Affirmative Action

By : Punkerslut

I have said before that I detest the slaughter of animals because it is tantamount to Racism. I hold an incalculable hatred for Affirmative Action, though, because it is Racism! To this Affirmative Action -- does it not lift value off of the shoulders of courage and skill and put the value on the shoulders of skin color and race? Does it not discourage intellectual development and foster ignorance? Is it not a source of cruelty, denying what rightfully belongs to the deserving, handing over the jewels of opportunity to the undeserving? Is it not responsible for hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, of qualified students and workers losing their scholarships and jobs, just because they are not a certain race, a certain color? Is it not also responsible for putting in unqualified workers, as well as bolstering anyone who has been inadequate or unskilled in a job, simply because of their race? Affirmative Action is a so-called equal-rights program, but it hardly is even based on the equality of the rights of men! If a person loses their job to a minority because of Affirmative Action, who in their sane mind would look this over as being in opposition to Racism? It is an absurdity and a bruise on the face of liberty. When I ask if Affirmative Action is responsible for promoting the unskilled and demoting the skilled -- that is, to say, debauching merit, neglecting virtue, abhorring passion, in return for loving vice, harnessing inexperience, promoting ignorance -- when Affirmative Action is responsible for all that is destructive to the true nature of equality, it can only be called an institution of Racism, a gross code with injustice as its nature, and cruelty as its fundamental.

Of what breed of man can be proud to take such a job? It is the epitome of shame to claim that you are the student at your university, or the worker at your job, because of your race. Is there any merit in genetics? One may run faster, be built taller, or have a particular shade of skin color; yes, these are the facets of genetics. But are these truly any method for judging a man? The reasoning behind Affirmative Action argues that race is of no value concerning jobs and scholarships. Yet, the very foundation of Affirmative Action is to discriminate on race! It does not uphold the theory that men and women should get their jobs on their skill, nor on their merits. It defends the theory that race is a significant factor, that one's own value as an individual and a worker is irrelevant, and it is this foul doctrine of Affirmative Action that what a man cannot control -- his genetics -- is more important than what a man can control -- his knowledge, his skill, his ambition, the substances of individuality and the fuel of acheivement.

Some will argue that it is a form of equalizing, that Affirmative Action is here today to level off the damage done by European-owned universities and jobs that refused jobs to African humans. This is tantamount to saying that Racism is brutal and inhumane -- an belief that men are not equal and not all are deserving of liberty -- and then, after stating such of Racism, it concludes that the best action now is to engage in the very practice of Racism! It is equivalent of offering bread to those who are full and neglecting those who are starving, to watering a tree that is submerged underwater while neglecting a flower in the desert, to building a home for the kings of the world, who are unscathed by the vehement nature of weather, and ignoring those who have no roof to sleep under? Would any man deny air to one who is suffocating, in favor of giving it to a man who is well in supply of oxygen? Only an insane or sickly sadistic person would do so. In the same fashion, I ask, who could support this abomination called Affirmative Action? Does it not also give what belongs to the deserving to the deserving? To simplify, does it not also embrace the shroud of inequality and injustice?

There are others who still boast of this great equalization movement. They claim that they are giving opportunity to those who never had opportunity, jobs to the jobless, food to the hungry. But this is a lie, and a debasement of truth. Giving quality to people means giving them all equal education, an equal chance to be efficient, the will and ambition to be a good person. It does not mean the luiqidation of equality or the absolution of liberty. Affirmative Action ignores the parts of society that could be improved. Its advocates are not working to improve schools, nor are they working to improve universities or hospitals or worker's and consumer's rights. They are not improving the condition of the minorities by giving them what they need to be good, productive members of society. Instead, they simply place unqualified and incompetant members into jobs in society and seats in universities -- not because they are smart, not because they are qualified, not because they are an exemplary product of education, but entirely because of their race! I could, in part, excuse Affirmative Action if it offered social services to the minorities. That is, if they offered them aid in learning skills and trades. But even if they did that solely to minorities, they would fall to the same corrupt hypocrisy: aiding one race instead of the whole of humanity -- holding limitations on how far justice and charity can go. Instead, however, Affirmative Action hos gone to the point where it is a deterent to productive society, to a happy population. It has put unqualified people in jobs that they are incapable of managing, it has firing qualified people from jobs that they could manage. It is the debasement of equality. By "equalizing" society, Affirmative Action puts minorities into work and universities when they are undeserving on the sole grounds that they are minorities. It is absolutely and appallingly ridiculous that such a practice can even exist, and can even be instituted into the government!

