Pontiac Career Management

Archive for April, 2010

Political consulting is the business which has grown up around advising and assisting political campaigns, primarily in the United States. As democracy has spread around the world, American political consultants have often developed an international base of clients. Though its most important role is probably in the production of mass media (largely television), political consultants advise campaigns on virtually all of their activities, from research to field strategy.

The practice of consulting has several early precedents. President William McKinley’s closest political advisor Mark Hanna is sometimes described as the first political consultant. In California in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, Whitaker and Baxter established and grew the first true consulting firm, Campaigns, Inc. However, political consulting

blossomed with the increasing use of television advertising for campaign communications in the 1960s. It was in that period that Joe Napolitan claims to have become the first person to describe himself as a political consultant (Perlmutter, ed. Manship Guide to Political Communication, pg19).

In the subsequent years, political consulting has grown in importance and influence and extended its reach to campaigns at all levels of government in the United States, and beyond. Many consultants work not only for campaigns, but also for other political organizations, including parties and political action committees, sometimes through independent expenditures; some also do public relations and research work for corporations and governments. In fact, today corporations seeking approval from municipal boards have turned to land use political consultants to help earn need entitlements for their project.

Critics also blame political consulting, at least in part, for a variety of ills of the modern election process. In part because broadcast media consultants are often paid on commission, they are blamed specifically for the rising cost of political campaigns and the increasing reliance on paid media. A successful candidate running a low-budget campaign would be a serious economic threat to the political consulting field; such candidates, however, are rare.

Left-leaning activists within the Democratic Party, in particular, charge that political consultants are a major obstacle to participatory democracy, political reform, and electoral success for the Democrats. In a much-publicized e-mail on December 9, 2004, the online activist group MoveOn.org wrote, “For years, the Party has been led by elite Washington insiders who are closer to corporate lobbyists than they are to the Democratic base. But we can’t afford four more years of leadership by a consulting class of professional election losers.”

Lastly, there is growing professional opposition to what is called a cookie cutter campaign, where the themes and strategies of one campaign are transferred to another campaign, despite what may be major differences in political context. Brian Wright, president of Democrasource, LLC (an Ohio based national political consulting firm

specializing in enhanced campaign data strategies and micro-targeting), believes that “it’s just a matter of time, campaign communications techniques are evolving so quickly — anyone sitting on the sidelines or clinging to the last presidential campaign’s strategies is done. The book’s been rewritten.”

Well, if you’re determined to pursue a waitress career, I’m certainly not going to stop you. So, just to make things easier, here’s a combined assortment of tips for coming through the experience in one piece.

Some skills

To survive in the waitressing game you need many skills that will help you during your time working on the food chain. These include, but are not limited to:

Lying: You take an order from customers and spend the next half hour serving other people in your section. Then you realize – whoops, you forgot to give the order to the kitchen! What do you do? First, tell the customers there was a slip-up in the kitchen. Make vague references to the hassled chef – they’re always so busy, you know! Promise it will be out soon. Give the order to the kitchen with the express direction to make the meal ASAP because it’s for two heart surgeons on their lunch break. Situation averted, and you’re cool.

Look busy at all times: Follow the George Costanza school of business and always look kind of annoyed and walk with a purpose. This works to put customers off-balance as you can get away with a lot more when a customer can clearly see you’ve run your feet off. And if you spend your free time doing menial tasks such as folding napkins and restocking the toothpick dispenser you won’t get asked to carry the plates to the kitchen or do the washing up. The boss sees that you’re using your initiative.

Suggest Sir or Madam tries the bread or a salad with their meal: If practiced often in a clear and ringing tone, your boss will notice that you’re up-selling the product. Good for you, you might get a raise or promotion. Plus the customers will be impressed by your superior menu knowledge and great ideas and you may get a tip as a result. Nothing wrong with tips, are there?

Get the bill to the table as soon as possible: The reason being that you want a tip included. Instead of letting the customer make their way to the register before getting the bill, take it to them. There are three things which may occur: Either they will leave an amount of money with the bill which is a little over the requested price, but they don’t bother waiting for the change so you can pocket it. Or they put some money with the bill then wait for their change at the table, giving them ample time to think about telling you how much of the change is yours to keep. And some will take the bill to the counter anyway. This is the worst choice as people will often forget they’re in a restaurant and think they’re just in a normal shop. Oh, well, you can’t win them all, and some people wouldn’t tip if their life depended on it.

No matter what, be polite: This will make you look like a saint and everyone who barks at you will appear mean-hearted and crazy.

General advice

In the United States, count on a minimum wage everywhere where there isn’t an exception to that law – such as so-called ‘right-to-work’ states where your wage will be well under minimum. This is true precisely because of tips – in other countries tips are considered a gratuity on top of your salary, something extra. In the United States, tips are used as an excuse to not pay you a living salary. Sadly, many customers don’t realize the fact that when they don’t tip you, you’re working virtually for free.

