Friday, September 24, 2010

Complaints of School Performance

There are impediments to the maximization of organizational effectiveness strewn throughout your company. We often focus on lower personnel, blaming the schools for lower standards and youth in general for a lack of seriousness. As business owners or those charged with overall management of the organization, these are easy targets. You generally have little contact with these individuals, most of your knowledge of them comes from your management team. And of course, your management team is a pretty good one, they recognize how wonderful you are and always have your interest and the interest of the company foremost in their minds. Additionally, you’re well aware of their Herculean efforts and the wonderful ideas they generate to improve the bottom line.

But what if these are exactly the people causing the stagnation in growth and overall negative environment you’ve seen develop? New eyes should generate a wealth of new ideas. When that doesn’t occur, especially in those with backgrounds that indicate otherwise, you may have to initiate plans to stimulate creativity. And you have to open your mind to the possibility that the wonderful management team around you may be the source of the poor performance in new employees. They are the pipeline between you and your new people. Is this line clear and efficient or is it a clogged artery interfering with the health of the organization.

There are many reasons those with authority over the pipeline want to maintain the status quo. Insecure or overly ambitious individuals may feel threatened by a new person who generates a wealth of ideas. In some cases, they may present the ideas as their own. Nothing interferes with the creativity of an employee like the knowledge that their superiors take credit for their efforts. Nothing switches off the creative elements in the brain like this type of betrayal.

Perhaps new employees are not receiving the training necessary for success in their positions. It’s common knowledge that new employees are expected to hit the ground running in many cases. But regardless of technical expertise, entering a new position always requires training in the way things are done in that particular company. Those same insecure or overly ambitious managers mentioned in the previous paragraph sometimes remain indispensable by hoarding the knowledge others need to succeed. And of course, you don’t have to be an insecure person by nature to realize that middle management has become dispensable in these times of downsizing.

How do you find out if your organization is afflicted with these maladies? The managers relying on these methods aren’t going to expose themselves. And it’s often not a good idea to allow employees to evaluate their managers. This can lead to an increase in what is probably already a hostile environment. Besides, such evaluations are often viewed with skepticism, discarded as just an opportunity for disgruntled employees to take revenge on those trying to whip them into shape.

A better idea, and one that gets lip service but little else in organizations, is to make the management team responsible for the performance of their people. You could schedule regular meetings with your managers, where the positive contributions of their employees are the focus. Ask each manager to cite new ideas generated by those they supervise. Reward those managers who are adept at stimulating the creative processes in their people. Make sure a manager receives almost as much credit for an idea that originated beneath them as they do for those they create themselves.

And don’t neglect training. Ask for details on the training provided to those who aren’t performing up to standards. Let your management team know that as the gap between their knowledge and that of their employees decreases, their esteem within the organization increases. Whatever you reward, you’ll receive. Reward management for the performance of new employees, and you’ll see that maybe the schools aren’t pumping out defective product after all.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Pharmacist Jobs

There are more pharmacist jobs going round than pharmacists, an excellent scenario for job seekers. So how do you tap into this job market?

Different Kinds of Pharmacist Jobs

Pharmacists are needed wherever medicines are prepared or dispensed. Even storage of medicines should be under their supervision. The pharmacist is trained to dispense the correct dosages of medicines meeting the correct standards of purity. Non-pharmacists can make incorrect decisions on these matters, leading to serious health consequences, including danger to life.

So who stores, prepares and dispenses medicines?

  • Retail Chemists selling prescription and over the counter drugs to the public

  • Hospitals and Clinics dispensing medicines to their patients

  • Healthcare and infusion facilities providing medication services at home or nursing homes

  • Government and community centers offering healthcare and medication services

  • Armed services that have their own medical departments and services



All the above establishments will thus need the services of qualified pharmacists.

Pharmacists are also needed to research and develop drugs for pharmaceutical companies, and in their sales and marketing departments. Thus the pharmaceutical manufacturers are a major employer of pharmacists.

Pharmacists work as retail pharmacists, clinical pharmacists, IV pharmacists, pharmacy managers, drug research scientists and so on. When dealing with the public, they have to be more than just medicine dispensers. They have to provide advice on the correct usage of the medicines. They might also be called upon to consult with healthcare professionals. Pharmacists thus need an ethical attitude and good communications skills in addition to technical know-how.

How Do You Become a Pharmacist?

