Jumat, 03 Desember 2010

Questions to ask Interviewer

It would be nice if we can compile a list of questions you can ask your future employer. It should be serious questions that you can actually ask in an interview without blowing your chances of job offer.

To start off, how do I ask politely if the employer is a slave driver? Specifically what kind of overtime would the employer expect?

First of all start with compiling a list of questions you need answered to know if the position is a good fit for you. That one you listed could be asked with "What is the average hours worked? Are there times of the week, month or year that are busier and require overtime?"

I am always looking for ideas about questions to ask in an interview. I do a lot of contract jobs so I usually am interviewing at least once per year (often twice per year). I do research on the company first and prepare a list , but often the person doing the interview does like to go on at length about the department, accomplishments, and the company in-general. Or by the third interview someone has answered all the questions. Or the recruiter/agency fills you in on the details. So I' m looking forward to see what others post about this.

some strategies I use is that if the first person I interviewed with has told me something interesting, I' ll verify it by asking about it at later interviews for the career position. For example if the HR person tells me that everyone in the department has been there for 3 years or more, I' ll ask the hiring manager about turn-over. I' ve uncovered some mixed answers that have sent up red flags that way. I also like to key into the accomplishments or progress the hiring manager usually brings up at some point and then later ask for more information about that. For example "You mentioned earlier that in the past year you have managed to accomplish X. Can you tell me what you believe was the single most important factor or change you made to reach that goal and why it was so important?" I also sometimesask the hiring manager what they feel is the biggest mistake they' ve made in reaching their goals for the department. That one takes more guts to ask (and answer), so I judge carefully if they might take it the wrong way before deciding to ask or not..

How to face second interview

When you have done your first interview then you are called by interviewer to come for the second interview. So what do you do when (and if) it comes up this time? in fact you are really want this job.

What was the reason for being fired? The truth with a positive spin usually works the best. As in quickly what led to the firing and more so what you learned from it so it will not be an issue with them. Make sure they know whatever led to the firing with your last job will not lead to you getting fired again in the future.

Remember, a well constructed lie has many elements of truth in it.
Career Tips


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Cross Section of Rich Invested With the Fed

By SEWELL CHAN and BEN PROTESS
Published: December 2, 2010


WASHINGTON — One investor, Kenneth H. Dahlberg, is a World War II flying ace who, as a volunteer in President Richard M. Nixon’s re-election campaign, was a minor figure in the Watergate scandal.

Another investor, Magalen O. Bryant, runs a horse farm in Virginia and is active in steeplechase racing circles. A third, Ward W. Woods, is the chairman of the nonprofit organization that runs the Bronx Zoo.

They were among scores of wealthy but lesser-known investors in an emergency lending program the Federal Reserve announced in November 2008, three weeks after President Obama’s election, to support the market for student, auto, credit card and small-business loans.

The investors, whose identities were disclosed as part of a trove of 21,000 records released on Wednesday at the direction of Congress, are a cross-section of America’s wealthy — investors who, in the midst of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, heard about an opportunity and weighed the risk.

The list, not surprisingly, includes famous Wall Street financiers like J. Christopher Flowers, John A. Paulson and Julian Robertson, demonstrating the extent to which the Fed relied on fast-moving hedge funds to keep credit flowing through the markets.

There were also institutional investors like the Ford Foundation and the pension plan for Major League Baseball. And there were wealthy businessmen like the computer executive Michael S. Dell and the home builder Bruce E. Toll.

Investors like Mr. Dell are identified in the Fed’s data because they owned or were part of a group that owned a “material” stake in a company or a fund that received funding from the Fed. They may not have been involved in the decision to borrow from the Fed. Through the program, known as the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, or TALF, the investors helped keep markets for consumer loans from seizing up by steadily buying securities. About $71 billion was lent by the Fed out of the $200 billion available. The program, which began in March 2009, ended June 30, 2010; two-thirds of the loans have been repaid early. The remaining ones come due as late as 2015. The Fed has said it does not expect to lose any money in the program.

