How to Write a CV

In the CV heading you can write your general information:

• Name
• Surname
• Local address
• E-mail address
• Phone number

(If applying for an overseas job, please remember to include your international dialling code.) Include your mobile/cell phone number if you are going to relocate soon.

CV Skills Summary

The Skills Summary section of your CV includes your main skills. You should only include keywords in his section, do not go into lengthy descriptions of your skills. The skill summary is also called personal profile.

CV Objective

The CV Objective, sometimes also referred to as CV Personal Profile states "What is the next step in my career?" This should be a short, concise statement that informs the employer what kind of position you are looking for. The type of position, the role (managerial, supervisor, contractor) should be included as well.

If you are job hunting it is a good idea to have several CV's with different profiles or objectives. For example, you can have a CV for a sales supervisor and the other for a shop floor manager. Your 'sales supervisor' CV can highlight achievements in this area, and the CV would be tuned to that particular in terms of job descriptions and achievements.

Education on your CV

List all of your qualifications in this section. Include all of your education including certifications from non-academic institutions, especially those that are related to the job vacancy. If you have more work experience than qualifications, put your work experience before your qualifications.

Write for profit and passion

Write for profit and passion

If this is your first time visiting Article Insider, take some time to browse around. If you are looking for information on a particular topic, use the Category Menu or Search. If you don't find what you are looking for, let us know or better yet, consider writing an article for Article Insider to publish. We are always looking for new freelance writing talent. Remember, freelance writers can choose to write about practically anything.

If you are seeking to write, then welcome! There is plenty of work for writers here. The team at Article Insider knows, especially in these economic times, that many writers are turning to the internet in hopes of finding writing jobs. That is what inspired us to create Article Insider. First, let's get clear on some basic terminology. Whether one is searching for "freelance writing jobs", "online copywriting jobs" or "online content writing jobs" âÄì it all basically means the same thing: jobs for writers. The internet has now become the publishing platform of choice (or necessity!). Online has become mainstream and everyone has access.

This, as many of you are acutely aware, had a transformative effect on the traditional publishing industry. It has also generated fresh possibilities for those who love to write. There are ways for writers to earn money unheard of only five years ago. Article Insider is dedicated to exploring these new avenues of earning and career development with you. We will change to reflect your desires and needs. We start from the premise that well written, thoughtful articles will attract advertisers. For those who aren't keeping track, online advertising is the principal revenue engine driving the internet economy. That is how Google makes its money. It has been true for the traditional publishing industry as well.

We want you to make money writing

We believe that what is good for Google and has been good for the publishing industry is also good for writers. This of course turns the notion of a "writing job" on its head. By eliminating the need for a publisher in the old sense, writers now face their audience directly. Here there are no editors to determine who gets which story, dole out assignments or pay for articles (and keep the advertising profits). Each of you becomes a publisher. You need to decide what to write, when to write it and most importantly, how to write it.

Over time, if your writing is solid and your topics are well chosen, your body of online writing work will likely begin to generate advertising revenue. The more people who read and find your articles interesting, the more advertising revenues you should receive. The more articles you write, the more locations there are for additional ads, hence more revenue for you. Will you see money immediately? Probably not. But if you stick with it, then your earnings can grow long after you have written the article.

Article Insider does well economically only if you do well. For that reason we have collected information and tools to help you be successful. You'll find them under "Writer's Treasure Chest", which you can access by registering and logging in to your free Article Insider account.

Finding Online Jobs

There are many avenues to home employment on the Internet. If you look for jobs at home or work at home jobs on a search engine, you will find many Jobs at Home Websites with Job Listings. Some offer Free Membership and some charge a Monthly, Annual or Lifetime Registration Fee. Many offer Free Trial Memberships or Trial Memberships. Some jobs at home websites you will see on the Internet are: 2Work-At-Home.com, Bassador.com, HomeJobStop.com, Homeworkers.org, LegitJobs.net, SohoJobs.com, SpeedySecretarial.com, TJobs.com, Work-At-Home-Land.com and WorldWideWorkAtHome.com.

Staffing Services, No Fee Work At Home

However, there are also many more companies online offering home employment directly with no cost to you. Some of them are Outsourcing Services hiring home employees from their own websites. You will also see help wanted advertisements from temporary and permanent employment agencies looking for workers. You might consider employment agencies, staffing services, freelance websites, recruiters, help wanted classifieds or jobs search agents. An online search for virtual staffing services should provide many helpful online virtual staffing services that are looking for employees to work for their clients.

