culture and values and the community are consistent with the type of work that is personally satisfying. The actual definition depends on you.
3. Problem Solving is the competence or ability to commit to a course of action after developing alternatives based on logical assumptions and factual information, taking into consideration resources, constraints and organisational values.
4. Work Standards includes setting high standards for self and staff workers as well as for the organisation. Being dissatisfied with average performance.
5. Delegation is defined as allocating decision-making authority to appropriate direct reports; utilising their time, skills and potential effectively.
6. Initiative shows active attempts to influence events to achieve goals. Being self-starting rather than passively waiting for something or someone. Taking action; being proactive to achieve more than is required.
Now you should see that you don't need to worry about structured interviews and your competences, because they are simply relative to the job you do and not some imaginary scale of high-level skill. All you need to do then is think how these apply to YOUR job and define what YOU do, then prepare a little story to illustrate it.
I'll cover some typical key actions and questions in the next article.
Peter Fisher is an expert Author, Career Coach and Webmaster for My Interview Guide where you can find tons of helpful things to do before the interview.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_Fisher
Leaders and top managers create the culture of their business. It is therefore critically important to recruit and retain the right kinds of people at the top in leading and managing your business to high performance.
Among other things, people who display the qualities of good leadership in business are expected to be highly ethical and organized and to manage against the detailed objectives of the small business plan, while simultaneously having a grasp of the "big picture," strategic agenda of the business.
In addition, they are expected to manage budgets and finance well and to exhibit the finer points of dealing effectively and compassionately with the people in their charge. Likewise, they are held accountable for developing new business opportunities.
Despite how difficult it is for a single individual to meet all of these diverse expectations, more and more this is precisely what is being demanded of top managers in business.
How is possible for a leader to live up to these standards? In fact, there are four principles that if adopted and practiced consistently will help the business manager achieve a coherent and congruent management approach that delivers high performance and achieves outstanding results, not just within themselves, but indeed within the people around them as well.
Possess a Personal Sense of Mission, Vision and Values
In the value-based business, this is the centering principle for the highly effective business person. You must know the ground on which you stand, at the personal level, to ensure high leveraged business activity and high performance outcomes in the sphere of the business.
If you are not personally grounded in a strong sense of Mission, you have no clarity of vision, you are unsure of your personal values and the behavior you expect of yourself and you will, quite simply, never become a high performing business person.
Only when you have these basic elements of Mission, Vision and Values right in your own life can you align them with those of your business. Champions in business are defined by the fact that their personal goals and objectives are aligned with those of their business.
Develop a Personal Sense of Responsibility and Accountability
Having defined and clearly articulated your own sense of Mission, Vision and Values, you must then develop within yourself a personal psychology that is grounded in taking responsibility and being accountable for your own performance in achieving business outcomes.
This mindset comes about by making a deliberate choice to develop your skills in this respect. You must choose to speak and act in keeping with your personal value base. Use positive words. Refuse to make excuses. Never blame others. Face up to your own mistakes. Focus on the realities of a business situation. Always listen to what others are saying. Control your tongue, and ask questions. These are the signs of the exercising emotional intelligence in business.
If you practice this principle, you will find that you speak with integrity and behave in ways that deliver outstanding performance at the intra-personal, interpersonal and business levels.
Further, adherence to this principle insures that all your action is aligned and driven by your own value base.
Sharpen Personal Skills in Sharing Information and Communicating Effectively
The third principle in becoming a high performance business person is creating a business environment where information sharing and communication are open and transparent.
If you work on the premise that all achievement in business comes as the result of working with, through and for others, you will be pleasantly surprised by the impact and the results that this approach delivers in the enhancement of corporate team building.
By operating in this way, a multiplying effect occurs, which insures all activities in the business are integrated and optimized.
The high performance business person develops and sharpens their skills in information sharing and communication as part of a never ending cycle of learning.
By following this principle and creating a business culture of openness and transparency, we build trust in all of our relationships and increase and enhance the involvement of others in effective decision making throughout the organization.
