Archives for 2016

Finding the Right Career Path with Your University Skills

May 18, 2016 by Guest Contributor

Your university experience provided you with tangible work, knowledge, and skills you can use when applying for a job. If you took lab courses, add that experience to your resume as proof of your abilities to follow instructions and achieve results. Any research you did in school can help you secure a job that requires an ability to analyze and dissect information, which is most work. Your major can have a large impact on the job you ultimately choose. Use these tips for finding the right career for your skills and degree.

Skills to Be a Diplomat

Diplomats have to work with a variety of people and be respectful of other cultures as they travel. Many college degrees prepare you with these skills since you’ve likely had to work with people from several different backgrounds.
Courses in subjects like Anthropology and Sociology help you to get a better understanding of other belief systems and values as well. Most any college degree can qualify you for work as a diplomat in the Department of State.

According to the Department of State website, “As a Civil Service employee, you’ll [Read more…] about Finding the Right Career Path with Your University Skills

Becoming a Good Mentor

May 10, 2016 by Tim McMahon

Serving as a mentor in business can be rewarding and valuable for both you and the person to whom you are providing this service. Becoming a good mentor requires thinking about the qualities that have enabled you to be successful in business in the first place. If you are looking to lead others through the path you followed, research your own success and use these skills to offer good advice and become respected in your community.

Leadership

Skilled leaders draw followers and are often sought as mentors. They understand the need to show both confidence and compassion when making decisions. They are not above doing tasks themselves, but are also confident enough to delegate responsibility and not micromanage. Effective leaders understand the benefit of hiring team members who shore up their strengths and are not threatened by such individuals. Demonstrating this balance of strength and humility to mentees is incredibly valuable. If you are serious about strengthening these skills before offering advice, see if getting a master in leadership online or from a local course could help develop and hone these skills.

Accountability

As a mentor, it is important to demonstrate both a willingness to accept responsibility for your mistakes and the mistakes of your direct reports as well as an ability to develop solutions to avoid similar future occurrences. In addition, providing the necessary training and tools for your team members to do their jobs well is critically important.

Building Relationships

Developing a strong and trusting relationship with individuals being mentored as well as colleagues, superiors, and subordinates is significant in the business world. A successful leader and mentor will provide a safe and trusting environment in which to ask any questions comfortably and learn from the discussion. A strong mentor will truly listen with interest, empathy and concern for the individual and provide information and guidance based on experience. The mentor will display consistent patience.

Be Current

Be current with the latest industry trends, staff development concepts, tools, and technology. A true mentor wants to pass on their wisdom and knowledge, but recognizes the importance of consistently keeping their skill set refined and current.

Diversity is

It is not necessary to mentor someone who is of the same race, gender, socioeconomic background, or educational history. While it’s important for them to relate to each other, diversity actually provides greater perspective and insight. A mentor is like a parent, teacher, and trainer all rolled into one. Lines are blurred, and this should be a more intimate, deeper relationship. This is not contingent on a grade, a promotion, or a familial obligation. An individual being mentored should walk away from the experience feeling more business savvy, confident, and have an enhanced tool kit with which to navigate the business world.

Becoming a business mentor is a great opportunity. If you’ve been sought for advice before, use your current skills and hone the ones you lack to become a more permanent fixture in your industry and a respected mentor to others.

BLS Monthly Employment Report for April

May 6, 2016 by Tim McMahon

The US economy added 160,000 “seasonally adjusted” jobs in April, the lowest figure in the last seven months. The adjusted U-3 unemployment rate remained steady at 5%. The Unadjusted U-3 fell to 4.7% while the Unadjusted U-6 fell to 9.3% from 9.9% last month.
On a seasonally adjusted basis employment has fallen while on a non-adjusted basis the actual number of non-farm employed has increased from 142.887 Million to 143.944 million for a net increase of 1,057,000 jobs but since April traditionally sees a large increase in seasonal workers the seasonally adjusted number says that we were only 160,000 jobs better than what we would expect if there were zero jobs growth.

Labor Force Participation Rate

The Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) is the percentage of the Labor Force that is currently either looking for a job or actually has one. So even though it sounds like it is talking about how many people are working it actually is the percentage who “want to work”. As of April this stands at 62.8%. This rate has been steadily falling for a number of years and has reached levels not seen since the 1970’s.