Outsourcing Services No Fees

You will find many more work at home opportunities on the Internet with Outsourcing Services. They already have a large clientele and marketing system and are looking for more employees to help their clients. There are call centers, customer support providers and customer relationship management firms that pay people for customer support work done from home, telesales specialists looking for salespeople, virtual assistant agencies looking for virtual assistants, data processing services looking for data entry typists and many other outsourcing services are advertising for employees to work online. You will also see many online Outsourcing Services that advertise editing services and recruit editors to work for their online services, or writers, typists, accountants, etc. Many temporary agencies and freelance websites also advertise for workers who will work on outsourced projects for them.

Help Wanted Classifieds

For recent help wanted classified advertisements look at http://FreshJobs.com and http://ExpertNetSurf.com. Recent classified advertisements with titles like Now Hiring, Help Wanted and Job Openings are posted in newsgroups, job boards, forums and message boards too. JobBoardMagic.com, Job-Search-Engine.com and JobLine.net check many job boards in their job search. You could also post your resume at http://HelpWantedSite.com and apply for jobs you like with your resume from their website. CareerBuilder.com, a large job and career website, and Jobvertise.com also provide this service free.

Jobs At Home Newsletters

There are also many helpful jobs at home websites that will send you recent job advertisements in a newsletter or ezine. You can join their mailing list or subscribe to their newsletters free at their websites. ExpertNetSurf.com is recommended for recent jobs at home advertisements in their free newsletter. Bassador.com, HomeJobStop.com and Telework-Connection.com also provide free jobs at home information in their newsletters. Email Alerts are also available from many job and career websites including CareerBuilder.com, HelpWantedSite.com and IHireAccounting.com

Internet Newsgroups

Another resource for job search and help wanted advertisements is Internet Newsgroups. Jobs are posted in Newsgroups at http://Google.com in newsgroups like alt.jobs.offered, misc.jobs.offered, biz.jobs.offered, us.jobs.offered and misc.jobs.offered.entry. You can find many recent help wanted advertisements in newsgroups and messages about them. You can also search for jobs. Many more jobs at home opportunities are listed in Yahoo Groups and MSN Groups.

Jobs At Home Search Engines

You will also find many jobs at home search engines and jobs search engines that you can search for jobs. You can search for home employment with jobs search engines using keywords like at home, home, homebased, job at home, outsource, remote, telecommute, telemarket, telework, virtual, work at home, and work from home. JobLine.net will do a Job Search and/or Resume Distribution for a charge. These websites have jobs at home search engines:

How Much Time Should You Spend Mortgage Shopping?

How much time should you spend shopping for a mortgage? How much effort do you need to put in to be sure of getting the best deal?

A recent report by the mortgage data company Zillow made minor waves when it found that one-third of borrowers spent only two hours or less researching their mortgage. That’s the same amount of time the average consumer spends shopping for a TV.

On average, borrowers spent five hours researching mortgages. That sounds a lot better, until you consider it’s the same amount of time the average person spends making plans for their vacation. And its half as long as the 10 hours spent shopping for a car.

Home and mortgage go together

By comparison, those same borrowers spend an average of 40 hours shopping for the house they end up buying and financing with that mortgage. That’s not to say you need to spend that long researching your mortgage, but most people will have the loan as long as they have the house - or nearly so. And a 30-year mortgage last a lot longer than the typical car or TV.

Of homeowners who obtained mortgages in the past five years to either purchase or refinance a home, two-thirds said they’d like to do things differently the next time they take out a mortgage, according to the Zillow study. And doing things differently can mean big savings. A difference of a quarter of a percent on the mortgage rate for $250,000 mortgage can mean a savings of nearly $40 a month on a 30-year fixed-rate loan – and nearly $14,000 over the life of the loan.

So how much time should you spend? If you’ve never shopped for a mortgage before, 10 hours is a pretty good rule of thumb. If you’re already familiar with the mortgage process and the fees that are involved, your time can be significantly less. But the important thing isn’t the time spent, but what you do with it that counts.

Check your credit reports first

The first thing you want to do, before you contact any lenders or even start shopping for a house, is to check your credit report. By law, you’re entitled to a free report every year from each of the three credit reporting companies – Experion, Equifax and Transunion – so just go ahead and order all three, unless you’re already ordering annual copies. Order them at www.annualcreditreport.com– that’s the official source.

Once you have your reports, check them for errors. If you find any, report them to the company in question and have them corrected. You don’t want bad information weighing down your credit score, because your score determines the interest rate you can get.

Next, start researching lenders and brokers. Choose about six to ten and call them up and ask about their rates and fees. With online brokers, you can do this electronically. Don’t focus just on the ones that advertise the lowest rates – check with a few that appear a bit higher and try to find out the reason for the difference.

