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What Questions To Ask At A Job Interview And Why

Asking questions during a job interview is crucial! By not asking any questions, you may not seem interested enough to get that particular job. However, you have to choose your questions carefully, because asking something inappropriate can also keep you from getting hired.

Therefore, here are a few questions to ask at a job interview and exactly why would be for the best to ask these questions.

Can you describe a working day in this position?

By asking this question, you prove that you already picture yourself in a working day, as an employee in that company. You can also add that you've don't your homework on this matter, however, you would like to see if there are certain aspects that you overlooked.

How long did the last employee(s) work in this position, and why did they leave (or why were they fired)?

Asking this question is actually necessary. Depending on the answer the interviewer will give you, it's possible to make an idea of what type of management you're going to deal with, or that the job is really difficult to keep up with. If the previous employees haven't worked there for too long, it's also possible that the company doesn't want to hire you for long. Or if they left on personal terms, you can state that you're planning to function for a long-term in that particular company.

Which are the potential challenges that an employee in this position would face?

When you ask this question, you prove that you want to prepare yourself thoroughly for any challenge that will occur, to come with the best solution for any problem that you will face. You can even mention that if you want.

What additional skills would be great to have for this position?

Evidently, by asking this question reveals the fact that you want to continuously improve yourself, and become more proficient at the job you will be doing. Almost any interviewer would be pleased to hear that. They will surely provide you with a set of additional skills and mentioning that you have some of them, or that you just have to polish some of them, would be great.

What are the performance expectations of this position over the first 12 months?

Finally, this question puts into view the fact that you want to achieve the expected level of competence in the activity that you will be performing.

Tips Regarding the Questions That You Should Ask the Interviewer

Ask questions when you need a clarification;Ask the questions that you have prepared, when it's your turn;Don't ask questions that will puzzle or put the interviewer in difficulty. They might not like that;Keep the questions simple;Keep the questions focused;Only ask questions that require a more elaborate answer than a "yes" or "no";

I hope this post helps. Anyway, if you're looking on more job interview tips...

Click here: jobinterviewexpert.com.


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Coming to Canada? Heed CIC's Advice to Canada Immigrants

Migrating to another country may be one of the greatest challenges you'll ever face in your life. You'll be dealing with a different culture, people, environment, and laws/rules. Adapting might be hard for you, at first. But, in the long run, everything will be fine.

In today's economy, parents are forced to make difficult decisions about the future of their family. The number of people losing jobs, cutting back hours, working part-time or taking pay cuts, is rising. As more jobs are lost, unemployment benefits are an increasingly important source of income, especially for low-income families. Many decide to work in other countries to provide the family's needs.

Finding a job is also one of the first things you will do when you reside in Maple Country. It offers a lot of opportunities. Either you leave your family behind or bring them with you. It will take a long process to obtain a Canadian visa. But what do you need to be able to work in this beautiful country?

According to CIC (Citizenship and Immigration Canada), there would be requirements for immigrants who want to apply for a job in Canada.

First, you need to have English or French language skills.Language is the first barrier in applying for a job. There are studies conducted by the CIC on Canada jobs that show that most immigrants who are not able to speak Canadian major languages proficiently are having problems in getting hired. Though language requirement for the job for which you'll be applying may be different, it is still important to possess language skills.

You may undergo an assessment and take an international standardize language test given by the type of profession for which you're applying. The CIC advises Canada's arriving immigrants to make sure they are well prepared and have improved their language skills. There are several language trainings available on the Internet. You can sign up to study and enhance your language skills. Remember that good communication is one key to finding a good job in the country.

Second, your foreign credentials must be assessed.There are situations wherein some employers do not recognize the educational background or work experience you have obtained from your home country or another country. You may need to go through a verification process to prove that you have obtained the same standard they're looking of your education or work experience. Doing so may cost you some money, but it'll be worth it to have your credentials recognized.

Third, employers require having work experience. You might want to consider working in an alternative job or volunteering to gain experience.

More importantly, CIC provides Canada immigrants with information on job offerings that aim to help them improve their quality of life, make them financially independent, and allow them to provide for their family's basic needs.

Start gathering and preparing your requirements and seek assistance in your migration plans. Have an expert assess your eligibility and qualifications and consult a trusted immigration firm today.

Ricardo Colindres is a Canadian staffing and immigration expert. He writes about the countless reasons why Canada is an ideal place to work, study, immigrate, or have a vacation.


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Complete Information About Construction Recruitment Agencies

The construction industry is growing at a fast pace and is expected to grow further in the coming years. The industry is bound to grow in the upcoming years and offers a variety of jobs to the skilled candidates. So, in case you too are motivated to venture into this booming industry, then the best option is to get registered at the construction recruitment agency. Those who have decided to try out their fortune in this industry will enjoy immense growth and success through hard work. While looking out for construction jobs, it is important to conduct thorough research about the construction recruitment company that you are planning to opt for. You must conduct a thorough research so as to ensure that the company is right for your needs and will assist you in attaining your career goals.

The construction recruitment agency that you are opting for must be capable of determining your requirements. They must also have relevant information about your abilities and the special skill sets that you possess. With this, you are more likely to get established as a better prospect for the job. It will exclude you from stiff competition and help you in gaining a job that you were eyeing on. In the modern competitive world, hiring a construction agency will surely be a wonderful choice for you. Various construction companies take the services of these recruitment agencies as they maintain a huge database of skilled as well as unskilled workers.

The construction recruitment agency provides the workers for companies of all sizes. These agencies tap talents from all across the globe. The selection of the candidature is based on the required skills and qualifications of the job. A typical recruitment agency supplies workers to various industries like hospitals for medical projects, communications, heavy equipment rental, military projects, large scale housing and other associated projects. The recruitment firms put in a lot of effort to select the ideal candidate for a particular job. Most of the best companies in the industry utilize the services of these firms due to their comprehensive construction recruitment process. The whole process of recruitment starts with providing a detailed description of the job and later followed by advertisements, making the calls to prospective clients as well as interviewing the short listed candidates.

In many cases, two or three types of tests are also conducted to choose the best candidate.

This is further followed by verifying the qualifications and final cross checking of references so that they could be officially associated with the agency. With the help of this meticulous task, the construction recruitment agencies offer their clienteles the very best candidates for the job. Hiring the recruitment firms helps the main company to save a decent amount of time, money and effort used in selecting a candidate for their particular needs. To ensure excellent services, utilize the services of the finest recruitment agencies. They will present your skill sets in the best manner to ensure that you get the job that you rightfully deserve.

Tom M Dean is the author of this article on construction recruitment.
Find more information, about construction agency here


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Cold Calling Techniques for Job Seekers

There are a number of advantages to approaching businesses or organisations directly when seeking employment. Employers like to use this method, especially where costs of advertising and associated processes are reduced. Jobseekers are advantaged through competing with a smaller pool of applicants and ensuring that their resume is read and considered for positions.

A number of potential barriers exist in relation to using cold calling techniques when applying for positions. It is important to have a professional resume that clearly articulates your skills and capabilities relevant to the position and organisation. A considered and planned approach can be utilised to ensure your resume is placed in front of the most appropriate person for managing employment.

Research: To ensure your resume and application is targeted and relevant to potential employment it is essential that you conduct research. Analysing both the organisation and potential positions will provide the context through which your resume should be presented. Important areas to consider include the qualifications required, experience and developing an understanding of the business.

Initial Phone Call: Before e-mailing or sending through your resume it is important to call ahead where possible and seek information on the potential for positions or the most appropriate personnel to send material to. When initially contacting organisations discussing potential employment with the receptionist or administration person can provide the information required without initially resulting in rejection. If you have particular experience or qualifications that are of benefit to this organisation it is important to highlight these in this conversation. After discussing this information forwarding your resume to this individual is more likely to result in it being put forward to the correct person.