Since the Bureau of Labor Statistics measures unemployment as the percentage of the labor force that can’t find work as people stop looking for work they fall out of the labor force and are no longer counted. Thus the unemployment rate can fall even though no new jobs have been created.

Long Term Labor Force Participation Rate

As we can see from the above chart the LFPR peaked in the late 1990’s and fell during the recession from 2000 through 2004. From 2004 through 2007 it leveled off but then the “Great Recession” hit and the LFPR has fallen pretty steadily since. And even though we are supposed to be in a recovery the LFPR continues to fall although there was a bit of an up tick at the end of 2015 and early 2016, April’s LFPR is lower than March’s.

Some people wrongly assume that the LFPR is falling due to retiring baby-boomers. This premise however has been proven false. See Record Low LFPR which shows the LFPR by age group since 1999. The biggest declines occur in the younger ages while those above age 60 actually show a higher percentage are working. For instance, in 1999 only 24% of those age 65-69 were working but according to the BLS in 2015 30.8% of those age 65-69 were working.

Gallup “Good Jobs” Index

Gallup’s “Good Jobs” Index is their version of the LFPR it is calculated as a percentage of the total population rather than limiting it to the “work force”. So although the percentage is lower it is a better indicator of the actual situation since it is not subject to fudging through simply redefining who is in the “work force”. Gallup says 44.9% of the total adult population is in the “Good Jobs” Index i.e. has a full-time job. This does not mean that they are employed at their full capacity or that they are earning a “decent wage” simply that they are employed full-time. Gallup defines a full-time as 30+ hours per week for an employer who provides a regular paycheck. This is up from 44.5% last month confirming the seasonal increase in employment mentioned above.

March Jobs Data

April 2, 2016 by Tim McMahon

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released their employment data for the month of March 2016. The adjusted U-3 unemployment rate was 5.0% up from 4.9% in February. The unadjusted U-3 unemployment rate was 5.1% while the Gallup survey says the unadjusted U-3 was actually a full 1% higher at 6.1%. See: Unemployment Rate Chart

U-6 Unemployment

The BLS says the broader U-6 unemployment rate that includes short term “discouraged workers” was 9.9% while Gallup says the rate is really 14.4%.

Meanwhile, according to [Read more…] about March Jobs Data

Creating Your Own Success with Innovative Ideas

March 28, 2016 by Guest Contributor

If you’re green you’re growing if you’re ripe you’re rotting. That is to say, if you want to create a better future for yourself or your company, you need to continue innovating and growing… even if you’ve experienced some success in the past. Innovation isn’t easy and not every initiative will succeed, but it beats the alternative which is to become stale and eventually either stall or decline. If you’re looking for ways to create a better future for yourself or your company, then consider these ideas to jump-start innovation.

Go Back to Basics

If you’ve been doing the same thing or selling the same product for years, then it’s possible that you’ve missed some key changes. Go back to basics by assessing [Read more…] about Creating Your Own Success with Innovative Ideas

Startup Success: Max Sales-Low “Burn Rate”

March 21, 2016 by Tim McMahon

The key to a startup success is knowing that the faster your startup can get from a business plan to revenue, the more likely it is the company will survive and succeed. Many new businesses measure their finances in terms of their “burn rate,” which is a number that indicates the rate at which venture capital is being used and not replaced through sales.

The burn rate problem can be resolved by using resources more efficiently while boosting sales.

Sales

Your new company should try to offset its costs as fast as possible through sales. This is called “customer financing” and it is a powerful way to alter your balance sheet in your favor. Sales are the mechanism by which all companies will survive long-term. The faster you can replace financing, investor support and capital with sales revenues, the faster your company can begin building long term equity growth.

Supplier Financing

If you’re selling a physical product often you can arrange terms with your suppliers so that they will provide 30 or 60 day financing. This should give you time to generate the sale and collect the money and then cover your inventory costs. In order for this to work effectively you need to keep your inventory levels at the bare minimum, ideally through the use of “JIT” i.e. “Just In Time” ordering. This involves precision timing and often computer integration with your suppliers.

Information Technology

A variety of companies require sophisticated IT infrastructure in order to ramp up operations. It could be for “Just In Time” inventory management as previously mentioned but it could just as likely be for e-commerce or document processing. Outsourcing some IT functions can be some of the wisest money spent during your new enterprise’s startup phase.