Understanding mortgage fees

What you’ll find is that there are big differences in how lenders and brokers structure their fees – and understanding this is going to take most of your research time. One lender may offer a lower rate, but may charge more in points and fees, which could actually make that loan more costly than one with a higher interest rate.

When you’ve identified three or four that seem to offer the best deals, put in a loan application with each. Submitting a loan application means they must provide you with a Good Faith Estimate, which is a three-page federal form that sets forth the terms of the loan they’re offering, including interest rate and fees. Avoid lenders who insist you pay an application fee up front – there are plenty of lenders who will offer a GFE at no charge.

The new GFE, which came into use on Jan.1, 2010, is designed to make it easy to compare offers from different lender. The GFE breaks down your mortgage costs into three main categories – the interest rate, the lender’s origination fees and third-party fees charged by parties other than the lender. The form is designed to enable you to accurately compare these costs among multiple lenders and see which is the best deal.

Before committing to a lender, you may want to do one final check and request current interest rates from all of them – rates can change several times a day – before choosing one and locking in your rate. Locking in your rate pretty much commits you to a lender and you will have to pay for that. But if you’ve invested the time and done your research, you shouldn’t have anything more to worry about

Manage and Monitor Your Online Reputation

ust this past week, another strong brand was caught in the midst of an online controversy. The brand victim, Starbucks. Employees at a Miami Starbucks posted inappropriate photos of Starbucks customers online using the social media tool Flickr. Now, Starbucks is well known in the social media space, they have several followers on Twitter, so how did this happen?

A few months back the same thing happened to another company. I won’t go into details, because if you didn’t see the video, I don’t want to make you lose your lunch – let’s just say there were two employees of Domino's Pizza doing very unhygienic things to the pizza they were preparing. It made national news and the video on YouTube received over 1 millions views. The video threatened the reputation of a brand that had been developed by a company for 50 years.

Don't be mistaken,just because you are a business and you are not using social media, don't think that your brand can't be hurt by it if you are not paying attention. The reality is, whether or not you are participating in social media - you are playing. Your brand in some way or another is being represented,either by you as a company, by your customers or by your employees.

Monitoring major social media platforms and solving issues that reflect poorly on your brand is one of the most important parts of any company's social media effort. As a business, the most important thing to remember is that even if you are not using social media, you need to be aware of what’s going on in the social media realm when it comes to your brand. It doesn’t pay to turn a blind eye and, by doing so, it can, ultimately, be a detriment to your success.

We've all heard of brand monitoring and many of us, especially small to medium sized businesses, in the past haven't seen the need. We'd just treat customers well and give them what they need and they'd tell their friends and family. Now that we have the internet and social media, it’s even more important to monitor our reputations, especially as business owners. I always remind the clients with whom I consult that it’s not just seven people one person will tell about your services, now it’s in the millions. This is especially true with the social media tools that are available and widely used, such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

I don’t care if you don’t want to use social mediums to market your service or products, it’s more vital than ever to at least have an awareness of what’s being said within the social media realm about you, your brand, your products and your services. Sticking your head in the sand will only hurt you not help you.

How Can You Monitor and Protect the Reputation of Your Brand?

• Step 1: Understand how the social media platforms work. Learn how to use Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and MySpace. Become familiar with their platforms. Take a few moments and read the terms of services and watch and learn how people are using these social media outlets.
• Step 2. Don’t assume that social media doesn’t affect you. When it comes to social mediums, there are not just thousands of users, there are millions. These users consist of your customers who are bloggers, influencers, columnists and public figures. These people are talking about companies. Are they talking about yours? You need to know this and you need to know whether the chatter is negative or positive.
• Step 3: Actively Protect Your Brand. There are many steps that you can use to do this. Register your brand names with the various social media platforms, (add comma here) this way you avoid the chance of them being hijacked by someone else.
• Step 4: Create a social media policy for your company. This means creating a plan that informs and educates employees on the company policy and guidelines of using social media. This policy should inform them as to what they should and should not discuss when it comes to the company. And other appropriate practices and procedures to follow, especially in the event of a crisis.
• Step 5: Always be aware. There is no excuse not to know what is being said. It’s important to always have your finger on the pulse of what is being said, whether it be positive or negative. You always want to know when someone is talking about your and your brand – ignorance is no excuse. Monitor the social media platforms.
• Step 6: Embrace the negative when necessary. Social media is a conversation and a dialogue, so be willing to embrace the negative and dialogue in public regarding the situation. This gives you credibility with other consumers.