The investors put up their own money in return for Fed financing that was then plowed into the markets for securitized loans — bundles of credit card or auto dealership debt and student loans. The investors shouldered the risk that the loan packages could lose value and be worth less than the amount they had borrowed from the Fed.

Ordinarily, bundles of loans of this type are not difficult to sell, but after Lehman went bankrupt in September 2008, the market for such debt suddenly froze. The point of the program was to keep money moving through the markets while having investors, not the Fed, bear the risk.

Mr. Dahlberg was one such investor. The newly disclosed records show he was an investor in Broad Creek Partners, which borrowed $28.1 million from the Fed, through TALF, to purchase a portion of a security issued by GE Capital, the financing arm of General Electric. The security was backed by subprime credit card loans. To obtain the loan, Broad Creek pledged as collateral the market value of the security, $30.5 million.

Nearly all of some two dozen TALF investors contacted on Thursday declined to comment or did not respond to messages.

One who did agree to talk was Dov C. Schlein, a former president of the Republic Bank of New York, who estimated that he made a healthy profit, but not a killing.

“Realistically, if you were an early investor you could net 10 percent,” he said. “If you came in much later when the program looked to be successful, then the return dropped to 8, 7, 6, 5 percent.”

Mr. Schlein said he told fellow investors that they should be prepared for their names to become public at some point.

“I told anyone who invested in it at the time that if you’re not prepared for that information to be disclosed, you should not invest,” he said.

Mr. Schlein said he was by no means certain of making money; if unemployment had skyrocketed to 12 percent, for example, he would have expected to lose from huge defaults.

Indeed, when Mr. Schlein told students in his finance class at Baruch College, his alma mater, about the Fed program, some deemed it too risky. A year later, a new group of students said it was a shrewd gamble.

“They said, ‘You got a gift from the Fed,’ ” Mr. Schlein recalled.

Mr. Schlein was an investor in a fund that received 19 loans, totaling $260.9 million, to purchase securities backed by credit card, auto and student loans.

Another investor, Jeffrey R. Krinsk, estimated that he made a profit of about 13 percent, or more than $300,000 on his investment of roughly $2 million, in less than 18 months. “The risk being assumed by investors was generally far less than the risk that was perceived by commentators who hadn’t taken the time to look through the extensive documentation associated with the program,” said Mr. Krinsk, a plaintiffs’ lawyer in San Diego. “It was actually less esoteric, less risky, than other investments I’ve made.”

Many of the investors in the program had backgrounds in finance, including Stephen Partridge-Hicks, who is credited with creating the market for structured investment vehicles, and Robert F. Corvino, who is a director of the CME Group, a major options and futures marketplace.

Many of the financiers, the records show, teamed up, like Jay M. Twery, Walt K. Weissman and M. Blair Wellensiek, who work at Tradelink Holdings, a Chicago trading firm.

Some financiers show up in the Fed data because of their ownership in companies that sought funds from the Fed. In one instance, Mr. Paulson and Mr. Flowers, the financiers, formed OneWest Bank, the successor to the collapsed lender IndyMac, which borrowed from the Fed. Mr. Dell’s investment firm, MSD Capital, is an investor in the bank as well.

Records show that Ms. Bryant, the steeplechase enthusiast, was an investor in Belstar Credit Fund, which obtained 22 loans in amounts ranging from $2.5 million to $75.2 million. Belstar used the loans to purchase securities backed by credit card and auto loans, mortgages and small-business loans. When reached by phone, she declined to comment.

Mr. Woods, who is chairman of the Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs the Bronx Zoo, and a former chief executive of Bessemer Securities, was an investor in the Nebris Corporation, which borrowed $10.2 million to purchase a security backed by student loans. He did not respond to messages left with his associates.

