Archive for August, 2009

The Future of Job Security

Saturday, August 29th, 2009

Job security is a term that is often thrown around in hard economic times. The idea of job security has changed a great deal in the past 3 decades. It used to mean finding a solid position at a successful company. If you showed up on time, and performed your tasks well then advancement and pension were things you did not have had to worry about. Today, there is no job security. It is a career attribute that no longer exists in our volatile economy. There are several reasons that job security has disappeared from our job market. These reasons include downsizing, rightsizing, restructuring, temping, and outplacement. Companies are no longer stoic structures which are left untouched by the global economy. They suffer through buy outs, mergers, and sometimes go belly up. Most employees never consider what will happen if their company goes out of business until it is far to late.

While companies can no longer offer job security, you as an individual can create your own version of it in three easy steps – learn how to survive restructuring, make yourself more ‘employable’, and plan for an emergency. The key to keeping your job while your company under goes restructuring is to be open and positive to change. When new management is brought in, embrace and help them adjust to their new work place. Yes, losing coworkers and friends is hard but losing your job is worse. You must constantly be working develop yourself professionally. Take full advantage of corporate funded training, and tuition reimbursement programs. Make sure you stay current with financial trends in your particular career and company – read the literature, understand the research, and be willing to share your new knowledge.

Believe it or not you can make yourself more employable. Make sure you maintain professional contacts and network as much as possible. Build strong professional and personal bridges with as many people as possible – managers, clients, coworkers, and vendors. Staying in touch with the people who are well versed in the field, you work in, can offer you endless opportunities to advance or change jobs easily. These people are more than willing to help you find a new position. Even if the company you work for is doing well you should keep your resume updated. In addition keep a list of accomplishments and performance evaluations, and keep your interview skills sharp.

True security comes with being prepared if you do lose your job. Make sure you create and continue to build an emergency fund. Most financial professionals suggest you set aside 6 months worth of income in a money market fund. Make sure you have the ability to draw checks or use a debit card when you need to access this money. Looking for a new job can be emotionally and physically draining. Having an emergency fund reduces the stress, allowing you to have more time and energy to find your perfect position. The economic climate of corporate America is unpredictable in today’s new millenium. Job security may have disappeared but there is no reason that you can create your own.

Visit the Global Investment Institute and signup for our free Investing For Beginners E-Course at www.Global-Investment-Institute.com Investment webmasters or publishers, please feel free to use this article provided this reference is included and all links remain active.

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Safety First – Tips for a Safer Halloween

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

Halloween is quite possibly one of the most interesting, fun, and magical holidays we celebrate. There are so many things about the holiday that are still very mysterious and enchanting. Among those mysteries, sadly, is why there are people out there who would want to do something dangerous to ruin the fun of Halloween for others. There are many crimes reported each year during the Halloween holiday. Among the most common are vandalism, robbery, and assault. Others occur as well, including some cases of drunk driving and other such preventable hazards. However, it is very easy to prevent most of the hazards of Halloween from affecting you and your family as you celebrate.

To begin with, one of the most important things you could do is educate yourself and your children. The more you know about the risks to your safety, and where they are, the better able you will be to prevent something bad from happening. Countless resources exist to help you make safe plans for Halloween. A search on the internet will help you to find safety guidelines for trick-or-treating and other Halloween events. Also, schools usually give some pointers to children to ensure their safety. Local law enforcement agencies will be able to provide information as well. They will typically have the most updated information.

Candy has gained a reputation as the most dangerous part of the holiday. This may or may not be true. However, what is true is that it never hurts to play it safe. So, to be safe, make sure that your child is not accepting candy that does not appear to be in its original wrapper. Also, make sure that the wrapper has not been tampered with in any way. You can observe some of this while out trick-or-treating, but you will have to spend some time at home checking the candy further to make sure it is safe. Make sure your child knows not to eat any of the candy before bringing it home. Children should be accompanied by an adult. Never let your children go out unsupervised. It’s best to take your children only to the areas you know well.

