5 Ways to Profit From No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
March 17, 2010
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (No Child Left Behind) is designed to reform and improve student achievement and change the culture of America’s schools. According to this reform act each state must measure every public school student’s progress in reading and math in each of grades 3 through 8 and at least once during grades 10 through 12. By school year 2007-2008, assessments (or testing) in science will be underway. These assessments must be aligned with state academic content and achievement standards. They will provide parents with objective data on where their child stands academically.
Parents may not be aware that their school is required by law to offer school sponsored activities to promote parent involvement, and there are special funds allocated for these activities. The funds are used to pay trainers, facilitators, and instructors, along with the materials used in these trainings, food and child care services so parents can focus on the information being delivered.
The seminars, workshops, and trainings are designed to assist parents in helping their student’s academic achievement and performance.
The Importance of Background Verification
March 6, 2010
Today’s society has created an environment that requires business owners to be armed with numerous tools. Many employers currently spend little time verifying the accuracy of employment applications and the cost of not doing normal due diligence can be staggering.
Consider:
An HVAC company recently paid $750,000 to a customer who was raped by a service technician. His employment application indicated no criminal convictions and the employer did not perform a complete background check. An employee who had previously been convicted of passing bad checks forged signatures contracts. The court judged his employer negligent and awarded $175,000.
After driving for a telephone company for only a week, an employee was involved in a traffic accident. The jury learned that the company never saw the employee’s driver’s record which had five tickets within 18 months. They awarded the injured party $550,000.
Companies often don’t adequately screen their new applicants. They should. Crooks and cons can cost your company a fortune.
Even if it were as simple as making an informed choice between a great service technician and one with an untrue work history, wouldn’t a small investment be worth it. In today’s business environment of easy access to computer systems and the proprietary information stored on them, even a temporary employee can wreak havoc on a company in a very short amount of time.
What You Cant Ask a Job Candidate is as Important as What You Can Ask
March 1, 2010
As a human resources professional or business owner, you face many challenges during the hiring process, from sorting through stacks of job applicant résumés to making an attractive offer to the one person you believe best matches the specifications of your open position’s job description. The whole procedure is more than time-consuming; it can be stressful as well.
None of the demands of finding and hiring the best candidate are more complex than those of the interviewing process. Besides spending a significant portion of your time listening to what your final candidates have to say, you must - without violating any of the employment discrimination laws in place - evaluate each applicant’s ability to successfully perform the job.
You have a responsibility to your company and to all prospective employees to avoid any semblance of discrimination or impropriety in your hiring processes. You must keep your interview questions related to specific job activities; in fact, it’s probably a bad idea to ask any question that doesn’t deal directly with a specific job’s requirements.
Should You Telework/Telecommute
February 21, 2010
“WOW! I can work from home and make money? I can sit around in my PJ’s and work whenever I want? How great, I want to be a Teleworker!”
There is much more to being a teleworker then working in your PJ’s or working when you want to. Yes, those are nice benefits to teleworking, but you’d be surprised by how much work goes into working from home. You usually have to work 10 times harder and longer then in your traditional job outside the home.
When I first started teleworking years ago I thought, “How hard could this be?” well was I in for a surprise! I found I wasn’t as motivated as I thought I would be. It was really hard for me to get up on time, get something to eat, and go to my “office” to start my day. And once I did begin I had to force myself to sit there and work for at least 3 hours at a time before I took a break. I couldn’t believe how different it was and how hard it was. Yes, it was very rewarding to work from my home, but it wasn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I thought, from all the ads I’d seen online, that working would be a breeze.
Using Keywords to Find Legitimate Telecommuting Job Leads
February 11, 2010
Many people are choosing telecommuting as an option to bring in an income while being at home. Whatever the reasons that we choose to work at home, the one thing we all have in common is the problem of locating legitimate jobs online. We often come online with the idea that finding a job online will be easy.
Unfortunately it’s not usually that easy. What you will often run into are the scams for working at home. Why is that though? We often find the job search websites and plug in two common keywords. These two keywords are often the reason many of us give up on finding a legitimate job because all that pulls up are the scams.
The keywords I’m speaking of are:
?Work at home ?Work from home
–> With the keywords "work at home," you’re almost 100% guaranteed to pull up scams or business opportunities, and not the legitimate jobs. Now don’t get me wrong, there can be legit jobs in these keywords. Iit takes much longer to find them, and it’s much harder to locate them. In my 4 plus years of working at home, I’ve discovered lesser used keywords that yield me much better results.
Opportunities in Automotive Services Industries - How To Cash In
February 5, 2010
I believe it would be safe to say that the transportation industry is one of the highest revenue producers in today’s modern economies.
