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Sign O’ the Times

Finding a full-time job with benefits is becoming a scarcity. Less than a decade ago, it was still a common accomplishment after graduating from college. Recent graduates had the opportunity to conform to the status quo that was formalized by the babyboomer’s generation, helping a company hit major goals and building a rapport with a micro-managing boss as they crossed their fingers for next year’s promotion. Regardless if they loved or hated their position, these professionals were content with having steady incomes and perceived job security.

Times have changed. In the midst of a global economic downturn, millions of people have lost those comfortable bread-and-butter jobs. The Wall Street Journal indicates that almost the number of unemployment claims submitted averages to almost 390,000 each week. Numerous professionals have wavered between a slew of part-time job opportunities that dangle just enough money in front of them to pay the rent. Needless to say, I’m no exception.

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I’m currently in talks with 2 acquaintances to start an HR consulting business. One of the hurdles we are facing is our limited funding and the need to have offices and some kind of infrastructure.

At first we thought of leaving the “physical” part of the business for a later phase but given the nature of our business  not having a physical location was going to be detrimental to our branding and image.

Doing some research, we ran across Servcorp, a company which provides Virtual Offices in Melbourne, Canary Wharf, New York, San Francisco and over 100 premium locations worldwide. If you are close to a big city, chances are that there’s a Servcorp location near you.

These Virtual Office packages are created to serve different budgets and business needs. You need a receptionist to handle your calls? Check. Need a secretary? Check. Need a big room for an important meeting? Check.

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Deciding who to trust your money to is tough. So tough that sometimes, we don’t even trust ourselves to multiply our assets so we resort to the safest option: tucking it under the mattress.

That’s why credibility, transparency and a good track record are qualities of a financial company that should appear at the top of your list  when you decide to invest your money.

Perpetual is one of Australia’s most experienced investment and trustee groups whose passion is protecting its clients and stakeholders’ wealth.

Founded in Sydney in 1886 as Perpetual Trustees, Perpetual aims to be the leading provider of financial products and services and contribute to its investors financial growth. The firm has managed the assets of generations of Australians through every possible market scenario.

Perpetual offers a variety of products and services which can be tailored to you investment strategy needs such as:

Investment products: investment, retirement and savings plans

Investment management: Australian and global shares, fixed income and property done through quality analysis of each investment.

Financial advice: trained advisers help you plan your investment strategy, estate planning, tax and life and disability insurance.

Trustee and fiduciary services: to help you manage your assets and income effectively.

Corporate trust and business services: Australia’s major institutions have trusted Perpetual to protect their assets and investors.

A socially responsible company

Philantropy is at the core of everything Perpetual does. Through the company’s philantropic endeavors and The Perpetual Foundation (founded in 1998), Perpetual  helps and contributes with individuals, families, companies and communities acting as trustee for over 450 charitable trusts in areas such as medical, social, environment, culture and education.

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Hi there!

I messed up a bit.

Last night I changed the permalink structure of every post in the blog in order to improve my SEO and SERPs -search engine rankings in layman terms ;)- but while doing so, all the social sharing buttons at the bottom of each post lost their share count.

Truth be told, when people see that something has been shared by others, they tend to keep sharing. This is what’s called social proof.

Inversely, if someone sees zeros across al social networks, he or she may instantly deem the post “unworthy”, sometimes not even reading it.

Gotta ask you for a favor now, smart and selfless readers.

After you read a post, please take a second to tweet, like, stumble or +1 it to help me get those posts back to their former glory.

That second of your life will be greatly appreciated by yours truly.

Thank you!

Fernando

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Danielle Restivo, Corporate Communications Manager at LinkedIn for Brazil and Canada was interviewed by Eileen Murphy.

She agreed to tell us about the social network so we can better understand how it works and maximize our use of it.

Since its launch in 2003, Linkedin has grown to an astonishing 120 million members worldwide in over 200 countries and territories. Danielle told us that Linkedin continues to look for new ways to add value for our members by adding new products and tools on the site and improving access through mobile devices.

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Is your small business hiring at an increasing rate? Are you having more and more employee relations issues? Do you need a compensation and benefits program? Are you worried about lawsuits? Are HR duties pulling you away from your other responsibilities?

