Surviving in Today’s Workforce and in Society

Surviving in Today’s Workforce and in Society

Surviving the Business world in a the past meant hard work, long hours, long term commitment and certainty for a job and steady income was in return. This is the tone that past generations have taken, and now with the explosion of the information/tech world over the past decade and a half, this is no longer the vision. Change is the key element in a society where information is constantly updating, a socialistic society that is constantly being updated with finger touch information. When does the information stop incoming, and when do we set aside time to spend quality time with friends and family.

Today, within the workforce, it is common to see people work more than one job; time is taken for grated most often, even with improved technology to send information/communication – time is not enough. What happened to the days where a letter was written by hand, a trip was made to the post office, sent to the receiver etc. The time was there, the jobs were available and less people worked more than one job. Are we just poor time managers? Do we suck and managing the technology that is provided to us? What is going on?

I just think that people are fascinated with information, just like they are with that first cup of coffee in the morning or that favorite dessert. It’s the new style, trend way of production; for those who lack it are left in the dust. I am afraid that most people may forget about the mail shipping age and become a so auto pilot that they forget to wake up a smell the flowers around them.

Here are some survival tips, what to expect in surviving in our workforce society today and tomorrow.

1. Own a Laptop or a computer
What to look for in a computer - http://www.easycomputertips.com/article-buyingapc.html

2. Familiarize yourself with the computer
Do not take computer training classes!
-> http://dragon.ep.usm.edu/~it365/module/Basics/Basics.htm
-> http://www.jamani.nl/static/Part1.pdf
-> http://www.jamani.nl/static/Part2.pdf
-> http://www.jamani.nl/static/Part3.pdf
-> http://www.jamani.nl/static/Part4.pdf

3. Market your self on the internet
Do you have a Current Resume?

Resume software and Sources:
-> http://jobsearch.about.com/od/sampleresumes/a/sampleresume2.htm

Some sites help you auto fill the information for resume.
-> http://www.alec.co.uk/

4. Create an account in LinkedIn, Monster Jobs, USA Jobs
Monster Jobs – offers free advices on resumes and career etc.
-> http://www.linkedin.com/
-> http://www.monsterjobs.com/
-> http://www.usajobs.com/

5. Create email account
One that will only be used for job & marketing yourselft Ex. "Gmail, Yahoo, MSN etc.”

6. Strategic Job Searching
View local news paper, Career connection groups like: snag a job

New Paper Resource
-> http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/
-> http://www.actualidad.com/
Snag a Job and related
-> http://www.snagajob.com/
-> http://www.jobfox.com/
-> http://www.job.com/
-> http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/
-> http://www.911hotjobs.com/
-> http://www.studentjobs.gov/
-> http://www.internjobs.com/
-> http://www.retirementjobs.com/
-> http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites
And many more…………..

6. Set up MOCK interviews
This will help you prepare for the big interview
-> http://www.appleone.com/
-> http://www.headhuntersdirectory.com/

Suggested readings
What Color is your Parachute?
-> http://www.jobhuntersbible.com/index.php

Job Interview Questions and Answers:
-> http://jobsearch.about.com/od/interviewquestionsanswers/a/interviewquest.htm

10 Killer Job Interview questions and Answers :
-> http://www.bspcn.com/2007/08/24/10-killer-job-interview-questions-and-answers/

Why are resumes rejected for and more?
-> http://www.alec.co.uk/resume_writing/resumes_rejected.htm

Truth about working from Home
-> http://nationalemploymentnews.com/employment.php?arid=job-nterview&gclid=CKX3sZbv4poCFQOuFQod6jl2CA

****Finally****
All else fails get a job online:
Online jobs with Google Money Master
-> Step 1: Get Google Money Master
-> Step 2: Also Get My Internet Payday (This is key. Must do both!)
-> Step 3: Post Links given to you by Google
-> Step 4: Deposit the check Google sends you!


Future Topics:

Choosing the right Career for me?
When is the right time to switch careers?