If it had true aim when it came to improving society, it would help the weak and the poor, the uneducated and the ignorant. There would be no one race that needed improvement. Charity does not have selective vision. It does not seek out one gender, one color, one religion. Its net of kindness is cast out over the whole of all creation; any being capable of suffering is not handed over to the carelessness of inhumanity. Affirmative Action, however, does not work as such. Instead, its vision is very selective. It can only see colors. One man is not a person of intellect and passion, a lover of virtue and a hater of vice -- he is simply a color: white, yellow, black, or red. To the other nature of men and women, Affirmative Action is unconcerned. As long as Affirmative Action sees only the colors of men, sees only white and black, -- as long as this profane institution wishes give jobs to men and women who are unskilled, but fitting a certain racial background, -- vision and truth will always be blurred and justice will forever be unacheivable.

After engrossing itself in the delusion that all men are all equal in every aspect to the same degree, Affirmative Action's efforts engage to destroy equality and embrace iniquity. By putting incompetant people to work at jobs and under-educated students to learn in universities based on their ethnic background, we are doing a grave injustice to equality. Affirmative Action does not see the weaknesses of people, it does not see that people may be unskilled no matter what race they are. It abhors the scientific fact that men are all different, in all fields. So it labors on, giving jobs to those who are inadequate and positions to those undeserving, because it focuses on the color of one's skin rather than the merits of their character. Affirmative Action strips every piece of bark from the tree of liberty and then poses as the model of truth and knowledge, only degrading the existence that equality ever had.

I detest Affirmative Action because I detest Racism. One is not the solution to the other, but rather one is the form of the other. Affirmative Action manages to commit multiple crimes against humanity. It forces hard-working individuals out of their jobs to be replaced by someone else who is inadequate, for the sake of race. It gives important jobs and scholarships to unworthy people instead of those who are deserving, for the sake of race. It denies the very principles of equalities, ignores the individual, upholds iniquity; turns a blind eye to the nature of the human being -- it speaks of diversity as though the word only means the color of one's skin; it does not accept the fact that every living, breathing human is a conscious being, each with their own set of skills and fields of knowledge, each with their own degrees of efficiency in those areas. It is for this reason, that Affirmative Action is unfair and an injustice -- a calamity on the globe of freedom -- that I detest Affirmative Action.

Advertising Ideas And Tools

by :Rafael Gutierrez Jr

Today date advertising is extremely expensive and time consuming. The purpose of this article is to give you some ideas where you can advertise and to show you the tools you can use to promote your business.

Media Advertising

Advertising on media has lots of power because people use media everyday in order to keep themselves inform of an event such as news, shopping, education, or entertainment. The most popular medias are television, radio, newspaper, and magazine. Advertise on these types of media is very expensive, specially on television, but it gives good results. In this section, I will show you the tools you can use to advertise on newspapers and magazines without expending lots of money.

MEDIABIDS

With Mediabids you can buy advertising by creating an auction and letting the magazines and newspapers compete for your advertising dollars. You can also buy ads without creating an auction. The auction idea is because here you can setup a budget and the newspaper or magazine company have to bid not higher than your budget. Also check for the advertising specials Mediabids has on the front page.

Advertising On Your Vehicle
Using your vehicle to place your own ad will give you unlimited impressions. You can place a signs and graphics on any glass, door, trunk, or hook of your vehicle. You can use companies like FastSigns, DomainPlates.com, Drivertise.com, or you can look up on your local yellow pages for companies that make signs for vehicles. License Plate Advertising. Here you have to option to advertise on your license plate. Option one, you can buy a personalized license plate at your DMV or Department of Motor Transportation. Personalized license plates are not expensive and that will help you boost your business by displaying your business name or website URL. Option two, add a new license plate frame. On the license plate frame you can ad your business name and slogan. You can also add your website URL. Here you will have two lines and you can choose the size, color, and character of the letters to be displayed. To buy a set of frames at LicensePlatesOnline.com and click on

custom license plate frames. You can also check your yellow pages for a listing of local companies.

Online Advertising
If you have a website you can submit your website to search engines and directories. The most popular search engines and directories where you have to put more effort to get listed, are Google, Yahoo, MSN, and dmoz. But that's not enough, you have to build an strong presence by adding your website to other search engines and specially directories, so can can earn link popularity and receive more traffic. Just click here to manually submit your website to search engines and directories. If your business does not have a website; you still can add your business to online yellow pages like Yahoo! Local, SmartPages, SuperPages, etc. Another thing that you can do is buy ads online. Buying ads can get you where you want to be and the prices are from low to very high. It depends where are buying your ads from. My recommendation is AdBright.com because it has a huge inventory of well known online websites. If you have a blog on your website; you can ping to all blog search engines and blog directories every time your blog is updated. You can get good ping service totally free from Pingoat.com. You can promote your website on forums and discussion boards as well. Just be careful with spamming. There's some websites that let you post ads for free. Websites like classifieds or forums websites like PostYourAdForFree.com.