Millions upon millions of private passenger vehicles rule the highways and rural roads in countries around the world.
Automotive reconditioning services, for the retail car/truck dealer, provide significant income opportunities for well trained, highly motivated entrepreneurs.
There are several categories in the automotive reconditioning field. These categories include:
1) Leather Repair and Reconditioning
2) Vinyl and Plastics Repair and Reconditioning
3) Paint Touch-up
4) Paintless Dent Removal
5) Alloy Wheel Repair
6) Windshield Repair
7) Gold Plating Services
8) Mobile Detailing Services
As a journeyman of auto reconditioning, in the retail car business in the US, I believe there is more opportunity in these industries than ever before.
Why Now?
Over the past 25 years, we have witnessed many changes in the reconditioning sector of the auto industry. The climate and environment of the “recon vendor” has experienced dramatic change.
We have seen a departure from the “craftsmanship approach” to these highly specialized services. The new trend has become franchising. In the last 10 years, the “comprehensive franchising” approach to this industry has had enormous negative effect.
How To Find Your Dream Job
January 28, 2010
Here’s the bottom line: many people work in jobs that aren’t what they want or are less than they deserve.
It’s partly the pull of inertia (better the devil you know…)and partly lack of confidence, but mostly the fear their dream job doesn’t exist — or they couldn’t land it if it does.
Most settle for second or third (or fourth, or fifth) best and try to get on with their lives, secretly cherishing the dream of something better.
It doesn’t have to be like that. You can take practical steps to turn that dream into reality. Here are some practical steps that to send you on your way.
1. Look for “Upgrade Roles”
Upgrade Roles act as stepping stones towards your dream position, moving you forward — maybe not all the way — while you continue looking for that dream position. Think of them as steps on the ladder.
2. Keep up Your Enthusiasm
If the right opportunity comes up, you need to be ready. That means building your resume and polishing your track record to make you the obvious choice It also means being on top form, whene chance hands you the golden ticket.
Image and Style Count
January 19, 2010
When I was a child, there was a pool nearby and every year my parents bought us season tickets. My brother and I swam there everyday. One day we were swimming the length of the pool underwater. As I came up at the edge of the pool gasping for air, the lifeguard was there to meet me. He asked if my brother and I would join the swim team. We were so excited; we talked about it for days.
The next few weeks we prepared for competition. That day arrived and our first meet took us to a pool across town. We all piled out of the car and I still remember how our excitement was shattered. As I looked across the parking lot at the other team, each member was in a matching uniform. At that moment, I knew the thoughts of my teammates, "We were going to get creamed." Our coach saw our faces and quickly said, "Shake it off, they just look pretty." Yes, they did and we lost. After all, we looked like a bunch of kids from a watering hole. The other team even told us that. We all felt it. They were a real team with real uniforms.
What is My Calling?
January 14, 2010
"What is my calling?" Do any of us really have complete clarity about our life calling? Even those of us with the knowingness we must teach, write or sing may often ask, "What direction am I to go, now?" How do we answer these soulful questions?
Richard Bolles, author of "What Color is My Parachute?" and the granddaddy of the employment industry says, when people are asked what they would like to do they often respond with "I don’t know." Bolles maintains this is because people interpret the question to be "What am I going to do with the rest of my life?"
This question is too big, too daunting, immobilizing people. Instead, remind yourself that the career journey is much like driving a car in the fog. Sign posts arrive at the crossroads and we can reach our destination despite the fog. Instead of worrying ourselves with not having the answer to our career/path questions (that perhaps, can only be revealed as we grow into them) what if we simply looked for the slender threads?
Slender Threads at Work
Online Business: The Underground Railroad for Corporate Escapees
January 5, 2010
Millions of people everyday spend eight hours or more in a small padded cubicle. The curious thing about it is they choose to do that. They willingly sacrifice a quality of life because they believe it is the only way to support their families. That may have been true 10 years ago but it isn’t any longer.
Starting an online business can be the salvation for which many want-to-be corporate escapees are looking. Unlike starting a brick and mortar business, the start-up costs for an online business are very small. Initially, an online business needs only a part-time owner. Corporate prisoners by day can build their underground railroad by night.
There are three key components to running a successful online business. They are determination, profitable products, and marketing skills.
Determination
Of the three critical components, only "determination" can’t be taught. Not everyone is suited to be an astronaut or a truck driver. And, not everyone is suited to run one’s own business. Determination is a single-minded drive that moves one beyond the minor setbacks of the learning curve. If you tend to start but never finish projects, an online business is not for you. An online business takes staying power.