Word of Mouth: Within a highly competitive job market, such as the mining sector, word-of-mouth recruitment is one of the largest employment processes. Asking friends, family and colleagues for contacts within specific industries can significantly increase consideration for employment. Many positions within large organisations, especially in the mining sector are held for individuals recommended to an employer.

Online Submission: Larger companies will have an opportunity for the submission of general expressions of interest, usually within an online format. Researching companies online and seeking this information will prevent rejection and general redirection to an employer's website. In this situation where the expression of interest is provided it is still important to highlight the key skills and qualifications you might possess that would interest an employer. After an online submission a phone call to the employer to confirm their receipt and discuss any potential employment is important.

As a jobseeker utilising a number of tools in gaining employment is important. A proactive approach to professionally and appropriately contacting organisations can have the desired result. As with all employment processes consistent and constant application of these strategies is important. Carefully reviewing and assessing the approach before engaging employers will maximise opportunities, reduce rejection and ensure a targeted and professional approach.

John Matthews from The Writing Wizards has more than 10 years experience in providing direct assistance, coaching and preparation of professional material for jobseekers. This includes a comprehensive approach to preparing professional resumes, Government applications and interview coaching. With a background in Government and a successful record in achieving results for clients John Matthews continues to demonstrate an intimate knowledge of the job market and processes.

You can download a full list of tips and get other useful information from The Writing Wizards page http://www.writingwizards.com.au/


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Electrical License Requirements - California Electrician Permit Requirements

There are several CA electrician certification requirements which you need to satisfy to be a journeyman electrician in the state:

1. Have 8,000 hours of full-time experience with a wide range of electrical responsibilities
2. Fill out the Application for Electrician Examination and Certification
3. Do and get a pass in the electrical licensing assessment

Your eight thousand hours of relevant experience needs to be among the list of these areas in order to be recognized:

- Supply room and materials handling (max of three hundred hours)
- Residential cabling (limit of three thousand hours)
- Commercial wiring (cap of six thousand hours)
- Industrial electrical wiring (cap of six thousand hours)
- Voice data and video installation (limit of one thousand and five hundred hours)
- Fittings and finish work (limit of fix hundred hours)
- Nurse or Fire/Life safety call (limit of fix hundred hours)

The number of hours of experience in each one of these particular areas which may be counted towards your 4 years is capped. You may also submit any applicable electrical training or armed service training you have to be considered.

Doing The CA Electrician Permit Assessment

For you to acquire a journeyman electrical certification, you'll have to apply to the Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS), which is a member of the CA DIR. Your initial application cost is seventy five dollars and the test fee is $100.

As verification of your practical experience, you'll be required to affix your Apprenticeship Certificate or Work Affidavit with your Social Security Administration Employment History Report (with your SSN blacked out. As soon as you have been given authorization that you'll be eligible to take the assessment, you've got a year to schedule and do it.

The CA electrician certificate examination is open book and is based on the 2008 National Electrical Code (NEC). It is comprised of one hundred questions and is 4 hours in duration, and you will have to get a score of a minimum of 70% in the exam to pass. When you conclude the test, you will have the ability to find out immediately if you failed or passed.

In the event that you successfully pass the assessment on your first go, you will receive the credentials by mail within two weeks after you did the assessment. In the event that you failed to attain a score of 70% or above in the test, then you will have to submit a fresh application and wait at least two months prior to undergoing your next test. The journeyman electrical certificate is required to be renewed every 3 years, and it costs a hundred dollars to renew.

Want to find out more about electrical license requirements in every state in the US? You can get all of this information, including the latest Delaware electrician license requirements, at ElectricianTrainingPro.com.


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How to Make Yourself More Marketable

With the number of academic institutions churning out fresh graduates every year, the search for job opportunities is stiff, and it makes it all the more important for an individual to remain marketable in the field they are pursuing.

What is Marketability?

Being marketable means that you have skills and experience that makes you a valuable and desirable employee. You are, in essence, able to sell product "you" to companies that you would want to work with. It's vital to be marketable in this economy because competition for jobs is increasingly high and desirable job availability is equally low.

So how can you make yourself more marketable?

Go Back to School

Whether you are in the job market already or are still trying to penetrate it, the surest way of becoming more marketable is to further your education. It is never too late to go back to school. By taking on that master's degree to compliment your bachelor's degree, you better your chances of stepping up the management ladder and being sought out by other organizations. Aside from furthering your studies with degrees, you should sign up for certification courses that are in line with the career choice you want to delve more into. This puts you in a better position to learn more about current trends and developments so that you can keep at the forefront of your field.

Learn New Skills and Improve Existing Ones

Working on bettering the skills that you have already acquired is a sure way of making yourself more marketable. If you are already proficient with computers, you could take up a new challenge in the same field and learn more about software development which could give you an edge over someone who just knows the basics of computer knowledge.

Brand Yourself

There are many ways to do this, and you need to be careful about how you put yourself out there. If you have created an online profile, ensure that it always looks and sounds professional. In line with this, your e-mail address should portray you as a serious professional. E-mail addresses that contain words other than your name will not reflect your professionalism. A marketable person should have an e-mail address that reflects his or her real name, not a screen name that was chosen to remain anonymous online. When sending out professional e-mails, always ensure that you sign off like a professional.

Join Professional Associations

Join a professional association that is appropriately matched with your career. By doing this, you give yourself much more credibility and make yourself more marketable. Employers who are hiring are impressed when they come across an individual who is a registered member of a professional association.

Challenge Yourself

If you already have a job, challenge yourself by taking on a new project without being pushed. This will give the impression that you are ready for other new challenges, and you may start being chosen for more challenging tasks that may result in better pay and associated perks.

Amanda Moses is Operations Manager at Universities.com. Universities.com has a simple mission: to connect people with the information they need to make the best decision about which colleges and universities are the best fit for their educational needs. Since 1995, over 30 million potential students have used Universities.com to find information about online universities and schools. Learn more about online degrees at http://www.universities.com/Distance_Learning/Degrees_PhD_Programs.html


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How An Accountant Got A Surprise Job Offer

When an attacker consistently harasses you, you may hope that he would leave and go to another department or company. However, he may not have the intention of looking for another job or getting a transfer.

Giving him ideas of greener pastures, indirectly through his allies and buddies is one way. The other way is to help your trouble maker get another job. If conditions and benefits of the new job are right, he may be tempted to move.

Alan, an accountant in a computer firm, had a nick-name "Perfectionist" in his department. Caroline elaborates:

Caroline: You know how hard it is to work with perfectionists. Alan is the one. He went hysterical over minor mistakes. He insisted on doing everything his way. We were under-staffed but he insisted that we must complete the financial records and reports on time. And he told us that if everybody worked a little harder and sacrifice some evenings, we could cope. We felt that he ignored our welfare totally.

Due to such circumstances, I thought of leaving. But before making that decision, I wanted to see if I could get Alan another job, for the sake of all of us. I sent out copies of the letter to several companies, on Alan's behalf.

The letter she sent was to this effect:

ABC Computers

Dear Sir,
I am the Accountant with BBC Computers. I am introducing myself as a potential candidate for suitable openings in your company. As the accountant, I am fully responsible for the accounting and financial aspects of the company. A brief description of my responsibilities is as follows:

A)...
B)...
Although I am happy with my present position, and much appreciated by my management, I welcome more challenges, found especially in an aggressive, fast expanding company like yours.
Therefore if you need someone with my kind of responsibilities and experience, I would be happy to discuss the possibility of working for you. There is absolutely no obligation on either party. My contact number is 1234567.

Caroline further elaborates: After some time, Alan did leave for a bigger firm, presumably with better benefits. He told us he was approached and given an offer too good to be missed. He said it was that simple.

But not all similar letters were intended to produce such results. One person tried, but instead of enclosing the "applicant's" phone number, he gave the Managing Director's director phone number instead.

