Job Search Pitfalls to Avoid

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When people have a goal in mind or want to find something, there's one simple process that needs to be carried out - that of actively going after or searching for that prize. The search for a great job is no different, and while mass communication makes job hunting easier, there's still a lengthy process involved when you're trying to find the job you want. Here are a few tips and pointers that will help you on your journey to employment.

Are you wondering why you still haven't landed a job? More than likely you have made the same mistake as most other people, which is that you are searching through only one source. Don't look at only the local newspaper; broaden your search to other sources. Also, by keeping track of where you have submitted your application from the beginning, you can circumvent the difficulty of managing multiple sources and avoid duplicate submissions.

As always, an excellent source for current job listings is the newspaper. Newspapers can also be found on the Internet as well as many other job listing sites. When searching online, try to scan several sites to expand your chances. Don't underestimate the ability of networking. Friends may know of a place that is seeking new employees, but also consider asking a former coworker or even previous employers. Often, they can give you a lead on a job that's open. To start networking, it is suggested that you expand your search horizons. It is imperative that you commit to allow time for an in-depth search, despite your busy schedule, since the results will be rewarding. 

It can sometimes take a fair bit of time before you do find employment, and you may have to send out many applications or go through a few interviews before landing a job. You'll need to make sure you stay motivated to stick with your search, as most people end up giving in to frustrations and quitting the hunt. Certainly, if you do stop looking for employment, you'll never gain a job, so you should find ways of making sure you continue looking, by giving yourself small rewards or by applying some guilt to yourself. Any method that keeps you on the hunt and far away from discouragement is the right one to choose.

Just remember, it's not really a "job search" if you aren't actually searching. It's never really easy to find a good job, even now with the availability of the Internet. It is necessary for you to devote a great deal of time and effort to it rather than just waiting for something to appear out of the blue. If you are lucky enough to have that sort of luck come your way, then jump on it. Otherwise, you have to go out there and find opportunities rather than wait for them to find you.

The last thing to make sure you do during your search for employment is to research your field of profession thoroughly and take an in-depth look at companies you apply to. You may find that the industry you want to work in is saturated in your region, which will tell you to find a different spin on what you can do and expand your horizons, or you may find that an attractive company really isn't that pretty, once you find out their history. To be successful in your search for employment, be persistent and knowledgeable, always on the lookout for information that will help you land that perfect job. 

Tips to Help Balance Career and Family

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Whether you are male or female, a mom or a dad, balancing career and family can be really difficult. When you're a woman, though, the choices you have to make seem especially difficult and the responsibilities all the more great. For some reason, women are guilt-ridden with their career decisions and the choices they make about working while trying to raise their children, providing nutritious meals for their family, keeping a respectable house and keeping their husbands happy. Last on the list, of course, is finding some time for themselves. So how does a woman find time to actually feel happy with her daily activities while keeping up with all of the responsibility?

First, take time to smell the roses! Literally, you can take time to smell the roses but you can actually do this with no flowers in sight. Every day, try to look around and appreciate what you have, taking in the sounds of your child's laughter, the wag of your dog's tail, the special glance of your husband as you tell a funny joke. Sometimes, the knowledge of what you have on your plate for the day will feel overwhelming, but a little perspective goes a long way. It may be a cliché and a very tired phrase, but it truly does work. People tend to get lost in the mundane, day-to-day "functioning" instead of really living their lives. For example, next time you are worried about fitting in your exercise with your child's play date at Little Gym, forego the Little Gym and head out with your son or daughter for a run. Strap the little one in the jog stroller or if he or she is old enough, ask them to put on the running shoes with Mommy and head outside! Once outside, you can literally stop to smell the roses. Just a few minutes of gratitude a day will work wonders for your soul and automatically make your life feel more balanced. 

Along these same lines, try and give yourself some "me" time once a week. Once a week may not seem like much, but if you really allow yourself to soak it in and enjoy the time spent, it will make the stress of all of the rest of the hectic days melt away. Take a good block of time on a Saturday or Sunday - 2 hours, maybe - and mark this time in your calendar in pen, not pencil. Keep a standing appointment with yourself, and honor it as you would any other. Think you are too busy on a weekend to do this? You will feel much more productive the rest of the weekend allowing yourself this little ‘refresher', rather than trying to cram some time in on a random Tuesday or other weeknight. For this special time, you can book a massage or a facial at your favorite spa. Take a couple of hours to go window shopping at your favorites stores, by yourself or with a friend. Take in a matinee with a couple of girlfriends. If your husband is willing to fly solo on a Saturday night, you can even book a girls' night out once in a while and truly let loose! Even if your budget doesn't allow for these activities once a week, you can lock yourself in the bathroom with a good book, a bubble bath and a nice glass of wine and feel good about your time alone - you deserve some!