Learn How to Identify Gaps and Manage Them
The final principle is the leadership principle. Leadership is the ability to identify and assess business gaps and manage the processes and people to address them.
Leadership in business is also the ability to see the opportunity for creating a new gap and then bridging it by introducing processes to address its closure. Consciously creating and bridging such gaps propels the business to new, higher levels of performance and success.
This principle builds on the second principle of personal responsibility and accountability discussed above. Learning how to see problems and create opportunities is a skill that the successful business person develops in themselves. In order to develop it, however, the leader must first have a clear sense of responsibility and accountability.
In developing and practicing this skill, the leader insures that all of the people around them are equipped with the right mindset, an effective tool set and are themselves developing the skills required in exercising this leadership principle throughout the business.
Adopting the four principles outlined above and practicing them continually delivers high performance business people, positive work cultures and successful business results.
Peter McLean is a highly experienced Coach, Senior Manager, Consultant, Business Owner and Company Director. He successfully coaches top Executives in some of Australia’s leading multi-national companies. One such Senior Executive recently won an International Award for Excellence within his particular field. In addition, Peter works extensively in the Public, Private, Commercial and Not-for-Profit sectors, delivering outstanding results for his clients. To learn more of how you can benefit from Peter’s experience, visit the Essential Business Coach web site!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_McLean
You can narrow down my work, as a time management coach and professional organizer, to three defined areas:
Paper/information management. Time management. Decision management.
Sometimes clients I work with don’t know what to do. But they are at a loss about the specific system, process or task needed to improve their situation.
Sometimes the client knows what to do, but not how to do it. It seems that traditional methods just don’t work for this person.
And sometimes the client knows what to do and how to do it, but they decide not to do it. This, as you might imagine, is a challenge. For the client--and others impacted by the client’s decision.
Of course as a teacher and a coach I’m there to provide, information and support. But it’s clear to me that discipline of thought precedes discipline of action. My work in this area is directed at helping my clients reach inside themselves to change their situation and make a difference.
We make choices all day, every day. Sometimes the results aren’t exactly what we had hoped for. But to quote the title of a popular book…’hope is not a strategy’. Especially if the decision is based on a purely emotional reaction or an old recording of internal chatter.
Internal chatter sounds something like this:
‘I don’t feel like doing that right now…I’ll do it next week.’
‘I don’t need to get organized, I can wing it.’
‘I really don’t like all these rules and systems…they don’t apply to me anyway.’
This chatter, or thought, represents someone delaying decisions...and making the choice to continue that habit.
But many of us aren’t trained to hear out own thoughts. Or we might not know what they really sound like because they have become so much a part of us. Thoughts are the core issue. The root cause.
You can learn to recognize which thoughts are supporting you and which are sabotaging you in becoming more productive and less stressed. Then you can master decision (choice) management. You can turn dreams into reality. You can keep commitments to yourself. Remember what Yoda, the famous Star Wars character, said, “Do or not do. There is no try.’ That’s what decisions are all about.
So start listening. Start making choices to be successful. If you need help, give me a call.
Cynthia Kyriazis is an organizing and time management consultant, trainer, speaker, coach and author with over 20 years management experience in multi-unit corporations. Organize it, a division of Productivity Partners, Inc. is an organizational training firm she founded in 1995 and has been serving Fortune 500 clients ever since. Cynthia works with business and their employees to help improve performance and realize productivity gains.
Cynthia has appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Kansas City Star and the Legal Intelligencer. She currently serves as Secretary on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), member of the National Speakers Association (NSA), member of the Kansas City of the International Society for Performance Improvement – (ISPI-KC) and consultant to the American Coaching Association.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cynthia_Kyriazis
Are you struggling to get everything you need to get done in a day completed?
Here are 10 easy hints to help you accomplish your most important tasks.
1. Get organized. Use a day planner. Use file folders. Clean up your workspace. Clutter will make it impossible for you to work productively.
2. When you concentrating on an important project take your phone off the hook, turn off your cell phone, and turn off your Internet access in order to avoid distractions.
