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A Career Built On Character

“Personality can open doors, but only character can keep them open.” ~Elmer G. Letterman

“The best job goes to the person who can get the job done without coming up with excuses or passing the buck” ~Napolean Hill

What About Politics?

Political Astuteness is something that you may not learn in school; however, it plays a significant role in success in business.

“Man is by nature a political animal.” ~Aristotle

Take Control
It’s important to keep in mind that you are responsible for your own career. Don’t Expect the Human Resources Department to plan your career. In fact, don’t expect anyone else to be concerned about it either.

There have been times in my career when someone has taken an interest in my promotion; however, it has always been in their own best interests to do so. Remember, companies are in business primarily to make money.

Dress for success
There is a clear distinction between how a President, a Senior Vice-President, a Vice-President, and District Manager dress. You should dress just a cut above your current level.

Above Everything, Have Integrity

“If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don’t have integrity, nothing else matters.” ~Alan Simpson

You will find that the concentration of integrity increases the higher you go in an organization.

Remember Who You Work For

Always Support the Company
It’s true that where your treasure is, your heart will be also. There will be ample opportunities on a daily basis to bash your employer. Resist those opportunities. Keep in mind that (1) you chose this company, (2) they pay you, and (3) you can leave if you want. The leaders of the company will not be impressed by your ability to complain.

Make Your Boss and Your Boss’s Boss Look Good
As a practical matter, you are most likely working to take your boss’s job. Hopefully, your boss will be promoted, which will leave a vacancy. If your boss is not going anywhere, then the next level will have a major impact on your next position.

Who are the Leaders of the Company?
Find out the background of the company executives. What career path did they take? Chances are, they will value those credentials above others. Take note of great people in the company and get connected to them. If possible, find a way to work for them. If not, establish a network with as many of them as possible. The best possibility is to ask one of them be your mentor. You will be surprised how many people will be interested in helping in this regard.

Learn the Rules

“Whoever gossips to you will gossip about you.” ~Spanish Proverb

Watch What You Write or Say. Assume that anything you write or say will be read or heard by everyone in the company. E-mail makes it easy to respond emotionally. Before you respond to an irritating e-mail, take a minute to calm down, then, write the e-mail. If you have a tendency to send harsh messages, save a draft and review it sometime later to ensure the tone is business appropriate.

A corollary to this principle is Happy Hour – don’t go! There is a huge risk of saying something you shouldn’t say, getting out of control, or just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. You should stay out of office politics. Don’t say anything bad about anyone, ever.

Arrive Early and Leave Late, but Not Too Late. You want the reputation of a hard worker, but not one that can’t get their work done. This principle also applies to taking work home. Over the long-term, you want to have a life outside of work. Maintaining a work/life balance will keep you engaged in your job; therefore, more productive.

Find Out What Your Boss Wants and Deliver. Regardless of your personality, relationships, or good looks, you must be productive. For your boss, it means doing what they want, no matter how silly it may seem to you. For example, I had a boss that wanted to know how many Dairy Queens between Dallas and Houston served a particular yogurt.

Always say, “Yes!” to a request from leadership. For your boss, there are ways to provide better solutions without damaging the relationship.

“Always do more than is required of you.” ~General Patton

Give People Credit. Don’t take credit for yourself. This is important for a variety of reasons. First, you need people to help you get things done. Second, when people recognize people who work for you, you get the credit as well. Third, it’s the right thing to do.

Conclusion

When It Comes to Your Career

1. You’re Responsible

2. Remember Who You Work For

3. Learn the Rules

As Bill Karnes put it, “Eagles don’t flock; they fly alone. And eagles soar above the rest of their world. So, too, do people who start things, who lead groups or who otherwise set themselves apart from the crowd.”

Accredited Checking Technician Jobs Provide A Good Vocational Career

Accredited checking technician jobs are similar to pharmacy technician jobs. While the latter receives the prescription, takes out the drugs from shelves and packs them, the former checks the dispensed prescription for its accuracy. Checking, labeling and packing have all become formal procedures and the accredited checking technician will be trained in all these in a pharmacy context.

