11 Pointers on Employment References

As a job seeker the reference issue is a kind of scary and confusing thing to think about. We're scared because we hope that when the potential employer calls on a former boss or peer that they don't make us look bad. On the other hand, we're stumped on things like whether to list someone who is hard to reach or out of business. The list of questions about references is numerous, so let's see if I can help you with some of the primary ones.

1. Don't put your references on your resume. As I often say: "References are like produce. They can go bad quickly." Your resume may live on in an Applicant Tracking System for a long time. The reference information can easily become outdated by the time your resume is used.

2. Refresh your reference list each time you distribute it. You don't want to over-use any one person no matter how glowing their remarks are about you. Ask a business contact if they would be willing to give you a reference any time you have a hot interview coming up. Be aware their situation may change and they may not have time for the request.

3. Will they contact your former bad boss and what will they say? You have to assume that even if you don't put down a former boss on your reference list, they may contact your previous places of business from your resume and therefore, a former boss. These days, many businesses have policies against giving any performance feedback or opinions when called for reference. If you were lucky enough to work for that kind of company, then you shouldn't worry too much about bad input, but it could still happen. If you didn't work for that kind of company, its open game about what could be said. The thing that is in your favor is that they may not check or may not check with that company.

4. Will they contact your current boss? Most hiring managers realize that contacting your current boss may put your job in jeopardy. It is totally acceptable to specifically request that they not contact your current place of business - they will understand.

5. What if my former business is closed and they can't contact anyone? These things happen, especially in recent years. If your previous employer has closed their doors, indicate as such on your resume and also your reference list if you have them on it. The thing you do want to do on your reference list is to supply the hiring team with a way to get hold of someone who can give them your reference. If you can't supply contact information wherever these people have gone, don't put them on your reference list.

6. What if I worked out of the US and want to use former employers as a reference? Hiring teams love references wherever they are. Your job in giving a reference is to supply the team with a way of contacting them. Email makes contacting someone easy and inexpensive.

7. What is a "letter of reference?" Should I have one? A letter of reference is typically written in advance of a time when you are actually pursuing a specific job. Sometimes when you leave a place of business you can ask for a letter of reference and that is a totally acceptable request. A letter helps keep down the demand on your previous boss for giving reference information each time a former employee looks for a job. Once you have a letter, it is yours to share and distribute as you see fit for the situation.

8. Should I only ask former bosses to be a reference or can I use other people I worked with? It is entirely acceptable to use non-boss individuals to act as a reference. It helps if that person is in a managerial position because the credibility of their reference about you is higher than if that person were simply a work peer. The person you use as a reference should be in a position of assessing your performance to a hiring manager.

9. What should I do if I think someone gave me a bad reference? This is a touchy issue. People have been known to get sued for giving references. Usually you will never really know for sure if that has occurred. Very little feedback is given to job seekers on anything including what references have said about you. If you are concerned, you could call the person yourself and ask directly, but don't expect to hear the full story.

10. Will the hiring team really call all of my references? You never know in advance what the behavior of the hiring team will be. Many people are lazy and simply won't bother to call references, as they will rely on their own opinion of you from the interview. Others will call every business on the resume and everyone on the reference list. I have been used on countless reference lists, but have been called only a couple of times in several decades.

11. When I create my reference list, what kind of information should be on it? You want to have the following: Name of person, business relationship, place of business, phone number and email address.

Your reference list can act as a powerful tool in your job search kit. You do want to think through whom the best people will be who can represent you well and be credible to the hiring manager. After that, there is a bit of ongoing management of your reference list, but it will be well worth it in the long run.

Bottomline I want to help you accelerate your career - to achieve what you want by connecting you with your Free Instant Access to 5 Video series The 5 Most Common Ways Introverts Commit Career Self-Sabotage and How to Avoid Them. Unique and practical advice you can start using today. Go here to get them: http://www.introvertwhisperer.com/careergoals

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Online Job Hunting

After being out of work for 18 years, I was horrified to discover the required current process for job-hunting. Applying for jobs in person is almost extinct!