There is still no action after audit slams SABC

Auditor-general Terence Nombembe has proved an exemplary example of independence, displaying fair-mindedness in his auditing decisions. No more so than when he found hundreds of millions of rands worth of alleged financial mismanagement and corruption in his special investigation into the SABC.

What a contrast he is to members of the parliamentary communications committee, who insisted this week on closing a hearing with the SABC - supposedly the public broadcaster - over which it has insight. While members of the parliamentary press gallery were squatting on the floor outside of the meeting room - waiting for a court order to end the closed meeting - I couldn't help thinking what a mockery it was to call it a "communications" committee.

What an irony that Parliament used the police to protect the MPs - from journalists! Whereas, they should have been deployed to protect transparency and the public pursuit of truth by MPs.

It is just short of a year since the damning auditor-general's report. Only in February was the Special Investigating Unit - headed by state crime buster Willie Hofmeyr - roped in to probe these allegations. One of the more extraordinary auditor-general's findings was that senior managers had notched up millions of rands of misuse of SABC petrol supplies, some surely requiring vehicles to be lined up all day to be filled up. It makes hiding behind closed doors by MPs deeply suspicious.

It has been a rough year for the SABC, with an interim board appointing - at the eleventh hour - Solly Mokoetle, as the chief executive, just before its handover to a new board headed by chairman Ben Ngubane.

Now it appears that all board members, with the exception of Ngubane, have turned against Mokoetle. He has been given notice of his suspension, in spite of protestations all along by Ngubane that "the factual situation is that all the non-executive board members accepted the new group chief executive", as he was reported saying to Sapa in January.

Then there is the saga of the appointment of Phil Molefe, a former parliamentary press gallery member, as the head of SABC news.

Before she left office as interim board chairwoman, billionaire businesswoman Irene Charnley said at the handover meeting that the interim board's core focuses were to stabilise the corporation after a severe financial crisis, leaving the broadcaster with a deficit last year of R900 million. She noted that the government had stepped in with a R200m additional injection and a guarantee of a further R1.4 billion. It was her board, however, which thrust Mokoetle into office.

The auditor-general's report last year was damning. He found 20 employees were directors or members of 20 companies or close corporations which received payments from the broadcaster to the tune of R3.4m. Few if any heads have rolled since. Four senior managers were suspended but their heads never rolled. What a pickle.

Home insurance quotes: For the unpredictable future

With the passage of time there has always been a tendency in the man that he has learned from his experience. This has made the man the most successful species on earth. It is hence always in the best interest of the person to learn from his experiences and be well prepared for the unforeseen future well in advance. The home of the person is the place where the person actually seeks to obtain the desired level of rest after working for hours. It is hence very important for the person to timely understand the role of the insurance policy.

The home of the person is the place where the person seeks to get the desired rest after working for hours at the work place. at the same time it is the home of the person that enables the person to keep his certain belongings. It is hence always in the best interest of the person to get the home insurance policy. The home insurance quotes vary from one region to another. It is hence always in the best interest to timely go for the most desirable home insurance policy quote.

It is the home insurance policy that enables the person to get the sigh of relief. The home insurance policy quotes are subject to various factors. it is hence always in the best interest of the person to compare the various different quotes that are being offered by various different firms. This would enable the person to easily choose the best suited home insurance quote. The home insurance policies have been able to gain a lot of importance from the consumers in every part of the world. It is the home insurance policy that has always been able to gain a lot of importance in the recent times.

With the passage of time there has been countless number of people in every part of the world who have been able to gain a lot of advantage by relying on to the home insurance policy. it is the home insurance policy that has always provided the consumer with what he has been looking for. The future can never be predicted it is hence always in the best interest of the person to timely going for the desirable home insurance quote. It is the home insurance quote that can always lead to great sense of psychological relief for the man.

The Top Ten Insurance Myths You Need to Know!

Myth #1: Hey, You're Paying the Premiums... Insurance Should be Bought and Used for Every Accident and Disaster.

Insurance is designed to protect one from catastrophic disasters. An insurance rule of thumb: If you can pay for the loss or damage without a financial hardship then pay it, otherwise expect your insurance premium to eventually show an increase. Also, buying every type of insurance just isn't necessary. Sometimes the risk is worth taking rather than paying a premium. Learn more at Don't Buy Insurance You Don't Need

Myth #2: If I am Alive, I Must Need Life Insurance!

Life insurance is designed to take care of one's dependants after the caregiver's death. If you have no dependants, then you probably don't need life insurance. This includes children and retired persons... usually they don't have people that depend on their income so life insurance for these groups can, in rare instances, be beneficial but is usually unnecessary.

