Here is information our events to Honor or Military and Veterans this Memorial Day
Tell us about someone close to you that have or has served in a branch of the Military…
Here are some planned events you may be interested in for this upcoming Memorial Day…
Stone Mountain – Memorial Day Weekend – Special Offer for Military and Veterans
Free events at Callaway Gardens
Summer Fun in Atlanta with Kids - Free things to do
Things To Do In Atlanta and surrounding areas
Current Class Schedule May – July 2012
Dates and Times are updated for classes frequently. Please be sure to check back to see if we have added classes for this upcoming session as classes fill up quickly. Registration is due 1 week prior to class start date.
Microsoft Office Excel 2007 Complete
Brief description: This class guides students through basic and intermediate worksheet skills, including how to work with data in the worksheets and functions. This class meets the certification requirements for the Microsoft Office Specialist Exam using Excel 2007. Prerequisites: Understanding of the Windows operating environment and keyboard ability.
Class Objectives: By the end of this class, you will be able to:
May 3 – May 17 Tue/Thu 6-9pm 5 sessions $249
Computer Keyboarding
Brief description: This class will teach students the basic skills necessary to begin computer typing on a keyboard and increase in typing speed and accuracy by using proper techniques. Prerequisite: None
May 22 – June 7 Tue/Thu 6-9 pm 6 sessions $129
Microsoft Windows 7 Basic
Brief descriptions: This class will teach students the basic skills necessary to begin communicating with the PC in a Windows environment. Prerequisite: None
Class Objectives: By the end of this class, you will be able to:
Browse the Web May 29 – June 5 Tue/Thu 6-9 pm 3 sessions $199
Microsoft Office Outlook Basic
Brief description: This class will teach students the basic skills necessary to create and use messages, appointments, tasks, and other Outlook items.(Microsoft Approved Courseware included)
Prerequisite: Windows Brief, Windows Basic or comparable experience.
June 12 – June 19 Tue/Thu 6-9 pm 3 sessions $199
Microsoft Office Power Point
Brief description: This class will teach students the basic skills necessary for developing presentations. Topics include: create and modify presentations, customizing presentations. (Microsoft Approved Courseware included)
Prerequisite: Windows Brief, Windows Basic or comparable experience.
June 26 – July 3 Tue/Thu 6-9 pm 3 sessions $199
On-Site Computer Training 819 Forest Parkway Ste B Forest Park, GA 30297 404-254-2882 www.osctonline.com
Even if an e-mail message doesn’t require a direct response, the information in the message may still cause you to:
You can get started with each action by simply dragging the message to the appropriate button on the Navigation Pane. While this functionality isn’t new to Outlook 2007, it’s a handy way to see how messages in Outlook can have uses beyond e-mail.
Note that dragging creates a new item, and doesn’t get the message out of your Inbox. It’s up to you to delete it if you don’t need it anymore.
If a message makes you realize that you need to meet with someone, here’s a quick way to get started:
Drag the message to the Navigation Pane.
A new appointment opens, where you’ll fill in the rest of the details (such as the date, time, and location).Then, you’ll invite the person to the meeting, and click Send.
Whether looking to advance in your current company, apply for a better position, or get started in the business world, it’s very valuable to be a MOS. MOS (sometimes MOUS) stands for Microsoft Office Specialist, which is an in-depth certification provided by Microsoft. . . and being one can set you apart in a very competitive job market.
Having Microsoft Office Specialist certification doesn’t just look good on your resume– the skills you will learn will help you to be more efficient and knowledgeable in your day to day work. Whether you’re an Administrative Assistant, Database Manager or a Teacher. MOS training and certification can streamline your working methods.
The need for Microsoft Office skills is increasing dramatically as more and more businesses are embracing newer technologies. Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certification will enable employees to complete tasks and projects with greater ease and efficiency with proven Office skills. Based on globally recognized standards, MOS certification validates employee skills, builds self-confidence and enhances professional standing among peers and managers.