3. Commit yourself to working on the most important tasks first and to setting aside those of less importance.
4. Explain to your friends and family that you are busy working and ask them to respect your time and to let you work alone. If needed tell them at what time you will be available to speak with them.
5. Take the time to plan your day the day before.
6. Take time for yourself, to relax and to realize that if you are unable to get everything done in one day then it is okay.
7. Recognize when you need help. You may need to ask for help from someone else with certain tasks and this is normal and okay.
8. Know when to say no. You should not and cannot do it all. Recognize when you may need to decline an opportunity or a task.
9. Use technology to your advantage. Learn to use computers, cell phones and the Internet to help you accomplish your tasks.
10. Read books on organization and planning. Many of these offer invaluable advice.
About the AuthorAnnaLaura Brown is a successful home business owner who markets herself and her business on the internet. Subscribe to her free internet marketing E-course at http://www.onlinemarketinglessons.com and request your copy of a free home business ebook by sending a blank email to homebizebook@aweber.com.
There are two different types of Vocational Training. The first type is commercially oriented vocational training programs. These are operated by for profit organizations which have primary interest in the amount of profitability rather than the specific functional areas of coverage which are offered. The second type of Vocational Training comes from the academic community. The two types of educational organizations most often involved in vocational training are High Schools and Junior Colleges. Undergraduate programs and Graduate Schools are rarely involved in vocational training.
The commercial vocational education programs typically offer both home study programs through correspondence/websites as well as local on site, hands on, training. There are some Junior Colleges who also offer home study programs. One barrier to entry to the commercial vocational training is the enrollment costs. These can be quite expensive. Typically the High School and Junior College vocational training classes are much less expensive than their commercially offered cousins. This applies to both local, hands on, training as well as to home study programs.
One problem with home study programs is that they are self paced. Students often sign up for such programs but lack the self discipline to continue them until completion. This often makes for a high drop out rate.
In the cases where completion of a course counts for credit toward a work related skill. The motivation exists so that completion rates grow larger.
The High School and Junior College locally based hands on vocational training programs are often somewhat limited in the functional areas which they teach. This often because of facilities constraints. There be limited space available. In some the space available is unsuitable for the type of training being performed. For example, a classroom is not a suitable place to conduct a class in performing auto body repair.
The other common limitation facing schools offering hands on training, is finding qualified people to teach the courses. It is often difficult to obtain experienced instructors for many of the functional areas for which hands on training is appropriate.
One lack that exists in the entire vocational system is a training program which provides the skills needed to improve productivity. Topics such as productivity improvement, work measurement, methods and procedures, budgeting and conducting Requests for Quotations (RFQ) are rarely addressed. This is despite the fact that productivity improvement opportunities are available in most if not every enterprise.
Many organizations have functional areas where potential productivity can be as high as 45% of the cost of the function. Few enterprises have less than a 5% opportunity for productivity improvement.
These disciplines can benefit from both hands on training and from self paced study programs. Improved communication with businesses as to the huge scope of productivity improvements will also be helpful.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Morgan_Bryan |
Many of us fail to see that simple positive work behaviors practiced early can help in moving up the corporate ladder. Here are 8 new tips for making that career head start.
Positive work behaviors is by far one of the most straightforward tips I can give you when it comes to moving up the corporate ladder. Do you sometimes feel that whenever people speak about moving up the corporate ladder, it almost always has a cunning undertone? For career newbies especially, my recommendation is to always focus on positive work behaviors that you can start practicing now. When the time comes, moving up the corporate ladder will seem effortless. This is because you do what is right and focus on the positive. Bosses will notice and when the right time comes, the promotion you want is just a natural next step.
So what are the 8 straightforward positive work behaviors for moving up the corporate ladder?
1. IdeasRegardless of how junior you are in an organization, you can have ideas that positively affect the company. Do not be contented with just doing your own work. Do not be shy or embarrassed about sharing them either. What’s the worst that can happen? They laugh at it and reject the idea? Well, then you turn it into something positive. Ask why can’t it work, and you would have learned something new. That information can be used to come out with better ideas.