Investing an Approach For Today and Tomorrow

Risk, Return, and Portfolio Diversification

This is just a short lesson the will guide you in the right direction if you wanted to invest money. Investing is deliberate approach that can be put to a person advantage if all the information were made available, so that decision could be made in advance to take stake on opportunity in sight.

The first step in investing your hard earned money is to identify the types of first if investing is right for you, and then know where to invest. After you have identified where you would like to invest, a solid approach would be to analyze the risks involved in each decision and how to minimize the risks or even how to sustain your investment activities.

Is investing the right step for me?

This is a question that has to be answered in a leveled manner. If investment is done deliberate matter, meaning that you have written and committed to rules that you will stick by “no matter the situation”, then I say investing is for you. Investing is a balance between fear and greed. The market flocks with an affect that is driven my media, communications and abundance of both useful and non useful. The choice that you as an individual have to make, is
where, how, when and why.

1. Where do I want to be when I retire?
2. How much money to I want to live off of
3. When do want to retire?
4. Why do I want to have all the previous three inquiries?
   

The right time to invest

Since your have committed to invest in a deliberate matter you will have to know what you are getting into. Investing money involves risks on the return on investment, and time is the evil partnering factor for the risk. Yes, timing is everything. Did you ever hear about the time value of money? When a person works, the are compensated for their time right? What are the risks associated to the individual not receiving the money that they worked for at a job? Ok, this is the mind set that you will need to have when you are approaching investing? How will your money work for you, you earned it now put it to work for you; do no bury it in the back yard.

So what are the risks in investing? There are two main kinds of risks, those that are systematic and those that are unsystematic. Some risks can be minimized based on trends that are available in the market while others are just doomed and cannot be fixed no matter which approach is taken. Unsystematic (separated to specific industries) risks can be minimized with increased investments, that may be either within a similar or different market; this risk is minimized as increasing number of investments are made. How ever systematic risk cannot be avoided no matter how many investments are made. Example of systematic risks is when a country has a recession or funds wars.

Currently the market is incubated with systematic risks, experts suggest that within the US and around the globe that the system is in a recession. What does that mean, stability is non existent and risks are increased or not controllable. A good resource to use any time to research system conditions is by going to the Economic Indicators Calendar, which provides the date and time of key economic data releases. If you are within the US or investing in the US you may also want to consider US Census Bureau. Use as many resources as you can to develop an idea of the current systematic conditions, before you decided to invest.

Where to Invest?

The big question where to invest? This is where more research comes into play. A first stop could be to view all the different types of Retirement Plan Terms, for starters. If you want to invest in the stock market, I suggest trying out the Stock Market Game or even paying a visit to the official Wall Street web site.

Portfolio Diversification

After you have identified where you would like to invest, a solid approach would be to analyze the risks involved in each decision and how to minimize the risks or even how to sustain your investment activities. Improving diversification of your investment:

1. Choose different investment tools (stocks, mutual funds, bonds, and cash)
2. Mix strategies with the different types of securities: Mutual Fund Investment - growth funds, balanced funds, index funds, small cap, and large cap funds.
3. Further Mix the securities into different locations (local vs. globe & different industry spread)
   

Why is all this important? – Retirement, not working to live or living to work. Its all about a smarter approach to life, like saving for a rainy day.

Suggested Research Resources

Making the 'Right' Investing Decisions in 2009 — and Beyond – Available online
Determining where you are and where you want to be - Available online

MBA Completion

All,

As I make my final approaches toward degree completion (28 June 2009), another milestone in my career has been set; I have finally opened up new doors that Ive dreamed about in the past. Now that I am here, I seek a revamped vision, a re written story that I havent explored or experience in the past. I look forward to what the future may bring my way, the many challenges and successes or failures that will come along with it. I a ready to plan and go.

I have uploaded a portfolio of work that I completed during my academic journey with JIU's MBA program. This is available under my links or by click here: http://jonesinternational.confidentialresume.com/Shaun_Manzano/portfolio.php
Feel free to browse around it, and let me know what you think. I am looking forward to your comments or inquiries.

Regards,
Shaun