Mr. Dahlberg, a decorated aviator, became prominent early in the Watergate scandal because his name was on a check deposited in an account controlled by one of the burglars. Mr. Dahlberg, who was not accused of any wrongdoing in the scandal and is now a venture capitalist, did not return phone calls Thursday.

Mr. Schlein, the New York investor, said he felt he was helping out the Fed at a critical moment. “The program was well thought-out,” he said. “I thought it was an exceptional program.”

But he also said there was a downside potential. “The risk was that the economy was going to fall off a cliff,” he said.

Sewell Chan reported from Washington and Ben Protess from New York. Jo Craven McGinty contributed reporting from New York.


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Rabu, 01 Desember 2010

  1. Understand that protecting customers’ privacy is essential to maintaining and increasing sales and profits online.
  2. Develop a privacy policy, post it on your web site, and live by your policy. For guidelines, visit three Web sites: www.privacyalliance.org, www.respectprivacy.com and www.privacyrights.org.
  3. Put top-notch security systems in place to make sure that customer data is not lost, misused, altered or stolen.
  4. Require that third parties with whom you deal provide similar data security.
  5. Don’t provide personal information collected from customers to third parties unless you have explicit permission from the customers to do so.

Brought to you by SCORE, America's small business mentors, at www.score.org.
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5 Tips for Domain Naming

By Christine Banning, SCORE VP Corporate Relations


1. Create an online identity. Get a Web domain now, even if you aren't building your site until later.

2. Pick three domain names that fit your business. Your first choice may be taken, so have a few domain name ideas. If your top three picks are available, consider getting all three. It's not too expensive and then you have flexibility to create a site for a special promotion or use a special landing page for an event.

3. Check out domain name vendors. You can register your domain with your choice of vendor. Here are some well-known, domain name registrars:

  • Concentric, www.concentric.com
  • Network Solutions, www.networksolutions.com
  • Yahoo Domains, www.yahoo.com
  • GoDaddy, www.godaddy.com
  • Domaindirect.com, www.domaindirect.com

4. Keep your renewal current. Don't forget to renew your domain name. Businesses have been known to let a name expire and then find that their Web site has disappeared from the Internet. Don't let that be you.

5. Once you have a domain, name your URL mycompany.com, place your URL on every marketing and business document that you produce. Let your company be known.

Brought to you by SCORE, America's small business mentors, at www.score.org.
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How to launch a career?

TV and Advertisement

TV is the best source to launch your career. You can broadcast your career launching in form of an advertisement but not in documentary style that will be tedious. Also stroll down important notes of your career on TV sports and news channel for at least 60 second during sports and news time. You can show it in form of clips especially during special programs. Give your launch ad in first break. To promote your career take these steps.

Proper Network

Use proper network phenomenon for the launching of your career. To obtain strong feed back from society and organization perform in such as way that previous generation did never act. Thanks to internet phenomenon, like Facebook and other social networks to help you in finding the best job. Try to show your skills via launching program that are required by the organization. These skills can be in form of computer fluency and flair of teamwork. Your social networking skills and consumer intellects are necessary for valuable career launch. Generation demand can also reveal obliging to your career.

Keep in touch

For the successful career or jobs launch contact with your concerned persons. Try to keep in touch with your previous colleagues and friends. When you are going to launch your career invite them, too. In this way you can connect with different developing organizations, social networks and media.

If you are working in an organization then this place can also be a best source for your career. Try to gain new opening opportunity if it suites you. You can launch career at that place with the coordination of your friends and ex-colleagues. You can play fabulous and useful role in that place. If you have been working in market then you can utilize your relationships for your career launch.

Newspaper

If you are looking for a best place for your career launching then newspaper is also a great source for this purpose. Especially evening time newspaper is really good for this. You can get place in vacancies and edition via a newspaper. Through this place you can get a biggest and pushiest section. In UK, Sunday is the best time to proceed. Your image selection should be appealing, it can convey your theme properly.