He employed this method to raise questions of loyalty and commitment of his ambitious and power-hungry adversary. His underlying reason was that an employee, who was thinking of better opportunities, should not be given more responsibilities. Make sense?

News or rumors of such nature can raise doubts, doubts which are not impossible. Of course, those are all kinds of strategies when involving in office politics. It is an indisputable fact that business letters play an important role in your working and office environment.

Visit 101 Business Letter for free useful and practical business letter sample.

Jean Taylor
More FREE sample business letters visit http://www.101businessletter.com/


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Solving Unemployment

UK's unemployment has recently experienced a dramatic dip due to the temporary Olympics jobs boost. The national unemployment rate reached down to 2.56m, and thereby fell to its lowest level for almost a year. In the capital alone, the number of unemployed citizens fell by 42,000. The number of people claiming Job Seekers Allowance and other unemployment benefits decreased by a staggering 5,900. Numbers show that London has accounted for half the fall of unemployment, and half the increase of new jobs created between April and June.

The sudden rise in employment (29.47m) was the highest quarterly increase since the spring of 2010 and the highest level of employment since '08. Besides full time employment, the UK part time employment also increased and reached a record high of 8.07million, 1.42 million of which only worked part time as they could not find a full time job.

A person is considered to be unemployed if they are out of work, but actively looking for work, and is available to start at a new position within a fortnight. Over the past few years, the United Kingdom's unemployment rates have not been steady. A few months into the recession of 2008, the unemployment rate experienced a drastic rise, and when the global financial crisis hit, the UK's unemployment rate was little over 1.6million, a mere 5% of the country's population. Once Britain had started to climb its way out of one of the most severe recessions it had seen since the 50's, unemployment had risen almost a million higher at 2.5million, a total of 8%. Britain's unemployment rate didn't peak until the end of '11, by which it had reached a staggering 2.7million, the highest level of unemployment our country had seen for 17 years. Fortunately, the unemployment level soon began to decrease and Britain noticed its first fall in unemployment in almost a year, at the start of 2012. Since then, the overall number of people in employment has been rising, as has the number of people employed within the private sector.

Although Britain's unemployment has risen severely over the past few years, our recession does not seem as dramatic as other countries. Spain's unemployment has recently reached a record high of 5.7 million, meaning a staggering 24.6& of their population is currently considered unemployed. Records of April and May 2012 show that France experienced an unemployment rate of 10.8%, and the United States merely leaded us with a 8.2 percentage of unemployment, only 0.1% more than Britain's unemployment early this year.

Our recent employment rate has shown a rise in self-employment, which suggests people have taken matters in their own hands. And besides starting their own businesses, many previous unemployed citizens have turned towards other alternatives. A large amount of which have enrolled in temporary or full-time education.

There are a number of companies who specialise in a large range of educational options available for those wishing to join a new career ladder. Besides a large amount of quick A-Level courses which can be completed at home, there are a number of carer training centres, intensive electrician training course providers, driving instructor courses, and many other expertise training centres located throughout the United Kingdom for anyone who is looking to gain the experience and qualifications necessary in order to start a new career.

One of the UK's intensive electrician training course providers in particular who are able to boost impressive 99% pass rate is ET4U; whose key stage training course is suitable for any newcomers to the electrician field, as well as anyone wishing to refresh their previous experiences.


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What's With the Blue Tie Tony Abbott? Rethink What You Wear to the Next Job Interview

Recently the media discussed why the opposition leader in Australia was suddenly sporting blue ties. Well as we know there is an election coming up and Tony Abbott is looking for that top job - Prime Minister. His spin doctors are trying to portray a "likeable" and "calm" image by wearing blue.

Colour psychology is an old concept and used in marketing, nursing homes and hospitals for example. Wearing specific colours to project images feelings and emotions has been around for decades and is still relevant. I tested it quite by accident myself through university research. My research was based on the effect of nonverbal communication in an interview situation and how it affected the employer's final hiring decision. My results showed that employer's used 80% of body language including what the applicant wore to the job interview to influence their final decision about a candidate. Only 20% of other non- verbal communication related to other skills such as communication. In all cases the final candidates were equally qualified for the job so that aspect played a minor part.

Dressing for success in job interviews has many facets. For example until recently black was only worn by politicians in addressing the nation abut serious matters. It is relates to power and was not a colour that should be worn at a job interview. Colour can be used positively. Male salespersons should wear a red or maroon tie and female salespersons persons should wear red in their outfit.

In my research one employer made his decision on hiring a senior marketing consultant on the fact that the female applicant, while "looking lovely in peach," did not project the gung-ho image that the male candidate did in his maroon tie. The employer had a very good recall of the interview and it was clear that the female applicant's choice of colour showed lack of drive.

Other aspects of colour can show a negative reaction to a person. If jobseekers insist on wearing black at a job interview they need to break it down with likable or more calming colours depending on the job. Black can evoke a powerful negative emotion from the interviewer.

Then there is the aspect of dressing by job association. If a candidate was going for a job interview as a waiter, for example, he/she should wear black trousers or skirt and white shirt. It was recommended that jobseekers find out what colour uniform is worn at the company that they were being interviewed by, and try to incorporate colours of the uniform in their attire. So keep the psychology of colour in mind when you attend your next job interview.

Iris Wood holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management and has provided recruitment services to jobseekers for over 30 years. She operated Pro-Active Human Resource Management online services for over 11 years until her retirement. She is happy to pass on her experience to jobseekers of all level of experience and has maintained the website http://www.proactivehrm.com/ which provides comprehensive job search information


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Indians Are Best Exporters of Agricultural Commodities

Agricultural sector is the mainstay of the rural Indian economy around, which the socio-economic privileges and deprivations revolve, and any change in its structure is expected to have a corresponding impact on the existing pattern of social equality. The growths of India's agriculture sector during the 60 years of independence remain impressive at 2.7% per annum. About two-third of this production growth is aided by gains in crop productivity. The need based strategies adopted since independence and intensified after mid - sixties primarily focused on feeding the growing population and making the country self depend in food production.

Export is a combination of numerous activities like "Indian Agriculture Exporter". It starts from the farm and ends up till it reaches the ultimate consumer. Each steps of the process requires intervention of various agencies. Entrepreneurs depend upon these agencies to get their job done. Jobs may be related to the sourcing of seeds, harvesting / thrashing, storages, packaging & labeling, cold storages, water treatment / softening plant, interaction with Govt. agencies, lifting of goods, goods clearance at the departure point and receiving at the importers end. The integration of the job work at all stages finally ends up with an export order. There are service providers who may extend their services at all levels and few may have expertise in specialized fields.

They are the private agencies, who are established and into the business of providing the basic necessities to anyone expecting service in their related fields. Regular update is done to accommodate more and more new comers in the field of services.

Indian agriculture has attained an impressive growth in the production of food grains that has increased around four times during the planned area of development from 51 million tons in 1950-51 to 199.1 million tons in 1997-98. The growth has been really striking since sixties after the production and wide spread usage of high yielding varieties of seed, fertilization, pesticides, especially in assured irrigated areas.

From time immemorial India has been known as the Land of Spices. The Chinese, Arabs and The Europeans came to the Indian shores lured by the spices grown here. Pepper, ginger, turmeric and cardamom are the most renowned of Indian spices. We earn Rs. 1612 crores from the export of spices annually (2000-0 I). The world consumption of spices is growing steadily year by year. Expansion of our export of spices to increase or even to retain our share of world market is imperative. This can be achieved only through increased productivity and improved quality.