It requires years of training to become a licensed pharmacist.

You start with about two years of study at college level in chemistry, biology, physics and other science subjects. Even after this study, you might be required to take a Pharmacy Colleges Admissions Test before you are accepted into a college of pharmacy.

Pharmacy colleges typically offer 6 year and 5 year curriculum equipping the pharmacist in formulating, preparing and dispensing medicines, as well as in other areas such as professional ethics, communicating with patients and healthcare professionals and managing a pharmacy practice.

Before obtaining the license to practice, the pharmacist will also have to undergo internship under a licensed pharmacist, and pass a state examination.

Becoming a pharmacist is thus a painstaking process, and it is no wonder that there are more pharmacist jobs going round than pharmacists seeking jobs!

The pharmacist jobs also require you to be available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Illnesses requiring medication do not go home after "duty hours" (much as we might wish them to do)!

The Pharmacist

Pharmacists are trusted persons whom patients and healthcare professionals consult. They have access to confidential information about patients. Naturally, they need to be persons who can be trusted to behave ethically and considerately.

If you meet the bill, pharmacist jobs will come looking for you!

Speaking In Public

You can make it easy if you really want to. Although there are those who would give the usual advice of attending a meeting with the famous Toastmasters in order to hone your impromptu speaking skills, this is not as necessary as being aware of yourself and the skills you could objectively define as good, better, best, or needs improvement.

If you know the level of your ability and if you feel you are ready for an actual job speaking in public, the following could be a convenient and effective means to land that speaking job you have always wanted.

Search, search, search and search

Google and Yahoo search is there to help anyone and everyone so make use of it. It is free and is also a quick and efficient way to find what you are looking for. You could enter the words, speaker jobs, or wanted speakers, in the search bar and click search.

Wait for a few seconds and opportunities will be right there at your feet in your easy beck and call. Note down the companies, organizations, or seminar conferences that you are interested in. Or follow the links. There is a definite pot of public speaking job gold to anyone who seeks it.

Patience is the key

Sometimes it happens that there are few websites that teems with jobs in public speaking. Do not lose hope. There may be an instance where you will hit a jackpot and get lucky. There is a forum for speakers that is available on the internet. You could also try to check them out. What you would call a usual good fortune might actually be your perseverance paying off.

Take notes of schedules of conferences

Usually, there are organizations who annually or semi-annually host a seminar or conference where a lot of speakers are needed. This is the perfect occasion to put your foot inside the public speaking door. The typical search for speakers normally begins about six months or eight months in advance. The best thing to do is to check out their schedules and call or communicate with the organization at that time.

Try your hand at training companies

It wouldn’t hurt if you try or at least apply. There is such a company named CareerTracks which hires speakers on a contract basis. The job requires a bit of traveling as well as the skill to be able to sell products to audience attendees. For speakers who are just starting out, this experience is a good one to actually take a crack at.

Dispenser Jobs

Dispenser jobs involve correctly dispensing medication and medical products. In addition to medicine dispensers, specialist dispensers dispense hearing aids, ophthalmic items and so on. Different kinds of training are needed for different kinds of dispensers. NVQ 2 vocational qualification is a typical requirement for pharmaceutical dispensers, for example.

Pharmacy Dispensers

Pharmacy dispensers dispense both over-the-counter and prescription medicines. Because wrong medicines or wrong dosages can have serious consequences, these dispensers have to undergo vocational training in relevant pharmacy topics. In addition to dispensing medicines, pharmacy dispensers would typically have to:

  • Advise customers on symptoms and products

  • Assemble prescribed items, appropriate containers and labels on receipt of a prescription

  • Receive and store pharmaceutical products

  • Mix medical preparations



Naturally, they need specialized training that will help them discharge these functions correctly under the supervision of a pharmacist. National Vocational Training (NVQ) certification of level 2 in pharmacy is a typical qualification demanded of pharmacy dispensers.

New pharmacy counter assistants will have to join such a course soon after accepting a dispensing job and complete the course within a prescribed period. Existing dispensers, whose competence has been attested by their employer, are exempt from this requirement.

The training program will help the trainees understand the legal and professional issues involved in dispensing medicines, including packing and labeling. For example, they will learn when and how to use childproof containers. The trainees will also be given exercises in selecting items and dispensing against prescriptions. There would typically be a project that involves the trainees selecting a large number of items in a dispensing enviroment without error. Then will come a period of probation when their performance will be observed. Licensing to work as a pharmacy dispenser will come only after this kind of rigorous training.