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Making Your Mark

Key elements for a lasting impression with your customers
This Week's focus: Unicycles, Foreigners and Free Publicity


My time in the South Island earlier this year was eventful. Amidst the myriad of accents, the flying unicycles, the dizzying altitudes and small armadas of insects, I found very little in the way of normalcy.

Naturally, they were celebrities. From my perch in the support van, I attempted (and often failed) to make myself useful to Connie, the superwoman who held everyone together, and I discovered something wonderful. When people think you're crazy, they're a lot nicer.

I became a hit with everyone I met, in Wanaka one of the riders received a hi five from a passing skater-boarder and went head over heels in mid pedal, I later met the sister of the flatmate of the offending skateboarder at a bar and engaged in a twenty minute conversation while Ken, the tour organizer, waited for the wine I had been sent to order. The riders were immortalized in a million photos from foreign cameras as tourists came to wonder whether this was a regular occurrence in New Zealand.

Reporters came from everywhere to meet the group; interviews were conducted at backpackers, on roadsides and at the occasional café. The jokes kept repeating themselves, I can tell you just about every unicycle joke in existence, and Ken has a bulging scrapbook of press clippings containing each and every one of those awful, awful one liners.

Let me reiterate my point to you though; these people are crazy. They tackled the steepest street in the world on unicycles, one of them punched a glacier (I still have the water from the chunk of ice that fell off), they rode 160km in one day through gale force winds, they even have their own slang, their own community, hell, they've got their own website.


The point?

These people didn't pay a cent for publicity, and everywhere we went I was hearing about them before they arrived. People love a nutter. They love a group of nutters even more. Ken sent out a simple press release, and bang, every newspaper in the South Island wants to meet this loony bunch.

So how can we harness this powerful tool of free publicity and twist it to suit our nefarious purposes? Well…

Gimmicks
Having something just that little bit strange about your business is a great conversation starter, it's a way of getting people laughing, and more importantly, getting them talking. An ongoing gimmick, even better, one that's interactive, is fantastic way to not only get attention, but to build your business a long lasting market presence, it also gives you a base from which to work your marketing, an ongoing theme, adding a consistency to your image.


Events
Organise something a little bit different, sponsor a teddy bears picnic, hold a funny hat day, if you do something a little wild, and then let people know, you'll attract interest, it's a great of throwing your name in a positive light. You can use it to reach out to your market and the people around them and reach them in a way that builds trust, because you took the first step without pushing them to buy. And better yet, you did it will they were laughing.


Press Releases
One of the best ways to get the word out to traditional publications is a press release, it doesn't have to be long, the press release for the SINZ tour was less than half a page, but it detailed when the riders would be in certain locations, what they were doing and generally outlined how funny and bizarre these people truly are. This was more than enough to entice reporters out to meet us as we entered and left towns, and the best part is, they did all the work. Ken, the tour organizer, simply had to email half a page to fifteen or so newspapers, and the word got round. People were talking about us days before we got to them, and you only had to mention a unicycle before people knew who you were. And what did it cost? Not a thing.

So be a little funky, and let the people come to you.

Wealth, Success, and Unicycles,

- Bridget Hughes

Bridget Hughes is a member of the team at www.learning4ever.com, a resource for business owners and entrepreneurs. She also works as a marketing consultant and webdesigner, and has a bad habit of getting into odd situations.

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Employee Motivation: Key To Company Success

By: Jimm Chris

Imagine this: You're the owner of a seat MNC company that produces seating for wheelchairs, auditoriums, and cars. You have approximately 100 employees, 90 percent of which are upholsters, sewers, gluers, and material cutters. The other 10 percent are office staff. Basically, you have a diverse group of employees, each with different jobs, concerns, and needs. The big question is: How do you motivate all of these people?

Treat your employees in a good way and your company will turn out well:
If you are a smart business owner, you will realize that employee motivation at the workplace is vital to a company's success. If your employees don't appreciate their bosses, their job, and their company, then your business will not thrive.