The developed countries give top priority to the health of their citizens. The laws with respect to items of food are meant to protect the consumers from food of inferior quality, or those which are likely to be contaminated by impurities or poisonous substances. Therefore any food item that we export, be it marine products, cashews, pepper, cardamom or ginger, it is important that the product conforms to the quality standards demanded by the importing country. In the context of thousands of people getting infected with food borne diseases or even dying of food poisoning, it is only just and reasonable that countries which depend on imported food stuffs should take such extreme precautions. Food materials that have become rotten, spoiled, infected with micro-organisms or contaminated by other impurities are either destroyed by the import inspection authorities or sent back to the exporting country. This not only results in loss of market but also damages the exporting country's reputation.

The quality of any commodity depends upon the inputs used and the practices adopted in its cultivation, processing, packing, storing and transportation. In the case of agriculture products, therefore, constant care right from the pre-harvest operation till the product reaches the consumers becomes imperative. The following are the important points to be remembered at the various stages.

I m Sunny from Ganesh Agro, one of the leading agro commodity exporters in India, exporting agro commodity products to consumers across the globe. We are situated in central India at commercial capital of Central India, i.e. Indore. Dealing in Chick peas, Sesame Seeds, Chili Products etc.


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Electrical License Requirements - Alaska Electrician Licensing Criteria

To obtain the AK electrician license and work as a journeyman electrician in the state, you're going to be required to meet all of these requirements:

1. Have a minimum of four years of full-time working experience
2. Complete the Application For Certificate Of Fitness from the Alaska Department of Labor
3. Do and pass the electrical accreditation assessment

Out of your eight thousand hours of work experience, not less than 6,000 of the time has to be either industrial or commercial. You can account for the balance with any combination of this work:

- No more than 2,000 hours of residential experience
- No greater than 1,000 hours of applicable vocational training
- At most one thousand hours of power lineman experience

It is worth noting that maintenance experience does not count for the work experience criteria.

Sitting For The AK Electrician Certification Exam

To undergo the journeyman certification exam in Alaska, you will first be required to complete the electrical accreditation application which you will be able to get a hold of on the Alaska Department of Labor web page. You'll also have to supply evidence of your full-time working experience on one of these:

- The State of Alaska Experience Verification Form and notarized
- A document with a company letterhead and (notarized)
- A document validated via an Alaskan union

When you have filled out the application and enclosed your original validation letters, you'll need to pay a $50.00 application charge using check, credit card, money order or cash. You need to submit the application no less than two weeks before the assessment day you want.

After your application has been approved, you may set up your exam by contacting the Mechanical Inspection office in Anchorage, Fairbanks or Juneau. In the event that you're outside these areas, you may call the Anchorage office to organize your test date.

The AK accreditation examination is mainly based around the 2008 NEC and it is open book. The exam is four hours in length, and you will have to get no less than 70% to pass. At the time of your examination, you'll need to show a government-issued photo identification before you will be permitted to do your assessment. If you be unsuccessful at your assessment, you'll have to wait no less than thirty days from the time of the last assessment to re-do the test.

Once you've gotten your journeyman permit, you are going to need to renew it every two years. In this two year timeframe, you're going to also have to carry out a minimum of 16 hours of CEU, and 8 hours are required to have a comprehensive review of the National Electrical Code.

You can find out more about the electrical license requirements for each state in the US, including the latest Arkansas electrical license requirements, at ElectricianTrainingPro.com. It's the only site online that you can find all of this information, as well as tons of helpful electrician training resources, all in one place.


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Recruiting Agency - The Best Source to Land a Dream Job

Recruiting the right employee is very critical for any organization to function with accuracy and reach the goals set by them. An organization cannot spend time on recruiting staff as part of their expansion or for their new project. Under such conditions, corporate companies usually turn up to staffing agencies, which bridge the gap between the organization and the right candidate for a post. Staffing services is fast catching up as they filter out the maximum personals based on the requirement for a company. A staffing agency acts as a bridge between the employer and the required talent from the ever increasing market.

A dedicated team works continuously to find the right candidate that fits into the requirement as stated by an organization. The basic step they perform is to listen to the corporate company about their requirement to get complete idea about recruiting the right candidate. This procedure will ensure that both the company as well as the candidate builds a trust with the recruiter. A complete transparent procedure is followed which automatically builds a good relationship with the recruiting company. Let us see how both a client as well as a candidate gets benefit from this procedure.

A good staffing agency will understand the requirements of the client and they will hunt for the right candidate that suits to the job profile as stated by the client. This procedure is very transparent and also benefits the client by saving good amount of time and money. The entire procedure will cut short the recruiting process as major interviewing is carried out by the staffing agency and a client can directly approach a group of people, who are talented and fit into the job profile. Irrespective of the job position, one will be able to look for the right profile according to their experience and area of interest. They can perform the last round of recruiting process by interviewing them and selecting the deserving candidate for the post.

On the other hand, as a candidate will approach the recruiting team, he or she will be provided complete assistance in finding out the right job profile. The profile collected will be matched to that of an employer's job description to suit the needs. Once this is done, the candidate will be informed about the same and also they will be called for initial screening procedure according to the client's requirement. Through this way, one will be able to find different job profiles from different corporate companies. The candidate will also spend less time through this procedure rather than approach every single company by self.

A good staffing agency in the market will provide complete assistance to both an employee as well as the employer. If you want to reduce the hassle of job hunting, signing up for a recruiting agency is a smart thing to do. The staff will guide a candidate through their knowledge rather than carry out an interrogation for a job position right away. Going through the availability of job listings from the agency will be helpful to approach the recruiter for the right placement.

Be it a temporary or permanent job, try Seattle recruiters to find the job you want.

Pay a visit to Seattle Search Group to learn more right now.


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Most Common Mistakes Committed During Interviews

As an aspiring applicant, you should know what to do or not to do during interviews. Taking time to prepare yourself for your interview will not leave you stressed out during and after it. Candidates for employment usually commit job interview mistakes, bloopers and errors.

Below are the most frequently committed job interview mistakes and what you should do to avoid them:

1. Wearing Inappropriate Outfits.

If you are attending a job interview, it is advisable to look neat and well-dressed. No matter what the job you're applying for, make sure that you wear business casual clothing or professional-looking attire to an interview.

2. Late Arrival.

Bear in mind that arriving late at an interview suggests that you have poor time management skills. It can also leave a lasting impression to the interviewer that you are disrespectful to the company and to the position you're applying for. Make sure that you arrive five to ten minutes ahead of time. Leave early and budget your time wisely even if there would be an unforeseen event that comes your way, you still have that extra time before the start of your interview.

3. Bringing a Drink during the Interview.

If you need a soda or coffee, you should get it before the interview. It is unprofessional to enter the room holding a drink and you should be able to concentrate on making a lasting impression and paying attention to the interviewer throughout the process. Fiddling with a cup during the interview can also result to unsightly incidents such as spilling the soda on the desk or worse, to your interviewer.

4. Using your Phone during Interviews

You need to turn your phone to silent mode before your interview. Texting during an interview can be rude and distracting and this gives your interviewer that you might not be interested to get the job. It is better to put your phone inside your bag before your interview starts.

5. Not Knowing Anything about the Company

Your potential employer might ask you what you know about the company. It is one of the easiest interview question only if you did some research beforehand. You need to read and gather background information about the company from their website, Facebook or LinkedIn page.

6. Vague Facts on your Resume

You should be truthful with the information you put on your resume. The interview will go smoothly if you will be able to discuss clearly your previous work experience during your interview. You should also be able to review the facts before the interview so that you can answer any question thrown at you.

7. Inattentiveness

You should rest well and prepare yourself for the interview. You should pay close attention and try not to get distracted easily so you won't miss a question. If you fail to do so, your potential employer will have the impression that you cannot stay focused during a day on your job. Maintain eye contact and listen actively.

8. Talking too much

You should keep your answers brief and concise. You should only answer what is asked, unless the interviewer asks you to elaborate or explain. Avoid talking about your personal life no matter how friendly your interviewer is because an interview is a professional situation and not something personal.

