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Career in Alternative Medicine

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Alternative medicine is the study that focuses on empowering patients to prevent disease by stimulating the natural process of the body. It is a broad field that caters to healing practices which are useful for treating chronic health problems. Earning an alternative medicine degree online makes you enable to offer medical and healing practices while making the lives of the people healthier and comfortable. Online alternative degrees offer many different fields to study that are available at associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, Ph.D. to certificate levels.

 

Areas of Study in Alternative Medicine

Students who opt for an online alternative medicine will find a considerable variety of fields that are available to choose from. There are many online schools and colleges which offer online alternative medicine degrees. Some areas of alternative medicine include:

  • Chinese medicine
  • Acupuncture
  • Massage therapy
  • Herbal medicine
  • Chiropractic
  • Naturopathic medicine
  • Indian Ayurvedic medicine
  • Homeopathic medicine
  • Yoga
  • Massage therapy
  • Homeopathy
  • Oriental body therapy

 

Why Opt For an Online Alternative Medicine Degree?

Choosing an online degree in Alternative Medicine could be the perfect decision for those who feel attuned with nature and believe in self healing. Alternative medicine is all about natural healing methods to promote happy and healthier life without using complex chemicals or procedures. Students looking for a career in natural medicine can enroll in online schools to pursue online alternative medicine degree. There are number of accredited online schools that offer top online degrees in all major areas of alternative medicine.

 

Online Course Options for Alternative Medicine Degree

Earning an online alternative medicine degree allows individuals to learn how to heal the body itself, how to treat the entire body and spirit rather than just localized symptoms. Additionally, in an online alternative medicine degree, students will take courses such as acupuncture, midwifery, homeopathy, holistic health, oriental medicine and herbal sciences. Along with alternative medicine courses, students will also take traditional physical sciences courses including biology, physiology, psychology, anatomy and nutrition.

 

Popular Career Options for Grads with Alternative Medicine Degree

Opting for an online degree in alternative medicine allows individuals to choose a number of different careers in specialty areas. Depending upon your level of education, you can choose to become an alternative medicine practitioner and can enjoy satisfying and rewarding career path that affect people’s lives deeply. Some examples of career choices in alternative medicine include:

  • Massage therapist
  • Acupuncturist
  • Herbalist
  • Traditional Chinese medicine practitioner
  • Aroma therapist
  • Nutritionist
  • Educator
  • Masseuses
  • Lifestyle counselor
  • Hypnotists
  • Yogis

Choosing an alternative medicine degree is a worthwhile option as it allows students to opt for several challenging and rewarding careers. As a matter of fact, those who choose to enroll in an online alternative medicine degree will have great chances of career accomplishment throughout their entire lives.

 

About the Guest Author:

Kelly Gibson is a professional webmaster. Her main area of interest is educational research. Check out her blog for online college brochures, useful articles on online education, accredited online schools, universities and much more.

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Career Path from Chef to Head Chef

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The culinary arts present exciting opportunities to pursue creative work while also building a prestigious career. Top chefs gain notoriety for their signature style in some of the most exclusive restaurants around the world. Some have even become celebrities through their own television shows, cookbooks, and line of gourmet products. However, the rise to top chef is not a direct line, and there are many steps up the ladder of success. A typical path to success after culinary school looks something like this:

 

Commis Chef

Everyone has to start at the bottom. The commis chef is like an apprentice who works in the kitchen while learning some of the tricks of the trade. You won’t be whipping up gourmet souffles in this position, but will instead be doing a lot of grunt work, er prep work, like chopping vegetables, sharpening knives, fetching measuring cups, and cleaning up the mess. You will work closely with other chefs in the kitchen to learn the basics of food preparation, including different techniques and methods. Depending on where you work, this position could also be called an internship or apprenticeship.

 

Chef de Partie

This position — otherwise known as a line cook — oversees one section of the kitchen and preparation of one particular type of food. For example, these cooks may be responsible for cooking the fish, or they could oversee preparation of the pastries. The chef de partie becomes a specialist in this section, then moves on to another. Eventually, training is received in all parts of the kitchen.

 

Sous Chef

The sous chef is the assistant to the head chef and is the second in charge in the kitchen. The sous chef helps to run the kitchen, creating schedules, managing customer relations, plans menus, and oversees ordering for the kitchen. Skilled in all aspects of food preparation, the sous chef can alternately plan special menus, fill in for the executive chef, or take over for a chef de partie.

 

Executive Chef

The last step in your ascension up the ladder. The executive chef is in charge of the whole kitchen, planning and executing menus, hiring and supervising staff, sets the budget, and more. The head chef sets the tone for the restaurant, stamping his or her signature style on the menu. This is the person whose vision leads the success of the restaurant.

The path to becoming a head chef is all about gaining experience and honing skills. These are the traditional steps toward becoming a head chef, but there are many alternate routes that can be taken. Many head chefs started work in a kitchen as a dishwasher and moved their way up from there. Some worked as caterers, and some started in their own business as a personal chef. Restaurants, country clubs, cruise ships, and even small diners provided the setting for their on-the-job training. Every journey is as individual as the chef, and every step influences his or her personal style and ultimate success.

 

About the Guest Author:
Bridget Sandorford is a grant researcher and writer for CulinarySchools.org. Along with her passion for whipping up recipes that incorporate “superfoods”, she recently finished research on culinary school and culinary schools in West Virginia.

 

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Career as a Restaurant Sustainability Consultant

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Restaurant Consultants assist restaurant owners or managers on running the business more efficiently and profitably. Consultants are typically hired as contractors by the owners and are non-full time employees of a restaurant.

Now let’s add the sustainability component to your consulting job description – when preparing for a career as a Sustainability consultant you would add another role to your job – how to incorporate green sustainable practices in the restaurant operations and developing customized best practices policies suited to the restaurants needs. Sustainability consultants have an important and socially responsible role to promote sustainable practices in businesses and show them that they can considerably improve their bottom line with energy efficiency and resource conservation.

Overall a very satisfying career – your contribution in conserving resources and reducing the environmental impact is a positive contribution toward reducing greenhouse emissions, overall improved environment and of course – promoting healthy food choices.

