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In today’s highly volatile and ever-evolving job market, job security is fast becoming a thing of the past. Hundreds of thousands of people are laid off each year, and this figure is on the rise, so you are not alone! But depending on how long you were at your last job, you may find that you are somewhat rusty when it comes to how to look for a job in today’s environment.

The first thing is to realize that being laid off is really not the end of the world. In fact, it might even turn out to be a blessing in disguise – a mandatory career change! Utilize it as a chance to reflect on why you were laid off and what the next stage is. Getting laid off can happen to anyone, of course, but if you want to turn the situation into a productive, positive one, you will need to face the facts and understand why this happened to you. Go through a self-analysis of why this happened to you: Could it have been avoided or not? Could you have gotten out on time or not? All this is required to ensure that your next move and job market strategy has a realistic and factual foundational. The last thing you want to do is keep at an industry which is becoming extinct!

As you put together your job market strategy and decide what job options to pursue, and whether to diversify or stay within the same industry, you may discover that you are a bit rusty in your job market awareness. There are key things you need to be aware of if you are going to successfully achieve your job goal. For instance, never put on your job applications that you were laid off, as this will raise unanswered questions as to why you were laid off. You will have time to explain the reasons once you get your foot in the door for a face-to-face interview. A great tip is to write “End of contract” on your applications. This is playing it safe.

Whatever you do in seeking work, make sure you take charge of your life and show your best side to prospective employers. With the right plan and a great resume, your success is certain. However, to achieve it you must have the appropriate job market skills. So start by analyzing your job market activity competency level with our FREE Job Market Performance Assessment.

For people who find themselves at sea when it comes to choosing a career path, or for those who simply yearn to live on the open water, the U.S. Merchant Marine may be the perfect port. Here are answers to some common questions about the nation’s “fourth arm of defense”:

Q. What is the merchant marine?

A. The merchant marine is composed of men and women who crew U.S.-flag commercial vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways and Great Lakes. It’s an industry with a wide range of opportunities, partly because there are so many different types of vessels-containerships, tankers, bulkers, passenger vessels, tugs and much more.

Q. Is the merchant marine part of the U.S. military?

A. America’s mariners are civilians working for private companies, and are not members of the armed forces. However, merchant mariners crew all types of vessels, some of which are under contract to transport troops and military goods. Mariners continue to support U.S. troops in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

Q. Where do merchant marines receive their training?

A. There are a number of maritime schools across the country. For example, the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, based in Piney Point, Md., offers entry-level training, a program for military veterans, ongoing vocational classes, academic support and more. Since the school opened in 1967, approximately 145,000 students have trained there. The school offers academic support plus GED and college degree programs. Also, many of the maritime classes can be used for college credits.

Q. What is the training like?

A. The Paul Hall Center features top-notch educational equipment in a picturesque setting. The apprentice program blends hands-on training with classroom instruction. It consists of three phases, including 90 days aboard a U.S.-flag ship.

Q. Do graduates tend to stay in seaworthy careers?

A. Approximately 75 percent of students who complete the entire program are still sailing four years later.

Opportunity is high at sea for those seeking employment, and there are a number of reasons for this.

With the expansion of the Maritime Security Program (MSP), the MSP fleet is growing from 47 to 60 ships. There is also growth in the U.S.-flag cruise ship industry. Because there are so many different types of vessels, there is a range of choices that is unmatched. That means as employees working under contracts between maritime companies and the Seafarers International Union, merchant mariners have the opportunity to sail on a wide variety of vessels, including deep-sea cargo vessels and military support ships, where mariners continue to support U.S. troops in Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

Also in the opportunity mix are Great Lakes vessels, cable ships, tugboats and passenger ferries.

The place for many American men and women who set their sights on setting sail is the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. The state-of-the-art school, affiliated with the Seafarers International Union, offers the most U.S. Coast Guard-approved courses of any maritime school in the nation-from entry level to license preparation to academic support.