Now is your opportunity to increase productivity and minimize employee turnover. With certification, you can validate employee development and training programs. Hiring managers and HR departments can screen employees for proficiency in Microsoft Office skills. Businesses can maximize their technology investment, reducing organization-wide technical support time and costs.
Teacher instructed classes: On-Site Computer Training
“I can see the look in people’s eyes when they first greet me,” says Bill Wood, a 64-year-old from Minneapolis, Minn., who is looking for a job in information technology. “It seems to say, ‘This guy is going to retire soon; we don’t want a short-term permanent employee.’”
Cyndi Pauwels, a writer in her 50s from Yellow Springs, Ohio, has had similar experiences. “I was told (second-hand, off-the-record) by a headhunter, ‘We don’t hire older workers.’ I’ve read that the longer I’m unemployed, the less likely my chances are of finding anything, and I’m beginning to believe it.”
The current recession has been particularly hard on older job candidates. In March 2011, the duration of unemployment for all seekers averaged 39 weeks. But in April, the average length of unemployment for people over 55 surpassed the year mark (53.6 weeks), according to an AARP analysis of Labor Department data. And while age discrimination is illegal, that certainly doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. Complaints filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission have increased 35 percent over the last three government fiscal years compared with the average of the three years prior.
What is behind the longer length of unemployment? Lisa Quast, author of “Your Career, Your Way!” and president of Career Woman Inc. in Seattle, Wash., notes the following:
Corporate downsizing during the recession eliminated many of the middle-management positions previously held by older workers.
There are more entry-level positions available, and these are the positions into which young people are being hired. Higher-level positions are less numerous and harder to obtain, so it can take longer for older workers to find an equivalent position to what they previously held.
Older workers are further up the career and salary ladder. Many do not want to take a position beneath their skill level, so they hold out on accepting lower-level positions, thus increasing the duration it takes to find a position.
Yet even when older workers are willing to settle for less, they often get passed over. “I have dropped my salary expectations to allow me to compete with younger candidates,” Wood says. “The philosophy of industry in the past was to bring in ‘young guns’ that have fresh ideas and ways of doing things. Unfortunately for people in a similar position as me, companies are not changing that attitude and are missing out on a golden opportunity to improve the business by utilizing experience.”
Older workers often are perceived as outdated or stuck in their ways. Such stereotypes can be hard to shatter, but not impossible. “Show some enthusiasm. Discuss how you have been innovative and are a life-long learner,” says Robin Ryan, author of “Over 40 & You’re Hired!” “Demonstrate on a résumé and in interviews the results you have achieved in the last FEW years. Show recent training (especially your technical prowess) and innovations made on the job, such as creating something new, making process/system improvements or saving past employers money.” Ryan also notes that many mature workers appear “weather-worn and tired out” and suggests looking as vibrant as possible with a new hairstyle and a contemporary, well-fitting suit.
While being lively is one thing, trying to hide your age can backfire. “In some cases, I see older workers removing the dates of their college degree(s) or their earliest jobs from their résumé in order to appear younger,” Quast says. “However, savvy hiring managers are able to see the candidates in person and guesstimate age — and may then be forced to ask candidates to explain holes in their résumé, leading to questions of integrity and additional embarrassment.”
Focusing on what you can offer a company (wisdom and experience) rather than what you can’t (youth) oftentimes sets the tone. “If you sense the hiring manager is worried about your age, then take the first step to put him at ease by explaining how you believe your knowledge, skills and experience would benefit him and the position,” Quast says. “If you choose to ask about his concerns, do so in a highly professional manner, such as, ‘Based on my education, skills and experience, are there any concerns you have that I am not qualified for this position?’ The goal is to get the hiring manager to show his hand without you having to bring up the topic of age.”
Finally, resist making blanket assumptions that companies only value youth. “The real-life experience of older workers can be of huge benefit in the business world, especially for start-up companies with a lot of young workers,” Quast says. “If you are truly worried about your age being a negative factor, seek out companies who could benefit from your expertise and sell them on yourself and your skills!”