Myth #3: I'm the Breadwinner in the Home, So Only I Need Life Insurance.

Have you seen the cost of childcare lately? Add that along with housekeeping, food preparation, home accountant, and school transportation. From that list alone one can see how much a spouse really contributes to the household budget. It is estimated a non-working spouse contributes at least, but usually more, the equivalent of a full time job. For this reason it is important to buy life insurance for everyone in the household if the absence of their income would cause a financial hardship.

Myth #4: Whole and Universal Life are the Best Life Insurance Choices Since I Can Get My Money Back.

Term life insurance is probably the best choice for most. Term life is set for a specific term, like 10-30 years, with a much lower premium than whole and universal life. Your best bet? Buy term life and invest the premium difference in a retirement account. Lean more about Term, Universal, and Whole Life at Life Insurance Policy Basics.

Myth #5: Flood Insurance is Only for People Who Live in a High Risk Area.

Everyone who lives in a National Flood Insurance Program area is eligible and can buy flood insurance. These areas are not always prone to floods so even if you think your area is low risk you may be eligible. Check with your insurance agent to learn more or find additional information at Why didn't my policy pay for damage caused by a flood?

Myth #6: My Son Uses the Car for Delivering the Newspaper and His Pizza Delivery Job. He's Not Self-Employed So Our Auto Insurance Will Cover Any Accidents.

If your vehicle is used for anything but personal use, then you will probably need to extend your personal auto policy to cover business use of your vehicle. Don't think just because you were unaware of your coverages this will get your accident paid for--your insurance policy is a contract that you agreed to adhere to. If you don't understand all the coverages in your contract you need to contact your agent about the questions you have.

Myth#7: I Don't Need Disability Insurance... If I Become Disabled Social Security Will Take Care of Me.

Don't count on Social Security to take care of all your needs if you become disabled. If you are able to get Social Security for your disability (not all get approved to receive disability benefits so don't assume you will) then you will still have to wait months before you receive benefits and your disability needs to be long-term to qualify. And even if you qualify for benefits, will it match your current salary? Probably not. Find out more why disability insurance is important at Considering Disability Income Insurance.

Myth #8: If I Need to Stay in a Nursing Home When I am Older, The Government Will Pick Up the Bill.

Again, don't count on Medicare or Medicare Supplemental Insurance to pick up the bill. If you can qualify, Medicaid may pay up to half of the cost. Choosing long term care insurance can help you pay for the costs of a nursing facility or home care if the need arises. Also, do you really want your family to have to pick up the bill if you acquire a long term illness or disability? Long Term Care Insurance is a great option and if started early in life the premiums can be very reasonable. Find out more at Who Should Consider Long Term Care Insurance?

Myth #9: Umbrella Insurance Coverage is Just for Rich People.

Umbrella insurance is not just for the wealthy. With the common occurrence of lawsuits, umbrella insurance is a must for every home, auto, and watercraft owner. Umbrella insurance is designed to give one added liability protection above and beyond the limits on homeowners, auto, and watercraft personal insurance policies. With an umbrella policy, depending on the insurance company, one can add an additional 1-5 million in liability protection. Learn more about umbrella insurance at Why Every Policyholder Needs Umbrella Insurance

Myth #10: People Who Decide not to Purchase Health Insurance Don't Affect Others.

People who choose not to purchase health insurance eventually affect the lives of every American. There are many reasons why some Americans are uninsured. Regardless of the reasons, having so many uninsured individuals drives up the cost of goods when people get sick and cannot do their job. In addition, when many people in a company choose not to purchase health insurance, it sends a message to the employer that health insurance may not be an important benefit which in-turn could cost other workers a loss of their health insurance benefit. Also, when healthy people choose not to be a part of their company's health insurance pool, it raises the costs for everyone else because the risk is spread through less people. And, when people make such low wages that they cannot afford health insurance, the number of people eligible for Medicaid rises (which is paid by your tax dollars!). For these reasons, many have encouraged the government to switch to a Universal Health Care System where the government would help manage health care. Learn more at What is Universal Healthcare?

Is This Any Way to Stimulate Global Trade?

As the global economy slowly finds its footing in the wake of the credit crisis, regulators are tightening risk standards for banks. Though this response is understandable, keeping a close hand through tighter regulations also requires a closer eye to avoid disruptions in global trade. Broad-brushstroke regulatory changes should come with a warning label-and with sufficient time for informative exchanges between affected parties.

