Careers

Start Your Career as a CNA?

July 4, 2012 by Guest Contributor

Nurses Aide Certification (CNA)

Pursuing a career as a Certified Nurses Aide (a.k.a. Certified Nursing Assistant or CNA) is a quick way to get into the field of nursing and health care. Any individual after completing their high school diploma or GED is eligible to take CNA certification classes and then the certified nurse assistant certification test, which is the first step in getting a job in a medical organization. For CNA certification, it is necessary to enroll in a certified nurse assistant program either at a bricks and mortar institution or in an online certified nursing assistant program. Certified nurses aides are always in demand and the pay scale is good compared to other professions at the same educational level. Along with this, it has career advancement possibilities, as you can become a license practical nurse (LPN) or registered nurse (RN), with additional education.

CNA salaries vary by state, ranging from $15,600 to $31,200. Another important feature of CNA salary is that it is paid on hourly basis. Currently, the highest wage offered is in the state of Alaska, paying $15 per hour. The second best states are California and New York, as both pay $14.5 per hour. CNAs earn the least in the state of Louisiana at $7.5 an hour. You can learn more CNA salaries at the ecnasalary.com website.

What Certified Nursing Assistants Do

In order to be a good nursing assistant you should have compassion and care for people. CNA’s help provide basic care for patients in hospitals and residents of long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes. They are constantly dealing with sick and elderly patients who may be uncomfortable and even disagreeable.

Certified Nursing Aides will typically perform the following tasks: [Read more…] about Start Your Career as a CNA?

What Managers Want When Hiring Public Relations Specialists

June 30, 2012 by Guest Contributor

Public Relations Specialists

America’s biggest corporations are currently seeking exceptionally skilled public relations specialists with histories of exemplary performance. As many industry-leading companies reinvent themselves for the new millennium, public relations executives inspire employees, shareholders, clients and communities to support new corporate initiatives. The person who can use “the message” to turbo-charge the machinery quickly will rise to the top of the corporate pyramid. “PR is not sales,” one prominent CEO reminds his PR staff. “It is lightning in a bottle—a volatile, potent mix of inspiration and meaningful action in service of our mission.”
Employers Seek Strategic, Tactical Public Relations Professionals.

The Right Stuff For A Tough Market for Public Relations Specialists

Canny, insightful public relations executives teach their protégés the single most powerful secret of effective boardroom performance. One Fortune 100 PR miracle worker schools her staff, “The PR guys are the most powerful people in the big top-floor conference room, because they take command of the managers’ messages; they put the magic words to the managers’ goals, numbers and procedures. PR guys create the company’s story, take it out into the world, and always enjoy the privilege of the last word.” CEOs frequently regard their PR leaders as their most valuable allies precisely because they understand how to translate strategies and tactics into the company’s best practices. Therefore, prospective employers will scrutinize your application and resume in search of… [Read more…] about What Managers Want When Hiring Public Relations Specialists

Accounting Trends Creating Jobs

June 27, 2012 by Tim McMahon

Accounting Jobs

A recent article in Financial Trend Forecaster talks about a new trend in the world of accounting. Increasingly more companies are hiring accountants to work on staff as full-time employees to manage corporate budgets, accounts payable and receivable, to present financial reports to investors and to negotiate corporate tax laws. Companies are also looking for accounting professionals to protect investors’ money and company assets. At the same time, more businesses are looking to hire accountants, the jobs are becoming harder to fill. In addition, companies are becoming more global in nature and adopting the global standards called International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

More Accounting Jobs Available

This is creating a demand for more accountants, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is projecting a 16% growth rate in the need for accountants between 2010 and 2020 which they consider to be “average growth rate”. According to the most recent Occupational Employment data published by the BLS (May 2011) for Accountants and Auditors, the mean annual wage is $70,130. While those in Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services have an annual mean wage of $75,060. A recent U.S. News survey ranked Accounting among their 25 Best Jobs of 2012.

What Accountants and Auditors Do

According to the BLS: “Accountants and auditors prepare and examine financial records. They ensure that financial records are accurate and that taxes are paid properly and on time. Accountants and auditors assess financial operations and work to help ensure that organizations run efficiently.”

