Posted by Damien on Jun 3, 2009 in
Career,
Jobs and Careers IT Jobs for Graduates, http://www.itjobsforgraduates.com, has launched an initiative called ‘Be Your Best’, http://beyourbest.itjobsforgraduates.com, offering job hunting tips and advice for IT graduates and students during the current economic downturn.
The first site dedicated to IT recruitment for interns and graduates, IT Jobs for Graduates works with some of the UK’s leading employers and IT recruitment agencies, helping candidates to find the right jobs. The website offers 1,800 internship and graduate programmes, as well as entry level vacancies on behalf of recruiters.
‘Be Your Best’ has been created to arm students and graduates looking for IT jobs with useful industry insight. The information is designed to help them stand out from the crowd and market themselves in the best possible way to potential recruiters, during the recession.
Following feedback from IT managers and recruiters, the team at IT Jobs for Graduates has created a knowledge centre. And, throughout May, June and July 2009, it will be releasing a series of articles offering tips and advice on areas including:
- How to make the most of networking opportunities
- What the best IT certifications are
- Managing your own brand
- The reality of the current IT internship/graduate recruitment market
A micro-site has also been launched, http://beyourbest.itjobsforgraduates.com, where students and graduates can provide their feedback, by sending in their stories and videos on something they did to really stand out from the crowd. And, updates for the campaigns will be going on to a twitter page, http://twitter.com/itjobs4grads, and also via the IT Jobs for graduates Facebook group ‘IT begins here’.
In conjunction with the online support, IT Jobs for Graduates will also be holding seminars at selected universities across the UK throughout June. Here, the team will run presentations and provide face-to-face advice on how students can ‘Be Their Best’, they will also provide mini CV workshops.
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Tags: campaigns, conjunction, crowd, economic downturn, industry insight, initiative, interns, internship, job hunting, jobs for graduates, knowledge centre, mini cv, networking opportunities, recession, recruitment agencies, recruitment market, seminars, universities, vacancies
The excitement of visiting college and university campuses just got a boost with Hampton Hotels’ “Cash for Colleges” contest to award families with funds for their college-bound children’s tuition.
With tuition costs of four-year private universities up 5.9 percent from last year to $25,143 and at four-year public universities up 6.4 percent to $6,585, as the mid-priced hotel leader, Hampton can be a valuable resource for parents and students visiting college and university campuses either to select a school or visit their children after they’ve already chosen.
Now through December 7, 2009, while they are on the road picking the perfect university, parents that book a stay at a Hampton hotel online at www.hampton.com/collegetours will be automatically entered into the “Hampton’s Cash for College Sweepstakes” to win one of two, $5,000 grand prizes, which can be applied to the rising costs of college tuition.
“We know selecting a university is a very thrilling time for the family and that the looming costs of higher education can be daunting to parents,” said Judy Christa-Cathy, vice president brand marketing for Hampton Hotels. “As your ‘friend in town,’ Hampton Hotels wants to help ease the financial worry for parents with our value-bundled amenities and the chance to win $5,000 towards their child’s education.”
To be automatically entered into “Hampton’s Cash for College Sweepstakes”, parents simply need to book a stay at www.hampton.com/collegetours and enter promo code “CAMPUS” now through December 7, 2009. Two lucky winners will receive $5,000 each, which can be used for college tuition, books, room and board and of course the school cafeteria. The first grand prize winner will be announced in September and the second grand prize winner in December.
With nearly 1,700 locations throughout the United States, Canada, Latin America and Europe, Hampton offers guests a value-driven experience in or near almost every major university in the U.S. at a price that is sure to fit in every college-student’s budget. In each Hampton Hotel, guests will receive a free On the House hot breakfast, free high-speed internet access in the rooms and lobbies and the exclusive “100% Hampton Satisfaction Guarantee”.
Press
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Posted by Damien on Jun 1, 2009 in
Business News,
Career,
Financing June 1, 2009 will mark the opening of the first Tahweel Al Rajhi remittance center specially catering for Filipino customers. Located near Manila Plaza in the Batha area of Riyadh, the center will provide Filipino expatriates with special offers and the best dedicated service for sending remittances back home.
June 1, 2009 carries more than just a celebration of a new opening. The new head of Tahweel AlRajhi, Hazem Elhagrasey, announced this would also be the first day of a 2 month promotion, whereby all customers are entitled to participate and have the chance to win prizes such as roundtrip tickets to Manila, electronic items, and free remittances for a whole year.
Tahweel Al Rajhi leverages on its direct relationships with four major banks in the Philippines: BDO/EPCI Bank; Metro Bank; Bank of the Philippine Islands; and the Philippines Land Bank. Together these banks constitute the largest network of bank branches, covering the country and enabling remittances to be sent and received with utmost efficiency.