At the encouragement of the G-20, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision drafted recommendations for changing bank capital and liquidity standards (often called "Basel III") in an effort to promote a more resilient banking sector that can be a foundation for sustainable economic growth. The fundamental goals of stronger capital and liquidity are on target, but some of the recommendations work at cross-purposes to those goals.

In comment letters to the Basel Committee, BAFT-IFSA outlined some of our key concerns that focus on trade finance, which has historically maintained a low risk profile in comparison with other financial transactions. As background, trade finance transactions generally involve fixed, short-term instruments that cover the movement of goods. They are not automatically renewed or extended upon maturity and they are self-liquidating by nature. In stress situations, countries and banks have traditionally continued to prioritize the repayment of short-term trade finance obligations as they fall due because these obligations are fundamental to commercial exchange. Failure to honor them can put at risk invaluable trading partner relationships. And, as a result of the short-term, self-liquidating nature of trade finance transactions, banks active in this business are generally able to react swiftly to deteriorations in bank and country risk.

This notwithstanding, the implementation of the Basel II accords, concomitant with the global recession, put more pressure on banks to not only meet additional capital requirements under Basel II, but also to reconsider certain proposed transactions because of global risk deterioration. This dynamic propelled deleveraging even further during the economic crisis.

Recent surveys conducted jointly by BAFT-IFSA and the IMF indicated dramatic changes in the volume and value of trade finance transactions during the crisis. In particular there was a growing sense among banks that the value of transactions had declined because of decreased demand for trade activities.

Trade underpins the prospects of global economic recovery, and any measures that potentially restrict the willingness or ability of banks to support trade have the potential to disrupt global economic growth. Take the Basel Committee's latest recommendations regarding capital. For the purposes of calculating a leverage ratio constraint under Basel II, the committee would require banks to hold a higher quantity and quality of capital, and proposes increasing the credit conversion factor (CCF) for trade-finance instruments and other off-balance-sheet items to 100 percent. Currently, the most frequently used value for trade-related contingencies is 20 percent. Increasing the CCF by a factor of five for trade-related contingencies does not account for their intrinsically safe structure and could disadvantage banks that are focused on trade finance. Such a high leverage ratio may encourage the diversion of capital to other financial instruments, resulting in significantly reduced lending or increased cost of providing trade finance for customers.

The Basel Committee also proposed specific tests designed to improve liquidity management. Banks engaged in transaction banking generally support creation of a framework for a quantitative liquidity regime. Recent indications that the timeframe may be extended for implementing some of the liquidity recommendations have been well received; allowing for a greater understanding of the impact the liquidity proposals will have on banks' ability to provide transaction banking services is crucial.

The financial crisis was not driven by transaction banking, and just as too much risk is undesirable, regulations that go too far in their attempt to purge certain risks from bank loan portfolios have the potential to hamper recovery. Global trade relies on cost-effective and accessible financing for trade transactions. And as global trade has grown, trade finance has grown with it, facilitating the reliable and secure movement of goods and services across the globe. That is well worth preserving.

Improving Your International SEO Skills

If you're starting out on a career path in which you'll be working in international search and you need to quickly acquire search engine optimization (SEO) skills that enable you to operate globally, you'll be asking yourself some tough questions about where to start.

Let's be frank, any SEO specialist who is regarded as an expert in their field will tell you, in their bar moments, about their catastrophic past errors. Trial and error and experience count for so much in this business -- and for much more than is generally attributed to the science of information retrieval.

A well-known SEO friend of mine once said to me, "You're not really an SEO until you've been banned at least once." This particular SEO was well qualified, as he'd gone through the experience twice!

The challenge then is to acquire international experience without needing to go through lots of errors, upsetting all your clients in the process -- especially because you're no longer a beginner and not regarded as such by your clients.

In any case, you've probably allowed them to believe that you already have significant international experience when this next project will be your first! That is how most people get into this business and how the vast majority leave! (Clients and website owners beware!)

International SEO Isn't Different Anyway?

If this is your view now, you're probably a lost cause -- upload your CV to a few job boards while there's still time. You might also consider signing up for some humility training.

There isn't really the space in this article to argue this point fully -- but I would just point out that languages, keyword research, hosting issues, country redirections, payment systems, information architecture, and usability are all significantly different for multinational projects -- and that's before we've even mentioned the word "culture." Do you still want more proof?

How to Gain Your First Experience?

Ideally, you should approach getting to grips with international SEO in just the same way you began in single-market, single-language SEO. That means getting your hands dirty with an actual live project.

