There’s an interesting infographic presentation of data on careers over at Rasmussen right now (of which you can see a screenshot above–the actual infographic is interactive).   It’s part of their online curriculum to help their students and prospective students figure out which career path they’re attracted to and to make financial and lifestyle projections based on whatever career path they commit to during their education.  The whole section fall underneath a question: “What career is right for me?”

Good question.  It’s one I’d probably be having trouble with if I hadn’t fallen into one of the fastest growing careers that employs the largest number of people while continuing to pay a decent salary (although I make less than the median listed here at the place where I’m working right now).

Nursing?

Nope. Nurses make about $4000 more than people with my occupation but that career isn’t growing quite as quickly.

You work at McDonald’s?

Nope.  McDonald’s isn’t listed specifically but the median income for Food Service managers is $12K less than it is for people who do what I do, and the market for that job skillset is actually on a slight decline.

Give up?

I’m a Marketing Specialist (Median Salary $60K, total employment in 2011 318K, projected growth by 2020 41.2%).  I could also be described as a writer($55K) or an editor ($51K) I suppose, but I wouldn’t have gotten or kept the past three jobs I’ve had if my skillset was exclusive to writing and editing.

As far as I can extrapolate–based on these data points–people are getting old and sick in larger numbers, and they are getting harder to sell things to.

What does this mean for our society?  Who knows?  Who cares?

Just kidding.  I suppose that death, illness, and declining sales–in the abstract macro-sense of those words–are concerns for some people.  But I’m too tired, ill, dead, and unconvinced that I should respond to this information to care too much about these trends.

A good accountant can do a lot more than just managing your money and keeping on top of your tax too; they can also save you money, significantly reduce your stress levels and lessen the amount of time you spend on your finances. There are many benefits to employing an accountant when you’re self-employed; below is a short guide to some of the best advantages.

Less Stressful

One of the greatest benefits of hiring an accountant when you’re self-employed is that it is a lot less stressful for you. Sorting out tax is many people’s worst nightmares, especially when you’re self-employed and have lots of forms to fill out at the end of the tax year. Keeping on top of exactly how much money is coming in and going out of your business can also take a lot of time and add to already high stress levels from running your own company.

It’s much less stressful to leave the Accountancy to the Accountants

Employing an accountant means that you do not have to worry about filling out the correct tax forms, paying the right amount or keeping track of how much money is coming in and going out; the accountant will do it all for you. They can make sure everything is correct and you can talk to them about your finances and get an update any time you like. This kind of professional service means that you can relax safe in the knowledge that your finances are in good hands. 

Saves Time

Sorting out finances can be a very time consuming task, and this time could be more wisely invested in others parts of your business, helping increase your income or even enjoying some relaxation. Another of the advantages of hiring an accountant when you’re self-employed is that it saves you a lot of time.

When people want to save time they sometimes end up cutting corners, and a little mistake as a result of this could be the end of your business. An accountant can work through all of your finances carefully, step by step, and ensure everything is done correctly. 

Great Advice

Finally, hiring an accountant means that you can also receive helpful advice from experienced professionals. As well as looking after the basics of your business’ finances, accountants can also advise you on where you can save money and how you can increase your earning power.

Save extra money for your piggy bank by hiring an Accountant

With their extensive knowledge in the world of finance there are really no better advisors when you are self-employed. Tax laws are constantly changing and being altered, and an accountant will have kept on top of these changes so that you don’t have to. Accountants can offer you advice on how to save as much money as you can without cutting tax corners or breaching regulations.

They can also help you increase your business and make more money. Their kind of specialist advice can help you understand how to better handle your assets and in what ways you could improve your business’ income.

Conclusion

Hiring an accountant (such as Brooksons, Accountants in Warrington) is a great idea, especially when you are self-employed. There are many benefits, including saving you time, reducing your stress levels and offering you fantastic, professional advice.

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There are a handful of technology related items that your business should invest in to make sure that everything runs smoothly. Choosing the right tech can make the difference between work being completed faster, staff having a high morale and even simply making communication easier.

Computers

Now, most businesses need computers for one thing or another – office workers and online based companies more than most. It may sound obvious, but the computers you and your staff use at work are vital. Choosing the right computer for the job isn’t as simple as some may think – and you should always make sure you research well just what you need.