In addition to academic support, the school offers GED and college degree programs. In fact, many of the maritime classes can be used for college credits.

Since its opening in 1967, approximately 145,000 students have trained there. The apprentice program blends hands-on training with classroom instruction. It consists of three phases, including 90 days aboard a U.S.-flag ship. That particular phase has helped boost the industry’s retention rate-approximately 75 percent of students who complete the entire program are still sailing four years later.

At any given time there are 100 trainees at the school-some in Phase 1, others in Phase 3 (Phase 2 is at sea).

Based in Piney Point, Md., the school’s training tools include bridge and engine simulators, the Joseph Sacco Fire Fighting and Safety School and a culinary lab.

A Loan Signing Agent or Notary Public is a state commissioned Notary who specializes in the process of witnessing the signatures of the parties involved in a real estate loan transaction.

Their responsibility includes obtaining signatures and notarizing documents for lenders who offer mortgage loans. It is vital that these notaries are competent and complete the signing and notarizing in a professional, reliable and accurate manner.

The National Notary Association certifies some as Signing Agent. Others hold credential from other agencies that test their knowledge of loan document signing procedures and the Notary Public Laws of their state.

A Notary Public who becomes a Mortgage Loan Signing Agent can expect to earn $50 to $125 per transaction for witnessing signatures, notarizing the required documents, returning the documents to the lender, title or escrow.

As a mobile notary public who signs loan documents you set your own hours and enjoy the benefits of having your own business. Some Loan signing Agents work part-time other work full-time in their business. To be successful you will need to learn how to market your service and how to price your services for higher profits. You need to understand how to put your name in from of people looking to find a notary or those that need a notary on a regular basis.

Some topics you will need to give attention to in developing your business plan are:

· Why are you starting the business?
· What will you name your business?
· Are you comfortable with marketing and selling?
· Who will develop your marketing communications?
· Do you understand financial statements and the role of finance and accounting in a successful business?
· How comfortable are you with technology?
· What are your short and long-term goal and what sacrifices are you willing to make for success?

Notary Loan Signers witness the signing of important documents such as real estate transactions, insurance, marriage and divorce papers, and letters. A state exam is required for certification. This service is in high demand for professionals such as Realtors and title companies.

Their work is usually conducted from home, in restaurants or title company offices.

With the world constantly expanding its horizons, more and more buildings are being constructed and rules and regulations are getting tighter. Your construction resume will reflect your technical skills and advanced knowledge.

Basically a construction resume should contain your full name, permanent address, telephone numbers and email addresses. Apart from that a construction resume should include the following information.

A clear cut career and job objective which shows your sense of direction to the employer.

Your construction resume should have the names of each of your employers and your corresponding job titles.

Give a brief description about the employer like what they are doing, if they are not well known.

Highlight any community activities and membership with professional organizations.

Mention the size, value of the project and the number of staff that you manage.

Your construction resume should mention your roles and responsibilities in a detailed planning of all stages of construction, equipment, materials and including workers.

Your contact with planners, surveyors, buyers, supervisors, managers, clients and other subcontractors etc.

Highlight your budgetary and financial responsibilities on major projects that you worked on.

Your construction resume should mention your responsibilities in designing and purchasing.

Highlight any new procedures, practices, processes and techniques that you have introduced or developed in your department or organization in general.

If you had budgetary responsibilities, specify some of the important impressive projects that you have worked on and whether you completed the projects on budget and on time and accomplishments gained.

To make your construction resume stand out mention your contribution in reduction of cost, improving efficiency and productivity with in your department or the company in general.

Highlight any other achievements that have benefited your department and obviously your organization in general.

A computer software engineer resume must highlight your technical skills. This article gives you some ideas of the sort of information that an employer is looking for in your resume.

Apart from the basic resume requirements like contact details, experience etc, a software engineer resume should include the following information:

A clear cut career and job objective which shows your sense of direction to the employer.