9. Unprepared to answer questions

Your potential employer would ask many questions to flesh out everything he needs to know about you and your previous job. Prepare for this situation by reviewing expected questions at job interviews and how you should answer them. You can also make a list of questions to ask the employer when you are asked if you have questions for him.

10. Saying negative things about your Past Employers

Never say anything bad about your past bosses or co-workers because you do not really know who your interviewer might know. You also do not want your interviewer to think that you might speak negatively about the company if one day you decide to leave it. It is best to let the interviewer know that you are a team player and you are able to manage conflicts well. Review how to answer questions such as "Tell me about at time when you worked with someone you didn't like and how you handled the situation?"

LSA Recruitment Pty Ltd stands above the rest by giving a true alternative to traditional recruiting methods while ensuring the job seekers goals are achieved.


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How a Staffing Agency Can Help You Find a Job in a Slow Economy

Finding employment can be difficult in the best economic times - let alone one with unemployment at 8.2%. What you might not know is that many companies turn to a staffing service to hire employees first. These jobs can be anything from traditional temporary assignments or long-term contract labor assignments to direct hire opportunities. By making connections at a staffing company, you are increasing your odds of finding employment - after all, that is one more person working on your behalf to secure the job of your dreams!

If you are on the market for a new job or looking for a career change, consider contacting a staffing company to assist you in your search.

Many open jobs aren't listed. When you use a staffing company to help in your job search, you get access to many jobs you otherwise would never have known about. Often times, companies (large and small) turn to a staffing company first for vetting qualified candidates. The jobs that are listed online for companies often receive so many resumes that it can be easy to get lost in the shuffle.

You get a foot in the door. Ever tried finding the contact information for that key person in the company you want to work for? It isn't easy! That's because often these people receive so many job solicitations and other emails that they prefer to be selective about who has their phone number or email address. Recruiters have already done the work for you, and they can help put you in front of the people who make the hiring decisions.

They double as coaches. Not only will a recruiter at a staffing company provide feedback on your resume, they can also give you some perspective on your competition and where you fall in comparison. This can help you hone in on the right jobs for your skill set and experience, which saves you time and makes your search more efficient.

You share a goal. Getting a job is good for you and it's good for the staffing company (as long as you meet the criteria for open positions). So you're doubling your efforts when you partner with a staffing company.

Networking. Whether a recruiter matches you with a job or not, as long as you make a great impression and stay in touch, you've got a future contact. You never know when you can help that recruiter or vice versa in the future! Networking is one of the most effective ways to get a job, period.

Tom Bodeep is the Senior Vice President of TRC Staffing Services, Inc., a full-service staffing solutions provider with over 30 years of industry experience. Established in 1980, TRC is one of the largest privately-held staffing firms in the country. TRC has 44 locations in 14 states, providing traditional staffing services, professional and technical staffing, and management services to some of the country's leading companies. Learn more at http://www.trcstaffing.com/


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How To Use Social Media As An Effective Recruiting Tool

Today, social media is much more than just a platform for friends to keep in touch. It is also an effective recruiting tool for the HR professionals. The modern recruiter knows that this medium is an important source that cannot be ignored when looking for right candidates to join the organization. A recent market study done by Reppler, the social media monitoring service, showed that about 90 percent of the recruiters and hiring professionals are visiting the social media profiles of the potential candidates as a part of the initial screening process.

It was further mentioned that nearly 70 percent of the rejections were mainly because something objectionable was found on these social profiles of the rejected candidates. Thus the social network profiles work really well when it comes to checking the background of the potential candidates. Here are some of the popular social network sites and how you can use them as an effective recruiting tool.

Twitter: This micro-blogging site can be used to inform potential candidates about the new job openings in your organization. When posting your tweets, utilize the proper keywords and make sure that you subsequently use the hashtags. Furthermore, you must tweet your job openings as many times as possible using tools like SocialBro to ensure that your tweets show when your target audience is online.

Facebook: You must create a career section on your company's Facebook profile to inform your subscribers and visitors about the job openings. You must also post new jobs occasionally so that it may show up in the news feeds of the people who have liked your Facebook page.

LinkedIn: This is the greatest and most effective recruiting tool used by the HR professionals. LinkedIn is a social media profile, especially developed for the working professionals to come together and share common interests. It is mainly concerned about all professional matters. You can post job requirements on the site and also ask for referrals from the members. You must have a follow button and job section on your profile page.

Google+: This social media site is comparatively new and not so popular in terms of recruitment; however you cannot ignore the potential of Google+. As it allows you to put anyone in your social circle, it provides you the opportunity to make anyone who is related to your industry to notice your job postings.

Pinterest: Although this is a relatively new social media site, it is one of the fastest growing networks with visitors constantly increasing since its inception. The biggest attraction of Pinterest is that it is visually appealing. The site has been retaining its users more effectively than any other social media network. But, the question is - can it be used as an effective recruiting tool? Well, if you are looking for a candidate in the fashion or design industry, you can use this social media for hiring the right candidate. However, the very fact that a large number of people from diverse backgrounds are using Pinterest, provides enough reasons to use this site for finding the right candidates.

IT Recruiters in Seattle use the latest tools and techniques to hire the right candidates for the organization. For more information check out Seattle Search Group.


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What Is a Graphic Design Salary?

Another thing that has a bearing when we mention a Graphic artists salary is actually location. Speedy broadband on the world-wide-web has meant that it's more feasible now than ever to work anywhere you like, but if you go through the figures it truly is still a specific fact that creative designers primarily in major metropolitan areas like Greater London, Manchester, New York and S. Francisco are earning in excess of their leafy suburban counterparts. Also you need to look at the actual state you're inside. It's become a bit of a bone of contention within the graphic design community that designers within countries similar to India in addition to Thailand demand far less than these in additional developed international locations, but that's simply a truth of lifestyle. A 'good' salary passes down to what quality of lifestyle it gives you, if any designer can charge a cheaper amount than another for services and also have a comparable quality lifestyle, then it truly is fair to state that just what they're currently being paid is an effective salary. Sure it is usually irritating when you're losing clients who're being fascinated by lower charges overseas, but people may generally pay more to cooperate with someone within reach, even if they never in fact meet these people.

What is actually truer inside the graphic design industry than in many is that experience will pay. The more of it you have got, the additional you normally earn. Obviously I'm assuming that an individual that has recently been designing for a long time has improved over that period so this increased income can be the increase of skill, but that is not all such an encounter brings people. For a long time, if you've recently been working as being a graphic designer you'll find the more clients you should have worked along with, the additional recommendations you should have received along with the more amazing you reputation will probably be. This is actually more genuine of the self employed than of designers operating 'in house' or for an agency, but an all-natural progression in the wage scale after a while is standard as kind of framework.

The previous main principle that may affect your current graphic design salary is actually how important you are. Put just, if you're earning a living for big label clients similar to Coke or even Nike then you are likely to charge them in excess of, let's say your local café or even friends wedding band. Having these big names in your portfolio is really a really solid strategy to justify better rates than other creative designers. Likewise you will observe a identical pattern inside design sectors. If this agency you're earning a living for primarily deals with prestigious brands chances are they will want the perfect designers, and the easiest method to attract (and to help keep) these top degree designers is by using top degree pay.

http://www.thedesignrange.com/
My name is Alex Singleton and I own the Hunting Town design studio and am the editor of the Design Range blog; an online resource for designers looking for ways to improve their design business and increase their graphic design salary from doing what they love!


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How To Get A Job After College: 2 Ways To Get Work Experience While Still In School

One of the biggest challenges that college students have is finding ways to get work experience before they go out to interview for their first professional job. If you did what most of us did during high school, you probably spent your time studying, goofing off, and working basically forgettable jobs. Now what?