One of the most effective ways to ensure your child’s safety is simply to avoid the traditional door-to-door trick-or-treating that once was the staple event of the holiday. Now it is much more common to find trick-or-treating events at local malls and at other centralized locations. This can be a great benefit, as more effort can go into making a much smaller area fun to visit. You avoid the potential hazards of traffic and strangers, the risk of bad weather, and just about all of the other things that could ruin Halloween. Consider either going to a centralized Halloween event this year, or hosting your own Halloween party to bring the fun where you are.

No matter where you go, you should think about the visibility of your child. The more showy the costume, the more memorable it will be. This is important because, no matter how careful you are, a child can easily become lost. The more obvious they are, the better. One very good costume idea for girls is to dress your child in a fairy costume. These attractive costumes are available in many bright colors and will guarantee that you child is noticeable. Fun and functional, you can find an excellent selection of these costumes. Remember, this is potentially one of the most dangerous holidays for strictly preventable reasons. Have fun and be safe on this Halloween!

Copyright (c) 2006 MagicFairyRealm.com

Magic Fairy Realm imports beautiful hand painted Fairy Wings and hand stitched Fairy Dresses from an artist community in Bali. See more articles like this one on their website at: www.magicfairyrealm.com

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Business Security

Friday, August 14th, 2009

Often, good business security is merely an afterthought, something you may only give attention to after a break-in has occurred. You may then rush to secure your business, but it’s best to take your time in selecting the right kind of business security for your operation.

Businesses without alarms are 4 times more likely to be burglarized than business protected with forms of business security. Business security increases the safety of your employees and customers as well as your stock. If a criminal does manage to get in, business security helps keep the losses at a minimum. Here are some different ideas you can consider for your own business security plans.

Business Security Tip #1: Protect the Premises

The most common form of business security is the alarm system. Both wired and wireless systems are available. These systems can be easily installed and can be supervised by professionals at a monitoring center. Business security alarms protect all points of entry – doors and windows. There are also business security alarms that detect motion inside the room. If a window is broken, a door opened, or someone creeps across the room, the alarm will emit a shrill wail and will also alert security officials.

Business Security Tip #2: Protect Your Valuables

If you have important documents or items at your office, it is best to keep them in a fireproof safe. Regular safes only protect your valuables from burglars. Fire safes do double duty: they protect your valuables from foe and fire. Our fire safes have either bank vault quality or digital electronic locks that bolt tightly shut. Knuckled hinge pins prevent a criminal from simply removing the door. All fire safes can be easily bolted right to the floor, so even if a criminal wanted to carry a possibly 200-pound safe out the door, they couldn’t.

Business Security Tip #3: Protect Your Employees
There are two tools you can use to arm yourself and your employees in the event of an emergency. A panic button simplifies personal and business security down to a direct line. If an emergency arises, but the alarm is not triggered by normal means, hit the panic button to set off the alarm and call for help.

If an intruder tries to attack an employee, mace or pepper spray will temporarily disarm the criminal, giving the victim time to escape and get help. Arm your employees with mace or pepper spray to protect them on late nights and walks to the parking lot, where many criminals attack. Your employees will appreciate your concern for their personal safety beyond just business security.

Business Security Tip #4: Keep Intruders Away

Law enforcement officials recommend a motion sensor light as a strong crime deterrent. Criminals will shy away from well-lit businesses, because they prefer the cover of darkness to do their dirty work. Put a spotlight on them, either with an energy-saving motion sensor light or a flood light that stays on all the time.

There are also common sense ways to secure the outside of your business. Begin building your business security system with basic business security. There are simple do-it-yourself steps you can take to create an inexpensive business security system before you even add any special technological components.

Install exterior lights and include either a timer or a motion detector

Secure all exterior doors and windows with well-built, sturdy locks

Trim back trees and shrubs around windows and doors

These DIY business security tasks are easy and fast projects, yet they offer you and your employees paramount security.