2. ImpactBe smart enough to choose some projects in a year that are considered a challenge for your level of experience. Be hardworking enough to see it through. But have the wisdom to cross check with your bosses to make sure it is a challenge and not impossible for your experience. That way you can create an impact in the company. This positive work behavior ensures that you aren’t just the average worker clocking in and clocking out without making an impression.
3. ImpeccableThis positive work behavior is to be flawless in your language and dressing. Know that you are judged at all times. First impression or not, people judge you on how you talk and what you wear. You are lucky if you work in a company with dress codes, then just dress up or down accordingly. Being impeccable when it comes to dressing doesn’t mean expensive clothes. It simply means to dress well. Being impeccable with your language doesn’t mean using bombastic words. Quite simply, it means abstaining from vulgarity.
4. IndependentLearn to work independently. In the age of empowerment, most employees are given the freedom to fail. Even if this culture is not practiced in your company, learn to work with minimal supervision. When you can work independently, it allows your boss to concentrate on other things. But remember to always update your boss on what and how you are doing. Working independently as part of positive work behaviors will help you in moving up the corporate ladder. 5. IgniteBe an ignition of your company. Take the initiative to start something. It does not always have to be work oriented. It can be something fun or informal. For example, if you know some of your colleagues enjoy exploring different restaurants, why not start a group that does it after work Fridays? When you are a positive ignition, you can move up the corporate ladder quickly.
6. InterestShow interest in your company’s initiatives. Be an interested party in things involving your department. Some career newbies I know come across as being cynical with initiatives that are being carried out by the company. As part of positive work behaviors, show interest in these initiatives. Give it a chance and support them. Do not send signals that your bosses see you as being merely contented as being a passenger of the company. That doesn’t help in your plan of moving up the corporate ladder.
7. IntangibleDo not always focus on the tangible benefits when working. There are a lot of values in doing things that at the moment does not seem to benefit you. For example, helping a colleague on a project. Volunteering to cover for someone who’s sick. Taking on an extra project when your boss seems inundated with work. Positive work behaviors like these may not have immediate tangible benefits but in the long run, helps you in moving up the corporate ladder.
8. IntegrityThis positive work behavior means to have a sound moral character. Practiced at its most basic level for a career newbies, it can be as simple as not talking bad about a colleague and gossiping. Do not be drawn into wrong doings like cutting corners. Be honest in your dealings with colleagues, clients, business partners and suppliers.
These positive work behaviors are straightforward and simple to practice. You need not have an evil plan when thinking about moving up the corporate ladder. Cliché as it maybe
, the cunning plans makes you fall off the corporate ladder faster than you can climb it.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
In a recent conversation with a young man who works in a restaurant, an all too familiar scenario was played out again. The young man recognized me as a frequent customer, and struck up a conversation that surprised me with the level of trust he had in confiding his situation. He said that he was trying to find a better job, because the place where he was working was low in pay and had no benefits. Unfortunately, he also stated that all the efforts he had recently tried in finding a better job were being thwarted by a negative reference from his current supervisor.
As this young man told me about his personal situation, it rapidly became clear that he needed some good advice on how to pursue a better opportunity, without suffering the negative interference from his current employer. By listening to his story, and applying what I knew about the young man’s work, it quickly became clear that his supervisor was trying to block his effort to improve himself by telling everyone who called for a reference that the young man was an unreliable worker, when in actuality, he demonstrated the exact opposite in his service to customers and his fellow employees. Since the restaurant position was obviously his first real job, the young man had no other experience to use in comparison with how he was being treated by his employer, and was becoming desperate to find someone willing to tell him how to approach his work situation. As his story unfolded, it was obvious that this establishment was exerting the same challenging influence on all the other workers in the place, and using bully tactics to keep employees in line. Whether companies will admit it or not, keeping low paid workers is a challenge, and some low paid supervisors use belittlement and intimidation to extract consistency from their staff, and keep them coming back for more. This tactic is factored into the hiring practices of these managers, and they use their experience to select employees who are susceptible to this kind of treatment. Rather than telling their employer to take their job and shove it, these people are convinced that they cannot easily find a different job, and when they are ridiculed for showing ambition, they remain in the position in an effort to prove to their supervisor that they are worthy employees.