Offline Advertising
A good institution that can help you with advertising is your local chamber of commerce. Usually all chamber of commerce members trade business cards at their local businesses or let you each place some type of advertising. You can make your own business cards and make sure you always carry some with you wherever you go. A good software you can download to create your own business cards is Business Card Designer Plus, but if you do not want to make your own business cards then you can hire a company to design the business cards for. You can do that online at VistaPrint.com. Not only business cards, but you can also have your business name on your mailing address, checks background, etc.

Accounting Job Search Tips

Accounting Job Search Tips

by :Jay Bauder

Searching for an Accounting Job

Accounting graduates, have broader choices and specific paths to follow with their careers. Accounting requires a lot of skills when it comes to business and that is why every company has an employee that is an accounting graduate. If you are an accounting graduate, you can apply in any kind of firm. Areas may include tax, audit, financial analysis and management accounting.

It is best that you apply for a job that matches your interests and expertise. There are careers that have been proven by most accounting graduates to bring them to the top of the success ladder and you may want to consider entering these fields.

If you are an accounting graduate who excel in public accounting, the entry-level positions that best fit this skill are Tax Staff, Consulting/ Management Services and Staff Auditor. With these positions you will do your duties reporting to a senior. Once you have acquired three to six years of experience in any of these positions, you may then want to consider applying for the higher levels like Tax Senior, Senior Auditor, and Consulting Senior where the position entails reporting directly to a Manager. After six years of excelling with these potions, then you may consider the positions Partner level and Senior Partner.

Having an edge with corporate accounting, one to three years of experience will qualify you to become a staff member in Internal Audit, Tax Accounting, Management, and Financial Accounting. Moving up the higher lever after three to six years, you will be eligible for the Senior Level for Internal Audit, Tax Accounting and Management Accounting. Six years thereafter, you may want to consider aiming for the positions like the Tax Manager, Internal Audit Manager and Financial Accounting Manager.

Expertise in Financial Management, Staff for Financial Planning, Cash Management, and Credit Analysis are options for entry-level positions. Once you have gained the enough experience, you may aim for the Treasury Operations, Credit Analysis and Senior Financial Planning. Higher positions will include Treasurer, Manager for Credit Analysis and Financial Planning.

These career options are traditional paths that were found to fit best for accounting graduates. However, it does not mean that they are the only way to climb up the success ladder. You should go beyond not just limit your skills to accounting. It is still recommended that you gain enough work experience, acquire knowledge in different aspects of education, and continue to improve your character to be a step ahead with other job seekers.

Abaris (Rabbi) the Druid

By: Robert Bruce Baird

ABARIS THE DRUID:

Various reports and fragments thereof, in what little was written and remains of ancient Greek times, tell us about the last Dean of Studies for the Bardic Tradition. He visited Athens to teach Pythagoras. Hecateus of Miletus and others tell us he appeared in loincloth with animal skins and was an expert marksman with the bow and other hunting gear. Perhaps to their amazement he also was fluent in all the languages of the Mediterranean; and his knowledge was impressive while his manner beguiled all the elite who sought to meet him. They say he was the teacher of Pythagoras but I think that is not the case really.

Pythagoras' studies were a very long period of years and took him to many places. Each of these places had a special something for him and I believe each of them were part of the system of studies that were in the twilight of their tenure. Like Orpheus before him (some credit a few of the extant poems of Orpheus to Pythagoras who wrote little to nothing due to the third law of the Magi which was necessitated by political abuse of power in the hands of the uninitiated) the acknowledged great sage whose parents included at least one Phoenician; Pythagoras had become a Bard or Baird.

I believe Abaris was from the region of Thrace or modern day Yugoslavia and the Thracian who Pythagoras left a lot to in his will, who is termed a slave, was actually an adept committed to teaching a great student much of what remained in the ancient knowledge of the Keltoi whom the Greeks called 'Ogygia' which means 'ancient ones'. It is possible that this Thracian who it is said worked with him in his bi-location skills and events was a 'kapnobatai' adept. Milman Parry of Harvard went to this region in the 1930s and found the legendary bards were still very aware of structure and memory skills that spoke to a great knowledge in ancient times. Was Abaris a 'kapnobatai' or 'peryllat' (alchemist)? I do not know.