For example, digital design agencies may need computers with dual monitors that come with a high spec graphics card, but these would be unnecessarily expensive for an office that just needs to process data administration.

Smartphone

Investing in smartphones for yourself and your staff will not only boost morale, but it will also mean that everyone has access to a universal phone. Choosing an iPhone, for example, will mean that everyone can contact each other via iMessage, a free alternative to SMS when sending to another iPhone.

Apps can also make work easier, such as Dropbox to access files via Cloud, or even being able to jot down to-do’s quickly and easily. Phones that support 4G and wifi hotspots will also allow for connectivity wherever your staff is, if they need to travel.

Security

Keeping your office secure is extremely important so you should make sure that you invest in proper security measures. There are many options such as CCTV, key fob or password door locks as well as intercom services if your office is based in a high floor and opens late.

There are plenty of trustworthy security companies out there that will be happy to help you find out what the best options for your business, personally, will be.

Making sure you not only sort out mobile connectivity, but your landlines too can be just as important. Having just one line sometimes won’t give customers the ability to contact you or a relevant member of staff at all times. If someone needs to urgently contact you, you should make sure that you have a multi-line phone and that there is more than one handset around the office to meet demands.

Reliable Internet Connection

Choosing the right company to provide your Internet can make the difference between a seamless connection and things going wrong. A failed Internet connection when an important email needs to be sent or you are in a Skype meeting can be a disaster. Choose a company that is renowned for their business compatibility.

About the Author: Ericka is a keen blogger and likes helping businesses owners make wise choices that will help profitability. 

Performance, Performance, Performance

A shining personality and a flashy suit may be attractive to co-workers, but management needs to see numbers. For instance, if you are in telesales, meet and exceed monthly pipelines whenever possible. Or, if you are an entry-level programmer, finish assignments ahead of time. Work extra hours when necessary. This extra effort will speak volumes for your work effort and management will invariably take notice.

Enhance Your Skill Sets

Promotions are partially based off of your ability to increase your knowledge base. Many budding professionals may be held back due to the fact that they do not have the motivation to “learn outside of the box”. Although attending in-house training courses may be mandatory, learning relevant skills outside of the work environment will impress your immediate superiors, add to the company’s efficiency and will display that you have the personal desire for greater responsibility.

Be a Team Player

Never forget that a working environment is also a social atmosphere. Management will look for those individuals who are efficient in their own duties but get along with their co-workers. Not only will you find that your environment will become more enjoyable, but you will also make valuable contacts that may help you along the way and vouch for your skill sets. Be friendly, but be driven.

Develop Innovative Ways to Help Your Company

One factor that will directly affect a promotion is your ability to use critical thinking and develop new business models to help streamline current practices. However, these do not have to necessarily be as monumental as revamping an entire IT network. Such ideas as changing a sales pitch or even suggesting in-office activities that can bring levity to the daily routine are excellent ways to illustrate that you are always looking ahead with the company’s interests in mind.

Speak to Your Superiors

There is nothing wrong with scheduling an informal meeting and discussing your future visions with management. In fact, this will display a confidence and a forward-thinking mentality that will further highlight your proclivity for constant progression. They will respect you for making your desires clear while your name will certainly come to the top of the list when promotion time rolls around.

These suggestions are but a handful of some of the best methods intended to help guide you along the ascending path from intern to executive. Although the process may not be easy and it will most certainly take a bit of time, the ultimate rewards more than justify the effort you will put forth.

Georgina Stamp has helped in the recruitment of interim management positions for a number of years and has aided various international and local organisations. She currently works for Marble Hill Partners, who help with executive searching.

Your site has the potential to be as profitable as you want it, once it’s all set up and it’s easy for customers to purchase your products or services. Bu the big questions most people ask are “How do I attract people to my site?” “How do I get people to come back to my site?”.

By following the few tips we’ve listed below and importantly, ensure you stick at it, you can reap great rewards once you get the ball rolling. You will never see instant results when it comes to promoting your website. Consider it more of a snowball effect. The interest will gain over time, and slowly increase more and more until you have a constant average of customers visiting your website.