Your employees must WANT to work at your company. They must have pride in their career, as well as the outcome that they are making. This about it this way: If your employees truly believe in what they are doing, they are most likely going to output a high-quality product in as promptly a manner as possible. In the end, your customers will benefit from this. Your company will benefit from this. And your employees will the gain from this. Success is truly a chain reaction that begins and ends with employee motivation.

Put yourself in the shoes of your employees:
So how do you get your diverse mix of employees motivated? Why would anyone want to wake up at 7 AM five days a week to sew material to make seats for wheelchairs?

Would you get up to do this if, hanging above your department, you saw photos of the disabled people using the seats you stitched? Would you get up to do this if you were able to voice your ideas for new seats to your boss and to the whole company in weekly meetings? Would you get up to do this if you were given pay incentives or other types of rewards for the number or quality grade of seats you got done in a month?

If you answered yes to even one of these questions, then you would be considered a motivated employee. At least one of these things would have challenged you and would have given you reason to come in to work.


Think about some vital points that enhance employee motivation:

  • Every employee wants to feel appreciated in some way.
  • Every employee wants to be given some sort of proof that what he or she did bettered the world, the community, or just the company in some sort of way.
  • Every employee wants to feel that his or her opinion is at least heard - whether or not it is actually used. Having the opportunity to voice an opinion and bring new ideas to the table is a constructive thing for both an employee and a company.
  • Every employee wants to be rewarded for a job well done. It is understandable that large raises and elaborate prizes cannot always be available. But sometimes a simple acknowledgement from an owner or a boss can mean a great deal.

As a business owner, or as a boss, understand that one wants to work hard only to end up feeling unappreciated in the end. In a corporate world where money and power appear to mean success, it is key to remember that without good employee motivation at the basic level nothing else would be possible.

Visit my blog at How To Get Motivated by clicking the link to read more articles on ways of getting motivated.

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Build A Team

Claudia Brown talks about how building the right team will help your organization. Learn how picking the right people and creating the right environment can do wonders for your workplace.


Build a Team - The Right Team (There is a Difference)

Creating the right team is imperative to your success. A team is comprised of people who can bring necessary skill sets to the venture. A team is different from partners. Partners are financially and legally tied to the venture while team members are brought in to create and continue the process. Team members can be employees or sub-contactors.

These are people you can control - you get to pick them. You can use their services for as long as you like. If they don't work out as planned, you can find a different team member or you can find a place on the team where this person can be more effective.

Creating the right environment for the team is equally important. People will give their best when they feel that their services are being valued and that they are entrusted with producing a part of the success of the venture. Team members must have the same values as that of the venture and they must follow the same code of conduct consistent with your desired outcome. They must truly want the venture to be a success and feel that they are a part of that success. They must do their job well with the other team members.

Differences are encouraged only if they are presented in a positive fashion, recognizing the efforts of the others. Each team member must give more than they are asked for in their areas of expertise. This does not mean extra hours; it means do your jobs with heart and soul, working with the creative minds flowing, working with a positive mental attitude, and working together with the others so that all are winners.

What ideas do you have that will create a positive, successful team? How can you create this team and have each person feel that they are as important a part of the success of the venture as you are? Study successful entities to find out how they treat their team members. Find out what motivates team members in successful entities to keep them successful - is it money, power, trust, fear, etc.? Thinking these things out before you create the team will help you in putting together the right team for your venture.

You should write out all the positions of your team and keep updating it as you grow as when you grow you will need to change out some positions on your team. This is a big mistake that people make as they grow. They keep the same team members that were effective when they were small and they do not re-evaluate the need for replacing members who have not grown to levels where they are now needed. Therefore the overall team growth is limited by the lack of ability of one or more members. Just like upgrading your peer group, always be open to and active in upgrading your team members.