Weekends and evenings are the best times. Always try to find someplace which gets a lot of business at least at certain times – collage areas, conventions and travel destinations, in a hotel or casino, near a sports stadium, and so on. Never skip working on a Holiday if your restaurant’s open that day – Holidays are your most profitable time. Your shift is likely to consist of lingering periods of inactivity punctuated by rushed times when you can barely keep up.

The ideal schedule for a table is five visits at minimum. First you greet and perhaps seat them if there isn’t a hostess. Next, immediately bring menus, and ask initially if they’d like a beverage or would perhaps order right now. If they’re regular customers they may already have an idea what they want. Next return to take their order. Then of course bring their food. Check once about five to ten minutes into the meal to see if they need anything else. Then at last bring them their bill and close your interaction. Add more visits depending on whether you have to refill a beverage or check every ten minutes to see if they’re ready to order.

Tailor your service to the customer. The only way you’ll get good at this is by learning body language. When you recognize a business person rushing in at lunchtime who is obviously in a hurry, cut out as many steps and be as efficient as possible. When you recognize a couple on a date, give them some time alone and intrude at the minimum; possibly suggest a single dessert to share. Stay and chat an extra minute with a lone diner who’s not in a hurry if you have the time. When a lone diner arrives with a book, however, give them time to themselves; nobody who brings a book to dinner is ever in a hurry. Jump to serve a large party or family, and be extra warm and personal; large parties tip the best since they’re likely to be having a festive time with all the company.

Good luck with your job. Whether you’re waitressing to support yourself through school, just trying to work off your credit bills or you’ve got nowhere else to go, it’s a career move which is interesting. Like cab driving, it will teach you about people, and you’ll meet the most interesting varieties of them.

To get wings is every young mind’s dream. A career in aviation nearly fulfills that dream for many. Being a pilot or an air hostess in an airline is like getting wings and flying in the sky. To become a pilot or an air hostess, there are various aviation academy and courses that one can take. Pilot training schools or courses is offered by both private and government institutes. It is a coveted course and many aspire for this course. Pilot training is an expensive course. To be an air hostess also, one has to undergo specialized training. This training is offered by a number of private and some government institutes and colleges in India and abroad. Relatively, this training is less expensive. A few airlines have also come up with air hostess training institutes and offer on-the-job training too.

The responsibility of a commercial pilot is to fly and take control of the aircraft that he/she is flying at all times. The aircraft may be full of people, full of cargo or both. From a smooth take-off to a safe landing, it is the primary responsibility of the pilot to handle the aircraft. The job of a pilot is not easy. It requires a lot of hard work, technical understanding, presence of mind, quick decision-making skills and an enormous sense of responsibility. If the aircraft hits rough weather or develops a technical snag, the duty of keeping the passengers and the crew safe falls on the shoulders of the pilot. Also, pilots are required to fly for long hours, be away from home for long periods of time, remain on call for duty any time and do not enjoy the luxury of regular holidays.

However, the perks associated with the job of a pilot are also plenty. Besides god salary, pilots get to travel at length, get free travel and medical facilities and also free air tickets for the whole family at least once a year. All these perks make the jobs very attractive. One should evaluate both the upside and the downside of this career before deciding to step foot into it. With the liberalization of the aviation sector in India, the demand for trained commercial pilots has been constantly growing. Consequently, the number of students aspiring to become pilots has also risen. A number of institutes in India and abroad offer pilot training to young men and women.

There are three primary stages in the pilot training. Firstly, a student has to obtain the Student Pilot License (SPL) for the training. This can be obtained at a minimum of 16 years of age after matriculation. After the SPL, one has to obtain the Private Pilot License (PPL). With the PPL, a student is given practical and theoretical training on flying. A student is also tested on his theoretical and practical knowledge associated with flying, the aircraft, etc. After the successful completion of the training, one obtains the Commercial Pilot License (CPL). With a commercial pilot license and the minimum number of hours of flying, one can be hired as a commercial pilot with an airline.

To become an air hostess or a steward, one has to undergo a diploma course. Air hostess courses are offered by a number of private institutes. Though this job is particularly popular with women, there are men also who opt to take up the training and become stewards in the flight. During the course for air hostess training, the students are trained in the basic mannerisms of serving and dealing with the passengers on-board. They are also imparted general training about the aircraft and how to handle crisis situations. Since the jobs of an air-hostess requires direct customer service, they are required to be presentable, polite, patient, understanding and with very good communication skills. Sometimes, airhostesses have to deal with difficult passengers or unusual demands on board. They have to keep their cool under such situations and handle each situation tactfully. Air hostesses are also required to reassure and help the passengers in terms of safety is an aircraft is in any trouble.

Thus, career as a pilot or an air hostess can be rewarding as well as challenging at the same time. With a proper training and reputed pilot course or air hostess course, one can look at a bright career in future.