He almost certainly helped arrange for Pythagoras to take his studies or visit Zoroaster, and spend much time learning the few secrets he unlocked at the Great Pyramid. Those secrets include the healing attributed to the Therapeutae that modern Dead Sea Scrolls and other research indicates was taught at Qumran. I believe Commarius the tutor of Cleopatra may also have taught Jesus some of this art along with Simon Magus and other Gaedhils who had a long tradition of studies since the time of Isis in Egypt. Abaris is translated as 'Rabbi' amongst the people who developed the sacerdotal code called Hebrew.

I have dealt with these healing and other arts in the other volumes, but I would also suggest it is possible Abaris was in charge of the whole Keltoi education system. I suggest this because he arrived to meet Pythagoras on the recorded instance, when Pythagoras had already done much of his work. That would make Abaris a truly amazing character because the Keltoi were still a major influence in the whole world and had what we might call universities or Ashrams throughout it. Hecateus was born in a position to take a prominent priesthood of the Basilidae. He turned the honor over to someone who needed it but his knowledge seems very Druidic as well. I continue to research the Basilian Father's origins and suspect they (like the Nestorians) are part of the Judaeo/ Christian/Islamic elite working together to keep the majority in a state they are able to use to their own benefit. Who needs states or nations when you have corporate entities that work behind the scenes as well as religions?

A Year's Worth of Character Training to Last a Lifetime

A Year's Worth of Character Training to Last a Lifetime

by :Kate Hufstetler

Ever wonder why some kids are the way they are? Ever wonder why some kids seem to lack the basics in true inner character? Well, just exactly how did we think children would ever get character - without being taught character. Long gone are the days when whole communities worship weekly. Long gone are the days when everyone in our small societal circles subscribe to the same exacting morals and principles to guide life and living.

I remember when my son was young we made a move to a new state. We left behind a community within a community. We left behind a large group of people (friends and neighbors) that subscribed to similar ethics and standards of behavior. Everyone we knew, predominantly, up-held the same guiding principles that our family lived by. Then that ever fateful day. It was during the first week at his new preschool & playing with his new neighborhood friends in our new state. My son walked in the house and I made a simple statement "because that is how we do it." To which my son replied "well, Mike's family doesn't do it that way and they don't even care about that stuff." UGH ! We had come to another milestone in parenting: awareness of diversity within family styles and values.

The reality is that kids DO learn through osmosis; meaning, they will assimilate and become what they see around them. However, what is it that they see around them? Aside from home-schooled children (or those that attend private academies) children today are away from their families up to 12 hours a day in some cases including before and after school care. Being gone either 8 hours or 12 hours a day leaves precious little time for a family to model all the appropriate qualities they wish to instill within their children. Not to mention, these hours are relegated to EARLY morning hours (barely awake time) and late evening before bed hours (barely coherent time again).

Over a lifetime our children will spend the majority of their time away from us. They will be witnesses to their friends, their friend's families, movies, worship communities, television shows, video games, scouting troops, music, sports teams, camps & conferences, etc. There will be an excess of information coming into your child's awareness and all of it leading to who your child becomes.

There are many many places your child will observe character, some of it good and some of it not good. Besides what type of character-- which attributes will your child randomly be exposed to? And will your child be able to identify them, understand them, and discern how to incorporate them in such a way to be a wonderful adult?

Here is a list of 52 qualities of internal character. You can take one item a week to fill up a year's worth of character training within your own home. You can design the curriculum, buy the curriculum, or hire someone to work with your family to tailor content that reflects the lessons you'd like your child to learn along the way in life. As I said before, long gone are the days when parents can just trust that throughout the day their child is taking in the right information to become a responsible, highly functional, & happy member of society. Take the list. Tweak it to fit your lifestyle and preferences. Have fun with it. And enjoy knowing you are not leaving your child's character up to chance.

Accountability Caring Character Charity Compassion Credibility Desire Determination Diversity Awareness Diversity Respect Duty / Responsibility Empathy Excellence Fairness Flexibility Following directions Friendliness Frugal Fun Generosity Gentleness Giving Global awareness Happiness Helpfulness Honesty Honor Hope Humility Imagination Integrity Judgment / reason Knowledge / education Logic Loyalty Obedience Openness / privacy Patience Peace Perseverance Politeness Respect Self-control Sharing Sportsmanship Strength (internal) Team player Tenderness Tolerance Trust Trust-worthiness Uniqueness

Until next time

A Quick Guide To Life At Military School

By : Simon Oliver

Military schools, contrary to common belief, are not all drills, squats and jumping jacks. It's not also a place where bad children are sent as a last resort. While military schools emphasize a military style environment, they also feature a specialized curriculum that places importance on a strong education background, ensuring that cadets receive a quality education.