During the brief time that you are in college, you need to take advantage of any opportunity that you can find to gain some work experience that will impress the people who interview you. What you are going to be looking for are jobs that will in some way relate to your eventual professional employment. Here are two suggestions for you.

Option #1: Get An Internship

An internship is good work if you can get it! An internship is a program offered by your college or university that will allow you to work in your major's field of study while at the same time receiving academic credit for it. Note that the number of hours that you can get credit for differs from university to university, but is generally limited to 12-15 credits.

Your university is highly motivated to have you look into an internship. By having you go out and work in the real world, the university is able to showcase their best and brightest students and this results in an improved impression of the university in the local community.

There is always the possibility that your college does not have an internship program set up. Don't let this put you off. Instead, seize the opportunity and get in contact with local firms that are active in your field of study. There is a possibility that you can create your own internship program with them.

Once again, how much you get paid really does not matter - you might even consider doing the work for free if it's the right job. What you are looking for is the ability to add the experience to your resume. Additionally, if you do a good job then you just might be able to get your employer to agree to act as a reference for you. Now that would be time well spent!

Option #2: Get A Real Job

This is the ultimate hard-core option - going out and getting a real off-campus job. In addition to going to college, go out and get a job working for a firm that does something that is related to your field of study.

The biggest cost to this approach is that it is going to consume the largest amount of your time. However, the up side is that it will show up on your resume as a significant piece of employment.

You are going to need to keep in mind that while you are in school, your number one goal is to get through school and graduate. The job is a means to an end, not the end itself. That means that you are going to have to become good at balancing the demands on your time.

Living a double life of a student and worker can be tough on anyone. One thing that you might want to give some careful thought to is just exactly when you'd go out and get a job.

I would recommend that you not do this during your freshman or sophomore years. You've got enough going on during those years that any sort of significant job is going to be too much of a distraction and could end up delaying your progress through school.

Liked what you read? There's a lot more in Dr. Jim Anderson's eBook " Making The Jump: How To Land Your Dream Job When You Get Out Of College!"

Visit Amazon and take a look at all of the job hunting tips that every college graduate needs to know in order to land the perfect job.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00998TR9E

Dr. Jim Anderson brings his 15 years of college education coupled with his over 25 years of real-world work experience to this book. He's been on both sides of the interview table and he's going to show you exactly what you need to do in order to find and get the job that is perfect for you.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00998TR9E

Read the book, get the interview, get the job. It's really that simple!


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Electrical License Requirements - AR Electrical Permit Conditions

There are a good few Arkansas electrician permit requirements that you are going to have to satisfy in the event that you intend to be a journeyman electrician there:

1. Have 8,000 hours of practical experience in the electrical field
2. You need to have a "Notice of Apprenticeship Committee Action - Released for Test" document from your apprenticeship or training program
3. Fill in the electrical licensing assessment form
4. Undergo and pass your electrician certification examination

With regards to the four years time on the job requirement, the ABEE can accept servicing experience together with any fitting experience you have. You may also send in any electrical-based studies or military services experience for their consideration.

Undergoing The AR Electrician License Examination

For you to try for a journeyman electrical certification, you will need to call the ABEE or head over to their web page so that you can obtain the application. You'll have to submit an application and obtain their consent prior to being able to take the certification examination. The application cost is $25 and applications typically get handled in just 1 week.

Together with your application, you must give proof of your practical experience in addition to any trade-related training which you may have. This can be done with either notarized original letters from your old or ongoing companies, or by asking them to fill out an Affidavit of Employment Experience. The proof of employment should include your precise time with them and a comprehensive account of the kind of electrical work you handled while at work.

The Arkansas electrical permit test is open book and is centered on the 2011 National Electrical Code (NEC). It contains 60 questions and is three hours long, and you'll need to attain a minimum mark of 70% to pass. You have the option of doing the computer-based exam for $86 or the paper based assessment for fifty six dollars. The good thing about undergoing the computer-based assessment is that your results will be reviewed faster, so if you are in a rush to get them this should be the way to go.

After you've gotten the journeyman electrical permit, you need to renew it annually for a fee of $25. Additionally, you'll need to carry out a minimum of eight hours of CEU every National Electrical Code (NEC) cycle which is every 3 years. In the event that you don't satisfy the electrical training requirements, you aren't going to be allowed to renew your certificate.

Get a comprehensive guide to all the state electrical license requirements, including the latest California electrician license requirements, at ElectricianTrainingPro.com. It's the only site online where you will find all of the electrician apprenticeship and licensing requirements all in one place.


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What Is Applicant Tracking System

If you are related to IT recruiting industry then you should be aware of applicant tracking system. In case you are not, this article will help you understand what an applicant tracking system is, and its various benefits. ATS is basically an application that enables the computerization of the IT recruitment process. This software can be implemented in small to large scale businesses, based on the diverse needs of the companies.

Applicant tracking system (ATS) is pretty similar to the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems, the only difference is that ATS is exclusively designed for the tracking of the IT recruitment process. This software enables companies to efficiently recruit the right employees for the organization. The ATS provides a web based portal for the IT staffing firms to organize the information and details required to hire the finest technical talent available.

Why Do IT Recruiting Firms Use This Software?

There are several reasons due to which the IT recruiting firms prefer using the applicant tracking system to keep a track of the hiring process. The first and foremost reason why the IT recruiting firms use this software is that it provides competitive advantage to the firm. Today, competition is not just limited to the candidates to find the best job in the industry but the companies are also competing against each other to hire the best candidates available in the market.

The IT firms are looking for new methods and tools to access information about potential candidates, avoid any resume duplication, check the background, and qualification of the candidates and so on. It is essential for the companies to create a solid database of resumes they can fall back on when required. When a company has potential candidates in their database, they can directly reach out to the candidates when required, without having to pay placement fees to the staffing firms.

The applicant tracking system provides up to date information which enables recruiters to stay organized. Thus, having access to a solid database of potential candidates can give a competitive advantage to the technical recruiting companies.

Simply buying an applicant tracking system is just half the job done. Before buying an ATS, you should first test the features to make sure that it perfectly suits your staffing business model. These features are the main reasons because of which a firm purchases an applicant tracking system. The ATS should be able to create a solid recruiting infrastructure, and help you measure the performance metrics with the help of reports.

How Can You Benefit From ATS?

We all know about the black hole where the resume goes when you submit it online to a company's website. The applicant tracking system is designed in a way to avoid this and establish reminders to keep in touch with all those who have submitted resumes through the company's web portal. The ATS also enables you to post jobs more efficiently to the various employment websites. The automation of this process will help you save time as well as money on technical support, administrative costs, and accessibility.

IT Recruiters in Seattle use the latest tools and techniques to hire the right candidates for the organization. For information check out Seattle Search Group.


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Seven Things You Need to Know Before Purchasing Recruitment Software

Introduction

In 55 B.C., Julius Caesar decreed that soldiers of the Imperial Roman Army, which had somewhere close to 200,000 positions to fill, were to receive 300 sestertii as a reward for bringing in new recruits. That does not even include auxiliary positions such as medical personnel, engineers, hunters, builders and even psychics and fortune-tellers to aid in strategic planning. Thus began the recruitment industry.

For a long time, however, all hiring decisions were made by a single person, the head of the Senate, also known as the Consul. Imagine what life had been like being the Consul of Rome, juggling the multiple concerns of the most powerful empire on Earth and making sure every single member of the 200,000-strong Army is fit for battle.

Recruiters of the 21st century find it challenging enough to sort through resumes, write an email and talk to a client on the phone all at the same time. How does one person do all that and more? There was no inkling of resumes, emails and telephones thousands of years ago, but the idea remains the same.

It is not surprising that the Consul had to delegate this responsibility to the local commanders. It is too much for a single person to do. And even then, the "recruiters" had more pressing military tasks to attend to than to nitpick through a handful of applicants that met the Army's stringent standards and fill in 5,000 posts. Unfortunately, it was something that had to be done. There was simply no way of getting around this tedious and time-consuming task.