• Blogging

Blogs are a great addition to any site. Why? They provide free and interesting content for people to come and look at. If you utilise a business blog effectively, you can entice customers to come back or sign up to your site simply because they are interest in what you are blogging about, or because you may regularly post offers and updates.

You need to blog regularly for it to work, and make sure that you make what you post on your blog is interesting. What the aim is is not only to get people to revisit your site, but to get people to share your article. Keep it relevant to your products, then you’ll ensure you attract the right people to your site. If you sell beds and post an interesting article on your blog titled “The 5 Weirdest Beds In The World”, it will have what we refer to as a ‘shareability factor’. In a nutshell, that just means that people will want to share your post on social networking sites.

Shared posts = Traffic. Traffic = Sales Leads.

• Improving Conversion Rates

The conversion rate of your site can refer to a number of different things. It can refer to the following;

• Sign Ups
• Sales
• Traffic from blog redirecting to sites.

By getting to grips with certain tools such as Google Analytics, you can take an in depth look at what and who is visiting your site. You will also be able to find out other factors like how long they look at certain pages and where they are based geographically. You can also use either A/B Split Testing or Multivariate Data Analysis to find out what provides the best conversion rates for your website.

In order to successfully bump up your conversion rates, you need to make sure that your site is easily accessible and makes navigating, purchases and sign ups a doddle. Which takes up to our final point…

• User Friendliness

You should make everything on your site as simple and straightforward as possible. People like sites that they can get around easily, and they are more likely to go for a ‘wander’ if they feel comfortable using it. Make sure you take advantage of call-to-actions (CTA’s) such as ‘Sign Up’ plug-ins if you’re using WordPress or Mailing list options on the right hand side of your site.

Simple additions like that will give people a clear way to register to your site, so make sure you don’t let them miss out on the potential to provide them with information on your business on a regular basis. A sign up now could be a sale at a later date.

About the Author: Ericka Bergeson enjoys writing about anything from business to tech and loves to do this in her spare time.

But being in the young age group does not give one the freedom to get what he or she wants notably when it concerns getting a new car. Insurance providers normally give high premiums to young drivers who belong to the teen and early 20’s age groups. Factors such as the quality and type of the car, gender and income are also taken into consideration when determining the premium.

Gender Issue

Gender-wise, the males have to bear the burden of paying higher rates. Reports say that compared to women, men pay $15,000 more for auto insurance alone throughout their lifetime. This is the case with men when compared with women of similar age and level of income.

There are varied reasons why men need to pay higher rates. For one, they are considered more of a risk and are likely to get involved in a car crash. Young male drivers, in particular, have always been found to be involved in fatal crashes with a greater risk of overspeeding and getting into alcohol-related accidents.

On the other hand, insurance rates for women differ as well. A report from New York Times, for example, showed that married women with a college degree enjoyed 68 percent lower rates. This also applied to those who own a home and are employed. The rate was higher for single women with only a high school diploma, a moderate income and who rented a home.

Tips to Enjoy Lower Premiums

Young professionals including those who are still undergoing internships can take steps to maintain or lower their car insurance rates. There are factors you can control moving forward primarily one’s driving behavior.

A person’s driving attitude is crucial in ensuring a safe trip every time he or she is behind the wheel. Maintaining a sound mind and body should be top of mind. Following traffic regulations and not driving while under the influence of alcohol are also things to be aware of while on the road.

Unaware to some young drivers, there are also insurance providers that offer discounts for a clean driving record, being employed in certain professions, purchasing all insurance needs from one company only and obtaining good grades.

Finally, always do a comparison shopping before deciding on a provider. This is one way of knowing the best deals available.

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The Common Core State Standards is the name of a piece of federal-level education reform that seeks to bring all schools in the nation up to an equal footing.  As the common core standards are implemented, each school district will be responsible for bringing its current curriculum into line with the national standard.  This uniform, nation-wide curriculum has a number of advantages which will ultimately help students across the country meet their educational goals.  Parents and teachers are also benefitted by these changes.

The Benefits to Students

One primary advantage of the core standards is that students will be able to pick up their lessons uninterrupted if they move to a new school.  Because each grade is expected to cover the same material, there are no surprises for students or their parents once they’re registered in a new school district.  In fact, as of now only five states have not adopted these new standards.  Forty-five states have chosen to adopt the common core standards because it’s a good choice for students.  A uniform system is easier to improve than one that is made up of patchwork standards; students everywhere will receive the same quality education as their peers in other schools.