Training to Become an Accredited Checking Technician

The technician training is done under vocational training schemes, and accredited checking technicians are NVQ 3 or BTEC certified (in UK). The checking technician is trained to check that:

  • The medicine or product matches the prescription and is in date
  • It is assembled using correct equipment and processes
  • It is packed and labeled appropriately
  • Appropriate records are made
  • Health, hygiene and safety procedures are followed at all times

To equip the technician with the required competencies, the vocational training program will typically:

  • Start with an explanation of the legal and professional issues involved in checking, packing and labeling pharmacy medicines
  • Train the technician to work with other staff of the pharmacy
  • Make the technician go through typical checking exercises
  • Involve a final project to check 1000 items at a hospital without errors
  • Proceed to a test and assessment by a panel of pharmacists and technicians
  • Involve a probation period during which his or her performance is observed

By the end of such a course, the trainee would have gained the practical skill needed to check dispensed medications against the prescription. The person would typically check only items dispensed by another person, not by himself or herself. The prescription would also have undergone review and approval by a pharmacist regarding its correctness and accuracy.

Self-checking by non-pharmacists (like an accredited checking technician) is also considered acceptable once the technician has gained sufficient experience attested by their dispensary manager. To continue their checking career, the technicians need to be reassessed every two years.

Role of the Accredited Checking Technicians

The role to be assigned to accredited checking technicians have been the subject of some debate. Pharmacies have considered entrusting them with more responsibilities to cope with the serious shortage of pharmacists.

Some groups have opposed this move on the ground that technicians cannot be entrusted with responsibilities requiring professional knowledge. They see the move as an attempt to cut costs, replacing high cost pharmacists with lower cost technicians.

As we saw above, accredited checking technicians have to undergo a rigorous program of training and assessment before they are allowed to check.

Accredited checking technicians perform a labor-intensive function that also requires specialized vocational skill. In doing this, they relieve the pharmacist to focus on the more important tasks of checking all prescriptions, and other tasks requiring a higher level of professional knowledge.

Without the support of pharmacy technicians and accredited checking technicians, the pharmacist will be overburdened in any busy dispensary, and not be able to provide a sufficiently satisfactory level of service.

The above, in essence, is the significance of accredited checking technician jobs.

Ace a Job Interview

If you are job hunting and want to land a great opportunity it is extremely important to ace the job interview.  While a job resume is important to get you into the door, in order to get the job of your dreams, you must first ace the job interview.  Here are some tips on doing well with the interview process.

A job interview is for the employer to meet with you to make sure you have the skills necessary to perform the job competently and also make sure that your personality will be a great fit with the company.  If you want to impress your interviewers there are a few things to remember.  The top three things to remember is to be prepared to ask and answer questions, dress appropriately, and show off your personality in the best light as possible.

Many people don’t come prepared for the job interview.  They don’t know what they will be asked and they don’t have any questions to show the interviewer that they know about the company or that they are interested in the job that they will be asked to perform..

It is also important to dress properly. Many times people are dressed so inappropriately that the interviewer makes a negative first impression.  If you have any doubts on your dress, change your outfit.  It is also important to be personable.  You don’t have to be the life of the party, but show the interviewer that you are a positive person that is responsible.  Nobody wants to interview a negative or combative person.  So in order to ace your job interview, follow the above tips.

Administrative Professionals-Keeping A Competitive Edge

Administrative professionals are among the most highly skilled and competent people in today’s workforce. Many are experts in desktop publishing, spreadsheet reporting, budgeting, and Internet research.

Beyond these proficiencies, they possess enhanced verbal and written communication and multi-tasking capabilities, the ability to work in a team environment, and problem-solving skills. Because of their versatility, administrative professionals play an essential role in many organizations.

Although the demand for office staffing is strong now, the future is less certain. The Bureau of Labor Statistics anticipates overall job growth for administrative professionals will decline over the next eight years. Still, opportunities will exist for those who keep pace with new technology.

Ed Meisenheimer, vice president and general manager of Kelly Services, experts in office staffing, suggests, “To increase marketability, become an authority in Web content, multimedia presentations, online meetings, and video conferencing. Specializing in the accounting, insurance, legal, or medical field is another way to widen employment opportunities.”

Having employed millions of administrative professionals during its 60-year history, his company offers these additional career tips to keep a competitive edge:

• Enhance computer skills and be proficient in all the software applications your organization uses. Volunteer to teach others.

• Further develop time management, organizational, and prioritization skills to manage multiple projects and priorities.

• Sharpen written and verbal communication skills.

• Expand leadership, negotiation and strategic thinking skills. Join associations that provide educational seminars and offer networking opportunities.

• Volunteer to participate on teams to increase exposure among executives.

• Create a portfolio of your skills to give yourself a competitive edge when marketing your accomplishments.

