The 3 Priorities to Achieve Balance for a Happy, Successful Life

By Nan McAdam

I have worked in the business world for many years. The saddest thing, I have witnessed, is to see someone who has work very hard, spending the majority of their time creating a successful career. They finally reach that pinnacle of success in their career that they were striving for and they look around and that's all they have. Their marriage and family is gone, kicked to the curb by over focusing on their career. They had lost all sense of balance. They have achieved the dream career, but their life is in ruins.
Some people, actually, use the above scenario as an excuse to not succeed. They don't want to put in the time and hard work it takes to succeed because they don't want to lose what is precious to them. I believe you can have it all. Does that sound impossible? I have witnessed it. I know many successful people who have grabbed the brass ring in their career and have a solid life with their partner and kids. Don't get me wrong. I have witnessed plenty of the first scenario. It is challenging, to say the least, but it can be done!
If someone achieves their dream success in their career, but loses their family and is spiritually bankrupt, are they really successful? Creating a successful life begins by prioritizing the important things in life. The successful people, I have seen, prioritize their top three things in this order.
1. Spiritual - they have an active relationship with their God or what ever they call their creator. They model their lives by the laws and teachings of their spiritual faith. I don't believe that a certain religion creates more successful people. They may not even be affiliated with a religion. Successful people realize there is something larger than themselves. They acknowledge it and worship in their own way. Their communication with their spiritual side is their first priority. Face it, faith and hope come from a strong spiritual connection.
2. Family - isn't this who we are working for? If we really prioritize our families we will find the time to spend with them. The time might not be quantity, but it should be quality. Four hours of watching TV with the wife/husband and the kids is not quality time. The key is, the time you spend with them should have all your attention. Schedule them in your planner and keep that appointment no matter what crisis happens at work. If we have a great career but lose the closeness with our spouse and children, what have we gained? When we always short change our family for our career, they aren't really the priority they should be. Our families should be our "why" for success. When we move into the winter of our lives, our families will be the ones who keep us warm.
3. Business - I am not naive enough to believe, when creating a successful career, we will always be in balance. Project deadlines and business growth accelerations can take us out of balance. When this happens, communication with our top two priorities is in order. Our family, will understand short changing their quality time only if it doesn't become the norm.
It is fun and exciting to build a successful career! It should be the monetary means to build a successful life, not the life.

job, jobs, career

Medical Transcription and Scribes

By Kathy Nicholls

The use of scribes has been a topic of discussion quite a bit lately, so I thought it was time to talk about it here and see what your thoughts are.

If you're not yet familiar with the term, a scribe is a person who goes into the exam room with a physician and does the documentation on the patient visit into an electronic record, using a laptop or some type of portable device. It's being sold as a way for physicians to get their information into an electronic record quickly and a way to reduce costs.

Scribes need to have an understanding of medical terminology so that the documentation is correct. They also need to be able to work with the technology that is being used, although, like medical transcription, I imagine systems will vary from provider to provider. My ophthalmologist has been using a "scribe" in his practice now for more than ten years, so I sometimes chuckle when I hear people talking about how new this practice is. Or perhaps he is jut ahead of his time.

The reports I've seen show that scribes tend to make a starting wage of $8 to $10 per hour. It is also reported that while some of the people doing this job have some medical background, many times they are trained from scratch in training programs that take six to eight weeks to complete. Most of the information shows that scribes work for a company, who then contracts with the healthcare facility to provide the services. These companies are charging the healthcare facilities $20 to $24 per hour for the scribe services.

Is this an opportunity for medical transcriptionists? Perhaps. Medical transcriptionists certainly have the skill set necessary to perform this function. While many will protest the pay, remember that these scribes are working for a company, or a middle man, who has to "upcharge" the healthcare provider in order to make money. How would that change if you went directly to a healthcare provider and offered those services?

What do you think? Is a scribe a potential future role for people with medical transcription training?

job, jobs, career

How To Not Ruin Your Best Resume

By Suzette Dean

For fresh graduates, having the best resume is a big issue. They consider it their key to getting hired by a reputable company. This is actually true since they have little or no work experience. Because of this, many struggle to make the best resume. However because of lack of knowledge and information sources, many are not able to achieve the goal of making the best resume and end up with an average resume instead. But what should a resume really include for it to be the best resume?