Even after initial licensing, they will need to be reassessed every two years or so to continue to work as pharmacy dispensers. Many developments are taking place in the field of pharmacy medicines and the dispensers would be expected to show that they are keeping up with the developments through a continuing education program.

Ophthalmic Dispensers

Ophthalmic dispenser trainees need to be taught how to use various ophthalmic equipment correctly and interpret the results. They also must learn how to assess the thickness of a lens, locate and determine its axis and perform other lens-related tasks. Frame-related topics such as determining frame size, temple length and bridge style are other topics the trainee has to master.

Finally, the trainee must learn how to fit the patient with the right lens and frames, and do required adjustments for best vision and comfort.

Hearing Aid Dispensers

Hearing dispensers test the degree and type of hearing loss, and help patients select the right hearing aid for them. The dispensers have to interpret the results provided by hearing assessment equipment, and to be familiar with hearing aid electronics and specifications. They will also have to carry out required modifications and programming to fit the aid to the hearing loss.

Hearing aid dispensers have to get trained under a licensed hearing aid dispenser, and can then sit for competency assessment examinations.

As we can see above, all kinds of dispenser jobs require specialized training and internship.

Data Entry Jobs

Data entry workers are increasing in number everyday. It is estimated that a at least 40 million individuals work at home. Experts believe that prospect for data entry homework will be sunny in the years to come.

The increases in number of data entry workers are credited largely to the Internet. The World Wide Web has created vast opportunities for many individuals, including professionals, to stay at home and work at the same time.

One of the main reasons attributed for the increase in number of data entry home workers is the actual decline of full time office based data entry people. This has lead hundreds, if not thousands of employers, to subcontract out work to workers who prefer to work at home.

Another reason why work at home jobs are popular is because most of these are not very technical and does not require extensive training. Some companies don’t even require their work at home workers to be college degree holders.

Another factor that has lead to the increase in number of data entry home workers is that employers actually get more advantage to it than hiring full time data entry worker. This is especially true for companies with a small work force. This is because outsourcing jobs actually saves these companies thousands of dollars.

Tasks sent out by companies for outsourcing to data entry home worker usually include typing documents and entering data into a home personal computer. When the job is finished, the data entry home worker will send the documents to the company through the email.

It is actually very easy to become a data entry worker. All you need is basic computer, typing, email and Internet skills. It would also be an advantage if you have basic writing and editing skills because some work at home jobs entails proofreading and editing existing document for errors and accuracy. The type of data handled by data entry home worker ranges from court processing, medical records, company profiles, among others. When it comes to equipment and software, all you need is a personal computer, a modem, a phone line or a Cable Internet or DSL subscription. But of course, the most important thing is the ability to manage your time well.

There are two system of charging for data entry work. One is to charge by the hour the other is to charge by the job. This usually depends on the agreement between the data entry home worker and the company. One can find data entry home worker position sin the different employment websites in the Internet.

Date entry jobs is not only advantageous to employers it is also ideal for some members of the labor force. Home data entry jobs are ideal for single moms and dads of babies who cannot afford to leave the house. A work at home data entry job affords the employees to crate his own timetable and not be a slave to the alarm clock. Being a data entry home worker is actually like being your own boss.

Data entry jobs can be very lucrative. In 2004 Internet business sales amounted to over $2.5 trillion with purchases of consumers products exceeding $100 billion. This growth is one of the main reasons why more and more people are considering working at home.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Engineering Job

The cheap labor costs of Southeast Asia are like a siren call to more and more US employers seeking to lower support costs and improve profits. The increasingly common trend toward outsourcing labor to countries such as India, Malaysia, and Pakistan means jobs are leaking to a part of the world where workers fresh out of college or technical school will work for pennies on the dollar compared to American workers. For the American workers, that means the bar for entry-level positions is rising or the same positions are disappearing off the map completely. What can you do to avoid losing out to offshore outsourcing??

Don't become a target.

What should you do if you find yourself facing joblessness due to outsourcing? Many would say make yourself indispensable, but is anyone ever really so valuable that they are indispensable? What makes someone indispensable in a company that has 1500 employees? Few things, but some key skills can give you an edge. Skills such as bilingualism, abilities with key or rare equipment, skills with software that is either so cutting-edge or so old that only a few can manipulate it well ¼ skills that will make you stand out in an ocean of other employees.