Required or expected Education

  • A bachelors degree in environmental sciences
  • Having a management degree in hospitality industry could be to your advantage.
  • MBA related to sustainability
  • Or relevant experience and expertise in the industry

Salary Range

$65,000 to $90,000 and more is a possibility.

Role and Responsibilities

Sustainability consultants support clients (restaurant owners)

Can cover but not limited to:

  • In general: Supporting compliance, operational efficiency and sustainability initiatives.
  • Providing clients with energy usage analysis, greenhouse gas emissions information, sustainable material buying, local food buying best practices and sustainability action plans.
  • Assisting your clients in conserving resources, reducing waste and material and overall reducing the environmental impact of the restaurants’ operation.
  • LEED restaurant development
  • Support or complete the process of green restaurant certification
  • Informing clients on making sustainable food choices for a healthier or organic menu
  • Developing zero-waste programs
  • Helping restaurants achieve or maintain their Conditionally Exempt Small-Quantity Generator (CESQG) status
  • Offer sustainability tips and latest industry news to their clients which can be helpful in furthering the best practices
  • Guidance or training to employees on sustainable practices

Other Supporting Job Titles

  • Green Restaurant Advisor
  • Sustainable Foodservice Consultant

Who’s Hiring Restaurant Sustainability Consultants?

Greening of the restaurant industry is a trend that’s here to stay and restaurant sustainability consultants would see an increase in demand in the coming years.

  • Work independently as a consultant for restaurants.
  • Join Green Restaurant Association in their consulting team.
  • Join some independent consulting firm engaged in sustainable consulting offering to clients. This gives you a wider experience since you can also use your consulting services in non-foodservices area.

Where to Look for Jobs for Restaurant Sustainability Consultants?

It is not very common to find many such jobs floating around – as always what matters is how you present your personal brand, even with little experience what is required is how you can help create a job for yourself. Even though working as a sustainability consults for a restaurant maybe your dream job, keep other options open to work in sustainability area for other companies and use your experience of a couple of years to enter the restaurant industry.

  • LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter could also be good starting point essentials for those who are well into social network. Look up the profiles of those who have “been there done that” in this field. They could be an important information resource to know how to get your foot in this industry or ask for referrals – don’t be shy to ask them to be your mentor. People love to help if they have time and also when asked appropriately.
  • Join Foodservice Consultants Society International (FCSI) which is a premier association promoting professionalism in foodservice and hospitality consulting.

Also, instead of finding out who’s hiring your first step probably should to find out WHY these restaurants interested in integrating sustainable practices? Is it for cost reduction, greening their operations, conserving resources, increasing profitability – the answer could well be all of the above. Work toward presenting a case or portfolio where you can help these restaurants with a study, analysis, example or just your passion in achieving these goals. Even with no previous experience there are quite a few tools available online which you can easily master or present to your clients with examples on instant ROI calculations and increased savings calculations as a result of sustainable initiatives. Some tools, web apps can also help you here – more information below.

Websites and Applications helping Sustainability Consultants

  • Dinegreen.com – Green Restaurant Association website which helps restaurants in Environmental Assessment, Environmental Consulting, Green Certification and Green Public Relations and Marketing.
  • 500gallons.com is a new start-up in the growing field of restaurant sustainability. Encouraging sustainable actions and behavior change, this website can be of immense value to a restaurant sustainability consultant with an easy to use web application: “Use the site for research, customizing the results and informing your customers about the “green steps” that can help reduce their carbon footprints or add to overall operational savings. You also have access to the latest eco-friendly and energy efficient products and equipment in the marketplace which can help achieve sustainability goals for your restaurant clients.”

Using such tools to research and confirm the restaurants sustainable actions you can help market restaurants better – bringing sustainability, profitability and attracting customer loyalty at the same time!

 

What have I missed?

Any other info that you might be familiar with regarding this career – pls do share in comments below.

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What you must know when Transitioning to a Food Service Career

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*By 2020 the National Restaurant Association expects 1.3 million restaurant jobs to be created across all areas of the industry.*

Cooks and food preparation workers held 3.0 million jobs in 2008. Employment of cooks and food preparation workers is expected to increase by 6 percent over the 2008–18 decade. Job opportunities for cooks and food preparation workers are expected to be good because of high turnover and the need to replace the workers who leave these occupations. ~ Source: bls.gov

Considering a career change to the food service industry – here are some important tips that you must know. And before you enroll in the latest culinary schools or all set to acquire the latest degrees in hospitality – stop – your first step is crucial for a satisfying career change. It is gaining more knowledge about this industry and about yourself through some planned research and analysis. What inspires you, what skills that you have currently can be applied to this career transition and what are the viable options for making a good living in the food service career?

And the first step is identifying whether you a Generalist or a Specialist? Take a few hours to find out which of the following appeals to you the most – acquiring degrees thereafter and changing careers then becomes a well-researched step.

 

Identifying Skills and Interest

The Generalist

As a generalist you very well be the owner of a restaurants, hotel or resort. or a general manager – the title says it all here! With responsibilities from managing the facility, hiring people, overseeing finances and revenues, supervising staff and much more.. the generalist can have many responsibilities. Also waiters are generalists, they must be aware of the menu, beverage choices, food ingredients, specials and above all serving guests , customers in the best possible way. If you are looking for part-time jobs joining in as a wait staff / hostess / bus person could be some options to explore.

The Specialist

There are perhaps a lot more specialists in the food industry than those I list here, do share in comments below if you can add on to the list here:

  • Chef or Kitchen Manager – get the kitchen staff organized for efficient cooking and perhaps should know how to prepare all dishes that would be on the menu
  • Sommeliers – wine specialists in fine dining restaurants who focus on wine lists.
  • Grill Cook – specialist in grill cooking
  • Baker – baking specialists
  • Bartenders – specialist in the beverage department

Other than BOH ‘in-the-kitchen’ jobs,  there’s always an option on a freelancing career – as a restaurant consultant. Restaurant consultants assist restaurant owners how to run the business efficiently and profitably. Consultants are usually hired for their services – if you have good finance and technical skills with a passion to enter the food industry this could be a viable option.

For more info on various roles in the restaurant you can visit foodservicewarehouse.com. And for more in-depth information on salary structure, growth outlook there’s of course the best source bls.gov.