Your resume should have the names of each of your employers and your corresponding job titles.

Give a brief description about the employer like what they are doing, if they are not well known.

The number of staff that you manage (if applicable)

Include some of the topics that are applicable to you like technical certifications, hardware knowledge, operating systems, networking/protocols, programming/languages, web applications and database applications etc.

Include a statement of your goals which is the clearest indicators to a prospective employer to match you with the job position.

Include projects done with a brief description about it and the platform used, front-end, backend and programming languages used.

Mention any technical or computer qualifications and personality development, marketing diploma etc done as a course with its content in brief, the duration, institute and also its result.

Planning, analysis, design, implementation and testing responsibilities as computer software engineer.

If you had budgetary responsibilities specify some of the important impressive technical projects that you have worked on and whether you completed the projects on budget and on time and accomplishments gained.

Highlight your initiatives and performance that resulted in enhanced efficiency, faster work, and money savings.

Highlight your certifications like Sun Certified Java programmer or Microsoft certified programmer to stress your skills in that particular language.

Highlight, if you presented any whitepapers, or addressed any group of audience to showcase your expertise.

Showcase your learnability. With the changing technology every month, you are required to be a quick learner in the IT field.

Highlight any other achievements that have benefited your department and obviously your organization in general.

Should include the following information:

A clear cut career and job objective which shows your sense of direction to the employer.

Your resume should have the names of each of your employers and your corresponding job titles

Give a brief description about the employer like what they are doing, if they are not well known.

The number of staff that you manage(if applicable)

Include some of the topics that are applicable to you like technical certifications, hardware knowledge, operating systems, networking/protocols, programming/languages, web applications and database applications etc.

Include a statement of your goals which is the clearest indicators to a prospective employer to match you with the job position.

Include projects done with a brief description about it and the platform used, front-end, backend and programming language used.

Mention any technical or computer qualifications and personality development, marketing diploma etc done as a course with its content in brief, the duration, institute and also its result.

Planning, analysis, design, implementation and testing responsibilities as computer software engineer.

If you had budgetary responsibility specify some of the important impressive technical projects that you have worked on and whether you completed the projects on budget and on time and accomplishments gained.

Highlight your initiatives and performance that resulted in enhanced efficiency, faster work, money savings.

Highlight your certifications like Sun Certified Java programmer or Microsoft certified programmerto stress your skills in the particular language and your itnerested to go one extra mile for learning.

Highlight if you presented any whitepapers, OR addressed any group of audience to showcase your expertise.

Showcase your learnablity. The changing technology every month, you are required to be a quick learner in IT field.

Highlight any other achievements that have benefited to your department and obviously your organization in general.

With almost 2.6M registered nurses (RN) in the United States, nursing is now the largest health care profession in the country. If you think that hospitals are the only place a nurse could be found, you are certainly misled. Public health agencies, communities, ambulatory care centers and other places where health care services are rendered also commonly have nurses employed.

1. The Nursing Practice

Nursing covers a wide area of practice. It includes

- Childcare
- Elderly care
- Services for pregnant women
- Services for newborn infants
- Specialty area – injury nursing
- Specialty area – cancer nursing
- Specialty area – forensic nursing

2. Choose Your Nursing Program

The first step to be a nurse is to graduate from a nursing program. This would enable you to take a state licensure examination. In the US, more than 1500 nursing programs are offered. Three of these programs prepare you in assuming different tasks once you graduate.

A. A Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)
This is a four-year curriculum offered in colleges and universities. A graduate of this course has the advantage of learning health care settings that includes leadership and management. A degree in BSN is preferred and often required in many fields of nursing.

B. Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN)
This is a 2 to 3 year program offered in community college as well as in junior collages. This program prepares the student in handling direct patient care.

C. Hospital Diploma
This is a 2 to 3 year program that is based in hospitals.

3. Nursing Positions

Now that you’ve covered the basics, let’s take a closer look on some of the nursing positions you can occupy. These positions are based on your experience and education.