Move up the ladder rapidly.

Another way to deal with outsourcing is avoidance. Jobs that are outsource-able are not key positions in the first place. Therefore, the key is to rapidly move out of entry-level positions into positions that are less likely to be outsourced. Look around you. If you are in a company in an entry-level position that has 50 to 100 other people doing the exact same tasks you are doing, you may very well be in a Danger Zone for having your position outsourced. Make it your mission to get out of that huge fish barrel of low-skilled fish and into a position that can only effectively be done on home turf as rapidly as possible. Get promoted, get higher training or education, or go for a position that is more specialized.

Go smaller.

Consider changing jobs to a company that is smaller or more niche-oriented. Smaller companies generally do not outsource due to decreased cost effectiveness and often because they have a closer relationship with their customers. While offshore outsourcing may save dollars and improve stock prices, it often has detrimental effects on customer relations. Small companies cannot afford to lose customers because of poor customer service or language barriers and are therefore less likely to outsource offshore.

Go where the jobs are.

Displaced garment and textile workers in the Carolinas and other Southern states were left jobless almost overnight in the nineties when their employers moved operations to Central America or Asia. Those who did not have transferable skills or were unwilling to relocate were left floundering. Workers who thrived were the ones who learned new skills that were in demand or who were willing to move to areas where their current skills were needed.

Stay on the cutting edge of your field.

Work that is outsourced is generally grunt work that requires a labor force that is broadly skilled in the most common tasks, works with the most common applications, or can handle minimal communication coupled with heavy, repetitive-type work. There is always demand for skilled professionals who can work easily with the latest and greatest technology, who do not fear risk-taking and enjoy the challenge of development and innovation.

Will offshore outsourcing suddenly cease? Not a chance as long as the American consumer continues to demand high-end technology for rock-bottom prices. The race to maintain market share while maintaining profits, demands cheaper and cheaper labor costs. Offshore outsourcing is a solution to that problem. It behooves American engineering and information technology workers not to be a part of the problem to begin with by pursuing education and training that sets them above their offshore labor competitors and takes them out of the fish barrel of low-end, low paid support type positions. America has always been the leader in innovation and development and engineers who concentrate on those areas will always have a place in this economy.

Entertainment Industry Jobs

There are entertainment industry jobs available for just about anyone who wants to be an extra in a movie. Extras are always needed for every kind of films, and a specific look is not always required. Producers will be interested in all types of people, and though most of these entertainment industry jobs do not have speaking parts, they do give people without necessarily any type of acting ability a chance to participate.

When were young and full of ideals, we consider only the cream in the world of entertainment industry jobs and, if we feel entertainment is our calling, aim for acting, directing, or maybe writing roles. But there are also thousands of other equally important positions available, from the grips to the CGI assistants to the editors, of both the writing and the film. And this is just for the movie industry. What about those reality shows like Survivor and The Amazing Race? Take just the singers alone, how many different styles and types of entertainment industry jobs are there? There are the cruise ship singers, the piano lounge singers, the so-accused Chippendale and Karaoke performers and many more. Put another way, not every one is cut out to be a rock star or a pop icon. And again, that reference is to just one show, one niche in the industry, one genre, one example of millions possible.

That's just television alone. Theres also film, music, theatre, etc. Then think about the entertainment industry jobs within subordinate yet collaborative niches: take for instance, what besides Survivor or any other hot shows, is one of the biggest selling events on Television? Football! Cheerleaders, Announcers. This makes us think of newscasters, maybe camera men, then what about those special effects professionals. Come up with your own associations list. While you are doing that, remember the execs, the emcees, the paper-pushers, the makeup artists, the go-cart mechanics and caterers, etc. I will round up a couple more sources for entertainment industry jobs.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics features entertainment industry jobs, and discusses and describes the job duties, the trends, the requirements, and much more for thousands of jobs. (Their site, bls.gov, reminds me of other entertainment industry jobs, like amusement park attendants and entertainers, hotel work, museum work, etc. etc.!)

Go through the entertainment industry jobs boards as well. Many have a database of information and resources to help you define, determine, and decide what to go for. Some will require a couple of dollars, while others may offer a free trial period.

While you're at it, check up the union - the union websites like screenwriters guilds, etcl. You will certainly end up finding a huge or tiny but imperative position!