Working long hours with little time allowed for outside activities, these workers remain at this type of job for far longer than most people would expect, finding it difficult to break free from the mind games their supervisors are playing on them. In my own acquaintance with this young man, I found him to be outgoing, friendly, genuinely concerned about providing excellent service, and a natural at responding with business practices that kept customers coming back to this place for the kind of customer relations he demonstrated naturally. He had been such an enthusiastic worker prior to this conversation that it caught me by surprise to learn what was really going on in this place.
The advice I gave him was to not allow potential new employers to contact his current supervisor, locate a trusted co-worker willing to give him a reliable and accurate reference, or to tell prospective employers nothing about his current position. I also told him to seek the advice of a lawyer to discuss what legal actions he might be able to pursue regarding the company’s business practices. In regard to the legal avenues, I cautioned him that this would likely be a last resort, and for practical purposes, the best advice would probably be to simply move on to a better opportunity, and put his experience in this place behind him. If this kind of work environment sounds familiar, it is important to realize that these practices are not worth fighting against as an individual. In the long run, these experiences are a guide for recognizing what kinds of jobs to leave behind, and learning the signs for employers who use these tactics.
John Dir Director of Software Concepts LittleTek Center jdir@bhotechnologists.com http://home.earthlink.net/~jdir/ Stop by my website or send an email if you need help to keep your career on track.
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Maybe your first thought when you think of a whiner is little kids you sometimes see in a shopping mall or some other public place whining because they aren’t getting their way. Or maybe you think of people you work with (or have worked with) who always seem to be complaining about something.
Their whining may be about little or personal things like, “Why can’t we get better coffee?” or “why don’t we have a dental plan?”. Or maybe the whining is about bigger business issues like, “if marketing would just build a better plan, we’d all be better off,” or “Why can’t IT keep the e-mail running?”
The truth is that while you may not voice your complaints in a sing-song voice, I’ll bet you whine too. Most all of us do. How do I know? Because I believe whining really is an external search for the sources of our discomfort, displeasure, unhappiness or problems.
The rest of the truth is this – as long as we are looking external to ourselves; as long as we are whining – we aren’t giving ourselves a chance to learn or to improve our situation. The only way to learn is to look internally to see what our role is, what influence we have and to determine what we can do change the situation we are facing.
Here are seven specific things you can do to help you move past whining and take the actions needed to make you happier, healthier and more successful.
Four Questions to Ask Yourself
These four questions are separate but completely linked. You may move past whining by asking just one of them, or it may take asking yourself each of them (several times) to help you in any given situation.
• Ask “What part did I play in the situation?” This question is powerful because it assumes that we will find our role. Once we know our role we are in a position to make a change if needed.
• Ask “What’s in my control?” Not everything in a situation will be in your control. But something is. Once we know what is in our control, we have a better chance to stop whining and take some intelligent action.
• Ask “What can I do now?” The situation is over (the e-mail already went down). This question gets us focused on the best present action or activity.
• Ask “How can I change the situation next time?” This question completes the cycle by encouraging us to make a change for the next time – to apply what the questions - and our answers – have taught us.
Three Things to Stop Doing
Action is the key to changing our perspective and results. The questions above will help you sort out what action you can take to change your situation. The three suggestions below will reinforce your new internal focus on your success.
• Stop blaming. We blame all sorts of things and people: our boss, the other department, our parents, our kids, the time of the year, the circumstances, the weather or fill-in-the-blank. As long as we are blaming, we are whining. And as long as we are whining, we are standing still because we aren’t looking for ways to improve the situation.
• Stop saying “they.” Sure, other people played a part in the situation you face. There may be things that they are doing or did that really bother you or have a negative impact on you. Don’t let this obscure the fact that other people aren’t the only ones who played a part in the situation. You did too. They did something and you chose a response. Saying (or thinking) “they” is just like pointing your finger in blame – you will forever be waiting on someone else to change or do something differently.