In addition, Tahweel Al Rajhi has recently partnered with Trans-Fast Remittance LLC as part of its continuous development plan. Elhagrasey explained how this will allow instant Cash-to-Cash remittances to be sent to the Philippines at the lowest charges in the market for such a service. Trans-Fast has over 6,000 instant cash payout locations in the Philippines including the networks of both M.Lhuillier and Cebuana Lhullier pawn shops. The service includes conveniences such as SMS notification to the beneficiary once the payout is available, and SMS to the remitter once the payment is made to the beneficiary, both at no extra cost.
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U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder today announced that more than $50.1 million in Recovery Act funds will go to the State of Illinois to maintain or increase public safety in the state, while creating or retaining jobs within the law enforcement community. These Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program funds are part of more than $4 billion in Justice Department Recovery Act funds available to assist state, local and tribal law enforcement and for other criminal justice activities that help to prevent crime and improve the criminal justice system in the United States while supporting the creation of jobs and much needed resources for states and local communities.
As submitted in their application, the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) plans to support proven and innovative evidence-based programs that create or preserve jobs; address a defined priority area; identify need through use of validated statistics; present realistic and measurable goals and objectives, as well as, the methods for measuring; present a justifiable budget; demonstrate a history of reliability and responsibility; and persuasively present a need for funding. The ICJIA Board, composed of the major stakeholders in the criminal justice system, will continue to review, analyze, and discuss general priorities and specific initiatives, and the Federal and State Grants Unit will oversee the administration of Recovery Act JAG funds. Coordination and oversight efforts will be reported to the Governor’s Office. Illinois is required to provide a portion of the $50.1 million to the local jurisdictions.
“By addressing Illinois’ economic challenges while simultaneously meeting the state’s public safety priorities, these funds represent the best of what the Recovery Act can do for our communities,” Attorney General Eric Holder said. “This vital funding will help fight crime and build safer communities, and we look forward to continued work with Illinois to address these criminal justice goals.”
The procedure for allocating JAG grants is based on a formula of population and violent crime statistics, in combination with a minimum allocation to ensure that each state and territory receives an appropriate share of funding. Sixty percent of the allocation is awarded directly to a state and 40 percent is set aside for units of local government. States are required to sub-grant a portion of the funds to local units of government, such as a city, county, township or town. Faith-based and other community organizations are also eligible to receive pass-through funding from the state, as are Tribal governments.
All local Recovery Act JAG awards will be announced at a later date. The deadline for local units of government to submit their Recovery Act applications to the Department of Justice has been extended to June 17, 2009. The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), a component of the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, established the previous deadline of May 18 to encourage early submission of applications in an effort to provide economic stimulus as soon as possible. Because this is a non-competitive formula grant program, the extension of this deadline does not impact either eligibility or funding determinations. For more local solicitation information, visit http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/recoveryJAG/JAGrecoveryLocal.pdf
The JAG Program is the primary provider of federal criminal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions and is managed by BJA. JAG funds support all components of the criminal justice system, from multi-jurisdictional drug and gang task forces to crime prevention and domestic violence programs, courts, corrections, treatment, and justice information sharing initiatives. Projects may address crime through the provision of services directly to individuals and/or communities and by improving the effectiveness and efficiency of criminal justice systems, processes, and procedures. For more details on the JAG Program or to track the use of Recovery Act funds, visit www.ojp.gov/recovery. For more details on how to apply for the state managed, pass-through funding, visit http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/saa/index.htm.
The Office of Justice Programs, headed by Acting Assistant Attorney General Laurie O. Robinson, provides federal leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice, and assist victims. OJP has five component bureaus: the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; and the Office for Victims of Crime. Additionally, OJP has two program offices: the Community Capacity Development Office, which incorporates the Weed and Seed strategy, and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART). More information can be found at www.ojp.gov.
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Carnegie Mellon University researchers have created a model for providing empirical evidence on when an ex-convict has been “clean” long enough to be considered “redeemed” for employment purposes.
The new study, which appears in the current issue of Criminology, estimates that after five years of staying clean an individual with a criminal record is of no greater risk of committing another crime than other individuals of the same age. The research comes at a time when President Barack Obama’s crime agenda includes breaking down employment barriers for people who have a prior criminal record, but who have stayed clean since their earlier offense.
“In the past, employers had no way of knowing when it might be safe to look past a criminal record,” said Alfred Blumstein, co-author of the study and the J. Erik Jonsson University Professor of Urban Systems and Operations Research at Carnegie Mellon’s H. John Heinz III College. “Hiring an ex-offender was a totally arbitrary decision. We believe our model can change that and help provide employers with data in making such decisions. Or it can be used by state criminal-record repositories in deciding when a prior arrest is too ’stale’ to warrant distributing.” Blumstein’s co-author is Kiminori Nakamura, a Ph.D. student at the Heinz College.