Sound familiar? The same problem faced by the "hiring managers" of the Roman Army still plagues modern-day recruiters. The only advantage you have over the Roman commanders of old is your access to user-friendly software that can be used to make life for a recruiter a bit easier to manage. Now, that is definitely a big advantage.

Choosing the Right Technology for Your Recruitment Firm

If only the legion commanders had known a thing or two about automated recruitment, they could have spent more time fortifying their walls against barbarian invasions and wars waged by their Persian rivals. The Empire could still be in place today had it not been for its antiquated recruitment processes. The soldiers could have been astounded to learn that, now, you can simply feed applicants' information into a computer and let it come up with a list of names that are qualified to join the Imperial Army.

Modern-day recruiting, of course, is not about letting a piece of software do all the work. Recruitment software, which has its roots in information-parsing software designed for intelligence and other military applications in the 1990s, is simply a tool for streamlining processes, cutting costs and improving efficiency.

It has an impactful role in any recruitment business, making the decision to buy recruitment software as crucial as deciding upon a new manager. Choose the right software and you witness efficiency boosts, all-time morale highs and, in general, better profits. Take a wrong turn and business could plummet, dragging with it what used to be a positive disposition and the bottom line.

The Seven Things You Need to Know Before Purchasing Recruitment Software

For any business, it is essential that you take a look back at your business goals before pursuing any further action. The goals you set at the beginning are there for a reason: to guide you when it comes to making decisions and taking action.

Purchasing recruitment software, whether you are a startup recruitment firm or have already been in the industry for quite some time, is never a walk in the park. It is not like going into a coffee shop and choosing your cup of coffee for the day. If it turns out all right, you can thank your lucky stars. If things go wrong, you can always purchase another cup the next day. That is not how it goes when it comes to recruitment software.

Financial cost is not simply the reason. It takes some time before the members of a recruitment team learn the ins and outs of software that was designed to take over a huge bulk of their tasks. Ignoring your employees' needs and installing the wrong software can also cause them discontentment, leading to productivity lows and an unused technology that continually puts pressure on your company coffers simply to keep in place. It is, therefore, a must that you go through your business goals once again and keep them in mind while you shop for recruitment software.

However, while every business has its own unique set of goals, there are a number of factors that are critical for recruitment software to work for you. These are your bare-bone essentials. Complicated add-ons will not make up for the most basic of your software needs because without them, you might as well shelve the use of software for recruitment purposes. Any decent recruitment software should be able to provide all of the following benefits. Otherwise, you are looking in the wrong place to purchase.

1. Security

There ought to be zero compromises when it comes to protecting the information that you feed your software. After all, you assure your clients and candidates of their privacy, don't you? All data that you feed into your system should be available only to you and to specific personnel you have authorized. Otherwise, you run the risk of setting out your business files into the open for feasting on by hackers who could easily get their way into your system.

Password access, of course, is no longer a question. Every single online service provider should require the use of passwords for protection. However, an additional layer of protection is needed because of the sensitive nature of information that is kept in a recruitment database. Encryption via Secure Socket Layer (SSL), a protocol used for sending and receiving private information, is a must to ensure utmost security. SSL is commonly used for passwords and credit card numbers. There are two ways data is translated through SSL:

- Via a public code through which nobody can view your information, which explains the black dots or asterisks you see on your screen when you type a password or credit card number; and

- Via a secret code only the intended receiver can read, which is why a website's server can read your password and allow you access to your account.

This means only your staff members can view the information you feed into your software. Even your provider should not be able to see the contents of your database unless you give them permission.

Information security, however, is not just for protection from the prying eyes of the competition. It is also against system shutdowns, bugs and human errors in processing. Complete and regular backups, therefore, are also imperative as they guarantee that no single piece of data is lost. Vendors may bloat the bill for backup storage into their servers. You are occupying more space in the system, after all. Backups, however, should always come with the software for no additional fees.

Do not fall into the trap of paying for something so basic that you can get it for free. Good recruitment software should not incur extra costs for backups and security.

2. Ease of Use

Sometimes, providers miss the fact that they are selling to recruiters, whose specialization lies in dealing with people. They are not programmers and they do not have time to figure their way around a labyrinthine interface to be able to use it. Recruitment software should be easy to use. If it is easy to use, it must also be easy to understand. You should, therefore, choose a provider that goes out of their way to make things easy for you.

Simple features such as drag-and-drop support and the automation of repetitive tasks like the writing and sending of generic emails are standard. Absence of these features should ring a warning bell that the software might not be what you need.

At the same time, evaluate the overall experience of using the software. Do you feel as though you are going nowhere when you first start using the software? Is it time-consuming trying to learn where things are and how you can do things? The least a vendor could do is to provide a video demonstration of how to use their software. A comprehensive knowledge base for all sorts of questions that could crop up during the process should also be available. Unless you can afford to dedicate a huge chunk of your business time to learning new software on your own, the learning curve should not be steep.

There is one more thing. If your recruitment software offsets business processes it does not cover, you might try to look for something else. It should not only be able to take charge of the dull and automatable tasks; it should also contribute to enhance other activities, such as the management of vacancies, events and regular day-to-day activities. These are not extra features that cost more to use; these should be freely integrated into your recruitment software, whose function is not solely to store and organize information but also to organize and manage processes that are needed to make business quick and effective.

3. Accurate Searching

Some people say that a recruitment firm is only as good as its recruitment database. What good is an extensive database, however, if searching returns irrelevant results? Inarguably, any respectable recruitment software must at least have a CV parser with decent searching capabilities. Unlimited searching is only a minimum requirement. Accuracy is something not a lot of vendors are known for, but is one of the most basic needs of a recruiter turning online to automate processes.

There are three algorithms by which recruitment software comes up with results: keyword-based, grammar-based and statistic-based. To keep things simple, we won't go into the technical details of each algorithm. It is sufficient to know that not one of these algorithms is the best, but a combination of all three should produce quick and accurate results in no time.

Again, creating searchable records and searching these records later on should not be painful labour. It should take nothing more than a quick dragging and dropping of CVs into your database or an easy uploading process to create records. The best recruitment software can even automate the process for you. By integrating your software with multiple job boards, your software automatically generates records every time an applicant replies to your job board advertisement and sends his resume. That could be around 300 new records created for each advertisement, less the number of candidates who have responded to multiple ads.

4. Good Backup

Backing up your data is not a question; it's an absolute must. Sure, it helps to think positive, but it helps even more to anticipate problems that may appear and have a secure system in place to address these problems. If you're not much of an optimistic person, there are all sorts of things that can possibly go wrong-bugs, viruses, malware, scammers, hackers, floods, fires, hurricanes, earthquakes, the end of the world, etc. Of course, nothing more than a bug could occur, but you get the point. Back up, back up, back up.

Here is what to look for in recruitment software: free and regular backups. Some vendors will automatically charge an additional cost for what they call value-added service, incurring extra fees you weren't aware of until billing time. Others will only provide backups when requested, also setting another price tag for the service. Data security, however, is an integral part of keeping and maintaining recruitment software and should not be considered a separate component of the database.

Think of a pirate's treasure chest filled to the brim with gold and precious stones. To keep his loot away from meddling hands, he padlocks his treasure chest and keeps the silver key in his pocket at all times. Without his lock and key, all that treasure is forever gone once his mates get their greedy hands on it, or when Wendy and friends stumble upon it, or when the ship topples over. It isn't enough that he has a chest to stash his prize away in; there has to be a way to make sure that the gold is always there. That is why stores sell jewellery boxes and locks as one unit. One cannot go without the other.