• Stop saying “but.” “But” also is often a convenient way to shift the responsibility from ourselves. “I would have completed it yesterday, but (enter your excuse here).” Can you see how in this situation “but” becomes the carrier for excuses?
The message of these actions is that winners take action and whiners don’t. While I have written this from the perspective of the things that you can do, you also can use these actions as a template to help or coach others to move past their complaints and excuses and onto productive action.
When we take these steps we allow ourselves to learn, feel more empowered and be more productive. In other words these actions will help us stop whining and start winning!
Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kevin Eikenberry is a leadership expert and the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group, a learning consulting company that helps Clients reach their potential through a variety of training, consulting and speaking services. To receive your free special report on Unleashing Your Potential go to http://www.kevineikenberry.com/uypw/index.asp or call us at (317) 387-1424 or 888.LEARNER.
When you make the decision to follow your life purpose, it feels like a very personal event. In fact, although it can be a quiet, private decision, its impact will have amazing effects on your life and that of those around you. Because when you follow your heart on your journey towards your dreams, you take on an extra responsibility, not only for yourself but for the wider community.
People will see how you change and grow, and develop that spiritual side of yourself and will be directly affected by it - they too have the potential to become more loving, open and peaceful people and they will learn from you.
It's a huge responsibility. But that is what it is to be a leader. It means you live by example; you set personal goals and standards, and mark your place in the universe and stand by it so that others can be inspired to do the same. And you always continue to raise your standards.
You might ask - but how does a leader become a leader? Surely you have to learn how to develop and grow. Doesn't that make you a follower?
That's right, it does. However, the value of being a follower in this quest to find your truth is in the added responsibility of showing to others how you take on the commitment to learning how to realise your dreams. Even if you are a follower, you can still lead by example. You can inspire others with your words and actions, and you can show others how to learn.
Exactly the same applies to a leader, because a leader never stops learning and is always a student in terms of their own development and discovery of truth.
Being a leader means that you understand the power that you have and you use it wisely. It means that others will find inspiration in your commitment to truth in both happy and adverse times.
You can be the candle flame in someone's darkness so that they can find their way out again to the light. And you can show by your courage and strength of purpose that there is no need to be afraid; that everything in life is possible if you only live from your heart.
All it takes to be a leader is your determination to continue your journey.
Neel Raman, is an author, keynote speaker and coach to many. He has written ‘Hoops and Freedom’, an informative and powerful self-improvement book, in the form of an entertaining fiction story, targeted at those who want and demand more from life. To find out more about this book and his FREE offers, visit: http://www.HoopsAndFreedom.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Neel_Raman
It’s always tough to give advice on career success factors because there isn’t really a set of formula you can follow that can guarantee career success. A combination of various factors in the right context and with the right character will give your career a boost.
For senior executives, these 5 career success factors will probably work more as a reminder. For career newbies,especially if you are in your first year of work – these factors will be your guide to a career boost. Like all career advice I give, do not expect instant results. Practiced often and you will see the results.
1. NOW!Do things NOW! Do not procrastinate. Nothing irks a manager more than a newbie at work that is already showing signs of lazing or taking short cuts. Attack your work immediately. Have a plan of attack to the work that is assigned to you.
Without procrastinating you can finish your work much earlier. This allows you to be assigned more work. As the trust with your supervisor increases, he/she will assign you more and more important work. Make a decision now to put in place a plan for this career success factor.
2. Next StepsNever leave a meeting without clear next steps that you are required to complete. A date of when the work is expected to be completed by you is part of this next step. This also applies to your discussion with your supervisor. Always seek to clarify what’s needed from your end before you leave the discussion.
If you are lucky enough to be chairing any meetings or are a project leader, remember that listing the set of next steps or action plan is your responsibility. When you have clear next steps; who and when the task should be completed, you become productive. You get a career boost when you are productive. It is one of the easiest career success factors to practice.