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Working In a Data Center

Benefits of Working In a Data Center


As the Internet continues to grow and produce large amounts of traffic the need for data centers and data center management increases. This continued growth creates data center jobs and IT careers in the technology field. Data Centers not only provide large hubs for Internet traffic, but it also completes the network infrastructure of most mid-large size companies. Data centers usually house thousands of computers, servers, and technical components. This in itself tells why it is a tremendous benefit to working within a data center. Just the amount of knowledge you can gain while on the job is rewarding enough. Having a data center job puts you on the bleeding edge of technology and hi-tech equipment. By working in a data center you will naturally be more advance than your peers who work in different industries experienced in technology.

Data center jobs consist of many different job types which fall under information technology, such as: system administration, network administration, IT security, computer operations, help desk support, server administration, pc repair, engineering, and so much more. If you ever been to school for a computer-related field or you always had an interest to work with computers then working in a data center should have been at the top of your list. Though, most do not consider data center jobs when looking for a job in the information technology field. This is mainly because data center jobs are merely overlooked. Most individuals consider working for a company or corporation in an industry other than data centers, mainly in a company like where they previously worked, before being technically inclined. Gaining a data center job is exactly why you went to school or aligned yourself within the technology field of work.

Data centers are inhabited with individuals who are fairly intelligent, usually skilled professionals with an educational background. The benefit of surrounding yourself with knowledgeable individuals is that it enhances your own technical aptitude and empowers your keen technical sense. Another benefit to working in a data center is many times the operations are around the clock (24/7), which means you may have the option of being flexible and working flex schedules, at your leisure. The biggest benefit of working in a data center is “stability”. The fact being that so many operations, calculations, and transactions depend solely on data centers - society cannot afford to lose data centers. Data centers will always be around and continue to thrive, so this means data center jobs will never fall short. Even in the wake of economic hardships, data centers still did not take a plunge or lose its clarity. If you are reading this article right now, then more than likely at some point a data center involvement allowed me to deliver this article to you. Data center jobs are for life!

Better Late Then Never

Better Late Then Never


Whenever I talk to teachers I don't usually have to wait long before they start listing their concerns about students. I wonder what would come top of your list of teachers’ complaints about student behavior. My guess is that punctuality would come pretty high. It doesn’t sound too difficult on the surface to insist that students should come on time to their lessons but in practice there may be factors that make the lateness habit difficult to break.

Take country cultures, for example. Some countries, notably those in northern Europe or North America place a high value on punctuality. To be late is considered rude, sloppy, even insulting behavior. But in other countries, punctuality is not valued in the same way. Time is seen in a much less rigid way so being a late is quite acceptable. I remember attending an appointment in the south of France for which I was dutifully a few minutes early. After I had waited for fifteen minutes, I asked the secretary what was causing the delay. She looked quite surprised and said that the person I was seeing naturally didn’t me expect to arrive punctually and expected the appointment to take place about 30 minutes after the agreed time.

Personal circumstances can also be difficult for students too. Adults coming to evening classes, for example, might find themselves delayed by work or home commitments. I once had a student who was often late because he had to have regular kidney dialysis that was scheduled to end just before his class.

I think the trick is to weigh up the situation and then work round it. If it is a problem affecting just one or two students, ask them what it is that makes them late. If they have difficult circumstances, then you have to be understanding. If it affects many class members and you feel it will be impossible to change their behavior, devise a strategy for using the first ten minutes of the lesson in a way that will mean you are not going to be interrupted in full flow as the late comers arrive.

For example, you could assign that time for homework review. Get students to work in pairs, comparing their homework and circulate among them giving a helping hand and answering questions. Once everyone has turned up to class, you can begin the lesson proper. Okay, it’s a solution that may seem defeatist but you can’t change cultural norms and you need to understand when things are tough for students. And one thing is sure. If you discuss the issue with the class and suggest this solution, then if they don’t like it, they will probably make the effort to come on time. Win-win, or what?

Biotech Careers

Biotech Careers

Biotechnology has been around for centuries. From farming to food production and storage, biotechnology has touched our lives in numerous helpful ways.

As baby boomers age, there has been an increased demand for new medical procedures and equipment. As a result, biomedical engineering, a field that combines medicine with engineering and biology, is expected to grow in the next decade and beyond.

With an insight into both medical and engineering fields, biomedical engineers work effectively in hospitals, research facilities, academia, government regulatory agencies or as consultants.