Probably the most obvious way to balance career and family is to incorporate your family into what would otherwise be "work time". If you have a short commute to work, for example, perhaps you can drive your kids to school each morning instead of having them take the bus. In the alternative, you could have your morning cup of coffee at the bus stop with them and spend a few minutes chatting about their day and what they plan to learn in school as you sip your cup of Joe and breathe in the morning air to mentally prepare for your own day ahead. If you normally exercise in the morning and leave the house very early, switch your workout time to lunch and leave the office to go to the gym, eating at your desk when you get back. You will have more time with your family each day and get a healthy break from your pile of papers to boot.

You may need to get a little creative with your schedule, but there are definitely ways to help balance career and family. Sometimes an extra few minutes each day or a once-weekly good block of time can go a long way in helping restore your peace of mind and help you feel less harried.

How Editors Know You're An Amateur

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Are you happy being an amateur writer? Do you want to stay in that happy state? Then just follow these tips in all your submissions. 

• Don't address the editor by name. After all, there may be many editorial staff at the publication just waiting to jump at the chance to read your work, and you don't want them to miss out do you?
• Don't use double spacing. You never see articles or stories published in double space do you? So why should you bother double spacing your work, when someone is just going to have to convert it to single spacing later?
• Don't bother checking your spelling or grammar. That's the editor's job isn't it?
• Don't send return postage. Why should you assume they'll return your work? That's defeatism. If they want to publish it, they can write you a letter - surely they can afford that? And as you've paid to send it to them, surely they can pay to return it?
• Don't put your name on the manuscript. They're bound to keep your manuscript and the cover letter together aren't they. No one would ever file correspondence and submissions in different places. Neither would they keep your letter, and send your submission to someone else to appraise it. That never happens.
• Don't tell them how many words it is. Surely they can count?
• Don't use a standard font. Everybody else does, and you want your manuscript to stand out from the crowd.
• Don't use a new ribbon or cartridge. Why waste ink when the manuscript will get re-typed before publication anyway?
• Don't tell them you've sent it to other editors. What they don't know can't hurt them. And you can always play one editor off against an other when they both offer you publication. Surely they'll understand that they can't expect an exclusive look at your work without a guarantee to publish it?
• Don't read the publication's guidelines. Your work is so good that they'll have to publish it, even if it doesn't fit what they say they want. They just don't realize that they want it yet, that's all.
• Just follow the tips above, and you're guaranteed to remain a happy amateur for ever. 

Four Ways to Improve Your Communication

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Have you ever been to a function in a room full of strangers and found yourself lost for words? It can be a very lonely experience, especially if you intend to date. The art of introducing yourself to others and creating small talk may come naturally for some, but most people confess to feeling shy, embarrassed and don't know where to start. Your inner ambitions are crying out for you to relate to others - just as other people are deeply interested to know you. 

The key to knowing where to start is to understand the four levels of communication.

1. Small Talk

When you meet someone for the first time, the safest place to start is to talk about surface issues. For instance, make a comment about the weather, current events or the surroundings you are in. This is called "small talk", and is used to "size up" the other person to determine the comfort zone between the two of you. There is no need to disclose any personal information with the other person at this stage, as this initial interaction assists you to determine how "safe" they are on your first meeting.

If you are comfortable engaging each other at a surface level you can easily slip into the next level of communication: fact disclosure.

2. Fact Disclosure

This level of communication is slightly deeper than small talk in that you disclose facts about yourself without triggering topics of emotional interest. The purpose of fact disclosure is to find out if you have something in common. You can use these common areas to build a bridge of friendship later on. You may want to talk about your career or occupation, hobbies, where you live, etc.

Avoid topics like marriage and divorce, politics, sex and religion in this second level of communication. With a little creative thinking, and the use of open-ended questions, you should easily find a topic that interests you both.

If you find a topic of mutual interest then you may progress to the next level of communication: sharing viewpoints and opinions.

3. Share Viewpoints and Opinions

Once you have established that the other person is "safe" through small talk, and have found areas of common interest, you can build rapport by sharing your opinions and viewpoints. By sharing your viewpoints and opinions you allow yourself to become vulnerable to the scrutiny and objections of the other person, so you would only enter this level of communication once you were comfortable that you both share positive feelings through the first two levels. Some people give an opinion about politics or religion as their starting point at this level. But you may firstly want to comment on the things you have in common that you found through fact disclosure. This is a safe place to start. Be prepared to listen to the opinions of your new friend. It is just as important to listen to their viewpoint as much as you expect them to listen to yours. This will enable your friendship to survive. Make sure you don't use your opinions as a form of "character assassination" of other people. You may be thought of as a negative person and this may cause your new friend to distance himself/herself from you.