The same is true for purchasing software to store all your recruitment information in. There has to be a way to make sure that all your data is always there. Backups are crucial for business and your peace of mind. They have to be performed at least every two weeks so that every single piece of information in your database is current and up-to-date.

5. Disaster Recovery

So what happens when something actually goes wrong? What if your office network contracted a virus and all systems had shut down for an indefinite length of time? Disasters, whether they are part of nature's cycle or due to human actions, can happen. When they do, they can cause a lot of heartache over all the time, contacts and resources lost during the catastrophe.

Your provider should understand that the most significant chunk of your recruitment business is in your recruitment software. In the recruitment industry, data lost is business lost. In the past, recruiters had to retrace their steps and go back to square one. Today, having all this technology in place should make it easy for your provider to create a disaster recovery plan should things go wrong.

It cannot be emphasized enough how important backups are. Single backups are insufficient. Go for a vendor that provides multiple backups at least two times every month. Your data should be stored in separate servers so that you still have your information available should one of the servers crash.

6. Competitive Pricing

While price isn't on top of the list of things to consider when buying recruitment software, it still is part of the list. There is no question about it. Businesses in all industries are always looking for ways to cut down on costs, not excluding recruitment firms.

There are two payment methods common in this industry: a one-time license-based fee and a regular subscription fee. The former, while initially more expensive, may seem more attractive, but software that is paid through a license-based fee normally does not come with the benefits of subscription-based recruitment software. For example, you may have to pay to install upgrades onto your computer, but subscription software upgrades are normally available for free.

The latter also allows you to take the software on a test drive as you pay for use every month. If you find it not working for you, you can simply stop paying and get it out of your mind. With licensed-based software, you pay for the entire package in one transaction. However, if things don't go well for you, there is no other way but to live with your software and the costs it brings you.

Another issue to content with is data migration. Some vendors see this as an opportunity to make more out of their non-techie clients, but data migration normally doesn't take much. This is because most recruitment databases usually employ a similar format and your new provider will not have to do much tweaking to import your data from your old database into your new one. Ask about data migration costs upfront. They should be zero to minimal. Otherwise, you might not get the most out of a potential new provider if they say they have to charge you for that one.

7. Great Customer Service

Software providers sometimes don't understand that other people lack the time or the skills to figure things out themselves when they come to a roadblock in the use of new software. It goes without saying that after-sales customer support is not given the attention it deserves, with much of the energy focused on closing a single sale. Fortunately, software providers are quickly realizing that customer service is a vital aspect of their business because it determines the customers who stay and those who are not satisfied.

Good software is not just good software. It should come with a variety of support services that guide the user along. Any new software that is not easy to learn is not worth learning at all. It is not enough that the software feature an intuitive interface; there should also be plenty of training materials to help you learn the software on your own. Text manuals and video demonstrations should be easy to use and should be readily available if you need to consult them. When your questions are not covered by the starter manuals, there should always be a support staff ready to answer your queries.

Phone, email and live chat support are standards in the industry, although in some instances you will be interacting more with a chat robot than a real, live human being. After-sales support is important. If you do not want to be relegated to the bottom of a list of support tickets, look for a vendor that provides real-time, live support that actually comes from a person.

Conclusion

Let's take another brief look at the seven things you need to know before shelling out good business money for recruitment software:

1. Security
2. Ease of Use
3. Accurate Searching
4. Good Backup
5. Disaster Recovery
6. Competitive Pricing
7. Excellent Customer Service

Don't settle for recruitment software that meets four or five or six of these requirements. Each cannot work properly without the rest. Customer service may be excellent, but you simply don't want to be in touch with support the entire time. Of what use are multiple backups if your information is freely available for the taking? Powerful search capabilities may not even make up for software that is a burden to learn. And you might as well pay a steep price for high-quality recruitment software than scrimp on one that doesn't do the work it promises.

Take an all-or-nothing approach with this list. It is an exhaustive list, but it is not impossible to find recruitment software that can meet all of these requirements.

The eBoss online recruitment database management solution offers the abovementioned benefits and more, including email integration, job board integration, workflow management, diary and event management, vacancy management and optional website integration.

For more information on recruitment software, check out eBoss Online Recruitment Solutions at http://www.eboss.co.uk/ or send an email to info@eboss.co.uk.

For a quick, hassle-free, obligation-free chat, add recruitment software on Skype and talk to David himself, managing director of eBoss Solutions.


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How To Get A Job After College: How To Get Work Experience - Before You Leave School

When you are sitting in that interview, wouldn't you like to be able to look the other person in the eye and tell them that you've done the job that you are interviewing for before? That's where getting some work experience while you are in college can really help you out.

When you are going to school, your number one job is to study and pass your classes. This work thing, although important, can get in your way if you aren't careful. That's why you need to come up with a plan for how you are going to combine getting some work experience with completing your college degree. Hmm, looks like you've got a real challenge here!

From the moment that you start your college education to the moment that you walk off that stage with your diploma in your hand, you will have two different ways to gain the work experience that can help you to get your first job.

Not all of these different ways to get work experience will be right for everybody, but at least one of them should work with your schedule and what you want to accomplish while you are in college. Let's take a detailed look at what your options are.

Option #1: Work On Campus

This is an option that just about any student can take advantage of. The trick is going to be what type of job you get.

Every university has an immense need for student workers. There are janitorial positions, clerical positions, teaching assistant positions and lab technician positions. Some of these are going to be right for you and some are not.

During your freshman year, any job will do just fine. What you are going to be trying to do during this year is to build up an on-campus reputation for being reliable and efficient. Your boss for this job will be the person who will serve as a reference when you go for your next on-campus job.

During your sophomore and junior years, you are going to want to look around on campus and identify what kind of work the professors who are teaching the classes in your major are doing. Do they run a lab? Are they out in the field conducting experiments and collecting data?

You are going to want to approach one of your professors and ask them for a job. Getting this job is going to be critical - it's going to show up on your resume as work that you've done that relates to the jobs that you'll be interviewing for.

I almost hate to bring this up, but it really doesn't matter how much you are going to be paid to do this work. The work experience and, with a little luck, getting your professor to agree to be a reference for you are going to be worth their weight in gold.

Option #2: Get A Summer Job

During a standard 4-year college education, you are going to have 3 summer vacations. How you choose to spend these vacations may have a significant impact on how long you have to spend looking for your first job.

The summer between your freshman and sophomore school years is your one chance to (almost) kick back and have a good time. You still need to get a job, but exactly what you spend your time doing is less important than it will be going forward. Simply being able to show that you worked during the summer will help to pad out your resume. Just make sure that wherever you work that you pick up some real world skills.

The next summer, the one between your sophomore and junior years in school, needs to be more focused. You are going to want to get a job that will be related to your major in some way.

I almost hate to bring it up again, but the type of job that you get is more important than the amount of pay that you receive. Having a summer job that prepares you to get a great professional job is worth whatever you give up in lost wages.

Finally we come to the summer between your junior and your senior years. This is your last chance to make an impression on your interviewers. It might be worth it to meet with one or more of the professors who teach in your major and ask them if they have a need for help over the summer.

A job that was clearly in line with the type of work that you want to be doing in your first job is a great way to score points during your interviews. What's going to be most important is that you create a list of stories about what you learned on this job. These are the stories that you can share during your interviews and they'll prove that you already know how to do the job that you are interviewing for.

Liked what you read? There's a lot more in Dr. Jim Anderson's eBook " Making The Jump: How To Land Your Dream Job When You Get Out Of College!"

Visit Amazon and take a look at all of the job hunting tips that every college graduate needs to know in order to land the perfect job.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00998TR9E

Dr. Jim Anderson brings his 15 years of college education coupled with his over 25 years of real-world work experience to this book. He's been on both sides of the interview table and he's going to show you exactly what you need to do in order to find and get the job that is perfect for you.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00998TR9E

Read the book, get the interview, get the job. It's really that simple!


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