A. Entry-level nursing position
This is the Staff Nurse Position. The nurse takes on making judgments based on scientific knowledge. You have to rely on procedures and standardized care plans.

B. Certified Mid-wife
This is a specialty nurse position where the nurse aids childbearing women. It starts during the preconception stage and goes through the prenatal, labor and delivery. Postpartum period care is also included in her duties. The nurse also provides family planning counseling as well as gynecological care for women.

C. Case Manager
Over time, a nurse can become a nurse case manager. In this position, the nurse will be involved in the process of organizing as well as coordinating the resources and services of an entire group of nurses, such as an entire hospital.

D. Nurse Educator
This is also a position a nurse could get involved with. Educating people about proper health care needs and procedures would be the basic tasks for this position. A Nurse Practitioner on the other hand conducts physical exams on patients, conducts diagnoses and provides treatments. A nurse practitioner could also write prescriptions and could also manage patients with chronic conditions such as diabetics and those with hypertension.

E. Nurse Anesthetist
A Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist assists during operations. They give anesthesia to the patients before and after the operation.

There are also various specialty nursing programs that would help you specialize in a specific area. Radiology Nursing, Rehabilitation Nursing, AIDS Care Nursing, and Forensic Nursing are few of these specialty areas. Radiology Nurses are concerned with patients that undergo diagnosis in radiology imaging environments. It also includes Ultrasonography, magnetic resonance and radiation oncology. Rehabilitation Nurses or Psychiatric Nurses takes on providing physical and emotional support both to the patient and their families. They deal with patients having mental incapacities. An AIDS Care Nurse manages the physical, psychological, spiritual and social needs of a patient suffering with AIDS. A Forensic Nurse works in a different environment with other nurses. They work with the law enforcement officials to help in the investigation of crimes like sexual assault and accidental death. They also help in the treatment of the victims of these crimes.

Many people who choose to explore the culinary arts sometimes have a pre disposition for Culinary Arts Training, and some do not discover their interest and talents for this field until later in life. It is necessary to have creativity if you want to be a chef. You will need to be creative with the recipes and ingredients as well as plate presentation. One thing a chef is responsible for is coming up with new and exciting dishes. A great sense of creativity can help accomplish this and help you find new ways to prepare old standards. You will also need creativity when dealing with your staff. It is often the responsibility of the chef to manage not only his kitchen staff, but front of the house staff as well.

The only real way that you can become a good chef is to put a great deal of effort into honing your culinary skills. To do this, you must obtain professional Culinary Arts training from an accredited school. You will need to study the art of cooking, preparation, and presentation. In Chef School you will learn from books and practical Culinary Training.

No chef even became “great” without spending a lot of time mastering his craft. Chefs are always mastering new skills with constant practice. As a budding chef yourself, you need to be prepared to put effort into learning the craft, as well as spending a great deal of time doing so. If you want to make the kind of money that goes with any successful profession, you will need to spend long hours to get the experience you need to become a great chef.

Melissa Steele, EducationGuys.com Senior Writer
Find Culinary Degrees Near You!

You’ve very likely heard of someone who is making a good living as a medical transcriptionist. He or she might even be working from the comfort of their home. And you’ve probably asked yourself if this might be a career option for you.

It may well be. Let’s take a look at the facts.

What exactly is medical transcription? In the course of their work, doctors and other healthcare professionals make dictated recordings of various things including physical examination observations, patient history, operative reports, referral letters, discharge summaries, observations regarding imaging data and so on.

A medical transcriptionist listens to these recordings and transcribes them into medical reports, correspondence, etc. She listens to a segment of recording, pauses the playback and keys in what is said before moving on to the next segment. She may do some editing for better grammar and clarity.

The transcribed document is sent back to the health care provider who then reviews it for accuracy and gets it signed. These documents become part of the patient’s medical history records and perhaps insurance records.