Then check the infographic after the jump and see if you need to hire an HR person:

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Guest Post by Danielle Riggs- When applying for jobs your resume is your first impression; it’s your handshake, your sultry look across a crowded room. If your first interaction isn’t up to snuff then it will be your last. A lot of people are unemployed. With a more competitive market it becomes even more difficult to find a job. You want your resume to stand out from the mass of other applicants. It should show you in the best light and be blemish free. Here are some tips to improve your resume and detail your technical expertise.

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It’s been a long day. It’s been 40 hours long and counting.
It’s actually been a long -very long- week, setting up our move and finishing tying up loose ends.
Yesterday, I woke up at 7am in Pennsylvania (as I have for the past 4 years). After transferring my car to a friend ...

I always say that your -or mine- career is not about making money but being happy doing what you love. Money is a consequence of one being good at what one does.

Still, I wouldn’t hurt knowing what you are getting into before deciding to go to school.

Infographic after the jump.

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So, you’ve just turned in your resignation letter; you are out in two weeks. How do you avoid suffering the I-don’t-give-a-damn syndrome?

The easiest tip would be for me to say stay motivated and be professional; but that’s easier said than done. Finding ways to stay motivated and being professional are definitely must-dos but they usually require a daunting effort on your side; basically, it’s rowing against the current (the current being your mind). But in the end, if you want to avoid falling into this professional trap, it all goes down to one of our most primal and genetically engrained traits: altruism.

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This is the third installment of the job hunting series. Last time, we discussed how to analyze and weigh geographical locations in case your job hunt takes you to unexplored territories. Now we are going to focus on how to target the right companies for you and how to approach them.

Okay, so you’ve made up your mind and decided where you want to work next and what industry to board. Next in line, decide where exactly you want to work. Trust me, blindly applying in Monster.com and Careerbuilder for every job that nearly fits your qualifications is not the best approach. You’ll find out why in the next entry: How to Prepare for a Job Interview.

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We often predict that a messy desk or a messy office will negatively impact those around and consequently hinder productivity. More so, we estimate that a messy or chaotic environment makes it difficult to concentrate and will destroy efficiency. We envision frustration, annoyance and irritation, undermined morale, high turnover, unmotivated ...

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About a month ago I started to think about ways to complement my career and start studying something. I became interested in Six Sigma ever since I heard about it when I was studying Human Resources administration back in the mid 2000′s.
So I reached out to a Six Sigma expert, Cecile Rayssiguier, who is the Quality Methods, Tools and Competency Manager at Schneider Electric in Paris, France. She is also a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt.

Here’s what Cecile told me:

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When I decided to study Psychology, I remember that one of the main concerns I had was if the clinician role had its days counted.

It was the late 90s and Artificial Intelligence (AI) wasn’t just something you used to only see in science fiction movies anymore. It was already real science. I used to think that if I were to become a clinical psychologist I would be signing my early retirement. Yeah, I worried about that stuff when I was 18 (don’t know what the rush was).

I feared that molecular biology, computing technology, chemistry, genetics, neuroscience and ultimately nanotechnology could kill talk therapy within the next 2 or 3 decades.

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Last time we discussed Healthcare-Associated Infections was when scientists invented the paint that kills MRSA. Today, it’s good news again but unlike last time, your help is needed.

Whether you are philanthropist, healthcare professional or in a position with the ability to promote change in your organization, this is something you may not want to pass on.

The Department of Health & Human Services recently released its annual report on the quality of Health care Americans receive. While there have been improvements, hospitals still have work to do to put an end to the ongoing -but solvable- problem of Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs).

To help achieve this goal, Kimberly-Clark Health Care launched “Not On My Watch”, a website that provides tools and information to help facilities eliminate HAIs.

I was asked by Kimberly-Clark to spread the word about this effort, which I’ll gladly do by giving you three ways you can help get rid of those pesky HAIs:

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October’s third AdWords coupon giveaway is here! This time, the prize will be drawn among those who subscribe to the blog’s monthly newsletter (form is on the sidebar) or RSS feed. Remember to subscribe with your real name and a valid email address.
This is a perfect chance to boost your ...

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