First of all, the best resume should always include your educational attainment. Whether you are able to go to a university or just high school, educational attainment should always be included. Why? Since you are a fresh graduate, and have little or no work experience yet, employers will base their decision on the school that you have been to. For most companies, the standards of the schools can help them determine the capacity of the applicant.

Second, the best resume should contain activities that were work-related or internships. This is also important because they could use your internship experiences to determine your working capacity - whether you are hard working or not, if you have perseverance or not, or whether you are determined or not. These qualities are very important for companies because they would want their employees to be efficient.

Third, the best resume should contain any training and seminars that you were able to attend. Why is this important? Training and seminars will definitely give you additional knowledge that you will not be able to learn from the four walls of the classroom. Training and seminars that are written in your best resume will of course give you an edge compared to other applicants who were not able to undertake such privileges.

You see - writing your own best resume is not that hard. All you need is focus and the proper tips of course. Remember, flooding your resume will not make it the best but instead will make it look like a logbook. Choosing the right information to include in your resume is very important so as to not flood your resume. Impressing the employer is the goal, but being able to write the best resume by yourself will not only impress the employer, but give you satisfaction because your hard work paid off in the best way.

job, jobs, career

How To Negotiate An Increase

By Robert Moskowitz

Sure, your boss or Board of Directors might call you in and offer you a raise, But chances are overwhelming that they will not. So if you want to earn more money next year than last, you will have to initiate the process yourself and use all your skills to pry loose a little extra. It's not easy to accomplish, however. In fact, annual increases in base salaries are averaging only 3%, the lowest amount in more than 20 years according to Christine Seltz, spokesperson for Hewitt Associates, a nationally known compensation consulting firm based in Lincolnshire, IL.
Fortunately, about two-thirds of the nation's employers offer incentive pay for top performers. If you can work your way into this type of program, you will receive extra pay or other benefits whenever you achieve specific performance targets. Depending on the specifics of your situation, these performance targets might cover just you or your entire team.
Either way, however, incentives can provide much bigger take-home pay increases than conventional raises. Hewitt Associates' surveys show that today's budgets for incentive programs presently average about 7% of the budget for base compensation (that is, salaries). This means incentives provide more than twice as big a pie as raises from which to cut yourself a juicy slice.

Here are some strategic and tactical tips on how to increase your take home pay in the coming twelve months.
Strategic Approaches

1. Determine your worth in the marketplace. Contact the competition, clip and save relevant employment ads, even talk to executive search firms. You might also look for references and facts in magazine articles and compensation surveys that support your idea that you should earn more. Be prepared for a happy surprise, especially if you have been working for the same company for several years. There is often a large discrepancy between your present salary and what the market says people with comparable skills and experience can earn. Many people simply do not know what they are worth.
   If you are already getting what the market says you are worth, do not give up on getting more.
   
2. Consider how to become more valuable to your employer. As business fashions and thinking changes, different departments become "hot" and are deemed worthy of fatter paychecks. For example, today marketing or finance might be better places to earn the big bucks than manufacturing or customer service. If you cannot switch career tracks so quickly, you still might be able to take on additional responsibilities or even discover totally new issues and projects that will make you more valuable to the company. Take advantage of the "cross training" mentality that is popular today. At the highest levels, employers nearly always prefer executives who bring a broad-based perspective to their work and the company's mission.
   If your present employer does not place extra value on a broader range of skills and knowledge, your cross-training efforts will still make you more valuable--to your next employer.
   
3. Feel good about asking for a raise, and do not worry about getting canned. "The threat of firing you for wanting too much is nothing but a psychological bluff," says Lawrence D. Schwimmer, author of "How To Ask For A Raise Without Getting Fired," now a top manager with Geneva Corporation, a San Francisco acquisitions and mergers firm. "Even a stupid boss knows the cost of hiring and training your replacement is much more than the raise you're asking for," Schwimmer counsels, "so don't weaken yourself by imagining the worst."
4. Phrase your request assertively, not aggressively. Leave out any "or else" threats, no matter how emotionally satisfying. This allows you to save face if your request is denied. You can take time to think things over, and either make plans to leave or make clear that you have decided you like your job and your firm so much you will stay and see about getting a raise later on.
5. Anticipate the objections, worries, or problems your request might generate, and incorporate the top three or four in your initial statement. Done right, this approach can "take the wind out of their sails" and make it harder for your employer to say "no." Be careful, though, if you bring up really powerful reasons for refusing you a raise, you might be providing the opposition with unbeatable arguments.
6. Set limits: Do not ask for a raise in general, but for a raise of a certain size. Do not allow an open-ended time limit on getting a response; ask to be informed within two weeks.