 

Researching Job Boards

Your next step is furthering your research on the titles that suit your skill set and passion the most to get a practical idea of what the job truly desires and offers – skill set, salary range, working hours and general demand. Once you are through this step you have a thorough understanding of current job scenario and what the skills that you might want to add to your current portfolio.

Here are a few job boards where you can scan through the job descriptions which often cite the required education, degrees and roles and responsibilities in the food service career.

 

FOH BOH Career Progression

FOH career plan: greeter –> busser  –> back waiter  –> waiter  –> head waiter / trainer  –> assistant manager  –>  general manager

BOH career plan: dishwasher  –> prep cook  –> pantry cook  –> line cook  –> sauté cook  –> sous chef  –> executive sous chef  –> executive chef
(2)

 

General Terminology in Food Service Industry

Some terms that you might like to be familiar with when you begin on the quest for a restaurant career, this also can be your starting steps to your new career – to identify where you would want to work and what options are out there other than the restaurant next door.

  • QSR – Quick Service Restaurant
  • FOH BOH – Front of House, Back of House (dining area / kitchen)
  • Fast Casual – A fast casual restaurant is a type of restaurant that does not offer full table service, but promises a higher quality of food and atmosphere than a fast food restaurant. (1)
  • Family Style – Family style restaurants are a type of casual dining restaurants where food is often served on platters and the diners serve themselves. (1)
  • Casual – A casual dining restaurant is a restaurant that serves moderately-priced food in a casual atmosphere. Except for buffet-style restaurants, casual dining restaurants typically provide table service. (1)
  • Fine Dining – Fine dining restaurants are full service restaurants with specific dedicated meal courses. (1)
  • Bistro and brasserie – bistro usually indicates either a fast casual dining restaurant with a European-influenced menu or cafés with a larger menu of food. (1)
  • Bar/Tavern – where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food. (1)
  • Contracted Food Service – Through the contract service food can be served on-site at your restaurant, café, and cafeteria.
  • Catering – Provide (food and drink), typically at social events and in a professional capacity
  • Hotels / Resorts – Hotels and resorts offer wide range of dining options, from bakeries to bars, fast food and fine dining all options might be available here.

 

(1)    : (Source: Wikipedia)

(2)    : (Source Start Your Restaurant Career: by Entrepreneur Press)

 

Have you recently transitioned to a food service career or assist others in doing so? Please do share your thoughts in comments below to help those in transition.

 

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Interview Questions for a Marketing Research Analyst Position

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What does a Market Research Analyst do?
According to the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Market and survey researchers gather information about what people think. Market research analysts help companies understand what types of products people want, determine who will buy them and at what price. Gathering statistical data on competitors and examining prices, sales, and methods of marketing and distribution, they analyze data on past sales to predict future sales.
Market research analysts devise methods and procedures for obtaining the data they need by designing surveys to assess consumer preferences.

With many current junior and senior level openings as a Market research analyst, it sure can be an attractive job for recent graduates since many of the open positions prefer interns, or bachelor degree with 0-2 experience.

Now to get the job you have to get through the interviews well since the level of competition is high. Here’s how to guess the questions you can expect in the technical interview:

Interview Questions

Before anticipating any interview questions the first step to find out in-depth about your roles and responsibilities for this position. What does a market research analyst do?

Let’s have a look at the job description and requirements for a market research analyst and through this analysis get into the head of the interviewer as to which questions could be asked in your technical and behavioral interviews.

Your day to day job revolves around data management, statistical analysis, preparing data reports on Excel or using SPSS syntax, preparing and evaluating surveys or questionnaires and supporting client relationships (the list can go on, but these are the most required tasks as a market research analyst).

Now based on what you are required to do here’s what your employer would be looking for:

Experience in data management and statistical analysis

Ques. How have you used data analysis in your previous job or project?

Preparing data reports on Excel or other related software

Ques. What’s your experience with Excel and SPSS syntax? On a scale of 0 to 5 (0 being no experience 5 bring proficient) where do you see yourself today?

Or

Ques. Which CRM tools have you used in past for campaign tracking and report generation?

Experience with Surveys and Questionnaires

Ques. What has been your experience in preparing a survey for market research? What are the important points to keep in mind while preparing such a survey?

Supporting Client relationships

Ques. Tell something about your experience working in a team-based and/or customer service environment.

General Marketing expertise and knowhow

Ques. How would you plan a successful marketing campaign? What are the important elements of such a campaign?

 

Now you get the idea – it is not very difficult to anticipate technical questions for this particular job description simply by analyzing the job description and getting to know what the job requires from you.

 

Share your interview experience, will benefit all!

 

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Do you want to be a Software Engineer

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With above average salaries, office jobs with perks and the demand on the rise, a career as a software engineer sounds lucrative. This article presents the basic info you need to know if you want to be one.

 

What is a Software Engineer?

According to Bls.gov: Software engineers first analyze users’ needs. Then they design, construct, test, and maintain the needed software or systems.

 

A day in the life of a Software Engineer:

 

Best Resource

A software engineering job encompasses different roles and responsibilities and covers a range of job titles. The Occupational Outlook Handbook offers the best insight to the roles and responsibilities, worth a good look and understanding if you want to know in-depth about this career. You’ll find most of what you want to know about a career as a software engineer on the BLS website.

 

Meet ANDY – The Software Engineer on Job

Ungerboeck Software International is currently hiring for positions in St. Louis and this is their take on what it takes to be a software engineer.

To become a software engineer, you need an education. But to become a good software engineer, you also need experience and drive. But don’t let that scare you. It’s highly rewarding, and you can advance your career in whatever direction works for you.

But don’t take our word for it. Meet Andy.

When Ungerboeck Software International’s products need tweaking, updating, or new features, Andy is one of the software engineers that makes it happen.

 

Education or Experience – What Matters Most?

While he has a bachelor’s degree in computer science, Andy says much of his education came through experience and his own interest in technology.

“[Becoming a software engineer] requires a general interest in computers and programming and a lot of personal initiative and effort,” he says. “Besides going to school, I did an internship, but it’s really going out and practicing. You have to have to experiment and work with both new and existing technologies. Kind of like [how] an artist creates their own portfolio when looking for a job. You have to be familiar already with code development, creating applications, and things like that.”