Over time you will learn to find a safe distance in your communication levels, and if you are forming a bond of friendship you may eventually enter into the fourth level of communication: sharing personal feelings.

4. Share Personal Feelings

Only solid friendships survive time to enter the fourth level of communication. After building upon trust, finding things in common and listening to the viewpoints and opinions of others, you may be able to share your personal feelings. This is where an acquaintance becomes a genuine friend. You know that despite having differing opinions and viewpoints you can trust your friend's judgement, and may go to them for advice. Things of deep value to you can be shared without feeling threatened. You listen closely to each other without the need to "solve" your friend's problem. You are happy to reflect their feelings back to them - forming a bond of empathy and compassion between the two of you. At this level of communication, it is important that you provide a little distance between yourself and your friend. If the distinction between yourself and your friend becomes unrecognizable, it is possible for your relationship to go sour. If you know how to handle your own feelings, attitudes and behaviors while maintaining your friendship at this level, you will build a successful friendship that can last a lifetime.

By using these four levels of communication with prospective 'dates' you will find that they will become interested in you and want to get to know you all the more.

How Business Calendars Affect Your Career and Life

by Brad Kartel

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Have you ever experienced a time when you got so busy and looking at the calendar suddenly surprised you? Well, it could be because you were so engrossed with work that days seemed to have passed by so hurriedly. It might have made you wonder -- what happened every single day that you didn’t notice? Whew, there really is some truth to the cliché, “time flies when you’re having fun”.

Well, at the height of one’s daily activities at work, calendars can really be taken for granted. But did you know it could be our simplest yet best weapon for effective and successful time management? If we only know how to use business calendars well, we would never get lost. Other tools that you might be using already are a business book diary or a desktop calendar that is found on your PC. However, this write-up will show you how you can further maximize on these tools to make them work to your advantage. Take time to read this and see how a simple material such as a calendar can create mementous changes in your life.

So for starters, what do you need to do? First things first. Try to write down everything that you need to accomplish daily. By doing so, you get to realize that you are actually trying to put in all that can be done in one day, or so you think. Remember, you are no superwoman. Unless quantity matters more to you than quality when it comes to finished tasks. Think about it – the more you try to squeeze in everything, the fewer tasks you get to achieve completely and successfully. So what do you have to do? Use your business calendars. Keep it in check every now and them. Make it your personal manager. For instance, as soon as you know about upcoming appointments and meetings and other tasks to finish, make it a point to record them in your calendar. After you have done so, try to prioritize your tasks within a day. They say it takes around 21 days for a habit to form and be in place; therefore, see to it that you stick to this plan within that time.

So in what other ways can you make changes in your life through your business calendars? Apart from the tasks that need you running and thinking and working for hours, you should also use your calendar to set aside time -- precious, precious time for yourself. For instance, set a specific time in a day to think about your goals or to reflect about current events in your life or career. Or set a certain day in a week to get away from work; instead do things that will liberate you such as your hobbies and spending time with a special person or a pet.

When you give way to some quiet “me-time”, you actually allow creative thinking to make your goals and desires a little more clear. Let your calendar help you out in allotting certain moments for yourself -- not only is it healthy and soul-nourishing, it also revives and invigorates you to do better in your daily tasks.

Remember what they say, you can’t can change time but you can change what you do with it. This is where careful planning and preparing come in. Always plan ahead of time and make sure you have your business calendars beside you. Make your calendar a daily habit and companion and you will see significant changes not only with your time management skills, but in your life as a whole.

Three Tips To Emerge From The Recession Successfully

by Brian Reed

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After recovery from an economic recession, there is no doubt the future is bright. However, the business climate is as competitive as ever before as the strong companies that survived the recession vie to gain a piece of the market share. The increasing prosperity is no time to sit back and rest. Instead, it is important to redouble efforts and reexamine protocols to ensure long-term profitability. Here are three simple tips that can make the difference between a profitable company and a thriving one.

1. Excel At What You Do

This might seem a no-brainer, but as markets begin to strengthen, the natural tendency of a business is to expand into new markets and products. This isn’t always the best idea. While diversification may be an option for your business, it isn’t always the only way to grow. Sometimes, it pays to be smaller. In fact, increasingly, businesses are expanding their market share within their own niche by being experts. What would once be considered a faulty business plan that focuses on a niche within a niche, if chosen correctly, can be a highly profitable enterprise. The key is being the best, or the first name in that niche. Redouble your efforts for quality and excellence, and you will thrive.