3. NoticeNo, I do not mean giving notice. Notice here means being a keen observer of things around you and people. Now, it doesn't mean being nosy and to start gossiping. Every office has their dynamics. Do not be pulled into the politics that can hurt your career at an early stage. Notice here means to observe and to take note of things. When you notice things you become more careful. You also become better at knowing how things work in the office. You will blend in better. Notice and learn what are the norms of the industry, the ethics and the legalities. Notice the corporate culture and who is in charge. Sometimes those truly in power are those who can influence the bosses.
4. NiceAmongst all the career success factors, this is probably one that is the easiest to do. Being nice doesn’t mean you go around volunteering to make coffee for your colleagues. It can mean very simple and sincere greetings of “Good Morning.” It can also be a pleasant smile. You need to be mindful to do this in order to transfer it to your colleagues. Ever noticed some people smile and greet for the sake of doing it? You can’t really feel that they mean it? All else being equal, being genuinely sincere and nice can give you a career boost.
One sub point I would add to this is to be neat. This means being organized, clean and orderly. As a freshie with these efficient behaviors, you become nice to work with, as you are productive.
5. NetworkSure, you are new to the industry. There are very few people you know. But that should not stop you from finding out where people hang out and when. Start with your colleagues first. Where do they go for lunch?
To network at a smaller scale is to get your face recognized. Then you can work on getting your name known. There is a caveat to this, while networking is one of the important career success factors - make sure you deliver good work. All the networking cannot give you a career boost if you do not deliver good work.
These career success factors work well for career newbies and can give you a career boost. But remember to seek to do great work first before thinking about how you can boost your career.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
This isn’t one of those articles.
I am the first point of contact for all the resumes / candidate messages that come through the S.R. Clarke website and the advice I have to offer you is far more rudimentary and fundamental in nature. Every communication you have with a prospective employer is important and you don’t need to give off many negative signals before your application gets tossed aside.
Here are eight ways you could possibly give an employer / recruiter negative “vibes” about your candidacy that might not be obvious to you:
1) Your email address. I do recommend that you create a new email address specifically for your job search and make it map to your desired job position (e.g. “superstar-estimator@”). Most people use their personal email address for their job search, which is fine. But, please don’t use racy email addresses. I’ve seen things like “iluvtofish@” and “vikingsfan@” which is OK. However, nobody is going to hire somebody who has a “drunk-as-a-skunk@” no matter their qualifications (and I’ve come across more than a few candidates who have used “adult behavior” terms in their email address).
2) Your resume format. Word or Adobe PDF are the only formats you should use for a resume. HTML works if there is a reason to use it (I can’t think of one). Rich text format works, but I’m not sure why anyone would use it instead of Word. I would never send a resume in Word Perfect or Microsoft Works…few employers will be able to open your documents. I’ve seen people send resumes in .txt format and I seriously question their professional judgment. If you can’t send your resume in Word or PDF format, either fax it to the employer or copy and paste the contents of the resume into the body of the email.
3) Your resume file title. A small but important point…many job-hunters use a date as part of their resume document title. If that date isn’t that recent or the last saved date of your resume isn’t recent, you are broadcasting to employers / recruiters that your resume is “old”. Savvy people will pick this up. Even if your resume hasn’t changed since you started your job search, open and re-save your resume every week.
4) Your spelling. Most people remember to spell-check their resume. However, most email clients have a setting which allows you to spell-check your emails…and I strongly recommend that you do so before emailing your resume. Employers will generally overlook a couple spelling mistakes in an email or a resume, but anything more than this would threaten your candidacy.
5) Your email etiquette. Outlook has a feature that allows you to automatically add each new person you’ve emailed to your address book. Make sure this is turned off, because if you are sending personal messages to all address book contacts as many people do, your prospective employers are getting your personal messages if you’ve inadvertently added them. Misguided job applicants have sent me the following via email:
a. Invitations to Poker Night
b. Elks Lodge Meeting Information
c. R-rated Female-Themed Humor (that I still get regularly)
6) Don’t use white-list spam control when job-hunting. Spam sucks and we all want to control it in any way possible. However, you don’t want to make it hard for prospective employers to contact you via email. If a recruiter emails you about your resume and you force him / her to be pre-approved before receiving their communications, you will likely (and deservedly) be disqualified from consideration.