Because we don't want to experiment on your client's pet project, one way to do this is to create your own test project. Perhaps you already have a blog that you could set to work on. This approach will cost you or your agency some investment monies, but this is the professional way to go.

There are a couple key things you'll need to do.

1. Decide on how you're going to manage all the different languages. Buy and test local domains and, even before you have localized the site, run English versions of the site on those. Before you've even had the opportunity to set up Webmaster Central, you'll probably notice them appearing in Google's index in all the right places. The first time I ever did this, it took minutes, rather than hours, to see a result.
   
   
2. Get the languages. A good idea might be to use automated translation for one language and get a professional translation for the other.

You should see a significant difference in your traffic performance between these two approaches.

Perhaps the Client Will Hel

One other option for getting going with a test project is to get the agreement of a client with whom you have a particularly good working relationship. Perhaps you'll target their business in a market that might be of interest to them, for free, or with them only paying for actual demand generated.

Where to Go for Initial Support?

Naturally, you'll need some extra help in this venture from somewhere -- it's unrealistic to think otherwise. Going to relevant conferences and, of course, referring to sites such as this one to gain lots of valuable information are good places to start.

Specialist organizations also support agencies with international and multilingual roll-outs -- just go and do a search in our old friend Google for something similar to [multilingual search marketing agency support] and you should find a range of options.

Buying arm's length support services is one way of doing things. But if you really want someone to look directly over your shoulder and give you hands-on support, then you'll need to think somewhat differently.

I'm not aware of people who specifically offer this type of consultancy, but if someone put a case to me for this type of service, I'm sure that I could invent just as others could. It probably helps if you know your potential "mentor" first.

There are also now a few international SEO schools, which would be a good approach. These aren't particularly well publicized, so you'll need to ask around.

Dealing with Languages?

I'm guessing that you don't speak too many languages and certainly not all those that the website you'll be working on actually needs. You have a number of options here:

• Specialist multilingual agency support organizations.
  
  
• Translation agencies.
  
  
• Friendly agencies local to the target market.

I definitely wouldn't recommend translation agencies, although I know that's where most people turn first. Their business models are just not designed around search marketing.

After you've looked at the international agencies that are prepared to help, you can always turn to small local agencies based in the target country. They're tougher to coordinate because each agency has its own processes and its own culture -- so coordinating a project through multiple countries can become a little time-demanding, but they are generally helpful and friendly to get you started on your way.

Downsizing -- The Long Term Effects

Few government departments or branches have escaped the necessity of downsizing. The last three or four years have brought almost constant cuts in staffing, and some departments have been "hit" several times. For many downsizing has become an annual process.

When managers are faced with downsizing, they tend to focus on the immediate and practical needs that emerge at the time when staff are being let go. After all, employees need to be selected and notified, one of the most difficult tasks for any manager. Jobs responsibilities need to be shuffled, and generally the period where downsizing is occurring is very busy and emotionally taxing.

Unfortunately, there is a tendency for managers to focus on those that are leaving rather than those that remain. This also holds true for central training and consulting agencies who are asked to support the laid off employees with career development help, counselling, and other supports. There is no question that laid off employees deserve and need these kinds of supports and services. Unfortunately, there is a tendency to forget that after the laid-off workers are gone, the "survivors" must soldier on, and the manager must deal with the long-term effects on the remaining organization.

We are now seeing the effects of downsizing on those that remain. One of the most telling comments is often put forth by employees a year or two after downsizing, and it goes like this: "Sometimes I think that the ones who were laid off are the lucky ones". They usually go on to describe a workplace where employees feel:

. a lack of executive commitment to their functions
. confusion about the priorities of their organization
. increased workloads
. confusion about their mandate
. a sense of being betrayed by executives and managers
. a profound sense of distrust
. a sense of futility with respect to long-term planning
. undervalued and unappreciated

In operational terms, this translates into a number of problems.

. the organization moves towards less risk-taking and innovation
. destructive conflict tends to increase
. internal competition for resources increases
. individual staff members devote less effort to working together and more attention to doing things that will protect themselves.
. general listlessness and lethargy
. decreases service levels and increased public hostility

It is easy to understand these effects when they occur close to the time when down-sizing occurs, and remaining staff "grieve" the loss of friends and colleagues. But, these effects are now being seen as long as one or two years AFTER the downsizing period. There are indeed long term effects of downsizing that need to be addressed.

Understanding The Organizational Downcycle

To counter-act the long term effects of downsizing, managers need to understand how organizations slip into "downcycles".