If he could change one thing, Andy says he would have gotten an even wider array of practical experience before starting his job. And he recommends that anyone interested in becoming a software engineer do the same.

“My advice would be to try to keep up with current trends and technology. We’ve changed to a different software platform I didn’t even know existed when I started working here,” Andy says. “You really have to enjoy critical thinking and planning things out. [Software engineering] is going to become more complex as time goes on,” he says. “As all these new technologies come out, you’re going to have to try to stay on top of things.”

 

Knowledge and Skills

Andy feels the vast areas of knowledge needed as a software engineer is one of the most challenging aspects of the job. While there is always on-the-job learning and training, he thinks there’s simply too much for one person to know, so that shouldn’t overwhelm you. He says you’ll grow and learn by relying on co-workers to fill in the gaps in your knowledge and skills.

Interestingly, he finds this one of the best parts of the job.

“It requires a lot of critical thinking and what I like to call puzzle solving. Every day is a challenge. You are always engaged in what you’re doing.”

 

Ungerboeck Software International is currently hiring for positions in St. Louis. If you are interested in working with the world leader in end-to-end conference planning software for meetings, exhibitions and associations, visit http://ungerboeck.com/AboutUSI/CareerOpportunities.aspx

 

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Career in Human Resource Management

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Alan CollinsIn the Careers series on Careerbright Blog, we feature an interview with Alan Collins, President & CEO at SuccessInHR.com and author of: “Unwritten HR Rules: 21 Secrets For Attaining Awesome Career Success in HR“. Alan was formerly VP HR with Pepsi and Quaker Oats – with 25 years of field, managerial and executive leadership experience in human resources. Alan has written over 100 articles and white papers on HR including features in HR Executive Magazine, HRM Today, Linked:HR, Personal Branding and other nationally-known publications for HR professionals.

Greetings Alan, it is a pleasure to have you informing our readers who want to pursue a career in Human Resources! Please tell us something about yourself and how you decided on a career as an HR professional?

First of all, I’m thrilled to participate in Careerbright’s Careers series.  I stumbled into Human Resources purely by accident.  I was pursuing my B.S. degree in marketing at Purdue fully intending to become a marketing brand manager in a large corporation someday.  My academic advisors suggested that it would be helpful to get a summer internship in marketing to gain experience.  So I did.  I interviewed with and got hired by Dow Chemical into their marketing summer internship program.  However, when I arrived to the company headquarters to start the summer, the marketing project I was to have worked on was cancelled at the last minute because of funding.  And, I ended up working on a project with the Human Resources group.  The project involved helping them assess their recruiting program for new college graduates.   At first, I was disappointed by this change in plan.  However, after a week, I realized this was the best decision that could have ever been made!  I loved the project and had a blast that summer!  I discovered my calling.  I decided to return to finish up my B.S. degree in marketing and then pursue a M.S. in industrial relations in order to best prepare me for a career in HR.  That’s what got me into the HR field.

I then began acquiring experience in HR starting as a labor relations trainee at Inland Steel Company. And since that time, I’ve moved through 16 different HR jobs over my 20+ year HR career. For the last nine years of my corporate career, I was VP of Human Resources at Quaker Oats and then PepsiCo. And, I’ve been fortunate to have had a variety of great experiences in HR. I led HR initiatives for Pepsi’s Quaker Oats, Gatorade and Tropicana businesses. I led an HR organization of 60 HR managers and directors, spread across 21 different locations in North America and was accountable for their performance, careers and helping them succeed. I helped architect the annual HR strategic plan for five years for a workforce of 7000 employees. I’ve done M&A work helping to integrate new acquisitions as well as divest existing businesses. And, I provided HR leadership for the largest single change initiative in the history of the organization. I’ve had generalist roles and HR specialist roles. And, it was a great, great ride.

Last October, I left my HR executive career in corporate America and am now pursuing my lifelong dream of becoming a published author in HR. My new book, The Unwritten HR Rules, was released last October and it has consistently ranked among the top 20 best selling books for HR professionals on Amazon.  In addition to the book, I’m running a blog, I’ve founded a scholarship program, and I’m working on a number of other initiatives to help make a difference in the HR profession.  A few years ago after the death of my son, I re-purposed my life and career. At this point, my life’s work is all about giving back and making a difference. As part of this, my mission is to continue to serve the Human Resources profession, contribute to causes that I care deeply about and continue to use my strengths to strengthen others. HR has given me a fulfilling and extremely rewarding career and it’s time for me to return the favor and “pay it forward” to other HR professionals. And, today I’m doing that and having a blast!

Your new book “Unwritten HR Rules: 21 Secrets For Attaining Awesome Career Success in Human Resources” describes career advancement strategies HR professionals and executives can put into action. Is this book also useful for those planning on a Human Resources career? Tell us something more about this book.

unwritten-rulesUnwritten HR Rules was written to help and provide needed career guidance to up and coming HR professionals.  It lays out twenty-one different strategies for addressing common career issues in HR and describes how to take one’s HR career to the next level. Much of the wisdom described in the book is either not known or not readily shared by HR leaders or headhunters. But now, armed with the tell-all information in this book, upwardly mobile HR professionals have a better chance of surviving and thriving in their careers.

I decided to write this book after being approached by a number of frustrated HR professionals seeking career advice who were troubled about possibly being laid off in their organizations. I discovered that many didn’t know who to seek out to get untainted, objective advice about their own careers.

Typically HR professionals can turn to their boss, a mentor or a headhunter for career advice. However, often the advice given is biased. If the company is cutting costs and the boss can’t replace you if you leave, he or she may try convince you to stay even when leaving may be a better choice for your career. On the other hand, if you’re about to get the ax, your boss may not even warn you until minutes before it happens.

As for recruiters and headhunters, they’re fighting over a shrinking number of open HR jobs and tight commissions, and so they’re incented to persuade you to leave your job even if you shouldn’t.  All of this creates a huge dilemma for the career-minded HR professional.  And my book can help you address these frustrations.

What have you found most challenging in the career as a HR Executive?

For me, the most challenging part of the job is working with individuals and groups to resolve problems and disputes. Often in HR, you “intervene” in situations between people or with differing groups that are at war and you work to try to find common ground.  For example, you could be trying to resolve disputes between a manager and employee over compensation, a promotion, an appraisal rating or in alleged discrimination or sexual harassment complaint.  Or it could involve a labor contract negotiation between the union and your company.  The role you play in these situations is important and tough. And often it’s tough to find common ground.