Biomechanics, which applies biomechanical engineering to biological or medical problems, utilizes scientific principles to produce new ways of keeping the body functional and healthy. These include the creation of synthetic organs and joints, as well as machines that control body functions, imaging systems like X-ray and ultrasound, and the laser systems used in corrective eye surgery.

As a result of these advances, the medical community has a better understanding of how certain organs and musculoskeletal systems function.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, biomedical engineering is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through 2014. While a bachelor's in engineering is required, a graduate degree in engineering is also recommended for most entry-level bioengineering jobs. Many universities offer accredited engineering graduate programs.

Professional organizations, such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), can help students interested in pursuing biotechnology careers.

ASME promotes the interests of its members and keeps them informed of industry developments. Additionally, networking opportunities offered by the organization can help students find jobs and get on the right career track.

Biotech Careers Heating Up

Biotech Careers Heating Up

Biotechnology has been around for centuries. From farming to food production and storage, biotechnology has touched our lives in numerous helpful ways.

As baby boomers age, there has been an increased demand for new medical procedures and equipment. As a result, biomedical engineering, a field that combines medicine with engineering and biology, is expected to grow in the next decade and beyond.

With an insight into both medical and engineering fields, biomedical engineers work effectively in hospitals, research facilities, academia, government regulatory agencies or as consultants.

Biomechanics, which applies biomechanical engineering to biological or medical problems, utilizes scientific principles to produce new ways of keeping the body functional and healthy. These include the creation of synthetic organs and joints, as well as machines that control body functions, imaging systems like X-ray and ultrasound, and the laser systems used in corrective eye surgery.

As a result of these advances, the medical community has a better understanding of how certain organs and musculoskeletal systems function.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, biomedical engineering is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through 2014. While a bachelor's in engineering is required, a graduate degree in engineering is also recommended for most entry-level bioengineering jobs. Many universities offer accredited engineering graduate programs.

Professional organizations, such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), can help students interested in pursuing biotechnology careers.

ASME promotes the interests of its members and keeps them informed of industry developments. Additionally, networking opportunities offered by the organization can help students find jobs and get on the right career track.

Teach English In Hong Kong

Break Out Of The Teaching Rut And Teach English In Hong Kong

Speaking English is a major priority for the people of Hong Kong. The business world is always moving quickly, and global communication is vitally important. In order to compete effectively, Hong Kong emphasizes English education for everyone from childhood on up.

Combine those factors with the fact that there's currently a shortage of native English speaking teachers in the country, and it seems Hong Kong might be the ideal location if you're considering teaching abroad.

Qualifications

If you've chosen to teach English in Hong Kong, there are a few basic requirements that you absolutely must have. In some countries, you can get away with some form of college degree and not much else. Hong Kong, however, has high expectations for their foreign teachers.

First of all, in order to teach English in Hong Kong you must apply for an employment visa. The only exceptions to this rule are Australian and New Zealand citizens, who can technically teach in Hong Kong under the "Working Holiday Scheme." All others must have a visa in hand. Getting a visa to teach in Hong Kong may be a bit of a struggle, because there is a great deal of paperwork involved, so you'll want to start early. The Internet can be extremely helpful if you're at this point. Check out Hong Kong's government websites for more information.

Before you begin applying for jobs, it's best to have TEFL certification under your belt. While not strictly a requirement, TEFL will open the doors to the best schools and give you a much wider range of job options- as well as a higher pay rate at the job you eventually take. TEFL certification is easy. Many colleges and learning centers offer a month-long certification program that teaches you how to handle yourself in a classroom setting. Aside from the job advantages, TEFL gives you confidence that can be invaluable, especially if you've never taught before.

Finding a Job

Hong Kong is one of several countries that have excellent online resources when it comes to finding jobs teaching English. Many positions are available through various online job boards which list the teaching positions by country, as well as through the Hong Kong government's website. With a little searching, you should be able to find numerous jobs for which to apply. Ask your school or TEFL certification program for job hunting assistance.

Finding a Home

One of the main drawbacks when you choose to teach English in Hong Kong is the fact that it may be difficult to find affordable housing. In many countries, the school that hires you will supply you with free teacher's housing; however, in Hong Kong this is not necessarily the case. Luckily, most teaching jobs in Hong Kong do include a "housing allowance" along with your regular paycheck, which is designed to help cover rent.