You must strive to place the right people on your team. This goes for all positions you pay for, including lawyers, accountants, advisors, sub contractors etc. Be clear on what is a must upfront and make the positions open as specific as possible.

If you are just starting out then make your team as simple and complete as possible. Just be sure that your team members are able to excel and have knowledge in the industry and direction you are going in. The last thing you want to do is to have to micromanage your team members. If you find you are doing so you have made a mistake and replace them right away.

Your team members must be proactive to your needs and outcome. If not replace them or place them in a position where they can be more effective. Please always keep in mind that in most cases you are paying for their services in one manner or another. Never pay a team member 100% upfront for their services as this always gives them something to aspire to. Placing the right team members in the right place will make your endeavor soar.

About the Author:

Doug and Claudia Brown use their 40 plus years of business building experiences to educate people on how to create six figures or more in 24 to 36 months or less. For more information, see their website at www.whatisyourplan.com


DESIGNING YOUR CAREER SWEET SPOT

After a childhood, teen years and early professional life filled with angst trying to please others, it wasn't until I truly allowed myself to focus on where I knew I excelled (or could), on what I was passionate about and on what kind of place would bring out my best that I was able to be intentional about what I really wanted in my career.

Now I know. To be truly satisfied in a career, it must be comprised of exactly those three elements above and a somewhat selfish perspective. Before you start looking for a new house, for example, you make a list of "must haves" and "nice to haves." Same with a new car, yes? Treat your career plan or job search no differently.

It has to start with YOU and your goals.

Get intentional about first carefully understanding what constitutes the three key elements of your ideal role, at the intersection of which you'll find the sweet spot: your ideal career.


3 ELEMENTS OF YOUR IDEAL CAREER

Whether you are a highly motivated jobs seeker looking for a new position or a gainfully employed professional looking for the "next opportunity" internally, consider these three elements when asking yourself, "What do I really want to do?"

Function

This is the what you do piece. The tasks and activities you're responsible for completing, the role you play, the duties and responsibilities in the job description. Marry your unique MO - how you naturally do the things you do - and your strengths with a role that needs those talents to accomplish the job most effectively and you have a match that allows you to do what you do best every day.

For example, if you are a gregarious brainstorming type who adapts every documented process to address the needs of the current situation and who thrives on experimenting with new ideas to see if they work... perhaps a role in direct marketing planning and analysis isn't for you. (That was me, by the way. For the first 15+ years of my professional life.) No, no, leave that job to a systematic planner who decides, through strategic data analysis, what is feasible to try then carefully measures the results to gauge success and gather information on how to do it better next time. (Thank goodness for me there are people out there like this!)

Passion

The why you do what you do piece. What difference do you want to make? What impact? What will be your legacy? What would make you excited to get out of bed every morning to work on and invest 8+ hours a day?

I'm not necessarily talking about finding the cure for cancer or saving the whales here. Unless that's truly your thing. I'm talking about what you feel is important... what is meaningful to you. Just because your father wanted to fill the world with song doesn't mean that's what would make you race into the shower after turning off the alarm every morning. When you can work toward making a difference in some area that you feel strongly about, you will apply what you do best every day to something that matters.

Environment

The where you do what you do best piece. What does the "place" look like that will allow you to do your best work? Bright, open shared space? Private office? Your car? Outside? What is the culture/core values of the organization? Who are your colleagues (if any) and what are their attitudes, beliefs, work ethic? What are the ideal benefits and compensation?

From the physical space to the intangibles like values and benefits, outlining the characteristics of the right environment is just as important as what you do and why you do it in order to find - or design - the exact right fit for YOU.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Meredith J. Masse, president of MPOWER Consulting, is a professional development consultant, career coach, and speaker who empowers individuals, teams, managers and leaders to do what they do best... focusing on the fastest way to achieve performance excellence: through optimizating natural strengths, talents and instincts in the workplace. Visit www.MPOWER-Consulting.net.