In all these situations, I’ve tried to keep in mind the title of Spike Lee’s movie from a few years back, “Do The Right Thing.” You can’t waffle; you must do your homework, gather the information, and get input from the right people to guide you. But then take a stand and do the right thing. HR folks that lack a point of view or are indecisive don’t last long. I’ve found that if you stay true to your values and the company’s principles and you’ll be able to look at yourself in the mirror at the end of the day. Sure, you’ll make enemies now and then. But you’ll be able to control who they are and how many there are. And you’ll feel better about yourself.

With outsourcing, downsizing and limited hiring being the norm for the past couple of years, how do you see HR jobs evolving in the next 5 years?

I certainly don’t have a crystal ball, but I believe the future is bright for HR. Obviously I’m biased, but I’ve never met a business leader who is not interested in improving the performance of the business through people. And working with these in crafting initiatives that do this is exactly what HR is all about. So in the future, I don’t see HR going away any time soon. However, I do see the work that HR does changing dramatically.

For example, most large businesses are going global or are already, so the HR professional of the future will absolutely need to have global experience and be able to design HR strategies that can work in cultures like India, China, Germany and other countries in Asia and Western Europe.

As more baby boomers defer retirements because of the recession, the HR professional will need to help address generational issues at work. We’ll see more innovations in benefits like elder care, pet care, concierge services, paid time off and flextime. With companies competing for top talent, HR folks will need to come up with these and other newer benefits to meet the diverse generational needs of the millennials, Xs, Ys they want to attract and keep.

I believe we’ll also see, as a result of the financial banking crisis, HR stepping up and playing a stronger internal role in the regulation of issues such as fairness in the workplace, executive pay, 401k’s, and ethics. Or at least, I hope so. No one wants their company to be the next AIG.

Finally, in the future, I envision seeing an HR executive appointed as CEO of a Fortune 100 company. I don’t know when it’ll happen, but certainly it will happen in my lifetime. HR executives have already moved into senior-level operations roles, marketing and sales positions for years with great success. So I believe it’s only a matter of time. And when that does happen, it’ll be a great sign that the HR profession has finally arrived.

Some tips or advice for those planning on pursuing career in Human Resources?

If you’re interested in a career in human resources, I would strongly advise getting a master’s in HR.  Then going to work for a company that has a formal HR development program.  Companies like Pepsi, GE and Johnson & Johnson are examples of companies that will actually invest up to two years of the company’s money in a new HR person’s development. That’s a valuable career launching pad for the new HR professional. These companies have well-developed HR practices and are constantly innovating them so they are great learning labs. Sure, this can also happen at start-ups and at smaller companies too, but it’s a lot more difficult. Smaller firms often don’t have the resources and the structure and you often have to do things without an “old hand” available helping to guide you — which is not a good situation if you’re trying to learn the profession from the ground floor up.

If your company doesn’t have a formal development program, then work with your boss to create one that works for you and the company. It’s worth the investment to do this both for you and the business.

Which universities or online programs would you recommend for education and training in HR?

The best university based programs for HR are at Illinois, Purdue, Cornell, Michigan State and Minnesota.  At Pepsi, we recruited HR talent at these universities often and were very impressed with the quality of the candidates.   Most online programs are too new at this point to have a proven track record so I don’t have any to recommend at this time.  I highly recommend the university-based programs.

Your website and contact information?

For those interested in more information about ways to advance your HR career, feel free to check out my blog at SuccessInHR.com.
And for those interested in TWO FREE CHAPTERS of my book, UNWRITTEN HR RULES: 21 Secrets For Attaining Awesome Career Success in Human Resources, you can download those at UnwrittenHRRules.com.

Other Resources:

You can also apply for a Human Resources bachelors or masters program through the University of Phoenix which offers online or campus based degree programs.

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Blogging as a Career

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Amit-labnolLet’s meet Amit Agarwal who is a famous blogger based in India. He is also called “the founder of the Indian blogging revolution”; and authors the hugely popular and award winning Digital Inspiration blog where he writes about computer software, consumer gadgets, mobile phones and web applications that help us become productive. Digital Inspiration website is an award-winning technology site with 5,000+ articles, how-to guides and video tutorials on all things related to personal technology, software and useful web apps.
Amit also writes a weekly column on personal technology for Indian newspaper The Hindustan Times.

Hello Amit, tell us something about yourself and how you got interested in taking up blogging as a career?

It happened by chance.

I was working for software company in Hyderabad and was not exactly bored with my 9-to-5 job but wanted to do something on my own. One of my colleagues had a blog and that’s how I got exposed to this blogging thing for the first time. Initially, I thought of using my blog to get freelancing projects but that changed very soon and now I make a living directly from the blog.

What according to you is a successful blog? Are the success benchmarks set on the number of visits or the amount of money a blog makes or something different?

It depends. For some people, success may be defined by how many dollars they make at the end of the day but I think its more to do with influence and not just traffic or money.

If what you write can create buzz (i.e. there are conversations happening around your blog), I think you are successful. If people in your industry value what you write, you are successful.

This of course doesn’t apply to “private” bloggers who write mostly for their friends and family members.

What are some of the advantages and drawbacks in this profession?

You are your own boss. You not only get to do what you love but you also get paid for it. But I think what matters most is that you have a platform to share your voice and opinions.

The downside is that there are risks involved which are not in your control. What if search engines decide to put your site out of their index? What if you there are no online advertisers in your industry?

What have you found most challenging so far?

When you start a new blog, it’s almost like putting a billboard in the middle of a desert. Nobody knows about you – some people will only accidentally stumble upon your site and if they like it, they’ll probably help in spreading the word. Like all new bloggers, that was my biggest challenge – finding readers.

What does your typical work day or week look like?

It’s more like a 9-to-8 job now. I rarely cover “breaking news” so never really face that “time pressure.” I have about 500 feeds in my newsreader so it takes about 2 hours daily to clear the queue. Site management (like comment moderation, design tweaks), social media interactions (mostly twitter and facebook), emails, etc. take another two hours. The remaining time goes in writing stuff.