7) Follow-up with the correct person. The person who answers the email correspondence regarding resumes isn’t generally the decision-maker for the position and won’t be able to help you. Email follow-up is generally worthless anyway…I would recommend telephone follow-up unless you have already established a relationship with the decision-maker.
8) The dumbest thing you can do. During the course of your job search, you’ve likely accumulated many employer email addresses. It is tactically smart to resend your resume to employers…especially if you’ve updated it. People want to save time and send the updated information to everyone at once, which I understand. To do this, put all the email addresses in the BCC field of the email, separated by either semi-colons or commas (depending on your email client). Put your own email address in the To field. Unfortunately, I’ve seen a few people put all the email addresses in the CC field instead of the BCC field which means everyone on the list knows that that the applicant is resending his/her resume to everyone else. Every CC’ed employer will chuckle at the foolishness of what you’ve done and make a note to disqualify your application.
9) The dumbest response to the dumbest thing you can do. So, I received one of these “Mass CC’ed” candidate mistake emails the other day. Not 20 minutes later, a recruiter who was included on the CC list spammed the entire list advertising his services, thoroughly embarrassing himself in front of a group of peers…which proves that employment industry professionals aren’t immune from making the same mistakes that candidates make.
In closing, there are some good high-level resume advice articles online that I encourage you to read and follow. However, make sure that you’ve mastered the nitty-gritty aspects of job-hunter communication as well.
Todd Mintz is the Director of Internet Marketing & Information Systems for S.R. Clarke Inc., a Real Estate Development and Residential / Commercial Construction Executive Search / Recruiting Firm headquartered in Fairfax, VA with offices nationwide. He is also a Director & Founding Member of SEMpdx: Portland, Oregon's Search Engine Marketing Association.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Todd_Mintz
Yes, there are a lot of odd jobs that you can do. From babysitting to cashiering, dishwashing to being a store clerk, you can actually find any kind of in any state that you want. Finding a part time job may be a lot easier but if you want a steady income in a company that can provide you with job security, well that is a different story.
Jobs that entail education and skills may be harder to come by but if you have the credentials and the determination to hunt for the right job that will fit your needs and your talents, you can do it. But of course, you also need to have the job hunting savvy to help you at the start.
So how exactly do you hunt for a job? What are the things that you will be needing? Do you need to prepare some things? Where do you go to look for a job? Below are some job hunting tips that will help you in your search.
Promote yourself
If you want to land a job that will take your career to different heights, you have to make sure that people know that you exist. One way to do this is to make a resume that will sing your praises but of course not too much! Providing a resume is one way of promoting yourself without necessarily being arrogant about it.
After all everything that you include in your resume are facts, the education that you have had, the things that you have accomplished, the awards that you have received. There is actually no need to brag because the paper says it all.
Examine your skills
One way to get the right kind of job is to look at your skills and talents and then apply for a position that will need those skills and talents! That way, you will have an edge over other candidates because you already have the skills and will not be trained anymore.
Often, resumes have a section where the applicant can enumerate the skills that they have. Include everything, from cooking to knowing half a dozen languages. Who knows, one may just be important.
Previous experience doing a particular job no matter how long should also be highlighted in the resume also as this can be one of the defining factors in your getting hired. This is especially true if the job experience is relevant to the job position that you are applying for.
Do it online
Although the old fashion newspaper job hunting still works, most companies rely on the Internet to look for potential applicants for various positions. This is especially true if the work involves or requires internet or computer savvy. This way, the company can be sure that the candidates that they have called in for interview are those who know that a mouse means more than the animal kind.
Use your network
Another way you can land a dream job is to ask people that you know for some referrals. Although sometimes, it can look bad for you to get inside the a company because of the backing of someone you know, it will work if you are indeed qualified for the job! However, you have to be prepared for the added pressure of showing people that you deserve to be hired!
Mario Churchill is a freelance author and has written over 200 articles on various subjects. For more information on resume distribution or a job finder service checkout his recommended websites.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mario_MS_Churchill