Once you post your resume with the various job sites, your inmail box becomes overloaded with information you may or may not need. You must be careful because people have no qualms about using your personal information for their own gain. You deal with things like: Spam, well-known companies such as Walmart offering money, realtors, auto dealerships and car insurance companies offering deals, companies offering money but in reality are loan sharks, work-from-home jobs that are scams, job hunting newsletters and advice, and jobs sites that lie about helping you get a job but are crooks aggressively pushing you to go to school and applying for student loans. Ignore the phone calls with no identification, the caller will harass you to go to school not help you to find a job.

Begin the job hunting process by signing up for free job hunting newsletters. The information is educational and helpful. Study the free advice from professional resume and cover letter writers. Jimmy Sweeney is an excellent source.

After you have written your resume, fill out the required personal information and post it on several job sites. Please note that the Department of Labor advises to NOT fill out credit bureau request information on pre-employment applications. Those requests should come from the employer in the interview process along with criminal background checks and drug screening.A

Unless you have recent experience with a specific type of company, i.e. legal, medical, financial, you need to be prepared for a wide-range of job applications. Before you begin applying for specific job postings online, write 4 or 5 sample cover letters to later be submitted with the proper address information to companies along with your resume. For example, a cover letter submitted to a financial company will differ from one sent to a healthcare facility.

If you are not getting results from your job search, feel free to change your resume and cover letters. Since hundreds of people apply for each job posting, you can reapply for open positions with a different approach to the job.

Discouragement and frustration are common negative feelings. Counteract those feelings with distracting industrious activity, i.e. clean house, do laundry, exercise, window shop, read a book. Then, return to the exhausting and daunting job hunting process with a refreshed positive mental attitude.

In the end, patience and persistence pays off.

Article created and written by Ronda M. Courtemanche. Submitted on December 29, 2014.

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Top Safety Tips for Working With Agricultural Chemicals

In the agricultural industry, significant numbers of chemicals are used for things such as fertilisers and stripping down machinery for cleaning or sterilisation etc.

All of these chemicals need to be treated with great respect as if misused they may be detrimental to your health or that of any livestock around the farm.

Unfortunately though, it's not unusual to see bad practices adopted when handling chemicals, often due to a degree of complacency which arises from over-familiarity.
So, without any apologies, here are a few very basic safety tips that should already be common practice but which aren't always adopted.

1. Read the instructions carefully. If that sounds blindingly obvious, numbers of studies have shown that many people consistently fail to read the safety and usage instructions on products before opening them up and starting to use them.

2. Wear goggles when handling any form of industrial or agricultural chemical. Although not all will necessarily be dangerous if they get into your eye, many will be. Even if they are not, it's a smart idea to keep chemicals out of your body and your eyes.

3. Always use gloves. There are two reasons you should do so. The first is to stop chemicals getting on to your hands and then being accidentally transferred to foodstuffs - be they yours or those of your animals. The second is because it's not unusual for hands to carry cuts and abrasions and that's a good entry point for chemicals into your bloodstream.

4. In the same line of advice, always use a mask when dealing with powdered chemicals. Even if they are granular, when being handled they will throw up dust and it's always a good idea to keep dust out of your respiratory system, particularly when it is of a chemical nature.

5. Keep chemicals well away from your livestock unless they are specifically approved for such use. Some animals will eat almost anything they can.

6. Don't let children play anywhere near your stored chemicals or handle them - at least not if they are younger kids. Basic common sense safety precautions that are routine to you can be forgotten in an instant by children - however hard you've lectured them beforehand.

7. Where chemical products need to be mixed or diluted prior to use, make sure you keep to the recommended quantities. Don't guess or throw lots of extra in for 'good measure'. That can sometimes turn what should be a relatively harmless product into something that is overly-strong and potentially dangerous.

8. Use some form of a protective and non-porous overalls, particularly when spraying. You should be able to pick those up from a farm machinery trader or similar. True, you probably don't want to make yourself look like an extra in a science fiction movie but chemicals can penetrate ordinary porous clothes and overalls and they can then easily be transported into the home when washing etc.