By Beth Braccio Hering, Special to CareerBuilder
Feb 14th, 2011
So now you’ve got to look for a job. Maybe you’re experienced at this, maybe not. Maybe you’re a hot commodity, maybe not so much. Reportedly there are 5 applicants for every position, so for sure there’s more competition. I can say with certainty that no matter how great you are, among those five is at least one person smarter, younger, out of work a shorter time or with better credentials than you.
So, is it hopeless? Of course not. 9.5% unemployment, means 90.5% employment. You just have to be smarter and faster and yes, maybe settle for less pay, shorter hours, and/or fewer (or no) benefits. But if you need to have a job as soon as possible, you’ve got to start right away as the longer you’re out of work, the less desirable you are to a prospective employer.
Preparing Yourself
Update and target your resume for a few companies that you want to work for even if there are no job openings at the moment. Concentrate on those in growth industries, energy, health, security, for example. If you go after what you want, you’ll have better focus and determination.
When applying for positions, make sure you follow the instructions given. If they say, “no calls,” then don’t call. This seems obvious, but it’s easy to forget when you have a pattern going and then someone asks you do something in a way to which you’re unaccustomed.
Put your resume online. It makes it easier to find. There are many free places to do that. One of the easiest and best ways (also free) is to use blogging software, like WordPress or Google’s Blogpost. All you need is one page for this unless you want to elaborate in which case you can do that also. Just use your name, i.e., yourname.wordpress.com and you don’t need a domain name and you can reuse it for something else when you’re done having your resume online. Perhaps a blog about your job hunt?
Updating also includes updating your computer skills if they are rusty or non-existent. There are many courses given at the community level to help you in this area. Also, get a professional email address if yours is more like daffyducklovesdaisy @ whatever.com.
Learn how to speak about yourself effectively. Find some sample interview questions and write down your answers and do it until you feel confident speaking them aloud. No one employer will ask all of them, but if you prepare for any contingency, the confidence you’ll get will help you be a powerful and interesting interviewee. No matter what, it’s a good skill to have in life.
Doing Your Research
Do your homework about the organization and speak to your knowledge in an appropriate way in your cover letter. Have a list of questions prepared should you get to speak with someone. (Not “how much does the job pay?”, but more like “how did your company (or division) overcome challenges to growth last year?”)
Get the names of key people in the organization. Call the companies, get correct spellings and titles. Mail (by US Postal Mail) your personalized cover letter and updated resume. Speak to the specific skills and qualifications they are looking for. It’s “what can I do for X Company” approach, not the other way around. Try saying in your cover letter you’ll call on a certain day and time to be available for any questions they may have and follow through on that. If this sounds a little gimmicky to you, remember those 4 other smarter, younger, more qualified people. If you get to speak to someone and it’s a “no” or “I haven’t looked at it yet”, find out what you need to do to get noticed.
Getting and Staying in Touch
If there are no openings now, write a letter to the person who has the job you would want in that company, and request a short (telephone or email) informational interview about three things they would recommend you do to land a job in their field. Be creative and appropriately flattering to their position and knowledge in the field. Who could resist this? The possibility of landing such interviews and the information and networking potential here is worth any amount of resistance you might have to the idea. It works.
When you land an informational interview, make sure the last question you ask is, “May I stay in touch with you?” Keeping yourself in front of key people can never hurt. If they say “no,” thank them and move on.
No matter what the situation that got you a face to face with someone, follow up with a thank you note. Thank them for their time and ask (if it wasn’t covered in the meeting) what weaknesses you should address based upon their time with you. Another opportunity a) to learn and b) to keep in touch. An online search will yield tons of examples of post-interview or post-informational interview thank you notes.
Reinventing Yourself
Be open to possibilities you might not have originally considered like:
Freelancing or consulting. Many companies are farming out work to save on benefits. If you need a paycheck more than health insurance or a pension, this might tide you over or even create a new focus for you in the form of a new business.