Students are called "cadets" when attending military school, as all life, activities and education emulates the military structure. In the past, military schools were only for the sons of the well-off families with the intention of developing character and high educational values.

Over the years, military schools turned into modern day schools for rebellious teenagers. However, kids aren't placed in a military schools in order to be punish them; on the contrary, they're placed there in order to correct their behavior. Military schools have garnered negative publicity over the years, particularly during the Korean and Vietnam Wars, significantly lowering enrollment. To compensate, many military schools turned to offering structured environments for troubled teens.

As with any school, military schools are not without problems, but unlike ordinary schools, military schools have a better approach in correcting rebellious behavior. They work to ensure that cadets will show improvement for the duration of their highly structured programs, using emotional, physical, and other means to teach cadets to respect themselves and others.

The schools' progressive academic programs help each cadet improve as they strive to attain certain goals in their program. The boys enrolled in military schools undergo rigorous training that aims to teach boys on how to better understand themselves. This training also helps young men understand their own weaknesses and strengths. Evaluations are conducted during the first weeks of training to provide an overview on what areas need improvement.

Military schools offer an effective emotional growth program, with personal development courses, educational videos and tapes. The objective of this highly structured program is to help create responsible young adults by changing negative habits and choices. Military schools have been perceived as a interdisciplinary programs and, to a large extent, this is true. With ever increasing numbers of troubled teenagers, military schools fill an important role in the education.

A Brief Look at Attitudes-Based Learning (ABL)

By: Dr. Alvin Chan Kok Chuen

The greatest discovery of my generation (about 1900) is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.

William James

'Sow a thought, reap an action. Sow an action, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny.'

Attitudes-Based Learning (or ABL, for short) is a program initiated in the year 2000 to inculcate positive attitudes and characters in children and teens in Singapore.

During that period of time, there were many incidents around the world that deserved our utmost attention. The rise of terrorism around the world was televised around the world and the increasing number of children and teens suffering due to drugs, physical and sexual abuse was alarming. The increase in school-related violence and incidents were reported widely, from America to Japan. Not to mention, several incidents involving teens going on a school killing spree in America.

One of the most bizarre incidents involved a seven-year-old boy who pulled out a gun and shot dead a girl in class (in front of his Grade 1 teacher and classmates near Flint, Michigan). Associated Press, Mar 1, 2000

With so much violence and terror in our world involving children (directly or indirectly), there was a pressing need to encourage more character building education in our societies, to bring forth positive attitudes and moral values for our young.

Hence, the development of the program, Attitudes-Based Learning (ABL) was given birth in Singapore to play a positive role in remedying the ills of our society.

In its infancy, ABL was perceived as a credible cornerstone to foster a conscious character building education in Singapore schools. But unfortunately, there was not much done to push the idea forward due to lack of interest and financial backing in year 2000. Though for a brief period, ABL made its print debut in the first Asia's children's creative thinking magazine, ONE, in Singapore and Malaysia through stories that emphasized positive attitudes like kindness, determination and how one can make a difference in people's lives.

It was only until the year 2003 that ABL was resuscitated into its full glory and intentions. With encouragement and involvement of like-minded individuals who were fervent to build a mentally and emotionally stronger Singapore, ABL was re-engineered to serve as a holistic attitudes- transformation education program for all (though emphasis is still on young children and teens).

In the year 2003, the new and improved Attitudes-Based Learning program is not just another character building program. ABL was further dissected and analyzed by a small team of researchers. With added refinements to the teaching philosophy and methodology, ABL program became more adaptive and holistic. This has greatly increased the effectiveness of achieving the mission and the desired outcomes of the ABL program.

It was also realized that ABL should cater for pre-schoolers, as there was insufficient providers of character building education programs for this particular age group in Singapore and Asia. With ABL being a program that infuses the dimension of self-reflection to build better self-esteem and awareness, we were confident that through interesting and thought-provoking activities (based on Harvard's Professor Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences concept), ABL would be immensely successful in encouraging positive attitudes amongst our pre-schoolers.

So, how is ABL unique from other character building education programs available?