An organizational downcycle can be characterized as a long-term process where the organization becomes progressively more depressed, insular, protective and confused. The important thing to note is that this process occurs slowly, sometimes imperceptibly, and that if the process is allowed to continue unchecked, it gets worse. The downcycling organization loses its positive momentum and enthusiasm. A vicious circle is formed. It snowballs. Bad feelings and depression become the norm rather than occasional, until, in extreme cases, the organization becomes unable to move effectively, and the work climate can become intolerable for everyone.

Because the process tends to be gradual, managers tend to assume that the problems that occur early in the downcycling will solve themselves without attention. It is easy to assume that staff will "get over" the effects of downsizing over time. This may be the fatal mistake, because if the process is left unmanaged, there is a good chance that staff will become more demoralized.

One final point on the downcycle is in order. When an organization is close to the bottom of a downcycle, it is extremely difficult to turn the organization around. This is because levels of trust, hope and enthusiasm are so low that staff will have little faith in the effectiveness of any approach that promises to be helpful.

Some Prescriptions

1. Proactive management activities are always required when downsizing occurs. Managers must realize that they "can pay now or pay later", and that delaying actions designed to revitalize the organization will result in a huge cost down the road.

Managers should consider that the period immediately after downsizing is critical. Action or inaction during this period will determine whether the organization moves into a depressed downcycle, or makes the commitment to move forward. Downsizing time should also be a time when the organization's mandate and vision are revisited. It should be a time when the manager dedicates him/herself to the long-term health of the organization by clarifying, supporting and building trust. Above all, this is the time where the manager's prime responsibility is to communicate, both with staff, and with executives. One focus of communication should be clarifying mandate, vision, priorities
and commitment levels.

2. Proactive long-term approaches should also be applied by any central agencies charged with "helping" downsizing organizations. Support should be offered to those that are displaced, but, in the long term, help offered to "survivors" will be much more important in determining organizational health. As a manager, ask, or demand that these services be made available by central agencies, or procure them from private vendors, if the central agency won't do the job.

3. If you are in the unfortunate position of man

Conclusion

We are seeing more of the long-term effects of downsizing on organizational health. When downsizing is undermanaged, there is the danger that an organizational downcycle will be created, and left to continue unchecked over several years. The results can be destructive to the organization and the individuals that work there.

It is far easier to avoid or correct this cycle at the time when downsizing occurs, and far less costly. It is important that downsizing trigger organizational renewal strategies immediately.

If proactive action is missing, or is ineffective, corrective actions down the road will require a long term commitment. Once an organization reaches the bottom of a downcycle, it will take considerable time to reverse the process.

aging an organization that is "downcycling", you need to be aware of two things. First, it will get worse if neglected. Second, interventions to turn the cycle around must be considered as long-term projects. One shot consulting or training isn't going to do much, and it may be damaging. Remember that your organization may have been moving downward for a year or two, and that it is going to take a substantial period of time to reverse the process. Positive change will require a consistent effort on your part, and may require consulting help over a period as long as a year.

Marketing Ideas for Insurance Agents

Insurance agents are the people who work for large insurance companies and do the task of selling the insurance policies to the customers for these companies. The insurance agents work for government controlled as well as private insurance companies. These agents get paid on commission basis. This means that more the business generated by the agent for the insurance company for which he works, more would be the amount earned by him in the form of commission. However, for generating more business, knowledge of the marketing ideas for insurance agents is absolutely essential. Good marketing is necessary for any business to succeed and insurance marketing is no exception to this. The insurance agents marketing plan mentioned in the next few paragraphs will help you in this regard.

Unique Marketing Strategies for Insurance Agents

Marketing ideas for insurance agents include meeting a large number of potential clients and explaining to them the benefits of the insurance policy. Generally, it has been observed that there are many doubts in the minds of common people regarding insurance. The insurance agents have the responsibility of explaining to them what insurance is essential, how much should the insurance cover be, what will be the benefits of the insurance, what would be the premiums and the terms and conditions related to the insurance policy. Answering all doubts related to insurance is a must fort the insurance agents and for this, they themselves should be knowledgeable enough. These agents can keep their knowledge up to date by attending educational sessions organized by the companies for whom they work.

However, the insurance agents will be able to explain the details of policies to their prospective clients only if they are able to reach out to them. So, advertising about their services in the newspapers and on the radio is a brilliant idea as they are popular forms of communication. Organizing health fairs and seminars should also be on the top of the marketing ideas for insurance agents. The number of people visiting the fairs and seminars is large and hence the agents can get many good long term clients. You should have your personal card on which there are details related to your office address and contact number and distribute it at such events. Brochures can be distributed and hoardings giving information about insurance can also be put up to attract the customers.