Weekends are mostly reserved for family.

How do you see blogging as a career evolving in the next 5 years?

I think more and more youngsters (especially college students) will start jumping into the blogging bandwagon. They may not take blogging as a “full-time” career but it will at least help them pay most of their utility bills.

Some tips or advice for those looking forward to taking up blogging as a career?

Always have a fall back plan. Get some good education, gain work experience and then maybe think of taking up blogging as a career.

Even if you have good ideas and write really well (blogging is all about writing), establishing yourself in the over-populated blog world can take months so don’t feel disheartened during the early stages. Just keep on writing and they’ll come.

Your website and contact information?

Twitter – http://twitter.com/labnol

Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/digital.inspiration

YouTube – http://www.youtube.com/labnol

Resources that help you Launch a Blogging Career

Problogger has very useful tips for those wanting to launch a career in blogging and for the advanced bloggers. You can also subscribe to the problogger forums and learn from the members/mentors and others who are in the same boat as you. Some recommended blogging resources are also a must see here.

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Career in Financial Planning

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greg_nazvanovDr. Greg Nazvanov is known as one of the Australia’s 10 best financial advisers and specializes in Wealth Management, Technical Analysis, Financial Planning, Tax, Trusts, Asset Protection, Alternative Investments, Art and Real Estate. Greg Nazvanov has written several publications and Books which provide detailed information on Business Management, Financial Strategy, M&As, Art Investing, Estate & Succession Planning, Real Estate, Social Security and more. (Get links to this wealth of information here in this interview)

If you are looking for a career as a Financial Advisor then this is the place to get some pearls of wisdom from Dr. Nazvanov.

Greetings Greg, it is a pleasure to have you informing our readers who want to pursue a career in financial planning! Please tell us something about yourself and how you decided on a career as financial advisor?

Came from a family of academics, where the only assets they had were knowledge and creativity, yet mom and dad retired broke.  I did not want to end up like them and am proud that can take care of them now in their old age.

About Greg Nazvanov:

Dr Greg Nazvanov MBA is a professional financial planner and wealth management consultant with a successful track record of commitment to his clients.  Greg has built wealth management businesses for commercial banks and entrepreneurs by applying leading-edge expertise and collaboration to gain a foothold in several industries through professional networking.

Greg is a passionate philanthropist who has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to charity and cultural organizations.  He gives away art, and buys paintings from Aboriginal art groups then donates them to charities. (The Philanthropist: creativity fosters community spirit”, Planner -The Financial Planning Magazine, FPA (April 2008, pp.40-43)

fin-planning-2afin-planning-2b

Both activities bring huge benefits, by supporting the Aboriginal artists, and by the funds generated for the needy in Australia and overseas. Dr Nazvanov is a regular benefactor to the McDonald College and the McDonald Foundation Cultural Trust.

The McDonald Foundation Cultural Trust is a philanthropic foundation that supports the promotion of literature, music, a performing art, a visual art, a craft, design, film, video, television, radio, community arts, and Aboriginal arts.  Join Greg in his endeavors to Support the Trust. fin-planning-3

Financial Planning Expertise:

For the past 12 years, Greg has expanded his expertise in all aspects of Financial Planning and Wealth management.  He has been coaching and advising clients at INKOM Wealth Management, Citifinancial, Credit Suisse Private Bank, BT Financial Group, Westpac Private Bank and Westpac Business Banking, and worked in partnership with Macquarie Equities, Colonial First State, ING Funds Management, Deutsche Asset Management, Barclays Capital, Vanguard Investments, Investors Mutual, Merrill Lynch, Platinum Asset Management, Templeton, Man Investments, Fidelity, UBS and many other asset managers.

He is also an art specialist investment adviser and founded ArtTrust.com.au.

Apart from Greg’s many academic and professional qualifications in Finance, Human resources and management, his main strength lies in his ability to communicate with his valued clients and help them demystify the money-go-round.

In 2006, Greg Nazvanov became a CFP® or CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM practitioner.  The CFP® or certification is the global symbol of financial planning excellence.  As a CFP® professional, Nazvanov has completed rigorous study in financial planning, has extensive industry experience, and abides by the Financial Planning Association (FPA) Code of Ethics and Rules of Professional Conduct.

In February, 2007, Nazvanov was named as “One of the nation’s top 50 best financial planners” by Australian Financial Review Smart Investor (Feb 2007, p.46).  He was the only adviser from BT and Westpac to receive this award that year.

fin-planning-5

Once again he was awarded as one of the top 10 financial planners in Australia in the prestigious Australian Financial Review Smart Investor Masterclass for Financial Planning in 2008 (Feb 2008, pp.52-53).  The award recognizes his high level of knowledge and expertise that enables him to provide exceptional advice to his clients.

The following is an excerpt from the article ‘Masterclass for Financial Planning’ that accompanied the announcement by FPA: “Forget investment advice – these days a planner needs to be a technical whiz with an in-depth knowledge of the myriad laws and rules that govern our financial affairs, as well as the nous to use that knowledge to work out strategies to come up with the best results for their clients.”  The Smart Investor fin-planning-6Masterclass was first introduced in 1998 in response to readers (of the then Personal Investor magazine) begging for recommendations for financial planners they could trust with their financial affairs. The Masterclass for Financial Planning is a test of technical knowledge of a financial planner and an ability to apply expertise to common scenarios.  The areas of knowledge tested in the exam include financial structures, tax, superannuation (including self managed super funds) asset allocation, social security, and investment strategies.  Professionals are eligible to sit the exam only if they are a CFP member of the FPA or a CPA financial planning specialist member of CPA Australia or a CA of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia.”

fin-planning-7In 2009, Greg completed a MGSM Master of Business Administration (MBA) which has a reputation as a leading management qualification in the Asia-Pacific region. Renowned for its quality, flexibility and extensive subject range, the MSGM MBA is designed specifically for individuals in positions of responsibility who have been identified as possessing higher management and leadership potential, and for those who aspire to a general management position. The program is intensive and rigorous, with strong emphasis placed on workplace relevance.

fin-planning-8MGSM has received EQUIS (European Quality Improvement System) international accreditation by the European Foundation for Management Development.  Leading business schools in Europe to have gained EQUIS accreditation include INSEAD and London Business School.