·ABL adopts a 7-steps framework, which ensure that each child is correctly exposed, explained and experienced to the right attitude

·ABL emphasis is on self-discovery rather than forced inculcation

·ABL uses 4 easy-to-remember animal characters to help each child relate a specially devised set of values and attitudes.

The process of nurturing positive attitudes in your students using Attitudes-Based Learning program is not complex. They are simple but effective steps to ensure that your students will slowly but steadily transform the way they behave and feel about themselves. More importantly, family and friends will notice the difference in them in the most positive manner if done right.

The 7-Steps of the Attitudes-Based Learning Process developed by Dr. Alvin Chan

There is a sequence of 7-steps that you need to follow in order for ABL to be effective in achieving your desired outcomes.

1.EXPLANATION AND UNDERSTANDING I.Explain the attitude to be taught to your charges

II.Increase their understanding by giving a few examples about the attitude. Better still, tell a story with the related attitude to be taught and discuss with them

III.Ask them whether they have experiences about the attitude taught to check on their understanding.

2.SHARING EXPERIENCES I.Get them to share their experiences about the attitude and the related positive behavior

3. SITUATIONS and REFLECTIONS I.Give them a few situations whereby such attitude can be applied in their lives

II.Ask them what they will do in this variety of situations

III.Get them to reflect upon their actions-are they appropriate or not?

IV.Share your thoughts with them about their actions

V.Tell them what you think is the more appropriate action for each situation

VI.Ask them to reflect on what you have told them-do they agree with you?

4. ROLE-PLAY I.Create an environment for them to role-play the few situations that are being discussed.

II.Ask them to point out whether the 'actors' have acted in an appropriate manner.

5. ACTIVITY (TO REMIND AND REINFORCE THE LEARNING) I.Give them an activity (could be listening to a story, drawing or singing a song) to reinforce what they have learnt about the attitude. This is to help them remember better the attitude learnt in class.

II.Encourage them to 'practice' what they have learnt in class by giving specific situations and appropriate actions they can do in their home, with their family and friends.

6. ACCOUNTABILITY I.Get them to be accountable for practicing what they have learnt by providing them a checklist of positive actions (usually using pictures to show) for them to remind themselves (or even for their parents to sign the checklist)

II.After a few days, ask them whether they have practiced the positive actions based on the checklist that were given in class.

7. EVALUATION I.Teacher must periodically keep track that students continue to practice the positive actions taught to ensure internalization of attitudes.

II.The checklist also acts as a measurement to evaluate the effectiveness of the learning process.

17 IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER AS YOU PREPARE FOR AN INTERVIEW

17 IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER AS YOU PREPARE FOR AN INTERVIEW

By: Laura Adams

Several Days - One Week Before the Interview

1. Spend some time to research the organization and the position at hand. To find company-specific information, visit your local library, run a search on the internet, or talk to current or former employees about their experiences and impressions of the company. Study up on the company's products and services, industry, target market, annual sales, geographic location(s), structure, history, officers, and any other key information. Are there any new trends in the industry?

2. Identify the organization's major competitors and do some basic research on how they differ (either positively or negatively) from the company at which you are interviewing.

3. Prepare specific examples of how your skills and experience make you a strong fit for the organization's needs. Practice answering directed questions about your experience, education, and skills and how they relate to the position at hand. Being prepared to draw colorations between your experience and the needs of the organization is one of the most important interviewing skills you will need.

4. Identify your strengths and weaknesses. Be prepared to talk about your weaknesses, but find a way to frame them positively. For example, "My biggest weakness is that I am a perfectionist. It may take me a little extra time to get a project done to my satisfaction, but you can be guaranteed that the work will pass even the most stringent review, be 100% accurate, and that no detail will be overlooked."

5. Prepare several intelligent questions about the company and position that will demonstrate your knowledge of the company and your sincere interest in the position.

6. Try on your suit and make sure that it is still well-fitting and in good repair. If necessary, make arrangements to have it altered or find alternate dress.

The Day before the Interview

1. Contact the company to confirm the date and time of your interview. Also confirm the name and title of the individual(s) you will be meeting.

2. Get directions to the interview site. Be sure to double check the directions using a map. This will ensure that you know the way and also give you an approximate travel time - don't forget to allow for extra time for rush hour!

3. Lay out your entire interview outfit. Check it for any spot, wrinkles, or snags.

4. Print off a few extra copies of your resume and cover letter on nice paper. Even if the interviewer has a copy of their own, it's always a good idea to have a backup copy. This is also helpful if you end up interviewing with multiple individuals, since the head interviewer may be the only person with a copy of your resume.