To be effective at this job, you should understand medical terminology well. That includes anatomy, pharmacology, diagnostic procedures, treatment assessments and more.

Many distance education programs, colleges and vocational schools offer post-secondary training in medical transcription. Having a degree is not essential. With a home-study course, you can usually pick up the necessary knowledge within a year, often in less than nine months.

You can find work in hospitals, laboratories, physician’s offices, firms offering transcription services, government medical facilities and so on. Working from home is also a possibility and many employers offer work-at-home options for transcriptionists. Apart from that, many individuals work as independent contractors.

With experience, it is possible to move into supervisory positions, which include editing work, teaching, consulting, etc.

What equipment would you need, if you wanted to do medical transcription at home? Not very much — a computer with a medical spellchecker, printer, a transcriber and reference books are about all you need. To help you save on the actual typing, a word expander utility might help. If you are on a tight budget, buy second hand equipment will do just as well.

Medical transcription work does call for certain skills and mindset. Apart from basic computer skills, you must be detail oriented. If detail work bores you to tears, this might not be the career for you.

You must know typing, although speed will come with practice. You should also have excellent listening skills and grammar skills.

If you’re planning to work from home, it is essential to be comfortable with working alone and meeting deadlines. You must be a self-starter who can work consistently without being driven by a boss.

Given the growth in health practices and hospitals and the need for standardization of records, the demand for medical transcription services is likely to keep growing. You should carefully analyze the pros and cons of this field before venturing into it. Medical transcription provides a rewarding and fulfilling career for many people and it can do the same for you too.

Accounting is the study of how businesses track their income and assets over time. Accountants do much more than the generic presumptions; they compute costs and efficiency gains from new technologies, participating in strategies for mergers and acquisitions, quality management, developing and using information systems to track financial performance, tax strategy, and health care benefits management.

The career is a highly momentous and versatile. The field is usually divided into three broad areas: auditing, financial/tax and management accounting. Audit: Work in audit involves checking accounting ledgers and financial statements within corporations and government.

Budget Analysis:
Budget analysts are responsible for developing and managing an organization’s financial plan.

Financial:
Financial accountants prepare financial statements based on general ledgers and participate in important financial decisions involving mergers and acquisitions, benefits/ERISA planning and long-term financial projections.

Management Accounting:
Management accountants work in companies and participate in decisions about capital budgeting and line of business analysis.

Tax:
Tax accountants prepare corporate and personal income tax statements and develop tax strategies involving issues such as financial choice, how to best treat a merger or acquisition, deferral of taxes, when to expense items and the like.

Various levels of skill are apportioned dissimilarly amongst the divisions which implies that depending on your position their will be specific demands on your adeptness, while average
speaking skills are requisites for all areas; the ability to synthesize varies from throughout each. Audit accounting requires a medium level of skill, tax and financial demands a low level of skill, and Management accounting a high level of proficiency.

Entry level accountants can expect a very team oriented environment. Often they will start as a junior member of a team responsible for auditing an important account or preparing financial statements. It is imperative that junior members learn to pull their weight, and function as a capable, effective, and useful member of the unit. Anyone interested in the field can prepare for a bright career.

According to the bureau of labor statistics their have been considerable increases in job openings, reflective of the fields growth and competitiveness. With the right skills and education this growth establishes the possibility for an incredibly profitable career.

Top firms include KPMG/Peat Marwick, Ernst and Young, Deloitte and Touche, Arthur Anderson, Price WarterhouseCoopers, Grant Thornton, BDO Seidman, and McGladerly and Pullen. College graduates seeking entry level positions should consider employment with these firms. Most people do not make partner at public accounting firms but the experience and training can be excellent.

From there, many move on to careers with an accounting focus in business or government. Ambitious talented accountants can advance their career with the acquisition of skills and experience along the way and subsequently enjoy a very successful career.