Why Your Small Business Needs an Accountant

June 21, 2012 by Tim McMahon

Small Business Accountant

Many people who start their own small businesses do so as a means of determining their own destiny. They are their own boss, operating the business their own way and planning for the future with their own ideas. There are, however, certain laws and regulations legislating aspects of any business. For this reason, and more, it is a good idea for any small business to have an accountant.

Small Business Accountants Can Handle Payroll

Small business owners often wear many hats: boss, lease negotiator, inventory specialist, decision-maker, payroll, shipping and receiving, IT, HR, and occasionally even custodian. In the midst of all of that, they also manage employees, even if those employees are contracted. State and national law dictate what forms those employees need to fill out, how much of their paycheck is deducted for taxes, benefits, and Social Security. Business owners are forced to either learn the tax laws (and the changes to said laws each year) or hire an accountant to help. Just managing payroll can be time-consuming, as an owner your time is valuable and should be spent growing your business.

Small Business Accountants Can Handle Taxes

Even contract labor requires certain documentation. If a company pays a contractor more than $600 over the course of the year, a 1099 must be filed. Keeping track of the various tax amounts for various employees as well as which contracted employees earned how much can easily become a full-time job. Small business owners have plenty of other details to manage without adding that to their plates. If only for personnel purposes, an accountant will save time as well as headaches.

In addition to managing tax issues for employees, a small business accountant will help navigate tax concerns for the business itself. Capital improvements, profits, loss, depreciation, and potential write-offs may exist. Some small businesses pay taxes quarterly rather than annually, requiring an ability to understand and follow additional tax laws. An accountant can save you money by avoiding government penalties and late fees but also by pointing out deductions, monitoring for “slippage” or missing funds, and other ways to save money. [Read more…] about Why Your Small Business Needs an Accountant

Social Media Marketing Consultants Needed

May 18, 2012 by Tim McMahon

By Tim McMahon, editor

Social Media Marketing Consultants

Social Media Marketing is a new field and just as happened in other new fields like web designers 15 years ago, companies are scrambling to find qualified people to perform this valuable service for them. This is truly an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a budding industry and make a name for yourself and carve out a lucrative career before others catch on.

What is Social Media Marketing?

Social media marketing is a relatively new method of promoting businesses via social media platforms and finding customers and ensuring customer satisfaction after you’ve found them. Companies are increasingly realizing how important happy customers are and that it is much more profitable to retain existing customers than to constantly look for new ones. Today, social media is not just used for finding long-lost colleagues or old High School friends on Facebook; or Tweeting about what you had for lunch on Twitter. Social media has turned out to be an important tool for businesses that want to create a successful online presence. As more and more people are using social media to search for the products they like, social media marketing has become a regular part of daily business transactions and businesses have discovered social media as a method to reach their target consumers and establish a pleasant brand experience online.

As a result, smart companies are shifting a part of their marketing dollars to social media. Large companies like Proctor & Gamble, Taco Bell, and Pepsi are budgeting huge amounts of money to manage brand perception and promote their products via social media. And in the process, they are creating the demand for thousands of Social Media Managers and Marketing Consultants.

So what do Social Media Marketing Consultants do?

Tap Into the Conversation

If an organization wants to find out the “chatter” in the marketplace about a particular product, they need to check the social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook in order to see what prospective customers think about the brand. Social Media Marketing Consultants have their fingers on the pulse of the community. They monitor the chatter and set up alerts related to keywords pertaining to the brand they are monitoring. By tapping into this network and spreading the word Social Media Marketing Consultants can quickly spread the good word or defuse bad chatter from dissatisfied customers.

Spread the News

Social Media Marketing Consultants will often spread interactive online content, in relation to the commodity that’s being launched. For example if Pepsi wants to launch a new soft-drink it might create a game or a contest related to the new product to create a buzz around it with the hopes of it going viral and creating positive word-of-mouth from influencers.

Perform Online Customer Service

If an online linked in Social Media person discovers a dissatisfied customer he or she will quickly step in to diffuse the situation and turn that dissatisfaction into an amazing customer experience. Smart companies are empowering their Social Media consultants to handle customer service issues quickly before they become media nightmares.