Get a good night's sleep!

1. Your brain needs fuel to run at peak performance and if there is ever a day you needed 110% from your brain, it's today. So don't skimp on meals. Be cautious about eating large amounts of carbohydrates right before your interview though, since carbs are know to cause sluggishness and may lead to a "post-lunch" naptime.

2. Get dressed early so you do not feel pressured to dash out the door. Pay attention to the details (brush off any lint, comb your hair, brush your teeth, use deodorant, etc.) and remember that a first impression can reveal a lot about you and your character.

3. Don't forget to take copies of your resume, your cover letter, and your portfolio if you have one.

4. Leave yourself plenty of time to get to your interview. If you arrive more than 15 minutes early, it's best to wait in the car or outside the building. Arriving too early gives off the impression that you have a lot riding on the interview (and have nothing better to do with your time), and also pressures the interviewer(s) into feeling that they have to adjust their schedule to accommodate you.

5.Smile and shake everyone's hand when you are meeting for the first time - you should also smile and shake hands when the interview concludes.

6. Relax! If you have done your homework you are well-prepared for the interview. Take a deep breath and spend a moment collecting your thoughts if you need to when being asked a question. Ask confused about a particular question you are asked, don't hesitate to ask for clarification.

After the Interview

8 GIFTS OF PARENTING

by: Lawrence Vijay Girard

No one who has hugged their child can doubt the gift of a child's presence in their life. The love that is expressed in that simple act is one of the most profound ways that we experience love in this world. In order to nurture the special relationship of parent and child, and fulfill our roles as parents, there are number of things that we are signing up to do. Here is a list of eight essential ways to fulfill our parental responsibilities.

These are gifts that we should freely give to our children without thought of what we will receive in return for our efforts.

The Gift of Life. It is easy to forget that in the act of receiving a child into our lives we are sharing the gift of life itself. Remembering the precious nature of life can help us to keep the ups and downs of daily life in a proper perspective. The Gift of Love. The most essential ingredient for a happy life is love. There is no feeling more satisfying to the soul, both in giving and receiving, then love. When we include a conscious awareness of this truth and nurture it as the most basic value of our relationship with our children, we will find that many mistakes - on both sides - can be weathered. The Gift of Time. Time is the proof of our caring. When you spend time with your child you are saying with your actions: I love you and I would rather be with you than doing anything else. This is one of the best ways that you can objectify your love. It is also one of the greatest blessings. The Gift of Good Manners. Children from a young age can be taught to behave. This isn't an imposition on their free will. It is a gift that will enhance their lives. The process of developing good manners will help them to begin learning to see how others are affected by their actions. Through the establishment of basic good manners we are giving our children a skill that will benefit them in every other part of life. The Gift of Self-Control. Through the establishment of good manners from the very beginning we are planting the seeds of a character trait that can serve as a strong support for success in any endeavor: Self-Control. Practice cultivating self-control in your own self first. Then attune yourself to ways that you can instill these same values in your children. The Gift of Positive Mental Culture. By bringing the principles of positive thinking into all areas of life we develop in our children the experience that all good things are possible. Positive mental culture includes ten overarching areas of development: Non-Violence, Non-Lying, Non-Greed, Non-Sensuality, Non-Covetousness, Cleanliness, Contentment, Self-Control, Self-Study, and Devotion to God. The Gift of Education. An academic education isn't essential for living successfully in this world. There have been numbers of great people throughout history who couldn't read or write. But next to those great souls who can shine in spite of this lack of formal training, there are millions who could advance their lives immensely if they could but read and write. It isn't enough that we simply send our children to school. This is a gift that opens up a world of information and possibilities for our children. Don't leave this area to chance. The Gift of Reverence for All Life. Along with these most basic gifts we need to add a reverence for the sanctity of all life. While we can't make our children believe in God or appreciate the beauty and value of the incredible variety of life forms that inhabit our planet, we can communicate our own belief. Not to share your view on these issues is to - by default - preach that they have no value. The communication and application of the highest aspects of life should always be at the forefront of family life. Given the mixture of things that we want to share with our children we will need to mix and match according to how the soup is cooking. This is one of the beauties of life - its variety and spontaneity. It will, no doubt, turn out different than what we had anticipated in the beginning. If we give our children these eight gifts we will be well on our way to fulfilling our duties as parents and sharing with them the tools that will allow them to experience the best that life has to offer.

5 OVERLOOKED WAYS TO HIRE WINNERS

by : Michael Mercer, Ph.D.