The Benefits to Parents

Parents also benefit from these new educational standards.  All parents want to help their students succeed in school but sometimes struggle to understand exactly how they can help.  The core standards spell out exactly what each child will be learning in each grade.  Parents will know what to expect in the coming school year and can help their child prepare for what’s coming next.  It’s a great deal easier to plan ahead for supplemental tutoring if a parent thinks their child may struggle with a subject that’s planned for that year.  Communicating with teachers will also be easier.  Often, teachers have to explain to parents what’s being covered in class; this conversation can take up most of the time allotted for parent-teacher conferences.  If parents are more informed about what their children are learning, this valuable conference time can focus more on the student and their individual needs.

The Benefits to Teachers

Today, teachers are being trained in record numbers to teach core concepts to their students.  This continuing education benefits everyone.  This new training will give teachers and other professional educators new tools to help students learn.  They’ll be taught how to bring the core standards to their schools and how to create new lesson plans that implement these standards.  This additional training gives teachers fresh ideas and equips them with proven learning techniques that they’ll then bring back to their classrooms.

Education reform on such a massive scale can be intimidating and there’s been some misunderstanding about exactly what the core curriculum is and how it will benefits students, teachers, and parents.  Students benefit by experiencing a learning environment that is consistent.  Parents benefit by knowing exactly what their children will be learning in school.  Teachers benefit by receiving additional training in modern educational techniques.  Implementing the core standards will take some dedicated effort and in just a few years, the fruits of that effort will certainly be seen.

If you want your brain to function properly during the day, then sleep is essential. Without a decent amount of sleep per night, we could be causing ourselves health problems, which can sometimes be quite serious. As students, especially, sleep is a very important part of your life, as well as your education. Being a student and moving away from home can be stressful especially with money worries; stress can cause sleeping problems, so deal with your problems now. If you have money worries, then work out a budget and stick to it, this will really help and if the clutter and lack of organisation around your new house or flat is bothering you, then just simply get yourself some cardboard boxes for now until you have the room to store everything.

Whatever you do, just try to keep calm otherwise your sleep will begin to suffer.

Here are some reasons why a good night’s sleep is essential for everyone.

• Sleep increases your alertness and performance during the day; you will want to sleep more during the day if you struggle to sleep at night.
• Your ability to remember and process information will increase if you have a decent amount of sleep per night. You are more forgetful if you do not sleep enough and this isn’t something you want to happen if you are a student.
• Lack of sleep makes you more irritable. You may have noticed that you are more irritable than usual after a bad night’s sleep.
• You are more tired during the day if you do not sleep well at night, which isn’t good during class time. This can lead to missing out on activities and events.
• Lack of sleep can affect your reaction times, so driving is going to be more of a challenge; more accidents occur on the road as a result of tiredness.
• You could end up with a sleep disorder if you do not sleep properly, including insomnia or sleep apnoea. Sleep disorders can lead to serious health problems, like high blood pressure, heart disease or even a heart attack.
• Sleep is good for your skin; lack of sleep can cause dark circles under your eyes.
• Sleep deprivation can increase the risk obesity and diabetes.
• Lack of sleep can cause relationship problems; in fact, one in four married couples has to sleep in separate beds.
•  If you do not sleep enough, your immune system does not function as well as it should, so you are more likely to be ill and stay ill for longer.

So what can you do?

If you do struggle to sleep or you think you should be sleeping more, then there are a few solutions.

• Have a glass of warm milk before you go to bed because it helps you relax. If milk isn’t something you like, then try herbal tea.
• Have a set bed time – a routine should help you sleep better at night.
• Try to avoid napping during the day.
• Exercise during the day.
• Do not have your room too warm at night.
• Invest in a more comfortable bed if you do not already have one.
• See a doctor for further information and advice.

Sleeping is such an important part of our lives and it helps us function in day-to-day activities, so if you do have trouble sleeping, then you need to do something about it as soon as possible; whether this means trying some of the solutions above or just contacting a doctor to help you out.