2. Organize

Sometimes, the difference between being “great” and “the best” is simple: organization. It doesn’t matter how large your company is, chances are you have lost a sale to being unorganized. As the country moves out of recession, every sale is increasingly integral to long-term success. Does your company have processes, policies, and workflows in place to make sure none of your leads fall through the cracks? Are your office and employees organized in a way that they get the most out of everything they do? Chances are there are some simple changes that can make a big difference.

3. Get the Help You Need

There are many tools businesses use to grow. Even in the strict lending environment today, there are a number of tools to get the capital your business needs to grow. Many companies who have clients who pay for their products or services by invoice turn to invoice factoring companies. Whether you are a start-up or a thriving business, cash flow challenges can constrain your operations. Invoice factoring provides the essential capital needed to help your business grow.

Bay View Funding has been strongly committed to providing businesses with convenient invoice factoring to solve their cash flow challenges. They have served thousands of successful companies, spanning a wide range of industries, who have entrusted them with their invoice financing needs. Their accounts receivable factoring service has helped manufacturing, and distribution and service companies, including freight transporters, to grow and prosper. When it comes to freight bill factoring, Bay View Funding has the experience and resources to help your business grow.

The Value Of Believing In Your Own Business

by Brad Kartel
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Whatever business you are in, there is only one kind of customer you should be aware of – YOU. No matter how many or how big an account you get for your service, or even how hot your prospective buyer is for your new product, the big question is, have you sold yourself to your business?

Always remember that it would be YOU who is going to be the number one client of your business. It’s not Oprah Winfrey whom you got in your account, or the entire team of the Los Angeles Lakers that ordered custom printing from your print online business for example. Your best customer would be yourself. Because no matter how big an account or how important your prospect is, unless you are completely confident with what your product or service can do for your target market, you will never be able to optimize your potential to make sales for your custom printing business.

The belief in what you’re selling starts with you. You will only close a deal or make a sale if you can convince your target clients that you have the best offering in the market. And you can only be convincing if you yourself believes strongly in what you are telling your customers.

With the downturn of the economy, it is the right environment to sell yourself even more. And don’t be too confident that you think you’re an exception to the rule. Ask yourself instead if you have a need to slash your price just because you need to keep a customer to the fold or even attract a new one. If you answered yes, then you are definitely not confident enough to what your business can provide as a benefit that you need to sell your product or service in ways that you can’t get a profit out of the exercise.

This just means that you are not 100 percent sold to the idea of your business. In fact, you’re not even sure how your product or service can benefit your target clients.

If you yourself is not sure, how much more with your prospective customers?

As a business owner and marketer, you have to realize that consumers expect a discount when they feel and believe that the product or service being offered is not at par with what they’re looking for. Consumers would always believe that they have been ripped off when they pay for something that they don’t fully deem to be worthy of their hard earned money. Naturally, they would want a discount or something in return to fill that seemingly empty space.

This happens when the salesperson was not able to communicate very well why the target customers should buy the product. The buyers would definitely ask for some kind of concession to make them feel better with the purchase.

In order for others to be sold on your offer, you should be able to sell yourself to the idea of your offering. You, first and foremost, should be able to understand fully all the benefits that you can get from your product or service. You need to believe in the benefits that your offer can provide. You should be the first person to see the use in what you sell.

Because when you are able to do so, selling your product or service to your target clients would be a piece of cake.

Radio

I'd sit alone and watch your light

My only friend through teenage nights

And everything I had to know

I heard it on my radio

(Radio)

You gave them all those old time stars

Through wars of worlds -- invaded by Mars

You made 'em laugh -- you made 'em cry

You made us feel like we could fly

So don't become some background noise

A backdrop for the girls and boys

Who just don't know or just don't care

And just complain when you're not there

You had your time, you had the power

You've yet to have your finest hour

(Radio)

All we hear is Radio ga ga

Radio goo goo

Radio ga ga

All we hear is Radio ga ga

Radio blah blah

Radio what's new?

Radio, someone still loves you!

We watch the shows -- we watch the stars

On videos for hours and hours

We hardly need to use our ears

How music changes through the years

Let's hope you never leave old friend

Like all good things on you we depend

So stick around cos we might miss you

When we grow tired of all this visual

You had your time, you had the power

You've yet to have your finest hour

(Radio)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LncAQR47eZo&feature=related

Ramadan: indications of debtors

Some of their vision beyond the street that a physical entity debit found for the movement, so they are clearly away from the valuable material on the classic route to the value of community outreach They see on the street continues to be a social and find a place to meet and interact who are building community Urbanite interdependent, and if not Street failed to function this turns into a mere component of industrial dead debtors have no real value of only one movement. 

Dr. Norman Finkelstein at the University of Waterloo

very nice video, thank you Dr

See The Link 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgzVE-PzCaY