Here is a true story. My dentist did a "clinical" evaluation of my teeth. That is his fancy way to say he looked in my mouth and starred at my teeth with his own two eyes. He found no cavities in his "clinical" evaluation. I felt happy and relieved!

But then he took a quick x-ray. Lo-&-behold, the x-ray immediately spotted a cavity hiding under one of my fillings!!

In other words, what you see is not always all you get!!! An objective x-ray found a lot more important information than a highly trained eye.

Likewise, some applicants come across fine in a job interview. But, they then proceed to flop after you put them on the payroll. In fact, huge amounts of research prove most interviewers do poorly at predicting how an applicant will do, if hired.

So, it is crucial for a manager to use special "x-rays" to spot potential trouble lurking within an applicant - and also uncover skills and talents that will prove beneficial on-the-job. Here are five superb "x-ray" methods you can use immediately to help you hire high-achievers - and stay away from underachievers.

1. Pre-Employment Tests Research shows that customized tests are the best way to accurately predict on-the-job performance. You can use three types of tests: A. Behavior tests - to evaluate interpersonal skills, personality, and motivations B. Abilities tests - to predict brainpower in problem-solving, vocabulary, arithmetic, grammar, and handling small details C. Character tests - to detect a "bad apple" who has a bad work ethic or might steal

Tests can be given in paper-&-pencil test booklets or on the Internet. Importantly, only use tests designed for pre-employment assessments. Customize tests you use by doing a "benchmarking study" to find out how your highly productive, low-turnover employees typically score. Then, you quickly can compare applicants' test scores against scores of your most productive employees. Of course, you can show preference for applicants who score like your winners.

2. Remember One Truism When I deliver my speech or seminar on Hire the Best -- & Avoid the Rest™, I always point out: Whatever behavior you see from the applicant during the screening process is likely to be the very best behavior you ever will see from that person! You surely witnessed this truism.

Let's say you want to hire a high-energy person. Candidate A stays very high-energy during your entire screening process, including all in-depth interviews. Candidate B starts interviews high-energy (a good sign) but then acts increasingly drained as the interviews go on (a bad sign). Candidate A is much more likely to be high-energy on-the-job than Candidate B. Do not expect Candidate B to suddenly explode with energy if you hire that person.

3. Referrals from Your Best Employees Winners hang around with winners. Losers hang around with losers. Your best employees probably hang around with high-achievers. Ask those employees to refer applicants.

4. Bio-data I'm not referring to DNA. Instead, bio-data is biographical data. Here's how to benefit from bio-data. Grab the files on your superstar employees. Look for common work-related experiences or education that most of them have.

3 For example, one company I consulted to wanted to hire salespeople to sell a service (not a product). Upon examining bio-data of the company's superstar salespeople, we found the high-achieving salespeople had worked selling services. Most of the company's underachieving salespeople worked in sales, also. But, the underachievers sold products, not services.

Interestingly, the same company also discovered most of its superstar salespeople worked at McDonald's for six months or longer in high school or college. This showed an interest in serving customers (after all, that is what McDonald's stresses) plus stick-to-itiveness (lasting six months or more in a normally high-turnover job). So, start digging into your bio-data treasures located in employees' files.

5. RJP RJP stands for realistic job preview. To do an RJP, (a) show applicants exactly what they will do on-the-job if you hire them, (b) let applicants think about it for 24 hours, and (c) then ask applicants if they want to take the job. Research shows employers who give detailed RJPs get two results: 1. less employees accept the job offer 2. applicants who accept the job off are less likely to turnover

Importantly, an RJP needs to be super-realistic. For example, I consulted to a tire company. It had great difficulty getting people to work in "purgatory" - a horribly hot room in which hot, just-made ties were moved on the tire molds. Anyone who worked in the "purgatory" room spent all day covered in sweat and thick white dust. No wonder most people quit that job after short time!

I recommended using RJPs. The company worried, "Applicants won't take that job if they know much about it!" I said let's try RJP anyway. Sure enough, after seeing this awfully hot and dusty job, only a small percentage of applicants took the job. But, those who did stayed a long time. Note: They were people who acted distinctly "odd," and relished feeling hot and sticky all day!

Do It Now If you remember these points, you can hire the best - and profit from it: 1. what you see is not all you get - but it is the best you will see 2. use customized tests, since tests predict job success better than other methods 3. take advantage of predictors right under your nose, including referrals from winners, bio-data, and RJPs.

Importantly, you can start these valuable methods today so you immediately start hiring the best.