Again, there are many online resources available to help. Check out Hong Kong housing websites for an idea of price ranges and areas available to you. If you've been hired, your school should be able to point you in the right direction as well.

If you've decided to teach English in Hong Kong, you should prepare yourself for a challenging and completely new experience. The ability to spend large amounts of time away from your home country, as well as a sense of adventure and adaptability to new surroundings, will help make the experience a pleasurable and enlightening one.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Online Degree Program Scores

When high school students spend hours playing video games, parents often say it's a waste of time. However, these video game players, or "gamers," can now find professional opportunities to complement their interest. The relatively young academic specialty of computer game technologies has grown in response to the popularity of the skyrocketing video game industry.

According to the NPD Group, Inc., a global leader in sales and marketing information, video game sales have grown from $6.6 billion in 2000 to $9.4 billion in 2004.

Building on the success of the game and simulation programming (GSP) bachelor's degree program offered at 11 of its campuses nationwide, DeVry University announced it will offer the degree program online beginning in spring 2006.

"Game development technologies will play an important role in shaping many aspects of the entertainment and defense industries for years to come," said Steven Riehs, vice president and general manager of DeVry University Online.

The campus-based GSP degree program was met with enthusiasm by students, faculty and employers and it's expected that the online GSP program will allow even more students to pursue degrees in this growing industry.

According to Jesse Schell, former chairman of the International Game Development Association, the number of individuals looking to enter the gaming industry has grown tremendously in the last 10 years. He stresses that the gaming industry is not about theory, but the application of real technology and notes that individuals with hands-on experience developing games are most likely to succeed in these careers.

The university's game and simulation programming degree program features course work in the math and physics of games, programming fundamentals, game design, modifications (MOD), massively multi-player online game programming (MMOG), two- and three-dimensional graphics programming, simulation and game engine design.

Graduates will be qualified for positions as programmers, software engineers and project coordinators in the computer game technology industry, as well as similar positions in simulation design and programming.

Examples include tactical and strategic military simulations and training, automotive design and testing, training for health care workers, crime scene reconstruction and flight simulation.

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, entry-level gaming programmers/engineers with three years' experience can expect to earn an average annual salary of $54,300.

Online Education A Better Option for Businesses

Many businesses related companies offer executive MBA programs for their senior executives through an affiliation with a traditional university. While these programs are aimed at those who do not wish to take a break from their careers and enroll full time, they are certainly not exclusive in their purpose. With the popularity of online MBA programs on the rise, it seems only a matter of time before E-MBA programs will see a decline in number.

The main advantage of an executive MBA program is that working adults can use prior business experience toward their degree. While online programs traditionally do not accept past experiences as credit toward completion, a few make exceptions. At one time, E-MBA programs were the only way working executives could obtain an MBA without full time enrollment. Online offerings have presented many more options for those in this particular situation over the last several years. While the end result of either choice will likely be a good education for the postgraduate student, online offerings are a better choice for businesses.

When businesses affiliate with a university in order to offer an E-MBA program, they are essentially guaranteeing themselves of executives with the exact same learning experiences, aside from chosen concentrations. Because businesses are better served by having a multitude of executives with independent experiences that can be brought to the table versus a collective conscience that details one institutions instruction methods, many companies are opting for allowing their employees to enroll in the online MBA program of their own choice.

The obvious immediate benefit is that businesses can utilize a variety of approaches when marketing, problem solving, or simply conducting company affairs. Since the different curriculum and instruction can vary widely between one online institution and the next, there is a better chance that interaction between executives will result in the best possible ideas, solutions and policies. Additionally, online MBA programs afford executives the ability to interact with other students who come from diverse backgrounds both socially and in the job market as well.

Executives must rely on their online counterparts for group projects instead of their co-workers, which is often the case in E-MBA programs. Having interactions with different students who hold differing experience levels and an unfamiliar point of view can provide enrichment and understanding that staying within a close knit group simply cannot. Businesses who value well rounded employees would do well to take note.

Online Job Searching - 7 Tips for Success

With the rise of the Internet, searching for a job has become a predominantly online process. With that reality in mind, this article contains seven tips and secrets for making the most of your online job search.