9. Finally, make sure that you understand all state regulations relating to what chemicals may or may not be used on your farm, for a specific purpose or in a given vicinity. Some chemicals may, for example, be perfectly permissible but only if they are used a specified distance away from a water source.

Stainless Steel Brazing: Common Mistakes That Ruin Stainless Steel Assemblies

When they are correctly heat treated, stainless steel assemblies emerge from the furnace with excellent tensile strength and a clean appearance. However, there are several things that can go wrong with the stainless steel brazing process, mistakes that can significantly affect the strength and appearance of finished assemblies. By having an experienced heat treating company perform the treatment process, the customer can avoid the costly mistakes below.

Not Cleaning the Metal of Coatings

Before it enters the furnace, the metal must be free of surface coatings. Coatings that are commonly removed include: oil, grease, decals, paint, dirt, and rust. If coatings are left in place, they oxidize during the stainless steel brazing process and mar the surface of the metal. The result is that the metal will require finishing measures to give it a clean, bright appearance.

Not Using an Atmosphere-Controlled Furnace

Stainless steel is a chromium alloy; it contains at least 10.5 percent chromium by mass. Despite being a chemical element that is corrosion-resistant under normal conditions, chromium is highly reactive when it is treated in an oxygen environment. The best way to prevent chromium alloys from oxidizing when they are heated is to place them in an atmosphere-controlled furnace.

Not Establishing Proper Clearance Between Parts

One of the main keys for producing strong assemblies is to establish the proper clearance between workpieces. Most metallurgists recommend a clearance of .0015" between the parts of the assembly. A clearance that is much wider than this will prevent the filler metal from forming a strong bond between the workpieces, which could cause the product to fail during service.

Cooling the Assembly too Fast

Cooling the assembly too fast can create internal stresses that eventually cause the assembly to crack and break. This is why many heat treating companies use an atmosphere-controlled continuous furnace when processing chromium alloys. In addition to providing the perfect heating environment, the furnaces can also cool assemblies slowly and uniformly to prevent stresses.

Conclusion

If you need to have a chromium alloy brazed, outsourcing the job to a professional provider of heat treating services is the best way to avoid four crucial mistakes in the brazing process: not cleaning the metal of coatings, not using an atmosphere-controlled furnace, not establishing the proper clearance between parts, and cooling the metal too fast. For more information about heat treating chromium alloys, contact an experienced provider of heat treating services for metal.

Franklin Brazing's 53,000 square foot facility was designed especially for their clean processes such as stainless steel treating and annealing. The company runs steel treating production around the clock five days per week and on weekends if needed. Visit our website at: franklinbrazing.com

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Finding and Being Found (Job Search)

Some people, when about to lose a job or just after finishing an assignment, think of themselves as "being available for reassignment" or "available". This may work for rock stars, star athletes and other people, famous for their particular skills and expertise, but it really does not for the majority of workers. If it does work for you, stop reading.

For the rest of us, job search really is about finding and being found. You have to do both. Waiting to be found is like being the average-looking high school good girl who is "available" but still doesn't get asked to the dance because the average high school boy just didn't ask.

So how can you find the right next job and how can you be found?

The first step is to know what skills and expertise you have and how to express those skills in the language of the people you want to know about them. The internet has given us the expression "keywords". These are words and phrases used in your area of expertise that are searched for by recruiters, used in job postings, spoken by hiring managers when they ask HR to find someone and used over the cafeteria tables by the teams that work for them. They are specific and technical. They are rarely aspirational or even motivational. Do you know what your keywords are?

You can find your keywords in your old resumes, your old performance reviews, your old profiles. A better place to find them is in the profiles of people with titles you want, job descriptions of jobs you want, on the websites of the companies you are most interested in and in conversation with the people in the companies you want.