UNICON was established in 1972, initially as an informal common interest group of executive education program directors.  The group soon evolved into an incorporated, not-for-profit organisation with a commitment to thefin-planning-9 development of university-sponsored executive education.  With a key mission to promote executive education and foster its continued development, UNICON has become the pre-eminent voice for management and executive education and development worldwide.  Members of UNICON include Harvard, Stanford, Cambridge and many other leading business schools worldwide.  Candidate organisations must meet the rigorous requirements of UNICON’s membership criteria.  Only those organisations with the necessary resources, management structure and highly credible track record in the development and delivery of executive education are selected.  MGSM is included amongst the elite UNICON membership.

Greg loves market analysis and has created a system (with his team) offering FREE Mobile Financial apps for free including INKOM Blue that offers FREE LIVE access to global markets from India to London to LA to Hong Kong.

Having spent a decade in Business Advice for BT and Westpac Banking Corporation, Greg helps SME to startup grow and gives ALL ebooks for free.

 

What professional certifications are required to be a financial advisor? Is it different in all countries?

They differ from country to country.  In Australia, the financial advisers are licensed through ASIC.  ASIC Chairman, Mr Jeffrey Lucy, today reminded consumers that anyone providing financial advice or offering financial products needs to be licensed through ASIC.

A financial planner is a practicing professional who helps people deal with various personal financial issues through proper planning, which includes but is not limited to these major areas: cash flow management, education planning, retirement planning, investment planning, risk management and insurance planning, tax planning, estate planning and business succession planning (for business owners). The work engaged in by this professional is commonly known as personal financial planning. In carrying out the planning function, he is guided by the financial planning process to create a detailed strategy tailored to a client’s specific situation, for meeting a client’s specific goals.

As a financial planner, you are part of one of Australia’s most dynamic and fastest growing professions. The CFP Marks will allow you to set yourself apart from other financial planners.

Read more about CFP here.

In the above article you will also find some valuable information on how licensing for Financial planners works in different countries.

Does a financial advisor sell products or services or both? Please elaborate.

Most advisers view themselves as salespeople and use Risk analysis questionnaires and similar Profiling tools to box the client into a particular category, then sell them a preset amount of products based on the box that they tick.  In my early days in Banking & Wealth Management giving retail advice was somewhat a car manufacturing plant.  In the latter years at Westpac Banking Corporation I was given a rather peculiar title of an “Executive Business Hybrid Financial Planner”, which stands for “someone who works in a Hybrid role in the Private Bank, Business Bank and Institutional Bank and can provide a full range of advisory services to SMEs, corporate, government and private clients who are HNW individuals”.

As clients’ needs become increasingly complex and their orientation more global, they can only be addressed with tailored strategic advice in all areas, not just sell pre-set product from a list.
Often the strategy had to be tailored with the help of Technical Strategy experts like Sean Fannin (who is still at Westpac) and Aman Ramrakha (who since left to Commonwealth Bank). Clients could expect unique investment, insurance, business, retirement and estate planning advice and comprehensive financial planning. We did this with passion and full dedication.  My personal recipe for success is quite simple: We do well when our clients do well.  I first spoke about clients’ financial goals and objectives, their personal and business circumstances and understanding of different risks (liquidity, currency, market, etc) Only when we were clear about these aspects we devised an overall investment strategy covering all entities, both business and personal.

Product-wise, besides in-house managed portfolios, we used various external Absolute Return and Hedge Funds, Sector funds, ETFs, complex investment vehicles and approaches, structured solutions, ‘tax-effectives’, Corporate and personal pension plans, direct property trusts, actively managed direct equity portfolios and institutional bank solutions.
I had no product limitations and all of my time was spent on strategy and implementation.

How easy or difficult is to find clients if someone has recently stepped in the financial planning career with little or no experience?

Yes, working as an apprentice or asking for a work experience will typically help.  Having gained sufficient skills and expertise it is very easy now for me to network in social groups like Twitter or LinkedIn and ask for business, network through Chambers of Commerce or other professional groups.  For someone who just started they would have very little belief in themselves, usually not goal-driven and a mentor is the best gift they can have.  I had a mentor who was Dan O’Dea.  Dan originally created the Business Advice for Westpac Bank in Australia.  He was passionate and generous with his time, guiding me in the first 2 years before I could truly feel that I could stand on my both feet.  He since ran the Financial Planning at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and recently retired.

I am open to be a mentor for all planners out there, so that all of you can achieve your life dreams and aspirations.

What does your typical work day or week look like?

Depends on your time management and the size of the business.  These days I do not have an assistant to fill my diary, although at the Banks this is done for you. I make proactive calls; upload my books on Investing, Tax and other topics in forums and Social Media, then link back to my company webpage.  When people download my books, they leave their contact details and I call them asking if they need any clarification or further help.   This has been a very successful approach, where we get over 500 enquiries a month.  On top of that I network through Cultural Foundations, Charities, Business Groups  and alike to source further business.

I allocate 1.5-2 hours a day to creating and managing my new business flow, 1 hour to meet with my admin support staff regarding the status of submitted business, and the rest to face-to-face client meetings and strategy creation.  Our para-planning department will then prepare the financial plan based on my instructions.

What are some of the advantages and drawbacks in this profession?

Advantage is that if you do the right thing all the time for people, this is the most rewarding profession, as you feel like managing not just the money but people lives, holding their hand through all the hurdles that life throws at them.  The drawback is when the client is not tuned in, not willing to accept professional advice.  For example, if someone is spend-drift and refuses to follow budgeting, then the most perfect investment strategy may fail as a result.  The solution is to build a client base of homogenous clients, who appreciate your expertise and follow your advice.

Effectively, you assume a role of their personal CEO and they assume a role of the Chair-persons.

 

What have you found most challenging so far?

Work-life balance.  I finally had a break through where I block the time in my diary to focus on me and my family.  I now play the violin, dance Jazz and Latin, Scuba dive and Travel around the world.  I lost 52 kg in the past year with a personal trainer (again, one needs a mentor, a coach!) and now attend gym and swimming pool daily.

Greg’s View on Equity Markets

I have been in this advice business long enough and advised many people about owning shares via the traditional buy and hold, at any time and at any price method for long enough to know that hindsight and recent movement in share markets can lead to a range of emotions and views that are not always helpful.