• Subscribe to various periodicals to stay informed about your industry.

• Dress appropriately for your office environment. Whether the dress code is business or business casual, dress to convey a professional image.

• Keep a positive attitude. With constant change in organizations today, this is an important quality that will be recognized by your boss and your peers.

Administrative professionals are among the most adaptable and resourceful employees, and the best employers nurture them by offering training and providing a career path. In today’s fast changing business climate, administrative professionals who hone existing skills, gain new talents, and are proactive in career planning, Meisenheimer concludes, will enhance their advancement potential.

Don’t Let Marriage Become Your Difficult Business!

Today, the world never owned such opulence of womanly character or such splendor of womanly manners or multitudinous instances of wifely, motherly, daughterly, sisterly devotion, as it owns today. I have no words to express my admiration for good womanhood. Woman is not only man’s equal, but in affectionate and religious nature, which is the best part of us.

However, as you may see, nowadays it is easier for a man to find an appropriate wife than for a woman to find a good husband. According to a New York Times analysis of census results, in 2005, 51 percent of women said they were living without a spouse, up from 35 percent in 1950 and 49 percent in 2000.

There are multitudes, who have never been married and still greater multitudes, who got married but change back to be single. Marriage has become a difficult business, especially for women.

First, it is a matter of arithmetic. Statistics show that globally even there are about 105-107 boys born for every 100 girls, yet after the age of 40 women outnumber men. In 2003, the Census Bureau estimated a total of 144,513,361 females of all ages, compared to 138,396,524 males in the US.

It would seem women are a favorite with the Lord, and therefore He has made woman kind live longer and stronger. By mathematical and inexorable law, you see, millions of women will never marry.

The second reason lies in the shortage of good husbands. There are thousands of men who have no right to marry, because they have become so corrupt of character that their offer of marriage is an insult to any good woman.

Third, during the last 40 years, through the increased opportunity opened for female through education, in many countries, women are receiving better and higher education.

Based on 1971 census, 68% of 25-to-29-year-old university graduates were male. Ten years later, women had more or less caught up to men as only 54% of graduates were male. By 1991, women had become the slight majority, comprising 51% of graduates. In the 2001 census, universities had clearly become the domain of women, as they made up 58% of all graduates.

If woman continue to advance in mentality at the present ratio, before long many men may have difficulty in finding a woman who is ignorance to make appropriate consort.

And, this has become a global issue. In Europe, England, Japan, China, more and more woman find out marriage is becoming a difficult business for them. Facing such global matrimonial unbalance between men and women, what will you do?

GED or General Education Diploma

A GED or General Education Diploma is sometimes also called a General Education Development program.  The basis for the GED is a series of tests to determine if a minimum level of proficiency has been reached.  These are not difficult tests but do require a wide breadth of understanding on a variety of subjects.
Today, distance learning may be the option most preferred.  It is an affordable way to work toward a GED, and determine the level of skills necessary to pass the GED exams.  Unfortunately, there are companies that offer shortcuts to almost every kind of education.  Promises of college degrees, doctorates, and even high school diplomas are all available for the right price.  These companies are in the business of selling shortcuts that are really bogus credentials.  Fake diplomas and worthless transcripts are a growth industry with the explosion of information found on the Internet.

In most cases, the GED — the term for General Education Development credential — is the only official ‘diploma’ that has value and is meaningful for adults who never completed their high school education. There are exceptions. Many people have been duped or misled with the promises of phony certifications.  These diploma mills are nothing more than a printer, some software and a marketing plan.

The reality is however, that many businesses do not check into the background of a person to that extent.  This is especially true of jobs in the lower 50% of the general pay scale.  Recently there have been a rash of high level business president, vice-president types who have been found to have used phony credentials to obtain their positions.  If large corporations paying huge salaries to these types of people don’t check them out, how deeply do you think they will check your his troy?

Still, the future is anything but set.  Although it’s possible to get away without having solid educational proof, the future may be much different.  In a few years, it may be possible for companies to check historical records online and then the phone degrees will all become evident.

The very best solution is to obtain a solid education no matter how much effort it may take.

A Great Career Choice for a Business and Internet Savvy Entrepreneur with People Skills

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.

A Construction Resume Will Show Off Your Technical Knowledge And Qualifications As Well As Your Related Experience.

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 Should Highlight Your Advanced Knowledge And Technical Skills.

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.

A Complete Nursing Career Overview

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.