1. Let Employers Find You (Always Post Your Resume Online)

A 2005 study by ComScore Networks found that job seekers who added their resume to an online database were twice as likely to receive a job offer as those who simply applied to specific positions. Always keep in mind that many employers never advertise their openings, preferring instead to search a pre-screened database of applicants. Employers overwhelmingly prefer this method to the alternative of advertising a position online and being flooded with hundreds of unqualified applications. If your resume is not in the database that your dream employer is searching, you’ve already lost out.




2. See What Employers See

Most of the major online job boards have a section of their site where potential employers can conduct a free test search of their resume database. Before you post your resume online, use this feature to search for the type of job you want.

There are at least three advantages to doing this:


  • You will see the Top 10 candidates for your keywords (i.e., your competitors) and you can then model your own profile and resume after these successful examples.

  • You will immediately see that placing keywords in the Title of your profile and body of your resume are critically important (because that’s how employers search the database).

  • You will learn what keywords work for your occupation and possibly discover others you hadn’t thought of.







3. Use Third-Party Job Search Engines

Jobseekers don’t realize that the search functions on most job boards are intentionally set up to show you sponsored listings first. That’s the principal reason why your search results often bear little relevance to your search terms and always seem to include so-called "business opportunities." To circumvent this problem, use one of the new third-party job search engines like www.indeed.com or www.simplyhired.com. The big online job boards give these search engines access to their databases because they effectively pre-sort incoming traffic, allowing the job boards to show better-targeted ads. By using one of the free services, you will get more relevant search results and gain the additional advantage of searching multiple job boards at once.






4. Save Your Money

Several online job boards offer paid packages that purport to place your resume near the top of the list when employers search for candidates in your field. Don’t waste your money. First of all, you have no way to measure how much higher your resume will rank over non-paid resumes. Second, for the most competitive fields, thousands of other people have purchased the same package, defeating their purpose. Third, both CareerBuilder.com and Monster.com, the two biggest online job boards, have publicly acknowledged that simply changing one word of your profile or posted resume on a regular basis will have the same effect (essentially getting you the outcome of the paid service for free.)






5. Protect Your Identity & Privacy

Unfortunately, online resume databases have become a favorite way for scam artists to find victims. To protect your privacy and identity while still effectively making your credentials available, consider these steps:



  • Never list your home address on your posted resumes. Legitimate employers don’t need it in order to evaluate your credentials.

  • Instead of listing your full name, just put your first initial and last name. Make sure you follow this practice for both your online profile and your posted resumes.

  • Use a free email account (Hotmail, GMail, Yahoo, etc.) instead of one that identifies your current employer.

  • If you can afford it, use an inexpensive voicemail box for your phone number. The reason is that a third-party voicemail phone number cannot be reverse-searched to find your home address and other personal details.

  • To really protect your privacy, don't put an email address on your posted resumes (in most cases employers can still send you email through the job board’s built-in system). The majority of job board scammers obtain target victims by using special software to “scrape” email addresses off posted resumes. Instead of listing an email address, just list your phone number. Some privacy experts suggest listing only an email (and no phone number). I think it should be the other way around. Here’s why: Legitimate employers and recruiters interested in your skills and qualifications will call you, but most scammers will not. The reason is that it is simple and convenient for scammers to send out email in bulk, but it is inconvenient, time-consuming and risky for them to place individual phone calls (and costly if they are located in another country).



Don’t be an easy target.





6. Always Complete the Online Profile (in addition to attaching your resume)

Why? Because when employers search the resume database, your profile is searched and shown before your resume. In fact, an employer won’t see your resume at all unless they first click on your profile and then scroll all they way to the bottom of the screen (which many won’t do).




7. Optimize Your Resume for Online Job Searches

Just like with normal web searches, when employers search online resumes databases the results are ranked based on the frequency and occurrence of certain keywords. As such, to optimize your resume for online job searches, you should do the following:



  • Put your keywords in the title of your resume. For example instead of naming your resume "Bob’s resume – IT version", try "SQL Developer, ORACLE, PeopleSoft, ERP."

  • Put your keywords in the fields provided for your former job titles. At several of the largest online job boards, the Title of your profile and the Title of your recent jobs are the ONLY fields that employers initially see when searching for candidates.

  • Make sure your keywords appear in the body of your resume multiple times.

    (Tip: If they don’t naturally fit elsewhere, create a "Skills" category at the end of your resume and incorporate them there.)




Knowledge is Power. Make sure you use it in your career search.







(c) 2006 Dyson Conwell. All Rights Reserved.