For instance if your company is based in Canada rather than hiring your own Microsoft Certified Professional to manage your Exchange Server, you could contract with a company like IT services Ottawa, to provide your e-mail services. Through economies of scale this will probably save you a bundle compared to trying to hire all these professionals yourself. In addition to cost savings it will also save in recruiting time and allow you to get your email server up and running in days compared to months.

Professional Services

In addition to IT professionals every company needs competent legal counsel and the services of a talented and knowledgeable accountant. These two individuals can provide your company with insights it would otherwise lack and further, provide your strategy team with legal and financial ideas they might otherwise overlook. If even one major legal or financial obstacle can be avoided by something as simple as retaining a couple of professional firms, the reward just might be a successful startup instead of an exhausting bankruptcy.

Success in business is far more often the result of where money is spent than how much is available. Taking the time to build a solid foundation for a company can set your management team at ease and allow them to concentrate on important topics rather than spending time putting out small fires in places they should never occur.

Business Organization: Ways to Track Inventory and Streamline Processes

March 10, 2016 by Guest Contributor

The success of many businesses depends on inventory management i.e. how well inventory is tracked, organized and handled. Here are three proven ways to increase efficiency and profitability through better inventory tracking, reviewing data and streamline processes.

Inventory Management System

A solid, cutting edge inventory management system offers significant logistical, operation and financial benefits. Using a technology-based inventory control system will enable employees to easily track down and ship products. Even better, it will enable management to obtain real-time data regarding inventory levels, future orders and product movement history. These customized reports will enable managers to make better decisions and react faster to market and customer changes. Inventory management systems should be integrated with point-of-sale style systems that automatically decrease available inventory counts and send out orders to vendors when stock levels reach certain levels. These systems are capable of printing out quick inventory count sheets and reports. [Read more…] about Business Organization: Ways to Track Inventory and Streamline Processes

February Unemployment Flat

March 5, 2016 by Tim McMahon

February Unemployment Rate (Seasonally Adjusted)

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released their employment data for February on Friday March 4^th 2016. The commonly used seasonally adjusted U-3 Unemployment Rate was 4.9% identical to January. The BLS promotes the Seasonally Adjusted U-3 Unemployment Rate as the primary measure of unemployment. But often when we look at the adjusted Unemployment rate it is moving in the opposite direction as the unadjusted Unemployment rate. For more information see our Seasonally Adjusted vs. Unadjusted Unemployment Rate Chart.

Unadjusted Unemployment Rate and Actual Number Employed

The Un-Adjusted Unemployment Rate was down slightly from 5.3% in January to 5.2% in February. As far as actual Employment, the number of Unadjusted jobs reported for February was 142.005 million up from 141.155 million in January. [Read more…] about February Unemployment Flat

Creative Ways to Increase Employee Loyalty and Job Satisfaction

February 26, 2016 by Guest Contributor

Employees are what give every business life. A business’s reputation can be built or destroyed by the actions of their employees. Happy employees will shine, while disgruntled employees do sub-par work and may even steal from or defraud the company. Given these crucial points, it is important that business owners identify ways to increase employee loyalty.

Pioneer Employee Engagement

When employees feel engaged by their employers, they have enthusiasm for the work they do. The fact is that employee engagement can be quantified by [Read more…] about Creative Ways to Increase Employee Loyalty and Job Satisfaction

7 Tips to Cutting Business Expenses

February 23, 2016 by Tim McMahon

Business expenses can quickly spin out of control and cause you, the proprietor, quite a bit of undue stress. So, how do you prevent it and more importantly how do you get back the monetary control that you need in order to keep your business healthy?

Pay Attention to Even the Smallest Business Expenses

The important thing, when cutting business expenses, is to go over thems with a fine-tooth comb. Begin by taking a look at your available funds and your overall expenses. Scour your accounting information and pay attention to all of the details.

Plug the leaks

#1 Check your records for exactly where your cash is going, who you are paying, etc. Make sure all of the expenses are vital (and legitimate), and see if there can be changes made in order to increase revenue. Plug the leaks, whether it is employee theft of office supplies or wasted electricity. These things might seem small but [Read more…] about 7 Tips to Cutting Business Expenses