Some examples:

• Actinobacteria
• Bacillus
• Bacteroides
• DNA, Bacterial
• Drug Discovery
• Escherichia coli
• Gastrointestinal Tract
• Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial
• Genes, Bacterial
• Genome, Bacterial
• Host-Pathogen Interactions
• Metabolic Networks and Pathways
• Molecular Sequence Data
• Operon
• Pseudomonas

Yes, it is very specific and won't find you "Any job" (as in "I want a job, any job"). It will enable you to manage a career you really want. Remember that hiring managers don't hire generically, they hire to solve a specific problem. Yes, they do want more than that, but to get in the door, you have to speak their language.

How do you use these keywords to be found?

Use them, in natural language and in lists, in your online profiles, your introductions, your resumes, your conversation, your posts and comments on LinkedIn Groups and G+ Communities and BioWebSpin Public postings and wherever people look at you. (Well, not on a sign around your neck at the grocery store!) Work them into your PAR statements and "dragon-slaying stories". And make it sound natural, not like you just plunked them in randomly. You need to sound like you actually know what a "metabolic network" (or whatever your keyword is) is and why it is important.

What doesn't work:

Using "fluff" words or overused desperate phrases like:

• Highly qualified
• Results focused
• Effectual leader
• Has talent for
• Energetic
• Confident
• Professional
• Successfully
• Proactive

You need to show that you are these things using your keywords in PAR statements.

Yesterday I received by US Post a well written letter on expensive paper from an experienced Executive Vice President of Operations for a medical group. He is looking for a job. I'm not sure he is finding one. Never mind that I don't work in that particular part of the industry. I'm sure he hired someone to write the letter and send it for him. I can pick out the keywords, but it isn't easy. I have no idea what his medical group specialized in (and medicine is very specialized). I know he is a Vet, I know his phone number. I can reach him only by US mail or by phone and no way to email him. His lovely letter went in the recycle bin. Do all recruiters do that? Probably. Some have "do not send a resume" notes on their websites, some take resumes but simply warehouse them until (if ever) they get a search. Some few will connect with him, but what is the ROI on his investment in hiring a writer and sending these willy-nilly.

If I were in his specific part of the "healthcare" industry, I would look him up on LinkedIn. So for this article I did. Now that I have seen it, I'm a bit more interested. He has some background in my industry - Parexel, Pfizer and clinical trials operations. These did not appear in his letter. Most of the letter is rather desperate, focused on why he is looking or rather generic "There is no such animal as a perfect candidate for a healthcare senior executive position". Yes, it does finally tell me what position he is interested in (CEO, COO of a medical group), but I'm a pretty straight forward person with no time to waste.

I would be happier if he had used the content of his letter (or some portion of it) to invite me to LinkedIn with him. If he had, I would have accepted his invitation (as would most recruiters - but don't have more than 10% of your LinkedIn connections be recruiters) and let him know that, while I'm glad to be connected, I don't have anything on my desk at this moment that would suit him. I would have checked with him as soon as I did.

I would have liked a LinkedIn invitation like this:

Hi, Connie,

Do you recruit COOs and CEOs for medical groups and companies doing clinical trials in X? I'd love to be connected with you if you do.

I have X years managing teams and a record I'm proud of. Please take a look at my Profile here (link).

Thanks for your time,

Name

Or if he had found me on LinkedIn, he could have invited me directly.

Remember that we are all very busy. The harder you make it for someone to notice you, the harder you make it to be found.

Bonus Tip: You are the master of your career! To learn how to master it, join us for a complimentary webinar, paid course, or personal one-on-one coaching at http://www.networkpolishkit.com

Brought to you by Connie Hampton, dedicated to bringing your unique talents and skills to the right job.

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How to Use Your Network When Job Hunting

When it comes to the job search, you have one of the best tools at your disposal: your network. Networks are important to nurture because they add a human touch to the application process. From my experience I would guestimate between 60-80% of hires are due to "who you know."