The issue of employing ex-offenders has become more of a problem, as a vast majority of larger U.S. employers now perform criminal background checks, Blumstein said. He noted that advances in information technology allow criminal records to be kept longer and to be distributed easily, and employers are concerned about liability risk if the former offender commits a new crime. Blumstein said this makes it difficult for a large number of people who have committed crimes when they were much younger, but have stayed clean since then.
The study, funded by The National Institute of Justice, used criminal-history records of more than 88,000 first-time offenders in New York in 1980. Most committed new crimes within the first few years after their initial arrest, but only a small minority had a new arrest after staying clean for at least five years. After determining whether the offenders had remained clean during the ensuing 25 years, the data on the 1980 offenders was compared against two comparison groups. The study determined that after about five years those in the offender group were at or below the risk of arrest as people in the general population who were the same age. A more demanding comparison is with people of the same age who had never been arrested. Those with a prior record had to stay clean longer, but their risk could be close enough even to that low-risk group.
Future studies will address other states and sampling years to assess the consistency of results. This effort is intended to develop standards for employers and record repositories to help reduce the handicaps imposed on those who had committed a crime when they were younger.
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Tags: advances in information technology, alfred blumstein, arbitrary decision, barack obama, carnegie mellon university, criminal background checks, criminal history records, criminal record, criminology, empirical evidence, employment barriers, employment purposes, first time offenders, john heinz iii, liability risk, national institute of justice, new crime, new crimes, record repositories, urban systems
Posted by Damien on May 26, 2009 in
Business,
Career,
Jobs and Careers Due to an overwhelming response from job seekers, Tribeca Medaesthetics has increased the size and scope of its no cost Beauty and Botox Grants program to help those unemployed and seeking a competitive advantage with facial cosmetic medical services.
Over 1,200 unemployed Floridians have responded to the offer of free beauty services including laser lipolysis, Botox, dermal fillers, facials and waxing. Since initially announcing his intention of awarding 20 grants, Dr. Jason A. Shapiro today increased the number of grants - worth up to $3,000 per person - to 50.
“It’s a confidence boost for those in the job market,” says Dr. Shapiro. “After reading such compelling essays, we wanted to take this program to another level and offer it to 50 job seekers.”
Services have also been added from Elite Group Hair, which will provide hairstyling and coloring. Both men and women, over 30 years of age, may apply for the grants.
“Outer beauty begins with taking care of your skin and having the right color and cut for the shape of your face and your age,” says aesthetician Angie Warner.
During the month of May, people may go online to www.tribecamed.com to submit 200-300 words about their unemployment circumstances, to be considered for one of the grants. The free offer is for anyone who has lost their job in the past 12 months. A total of 50 winners will be selected to receive complimentary cosmetic medical and aesthetic services on June 1st based upon the conditions of their unemployment and the type of job they are seeking.
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Tags: aesthetic services, aesthetician, beauty services, botox, competitive advantage, dermal fillers, elite group, facials, floridians, free beauty, grants program, hairstyling, job seekers, laser lipolysis, medaesthetics, outer beauty, overwhelming response, shapiro, taking care of your skin, waxing
The CAW has reached a tentative settlement with General Motors Canada following weeks of intense negotiations for a new collective agreement as part of the company’s North American restructuring process.
The agreement includes a series of cost-saving provisions affecting cash compensation, health benefits, other non-wage benefits, and work practices and productivity improvements. The company and the union have agreed that the changes will reduce all-in labour costs to a level comparable to those paid at Toyota Canada.
The new agreement also includes a comprehensive restructuring of the company’s pension plan.
Through this plan, the company commits to move to funding its pension on a solvency basis, moving away from the special funding loophole established in 1992 in Ontario (referred to as Section 5.1). Thanks to a combination of upfront contributions and sustained funding commitments over the next several years, GM’s pension funding status will quickly reach levels comparable to Ford and Chrysler in Canada.
“This deal will be an immense relief to the more than 25,000 retired GM workers in Canada,” said CAW President Ken Lewenza. “They will sleep much easier tonight.”
CAW President Ken Lewenza said the union was able to resist cuts to many core benefits, maintained wages and secured pensions for members at General Motors, a testament to the strength and solidarity of CAW members throughout these negotiations.
“In the face of tremendous economic and political pressure we have ended up with an agreement that protects the interests of our members, which is an important victory,” Lewenza said. “This agreement was a crucial step in the overall process of restructuring this company, and allowing us all to move forward.”