Temporary work. Many a temporary position led to a full-time job. At the least it can help pay the bills until one comes along, possibly broaden your experience or keep your skills sharp and fill in resume gaps.
Consider job hunting your new job, although keeping busy at other endeavors can help fill in the gaps in your resume should you not have any temporary or part-time work to put on it. If you already were volunteering, volunteer more, or find something to do that shows you were trying to enrich your employment potential.
Janice Salomon is the creator of http://theamericanidle.com, a comprehensive blog/website offering the latest resources, tools, tips, news and information for anyone affected by job loss or change. From what to do if you get laid off to negotiating the unemployment insurance maze through job hunting or career change, we’ll help you with your journey. Come visit today and tell us your story about you survived and conquered being The American Idle.
~employmentdigest.net@bill
Multiracial students confess to spending sleepless nights worrying about how best to answer the race question on college applications. Some say they wonder whether their answers will be perceived as gamesmanship or a reflection of reality.
Aia Sarycheva, 18, whose father is from Sudan and mother is from Russia, will go to Yale next year on the strength of her grades in 12 Advanced Placement courses and an SAT score in the mid-2200s. (A perfect score is 2400.)
In the “Demographics” section of the Common Application, which is accepted by Harvard, Yale and more than 400 other colleges and universities, Ms. Sarycheza, who attends Stuyvesant High School in New York City, checked two boxes: black and white.
“I was aware that should I get into the college I wanted to get into, that there would be stigma around it — to put it bluntly — that I got in because I’m black,” said Ms. Sarycheva, who describes her skin tone as “coffee with a lot of milk.”
“The thing I want to convey,” she continued, “is that I didn’t check the box because it would give me some sort of admissions boost. I checked black, along with white, because that is who I am.”
Without clear guidance from the colleges, mixed-race students often turn to one another for advice, and their conversations spotlight how contentious the multiracial factor is in admissions.
On the Web site College Confidential, for instance, there are many streams of heated conversation on the issue.
At close to 3 a.m. one winter morning this year, a student from Germantown, Md., calling himself “Bigshot3008” kicked off a discussion with a question: “How do you guys feel about biracial (specifically half black, half white) students applying to college as full black, just to get our incentives? I personally think it should be frowned upon and that it is unfair.”
The incentives that Bigshot3008, who is black, was referencing fall under the umbrella of affirmative action, a principle to which most highly selective private and public institutions subscribe as a means of redressing past racial injustices.
In an interview, Bigshot3008, who would not give his real name as not to jeopardize friendships, said that he posted the question one sleepless night as he worried about whether he would get into the University of Virginia. (He did.) He said he knew biracial students at his high school who only embraced their minority side when it came time to fill out college applications.
One response to Bigshot3008’s online query came from “MarinebioSax,” who later identified herself to a reporter as Maya Taufete’e-Paguada, a high school junior from Memphis. Ms. Taufete’e-Paguada identifies as black, Latina and Pacific Islander, and said she had been thinking deeply about the ethics of the race question, knowing that she would have to make a choice on her own applications next year.
“Of course it’s unfair,” she wrote on the site in reference to what is now commonly referred to as “passing as black.” “But people will do anything to get that little extra advantage in admissions.”
For her part, Ms. Taufete’e-Paguada said there will be three boxes checked.
“I’ve always been taught to embrace my multiracial identity,” she said.
Though he will not begin his senior year in high school until the fall, Kennedy Francis Quay Edmonds, 17, of New York City said he already knows which boxes he intends to check on his college applications. He attends Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., one of the nation’s premier prep schools, and said he will present himself to colleges as part Asian. His maternal grandfather is Malaysian; his father is white.
“A lot of people said, ‘You’re just a quarter, that’s not enough,’ ” said Mr. Edmonds, a member of Mosaic, an affinity group for multiracial students at Andover. “But I feel like it’s enough because it’s very culturally important to me.”