About the Author: Ericka Bergeson loves to write and that’s pretty much what she does with her spare time. She also loves to take long walks with her dog.

Prove your qualification for the role

This means not only paid experience, even voluntary and community involvement, coursework, work placement and extracurricular activities should be highlighted to show your suitability in your CV. Fill this part out keeping your employer’s perspective in mind by highlighting interesting factors and relevant skills so that they show prominence in your CV.

Highlight your skill set

Instead of highlighting your lack of experience, attract your employer’s attention by highlighting your existing skills and traits. Of course, these skills and traits should fit the job you apply for. You could also highlight the fact that you are ready to work long hours in exchange for valuable experience. This point should however not be just a mention in the CV, but should also be emphasized after your skill set.

Highlight your academics

In case you have strong academics, highlight this in your CV as it proves you learn quickly and can thusquickly become valuable to the organization. Place emphasis on subjects and areas which are required for your job. Also mention any extra skills you have that boost your skills for the job; like if you want a marketing position, your standing first in elocution and debates look good in your CV.

Show your desire

Show that you want to start your working career in the employer’s elite company. Also assure them that you will work hard to quickly become an important and efficient employee of the company. Your application should be candid as employers prefer hiring young people as they have a die-hard attitude to life and work.

So try to project this trait of yours in the CV, but don’t sound too confident. This is best done by repeatedly stating that you want to learn and put in all your efforts to fit better in the job and also to meet the company’s goals. Also indicate that you will travel, are ready for transfers and even to work on weekends, so that you quickly learn the ropes of the company.

Change the layout

It is not necessary that you follow a strict chronological order or use the same order while filling out your CV. Just place the most important information first like relevant project work. Be flexible with your layout and include sections for less relevant sections too.

While you should place your education before your work experience, any relevant course work should be prominently placed in the CV. Avoid producing a CV with long and rambling paragraphs with irrelevant details just to compensate your lack of work experience. Instead, write a concise CV that focuses on making it easy for your employer to find key information.

Rarely do employers ignore young job applicants’ enthuasism. So unless the job requires lots of experience, you can easily reach the interview with a crisp and focused CV, even if you don’t have much work experience.

But there’s always one. There’s one in every group, at least one in every office. There’s always at least one gossip. There’s always at least one person whose life always seems to be in a shambles. There’s always at least one pot stirrer and there’s always at least one hoarder. You love them all individually, but you hate their habits and their lack of etiquette and courtesy for their fellow employees.

Here are some suggestions for stopping these problems before they escalate:

The Gossip/the Pot Stirrer

Keeping your employees busy is one of the best ways to prevent gossip. The idea is simple: the busier your employees are, the less time they have for socializing. This way you don’t have to be a task driver, your business stays productive and you don’t have to worry about someone’s secrets getting spread around the office.

The Hoarder

Every time you walk past this person’s desk it looks like their pen, post-it, paper-clip and staple supply has grown. You worry that if you were to ask him to open his desk, office supplies would spring forth like that old “snakes in a can” gag. Other employees complain about their own supplies dwindling faster than they feel like they are using them up.

The best way to fix this is with personalized office supplies. Putting people’s names and contact information so that they have custom pens, post-its, etc (you can’t put them on individual staples, but you can put it on the stapler) reduces the likelihood that the hoarder will nick them. They also make great ways for your employees to promote themselves—they can simply write a note or give a pen to a potential client as well as giving a business card!

The Whiner (aka The Person Whose Life Always Seems to Be in Shambles)

You want to be sympathetic but it’s always the same story: something has gone tragically awry and things are dramatic and awful at home for this person. It’s getting in the way of getting work done.

The easiest way around this is to implement a “leave your home life at home” policy. Encourage your employees to get together outside of work to talk about personal stuff and make it clear that while they are at work, conversations need to be kept professional and about business matters. This will help them stay focused and allow the person with the terrible life the chance to be heard…without your having to pay for the group sympathy session.

These are just a few of the common office personalities that you will have to deal with as you work to build your team. Remember: while these personality traits might seem annoying, they are often just a small part of an otherwise dynamic and amazing employee. Finding ways to work around these traits will make your business more successful while allowing your employees to be who they are. Everybody wins!

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