Whilst feeling good about being invested in the share market from 2003 through 2007, even gains from the strongest bull market in history can vanish very quickly.  We are at a point in time where the risk of a long term sharemarket decline is very real and have written a book to explain those risks and what you can do about it.

Whilst it is always frustrating to watch the market go up sharply knowing you had funds that you wanted to have invested and quite possibly could have been invested, these gains could well be illusionary with the traditional methodology.

I am reluctant to blow my own trumpet too much, but what we use the Directional Market Decisions (DMD) technology which is literally unique to the financial planning or investment advice world.  It is literally a mathematical method to capture the large portion of market gains whilst avoiding the large portion of market declines.

As good a discovery as it is, it is so vastly different from anything we, let alone anyone else in the financial advice world, have tried to put into practice for clients before, that I needed to know I could properly implement it before putting client funds to work. DMD methodology, it works far better and with much less downside risk than any form of buy and hold investing, in both long term secular bull and secular bear markets.

As a final note, whilst I am convinced we have now entered a secular bear market in the U.S., which will most likely spill over substantially to the rest of the world, whether this holds true or not (and of course only time will tell whether this is indeed the case as the next few years unfold), investing via the DMD methodology with a facility that allows me to do this for our clients, is a dramatically safer way to invest than anything either of us have seen before, with far better results as well.

Your website and contact information?

Website 

Twitter  

Linkedin

 

Other Resources:

You can also apply for a a bachelors or masters program in finance or accounting through the website phoenix.19gi.comwhich offers online or campus based degree programs.

Related Articles:

Financial Planner Licensing in Different Countries

Financial Analysts and Personal Financial Advisors – BLS website

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Alternatives to Full-time Employment

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Working peopleThe alternatives to a permanent full time job include part-time work, contract jobs, job share and all, but there are other options too which you could explore and see what suits your needs and interests the best.
New work arrangements of the 21st century are perhaps the call of the times. Millions are unemployed in the US and around the world as the world rides the recession wave, job losses are by the thousands every month and not so many are coming back. It is time to explore the career options which can be an alternative to a full-time or the regular 9 to 5 office job which had been the norm for the past century.

Some of the ‘non full-time jobs’ options that you could consider are:

Employment as apprentices or trainees

If you have been in a layoff and for some reason do not intend to go back to the industry you have worked with, and can sustain financially for some time at least; then considering a career change could be one fabulous (forced) opportunity for you now. And since it is difficult to (successfully) change careers without having the right skill set, seeking employment or voluntary work as apprentice or trainee could be an option now. Seek training in the area of specialization where the jobs would be in future. The US department of Labor Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has some good information on its website http://www.doleta.gov/OA/ . (For the readers not in the US, check out your government website for related information, there are also many career centers in various cities which can provide in information on vocational training institutes etc.).

Freelance

Freelance – Use your skills and talents and work on your own from where you want. Many website provide the tools and advertising you need to be visible to those who might need your skills, but you must first know how to market yourself and if at all it would be worth spending the time freelancing either in the short-term or long-run. You must build a reputation and credibility before you see yourself ‘thriving’ as a freelancer. There are better resources out there to research on freelancing if you are attracted to the idea, some of these are:

Small business opportunities

Start your own business – it is not the time to sit and think that nothing would work out if you started your business now in a bad economy. The world is always on the move and people need solutions to their problems. So if you present an answer to someone’s need be it as a product or a service, you might fare better as an entrepreneur than in any permanent job. Often we do what we have been doing or what are skills or education were, only when a major change happens for example a layoff and finding another job in the same field is extremely difficult it is time to reinvent your career and being your own boss (if you have the aptitude of course) could be one of the most lucrative careers and opportunity of a lifetime.

On your own – But Selling for others

The work from home options are very much in demand especially by stay at home moms who want an extra income or single mothers who need additional income. And of course, this area is not restricted to the “mom” group. If you have a knack in marketing and confident on your computer skills (or are keen to learn both); then working from home selling others products can be a very attractive opportunity in terms of value of your time and learning the first steps towards entrepreneurship – since marketing and sales are key to this type of business.
Some examples are:

  • Avon (cosmetics)
  • Selling information products – as eBooks, or educational products
  • Phone/computer Customer Service (for example, live-chat responders to service based or product selling websites)

Beware — Although these above options and websites may make it look like a very simple and easy set up to make great money but be aware that internet marketing may be challenging a business. And not to mention the various internet scams that are working overtime to lure and steal your identity.

WAHM.COM offers work-at-home job listings and they do try to screen jobs to present some legitimate ones; but your judgment must be based on careful analysis and research.
Relevant reading: Nice Work If You Can Get It: Web Sites for At-Home Jobs

eBay as a Part-time earning resource

Many online resources will guide you towards selling on eBay and also good books such as eBay for Dummies is a good investment for research, planning and implementation.

Blogging as a Career

A few years before no one would have even thought that blogging could be a full-time career but as the internet evolves and the recent news in business magazines Entrepreneur and BusinessWeek often citing success stories from not one or two but quite a few bloggers on how they are making decent money blogging full time, blogging could soon be on the list of full-time careers.
The first step towards your decision to be a full-time professional blogger must be to research thoroughly on how previous successes have been achieved and what are the real life scenarios – do not get enamored by the one page websites of all those bloggers around who want to sell their software or services and get you making a 5 figure income in a month through blogs – easily; making good money from a blog or a few of them is not as easy as it sounds or those who might want to sell it to you.
There are some great blogger tips websites; Darren Rowse on ProBlogger perhaps tops it all. One of his posts: Do you call yourself a blogger, is worth a read and also see the interesting comments that follow this post.

Here are some other websites where you can get some quality advice:

All set to hunt on a job board for professional bloggers? Check this out:
http://jobs.problogger.net/

Franchise options

It might be a good time to get into franchise business; there are reports of quite a few of the systems are cutting down on the fees to attract more franchisees in the economic downturn. Research well and assess your financial situation well before getting into the franchise market. Although most of those selling you on franchise options will try their best to convince that it is easy to get loans and start the business right away; it is always wiser to research on your own and calculate running costs and your capability to commitment to a business in the long-run.


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