Mr. Edmonds, whose Asian features are very subtle, added, “What’s important to me is that the college knows I have this other culture and experience in my life, even though I’m only a quarter. You can’t take everything at face value.”
Each spring, schools from around the U.S. send their best spellers to Washington, D.C., for the Scripps National Spelling Bee. At the Bee, a moderator tosses out words that most of us have never heard before, and these prodigious pupils rattle off a stream of letters as if stromuhr and Laodicean are everyday words. If you saw the film Spellbound, you understand how gripping this display of linguistic skills can be. You’ve got silent Ks and hidden Ms and tricky origins that complicate words. It’s so exciting even ESPN broadcasts the Bee.
We watch in awe as students a fraction of our age spell words we never heard before and probably will never hear again. Yet, judging by the amount of typos I see on a daily basis (including the ones I write), many of us are having trouble with some basic words. Ridiculous doesn’t have an e; too is not the same as to. These misspellings don’t mean we’re not as smart as the youngsters at the Spelling Bee, it just means we’re not as focused on accuracy as they are. Yet, we should be because spelling matters, especially when you’re looking for a job.
Rather than let spelling be something you don’t think about much or a terrifying monster that looms over every cover letter you type, we think you can easily handle it. Here are a few tips for impeccable spelling and why it matters on a job hunt:
1. Check (and check again) the names of companies, references, interviewers
Names are some of the easiest words to spell incorrectly because there are no definitive ways to spell them. Thom or Tom? Stacy or Stacey or Staci? Don’t ever assume you aced the spelling the first time, especially when typing out the name of the hiring manager of people you interviewed with. Check e-mails, business cards and online profiles to ensure you’re spelling their names correctly. Failing to do so will be a glaring error that suggests you have no attention to detail.
Above all else, spell your name correctly. You laugh now, but believe me, it happens.
2. Don’t rely on spell check
Listen, spell check is an amazing invention that has made life easier for everybody. However, it’s not perfect and shouldn’t be used as the authority on all things spelling. For example, a good spell check might catch some grammatical mistakes, but it won’t always know that you meant “through” instead of “threw.” Both words are spelled correctly but they’re not interchangeable in the least. If your résumé boasts of your “righting” abilities, don’t expect a call from the hiring manager.
3. Avoid slang
Thank you, Internet, for making us forget that “want to” is actually the grammatically proper way to say “wanna.” The same goes for “gonna,” “whatcha,” and “srsly.” We’re a world that loves abbreviations, especially in e-mails and texts, but they don’t translate well to the professional world. Using abbreviated netspeak in an informal e-mail is fine, but when you’re trying to impress a potential boss stick to standard English. Employers want to know that you’ll be a strong representative of their brand, so prove you know the difference between “b4” and “before.” For realz.
4. Have a proofreader
The hardest part about making sure you don’t misspell something is knowing what you might be misspelling. Not everybody’s blessed with the spelling gene, and it never occurs to some people that supposedly and supposably are not interchangeable words, and some people won’t even acknowledge “supposably” as a valid word. The easiest way to solve this conundrum is to let someone else look over your résumé and cover letter because they might catch a mistake you didn’t even know you were making. Have your significant other, friend, roommate or even your (hopefully smart) child take a look before you hit send.
5. Stick with the language you’re comfortable with
One surefire way to ruin your writing is to use words that you think make you sound smarter. In reality, they don’t. Not only will your syntax will sound weird because it’s not natural to you, but you are also going to be using words you don’t know how to spell. Suddenly your attempt to sound sophisticated has turned your correspondence into a word jumble that looks like an eye chart. Save yourself the headache and write in a way that makes you feel comfortable while still using proper, traditional grammar.
Another reason you want to display your most honest writing is so that you’ve set an accurate expectation for your writing. Pretending you’re someone else in order to get the job, only to be unable to perform at that level on a daily basis, is not going to be fun for you or your boss. Be honest in your writing style.
Not everyone is a gifted speller, and it’s a skill that’s more important in some occupations than in others. However, in today’s world where many of us spend our days sending e-mails and writing reports, knowing how to communicate with error-free writing is a skill you can’t afford to lack.