Tactical Approaches

1. Base your request for a raise on performance. Arguments about pay equity, reference to the many years since your last raise, pleas for compassion because you have big expenses coming up--none of these fly very well in today's economy.
2. "Bring solid documentation of what you've done to help the company," suggests Schwimmer, "and, anticipating that you'll refer to your performance when you ask for a raise, keep a file to document your level of performance during the most recent year or six months."
3. Be assertive in your request. Do not hint or allude to what you want. Communicate honestly and directly in an appropriate manner. "In fact," says Schwimmer, "you might want to ask for twice as much as you think you're going to get, so you can negotiate down to an acceptable level."
4. Role play your request before you make it. Try talking about what you have done to merit a raise to yourself in a mirror or while driving alone. Having said the words many times before, you will probably ask for the increase more confidently and articulately when it counts.
5. Negotiate for perks and travel benefits, not just salary. For example, get permission to attend seminars and training sessions in areas of interest that lie outside your present job description, Or negotiate for paid leave so you can have more frequent 3-day weekends. Ask for a car allowance. Three out of four times that an increase is in order, say the experts, such a request is met with some concession.

employment, careers, Indonesia vacancy

Salary Negotiation: 11 Popular Myths (Watch Out)

by Nathan Newberger


Once you have aced the interview and been offered the job of your dreams, complete the package by making sure that you get paid what you are worth.
Being aware of these 11 common salary negotiation myths can keep you from selling yourself short at the bargaining table.

Myth #1 - No Application Will Be Reviewed w/o Salary Requirements.
Ads sometimes print this to begin the initial screening process. By saying too low or too high of a figure, you eliminate yourself from the running. If you are a qualified applicant, employers will not toss your resume aside simply because it lacks salary parameters.

Myth #2 - In The Hiring World, No Exceptions Are Made
Bottom line, employers can always make exceptions (to salary guidelines/restrictions) if they feel like you are the best candidate and you will not take the proposed offer.

Myth #3 - Employers Dislike Negotiating Salaries.
Most interviewers will like you more and feel more justified in hiring someone who fights for what he feels deserving of. There is no harm to try and justify to an employer why you deserve more.

Myth #4 - Past Low Salaries = Future Low Salaries.
Even if your salary history is less than stellar, you can show the employer how you’ve developed your skills and talents which now makes you a more valuable team member.

Myth #5 - Always Negotiate For The Highest Salary.
Cash is not always the most important thing. What about benefits, bonuses and quality of life? Does the job offer you the opportunity to do what you want to do and still have a life after hours?

Myth #6 - A Salary Is A Fixed Figure: You Can't Change It
All salaries are negotiable. Even if you can’t increase your paycheck, you may be able to land more benefits or bonuses to sweeten your entire compensation package.

Myth #7 - A Beginning Salary Is Just That - A Beginning.
Wrong! Most raises are based on a percentage of your current earnings. So those who accept a lower salary without negotiating may be kicking themselves for years to come.

Myth #8 - Not Asking For More $$$ Improves Your Chances.
This strategy can sometimes backfire and make you look less valuable to the company, decrease your self-confidence and actually decrease your chances of landing the job.

Myth #9 - You Should Take The 1st Offer And Be Grateful.
In reality, you should always negotiate the initial offer because it is just a starting point to wind up at the highest end of the salary range. Most employers plan for negotiation and start the offer at a lower salary to begin with.

Myth #10 - Agree To The Final Offer A.S.A.P.
Some job seekers may think that someone else could take their place if they don’t jump on the offer. Not true. Getting the offer in writing welcomes you to join the firm until you say any differently. Take at least 24 hours to think any offer over.

Myth #11 - If I Don't Take The 1st Offer, Someone Else Will.
Applicants may be scared into taking the first offer because they think another applicant will gladly snatch up the offer even if it isn’t that great. If the employer wants you enough, they will pay you enough, in one form or another.