Business Security Tip #5: Monitor Your Store

Security cameras can be your eyes and ears all around you. Video monitoring systems, whether CCTV systems or spy cameras, bullet cameras or dome cameras, offer 24-hour supervision for your business. Security cameras can keep a shopper from becoming a shoplifter, and will scare away burglars. Beyond preventive business security, if an intruder does get inside, the cameras will help officials identify and capture the criminal and bring him or her to justice.

Business Security Tip #6: Know When Customers Arrive

A very basic form of business security is the wireless door chime. It will alert you whenever a customer enters the store, so you can always be certain someone is there to supervise the store while customers are present. This not only protects your store but improves your customer service.

Business security technology these days can make your business super-secure, saving you money and giving you peace of mind. Protect yourself, your employees, your customers, and your property with a business security system customized to your security needs.

Where you can find out more about Adel Biometric Security Fingerprint Door Locks and
articles on Biometric Security

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Lessons from Katrina

Saturday, August 1st, 2009

The definition of disaster, according to dictionary.com is “an occurrence causing widespread destruction and distress; a catastrophe.” There is little doubt that Hurricane Katrina did just that and more. And although people were able to escape, many were not and that made me think about what kind of preparation could be done for a “catastrophe” so horrific.

It’s easy to get caught up in everyday life and forget how quickly our existence can be turned upside down. How do we prepare for a misfortune of this magnitude? Do we become a country forever on guard, naively waiting to meet the next irremediable calamity? Scurrying around with cases of bottled water and canned soup in our closets; there is little doubt that our society preys on the fear factor. It’s in more than 50 % of the advertisements we see. So what are we to do?

Perhaps we can all chew on this food for thought. During a disaster you rarely think about getting out with anything but the shirt on your back, and it is not until the smoke clears that you realize you need much more. It’s not just the material things, but information, and documents that prove to be most valuable; they prove who you are and who you were. When was the last time you updated your resume and executed a review of your work history? It’s difficult to think about performing “job search 101″ when you have not showered in three days.

I have spent many years writing how to books and for the first time I realized that I don’t even take my own advice and complete the record books as I instruct others to do, or maintain pertinent information on my own family.

Recently my daughter suggested that perhaps we all need computer chips placed under our skin so we can easily be identified along with our personal, medical and work histories. I really think that is carrying things a bit far, but how do you start over when you have nothing? Did any one see the woman on the news who wrote her name on her arm so she could be identified if found dead?

How do you relocate and find employment for over half a million people? According to the Center for Law and Social Policy press release dated Wednesday, February 2, 2005, cuts to Adult Education proposed by President Bush would have devastating effects on the 51 million American out-of-school youth, and adults who lack a high school diploma or GED, and 29 million in need of English language services.

What does this have to do with Hurricane Katrina? Three states that would be hardest hit by the Adult Education budget cuts are Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi; states that faced especially high demands for adult education services. What kind of employment will the victims of Katrina be searching for and what type of training will the federal government offer those with limited education?

The federal government must learn that investing in the education of its citizens is the only way to assure that when disasters occur, and they will, families living in the ravaged area will have a fighting chance to start over with a shimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. People don’t want hand-outs; they want jobs, good paying jobs that will allow them to provide for their families.

In the coming weeks it will be interesting to see how the government handles the relocation of the hurricane victims. I was an Independent Living Program Supervisor about twenty years ago; working to reintroduce wayward youth back into society and it took me more than a year and some times two, to assist a client in creating a stable life journey. I know this is not the same, but the process of reestablishing a life is not going to be easy for Katrina victims and America better get ready. According to recent polls the poor and middle class in America already stand on rocky soil, live unstable lives and trust a purportedly insensitive inept government. Can it get any worse?

If you are interested in downloading the full analysis of the proposed adult education cuts, visit: http://www.clasp.org ; and for more information on how to prepare for natural disasters visit: http://www.ready.gov/natural_disasters.html.

DETRA D. DAVIS is a writer with more than 20 years experience in business-to-business, business-to-consumer copywriting. She creates instructional, operational and how to manuals for business and industry, currently working with J. Davis & Associates Publishing as an Editor. Visit her website at http://www.supportingourchildren.com
Email: detra_davis@supportingourchildren.com

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