How has spelling played a role in your career? Does it not matter or is it one of your most used skills? Have you had a boss who relied on you because he or she couldn’t spell in the least? Let us know.
According to 2009 research from international consulting firm Deloitte, the average office worker sends around 160 emails and checks his or her inbox more than 50 times per day. If practice really made perfect, we’d all be Olympic gold medal-winning emailers by now.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case. I still hit the “send” button in the exact instant that I spot a typo, and I still get emails that give me the funny feeling that a co-worker didn’t mean to hit “reply all.”
Despite tons of practice, it seems that email etiquette is still something most of us are working to perfect.
So, in honor of National Email Week (what, that wasn’t on your Outlook calendar?) we talked to a few communications experts about proper email etiquette. Here’s what they had to say about what makes a good email, and what gets your message sent to the trash folder.
Do:
Be concise: “Email is intended for short, informational messages,” says Jodi R. R. Smith, president of Mannersmith Etiquette Consulting in Marblehead, Mass., and author of “From Clueless to Class Act: Manners for the Modern Woman.” “Keep in mind that with some email systems it is possible for the recipient to read just the first three lines of your message without ever opening the email. Make the first couple lines count.”
Double check: “Never, ever skip the spell check and double check the word is not changed to a word you did not intend to use,” says Diane Gottsman, owner of The Protocol School of Texas, a company that specializes in corporate etiquette training. “Spell check is not foolproof if it picks up a word that it ‘thinks’ you mean.”
While you’re rereading your email, also take a second to ensure that the correct person’s name is in the “To” field. It can be easy to accidentally type in the wrong name, especially with email programs that auto-complete email addresses when you start typing.
Be professional: “Treat email like a professional correspondence, because it is. It’s the only communication most executives see and you will be judged accordingly,” Gottsman says. That means spelling out words in their entirety (no “U,” “LOL,” etc.), using correct capitalization and including an email signature with your contact information.
Professionalism should extend to the style and formatting of your email as well. When choosing fonts and creating an email signature, use the “Phyllis” test. Anything you think Phyllis from “The Office” might include in her emails should be avoided in yours. This includes cutesy fonts like Comic Sans, email wallpaper, and signatures with flash animation or your favorite quote.
Be pleasant: You probably know from experience that it’s hard to tell whether someone is being sarcastic or serious via email. “Watch not only what you say, but how you say it,” Smith says. “Using all capital letters is considered yelling.” The same goes for sentences with excessive punctuation — ending a sentence with “!!!” or “???” will just make you seem angry.
Similarly, suggests Robby Slaughter, owner of Slaughter Development LLC, a business productivity firm based in Indianapolis, start your email off with a friendly greeting, not an order. “The word ‘hello’ followed by the name of the recipient does wonders in ensuring your email is well received and actually read,” he says.
Don’t:
Avoid face-to-face conversation: Sometimes, it’s just easier and more effective to walk into your boss’s office, or pick up the phone and call your customer. “Remember this rule: Email is more for coordination than it is for communication,” Slaughter says. If you have a lengthy project or proposal to discuss, schedule time to talk to the person face-to-face or over the phone.
Similarly, email shouldn’t be used to resolve conflict, or as a method of avoiding confrontation. “Don’t hide behind your computer,” Smith says. “Don’t use email as a shield to avoid having a conversation or a face-to-face interaction.”
Copy your whole team: “This is like scheduling a pickup from two taxi companies ‘just in case’– you’re wasting almost everyone’s time, and most of the recipients will assume that someone else will answer,” Slaughter says.
Send an email when you’re angry: In the heat of an angry moment, it is way too easy to fire off a scathing email full of things you’d never actually say to someone’s face. “Wait until you cool off before putting something down in writing,” Gottsman says.
While most of the experts we heard from agreed on the above points, there were some divided opinions on a couple of popular email practices, notably:
~Kaitlin Madden
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