CONCLUSION
Knowledge is power and knowing that you have room to negotiate will help you to ask for and get the salary you deserve. Remember that the first offer from an employer is usually not the last and final offer - there is always room for negotiation.

employment, careers, Indonesia vacancy

Negotiating A Relocation Package

By Nathan Newberger

Each month thousands of employees move to a new community, to start a new job. Moves often are more expensive than anticipated. Not only is there the actual expense of moving, but also, for a home-owner, the expenses connected with selling an old home, and buying a new home. Some corporations may offer to cover some or all of the relocation costs for employees who are moving at the company's request. Larger companies usually offer a more elaborate relocation package than smaller firms. These benefits become particularly important when there is a large increase in housing costs. For example, an employee leaving a $150,000 four bedroom home in a small midwestern community may find that comparable housing in the San Francisco Bay Area may cost around $500,000.
When interviewing for a job, ask your prospective employer whether or not it has a relocation program, and find out as much as you can about it.
Benefits which may be offered to a relocating employee vary widely. Each situation may call for a different bundle of benefits; analyze your own situation carefully. It is always best to negotiate these matters as part of a transfer package, before accepting the new job, to avoid surprises to either the employee or the company after the move has taken place.

1. Cost of a familiarization and house-hunting trip for the employee, spouse, and family. (Does your family really want to move here?)
2. Extra time off (with pay) for traveling and house hunting in the new location.
3. Moving expenses, including packing and insurance.
4. Travel expenses (lodging, meals, gas, etc.) while traveling to the new location.
5. Assistance in the sale of your old home:
• º Company assumes responsibility for monthly payments, taxes and insurance until
    the old home is sold.
• º Price guarantee: if sold by the employee, the company will pay the difference
    between the net selling price and a specified price.
• º Alternative price guarantee: If employee can not sell the house within a
    specified period of time, the company will buy it at a specified price.
• º Company will pay commissions and other costs of sale.
6. Assistance in the purchase of a new home:
• º Company to pay rent of temporary quarters, until a permanent home is located.
• º Buy down the interest rate.
• º Company provides low or no interest loans.
7. A salary level commensurate with any increase in cost of living between the new location and your old location.

You will want to minimize the tax impact of any benefits you receive. For information on the tax ramifications of your relocation expenses and any reimbursements by your employer, see the IRS Publication 521, Moving Expenses. Browse on-line or download this publication from the IRS at www.irs.gov/ How hard should you push for relocation expenses? Try to analyze your bargaining position relative to the prospective employer. Does the employer have many options? Are there many qualified local applicants for the same job? Or do you have unique skills unavailable in the local market? Ask yourself, "If I owned the company, would I be willing to pay for my relocation?"
As a final check-list before accepting a new job in a new community, consider the effects on your over-all career goals:

1. Does the move represent a true promotion, or a desirable change in direction, or is it only a lateral move?
2. Is the new location in the "mainstream" of your industry, or are you moving to a "backwater"?
3. Would you prefer to live in the new location for personal, life-style reasons?
4. Considering the changes in salary and costs of living, is the move a financial advantage or disadvantage?

employment, carrers, Indonesia vacancy

11 Commandments For Smart Negotiating

By Lee Miller

The job market is the best it's been in 20 years. The Commerce Department estimates that U.S. businesses will need to hire one million new computer scientists, engineers, systems analysts and computer programmers by 2005. Yet graduates with degrees in computer science are being produced at a fraction of the rate needed. The Information Technology Association of America reports 190,000 current job openings for web experts and other information-technology specialists, and similar shortages are cropping up in other industries as well.
These market conditions provide a great opportunity to negotiate an excellent compensation package, but only if you understand how.
There are 11 basic commandments to help you negotiate the best possible deal when changing jobs, whether internally or with a new company. They are:

1. Be prepared. The more information you have about your market value and the prospective employer, the greater your likelihood of success. This is the first commandment because it's the most important. There's a wealth of information available on the Internet, at the public library and through professional associations and networking groups. Time spent learning how to negotiate and preparing for negotiations may be the best investment you'll ever make.
2. Recognize that employment negotiations are different. When the negotiations are over, you'll have to work with the person with whom you're negotiating. Moreover, your future success may depend on that person. So, while you want to negotiate the best possible deal, you need to do so in a way that doesn't damage your image. At the same time, the employer's primary concern isn't negotiating the least expensive compensation package it can get away with. Rather, their focus will be on getting you to accept the job.
3. Understand your needs and those of the employer. To be successful in this type of negotiation, you need to examine your priorities. What do you really want? Are you comfortable with a low salary and a large equity stake? Are you able to handle dramatic swings in income from year to year? Understanding your needs will also help you determine the type of company you want to work for. For example, a family-owned company may be able to offer a competitive salary and a large bonus based on results, but may not be willing to offer significant equity to a non-family member. A start-up company, on the other hand, may not be able to offer market salary, but will typically offer stock options. By recognizing what an employer can and can't do, you'll be able to determine what issues you should press.
4. Understand the dynamics of the particular negotiations. Sometimes you'll have skills that are in great demand. And sometimes, you may be one of several qualified candidates the company would be happy to hire. Sizing up the situation and understanding the relative position of each party will help you determine when to press your advantage and when to back off.
5. Never lie, but use the truth to your advantage. It's not only wrong to lie, but in employment negotiations, it's ineffective. If you lie during negotiations, sooner or later you're likely to be caught. Once you are, even if you don't lose the offer, you'll be at a tremendous disadvantage, and your credibility will always be suspect. On the other hand, total candor won't be rewarded. You're under no obligation to blurt out everything you know. You can determine what you want to say and how you want to say it, and try to put everything in its most positive light. One key element of your preparation should be to recognize areas of concern so you can rehearse how to handle them when they inevitably come up.
6. Understand the role fairness plays in the process. The guiding principle for most employers when negotiating is fairness. Within the constraints of their budget and organizational structure, employers usually will agree to anything that's fair and reasonable to hire someone they want. Appeals to fairness are your most powerful weapon. Thus, you should be able to justify every request you make in terms of fairness. For example, if other computer programmers in similar companies are being given sign-on bonuses, you should expect to be treated no differently. Your prospective employer will want you to accept its offer and feel that you've been treated fairly. Understanding the importance of fairness as a negotiating principle can make the difference between success and failure.
7. Use uncertainty to your advantage. The more information you convey to a potential employer about your bottom line, the more likely it will limit what you get. Before making an offer, a company typically tries to determine what it will take for you to accept the position. With that information, the prospective employer will be able to determine the minimum package it needs to offer. While they may not offer you as little as they can get away with, if you've divulged too much information, they likely won't offer you as much as they might have otherwise. By not disclosing exactly what your current compensation is or exactly what it would take to get you to leave your job, you'll force a potential employer to make its best offer.
8. Be creative. Consider the value of the total package. Look for different ways to achieve your objectives. Be willing to make tradeoffs to increase the total value of the deal. If you're creative, you can package what you want in ways that will be acceptable to the company. You'll also be able to find creative "trades" that allow you to withdraw requests that might be problematic to the company in return for improvements in areas where the company has more flexibility. That way, you can maximize the value of the package you negotiate.
9. Focus on your goals, not on winning. Too often in negotiations, the act of winning becomes more important than achieving your goals. And it's also important not to make your future boss feel as if he's lost in the negotiations. You'll have gained little by negotiating a good deal if you alienate your future boss in the process.
10. Know when to quit bargaining. The one sure way to lose everything you've obtained is to be greedy. There comes a point in every negotiation when you've achieved everything you could have reasonably expected to gain. While most companies will want to treat you fairly and make you happy, few companies want a to hire a prima donna. Being perceived as greedy or unreasonable may cause the deal to fall apart. Even if it doesn't, you'll have done immeasurable harm to your career. This brings us to the 11th and most important commandment:
11. Never forget that employment is an ongoing relationship. Job negotiations are the starting point for your career with a company. Get too little and you're disadvantaged throughout your career there; push too hard and you can sour the relationship before it begins.

Understanding these principles will allow you to effectively negotiate the terms of your new job. Then do your job well and continually seek out new challenges. As you take on added responsibilities and learn new skills, there will be opportunities to negotiate further improvements.

employment, careers, Indonesia vacancy