A network is, technically, everyone you know. Here are some helpful clinical trial staffing hints on how to use your network to its greatest advantage:

1. Build your Network. Whatever you do, don't forget an essential golden rule as quoted by Napoleon Hill in his essay called "The Law of Success": "Before you can secure co-operation from others; nay, before you have the right to ask for or expect co-operation from other people, you must first show a willingness to co-operate with them. For this reason... the habit of doing more than paid for is one which should have your serious and thoughtful attention." (p8)

The best way to build your network is to freely contribute to causes within your field. Market your strengths by positioning yourself in front of people who will be able to notice your skills and recommend you for career opportunities. By genuinely and selflessly giving of your time and talent you will truly impress people and will build incredible alliances with those who will help your job search endeavor. Areas to consider include social media and online discussion groups, active memberships with civic organizations or special interest clubs, and volunteering. Not only will you effectively continue to build your network but you will be able to add additional skills, experiences and accomplishments to your resume.

2. Nurture your network. This step can start at any time, but the hope is that you are building and nurturing your network before you need it. Talk to friends and colleagues with the intention of rekindling rapport. As you build new associations stay in contact with them so you create a long-lasting bond. A network is all about relationships, and this takes time; however, the more people in your network feel connected to you, the more they will want to help you.

3. Tell them about your situation. Don't just contact people you think may be helpful in your job search, contact everyone! You don't know who your contacts know and anyone can help generate a job lead. You can either take the direct approach by asking for their assistance, or a more indirect approach by just asking for friendly advice regarding your job search. Renew connections by picking up the phone and calling your contacts; then be sure to follow-up with an email so you stay in their mind.

Most importantly, please realize business and social networking is not a quick solution to your job search challenge. This approach can take time, but by sticking to building those relationships and contacts your efforts will pay off.

Have any questions? Ask the clinical trial staffing team here and we will be happy to help.

Investing in a Lifetime of Success,

Angela Roberts

Craresources is a professional niche clinical recruitment firm specializing in the contract and permanent placement of high quality Clinical Research Professionals. Contact us at http://www.craresources.com for help in obtaining job search techniques.

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Are Inventors Also Entrepreneurs?

Can a good inventor become a successful entrepreneur? Based on many cases, it's reasonable to suggest that for every inventor that did develop keen marketing skills, there was at least one that didn't stand a chance regardless of how much blood, sweat and tears went into the venture. I think it's best to remember that in most instances, inventors need entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs need inventors. I'm convinced the partnering of those distinct and important talents works to everyone's advantage.

The successful entrepreneur and the successful inventor are both tireless and are able to rebound with a positive mental attitude as well as an abundance of energy each morning. Problems within the product development process are always numerous beyond comprehension and the answers are rarely obvious.

Both handle pressure by keeping it contained within the background and never allow it to become an obstacle. All entrepreneurs and inventors feel pressure and it must be addressed and tolerated without having adverse effects on their programs as well as their personal lives.

An entrepreneur might listen to all and ask advise from all. He will review case studies and constantly challenge the price of the product without jeopardizing development progress. Inventors tend to change direction too easily, almost always having a better way to do it instead of making the original path better.

Entrepreneurs are detail oriented all day long, mostly because budget restraints force them to be. They have check lists and plans of action they continuously refer to. They believe in schedules knowing windows of opportunity close quickly. Inventors are detail oriented first thing in the morning, but it fades very quickly.

Inventors often think they are also entrepreneurs. However, most do not like entrepreneurs or marketing people as well. They don't undervalue their talents; they just have difficulty acknowledging them. Most entrepreneurs totally respect all inventors they meet. Some of them want to be inventors also, but few are.

An entrepreneur will see the marketing value of a new product idea before the inventor will. Inventors aren't willing to see it until they themselves determine it's ready to be seen.

Inventors tend to be introverts. Marketing and sales people tend to be extroverts. I'm not a psychologist, but I truly believe this is so. A marketing guy will smile and make you want to listen to the sales pitch. The inventor will not smile and will expect your undivided attention as he describes the product in detail to you.

There are many phases to a product development cycle and no one does all of them perfectly. Finding the right people to take charge of each area is always a plus. However, knowing your idea inside and out, and knowing its product worth is the secret to making it successful. http://www.ldouglas.com/Larry-Douglas-EBooks.html

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