The agreement includes all of the cost-saving provisions originally included in the contract negotiated with GM in early March and all of the changes CAW negotiated with Chrysler in May.
Additional changes negotiated in the second round of talks with GM include substantial workplace practices and productivity improvements, an extra freeze in all pension levels (going out to 2015), and the details of GM-specific deals regarding pensions and the new independent Health Care Trust.
The agreement also preserves the restructuring agreements which were negotiated at the Windsor Transmission Plant and Oshawa Truck Plant.
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Bright Horizons Family Solutions LLC, the world’s leading provider of employer-sponsored child care, early education, back-up care, and work/life solutions, has been recognized by the Boston Business Journal as one of the “2009 Best Places to Work.”
“We are pleased to be recognized as a Best Place to Work in the Boston area. This year in particular, in these uncertain economic times, it is more important than ever that we provide a work environment where employees can thrive professionally, while managing their personal lives,” said Bright Horizons Chief Executive Officer Dave Lissy. “Bright Horizons’ success as a leading provider of child care and work/life solutions depends on our employees who bring passion and dedication to the work of providing the best care and education to the children, families, and clients that we serve.”
Bright Horizons Chief Human Resources Officer Dan Henry noted, “Creating work environments that support talented professionals are an intrinsic part of our mission. Provision of unique benefits that enable employees to balance their work/life with their personal obligations and a work environment where employees can enjoy their work and are recognized for their efforts enhances their commitment to the company. This is vital to hiring and retaining top talent.”
The Best Places to Work list is based on surveys completed by employees who live and work in Massachusetts. The survey assesses employee opinions of work environment, work/life balance, job satisfaction, advancement opportunities, compensation, and benefits. The 60 honorees named to this year’s list will be recognized at a special event in Boston on June 11.
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Posted by Damien on May 12, 2009 in
Career,
Jobs and Careers They’ve spent years studying finance, auditing, and budgeting. They’ve joined the student chapters of professional associations like the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) and networked with key practitioners in their community. As many thousands of graduates enter the workforce this month with an accounting degree in hand and a variety of relevant experience under their belts, many ask: “What can I do now?”
Despite the fragile economy, employment of accountants is expected to grow by 18 percent between 2006 and 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is faster than the average for all other occupations.
Most accounting positions “fall into four categories: accounting in private industry, public accounting, government jobs, and jobs in nonprofit organizations,” said Sandra B. Richtermeyer, Ph.D., CMA, CPA and incoming Chair-Elect of the IMA Board of Directors, 2009-2010. Many of those positions involve internal accounting, internal or external auditing, tax preparation, and compliance-related responsibilities.
In addition to securing a job, accounting graduates will benefit greatly by connecting with local chapters of professional associations, such as IMA, for example. Professional associations offer the chance to network with peers in the industry as well as stay on top of accounting trends.
“Some graduates are hesitant to get involved with an association their first year out of school, but those who join see the benefits immediately,” said Dr. Richtermeyer, who is also chair of the Department of Accountancy at Xavier University’s Williams College of Business. “Meeting new contacts at various career stages can help graduates benchmark where they want to be in five to ten years.”
Those not graduating in the next few years can get a head start in gaining experience by obtaining internships, getting involved on campus, or volunteering with nonprofit organizations. In addition, Dr. Richtermeyer suggests selecting a minor that complements studies in accounting, such as information technology. Acquiring foreign language skills or learning about entrepreneurship can also help students stand out from their peers.
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Posted by Damien on May 4, 2009 in
Career,
Jobs and Careers As school districts across the nation are closing down due to the swine flu (H1N1 flu outbreak), millions of parents are now searching for safe and reliable in-home caregiver options. In response to this recent flu outbreak, Sittercity.com is offering parents a 20 percent discount to Sittercity.com for the month of May.
With over a million caregiver profiles online across the country specializing in five care divisions, Sittercity.com is the nation’s leading source for babysitters, nannies and senior companions for loved ones during this critical time. As the leader of online care, Sittercity.com’s caregiver profiles contain detailed information on each caregiver, including experience, pictures, contact information, background checks, references and parent reviews.
Sittercity.com has briefed its caregivers on the current flu situation, and has specifically equipped its caregivers nationwide with flu preparedness information from the American Red Cross. The information provided includes a list of common flu symptoms, a flu preparedness checklist, and tips for coping emotionally with the flu.
“Sittercity.com is working with the American Red Cross to provide caregivers across the nation with flu prevention information,” said Genevieve Thiers, founder and CEO of Sittercity.com. “Parents who need help can go to Sittercity.com and enter promo code FLU20 to get a 20 percent discount towards their signup fee.”
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