Pontiac Career Management

Archive for July, 2010

One of the largest and the most enjoyable career industries is the travel industry. Travel includes many forms of business operations that include hotels to airlines, campgrounds to theme parks, restaurants and cruise lines. The field of travel has the great potential to become a rewarding and exciting experience.

Online Travel and Tourism Schools teach students to assess a client’s travel goals: Will it be a business trip or pleasure? What are the client’s interests? How much is the client willing to spend? Online Travel and Tourism Schools show students how to select a destination, make reservations for hotels and car rentals, purchase airline tickets, and arrange tours and recreational activities.

Travel Career Development

If you are already working in the travel industry, you know how vital it is to keep tourists coming. Happy tourists mean a steady flow of income and jobs. This is why company managers look for prospective staff that shows great interest in travel career development classes and conferences. Because a customer’s comfort and safety is of great importance, a travel career development class also covers customer service and hotel, motel and resort sales. The travel industry continues to grow at a significant rate bringing more tourists and job opportunities.

Travel Career Courses

Travel embraces various types of industries from restaurants and cruise lines, airlines to hotels, theme parks to campgrounds. Thus, the travel industry is deemed one of the biggest businesses in the world. This field promises a lot of worthwhile and challenging experiences.

Happy and satisfied holiday-makers stand for a steady stream of income and jobs. Those already experienced in the travel industry know how to meet tourists? expectations. This is the reason employers are in search for applicants who demonstrate curiosity in travel career development conferences and courses. There are many educational courses available, through conferences and as well as college courses available in many technical schools. There are also great online programs that offer many certificates for travel agents. Many of the courses teach about typical business practices and how to properly run a business.

Technology and specific computer programs relating to the industry are all explained in these courses as well. There are courses that teach an agent about reservation programs, as well as how to work with clients, how to create profitable packages for clients and about the laws and regulations that must be taken into consideration when traveling.

Travel and Tourism degrees are available through an online college or university distance learning course. A Travel and Tourism degree qualifies future travel agents for an exciting career planning trips, escorting clients to exotic locales, and enjoying industry discounts on airfare and services.

For a great and steady career and good salary, consider a life long association with commercial truck driving. Did you know that trucks move to and fro the major part of goods and services in the U.S.? And the field is poised for excellent opportunities and is growing? But unfortunately, there is a dearth of trained drivers, yet to qualify themselves. This, in spite of the fact, that the future for drivers, who succeed in the profession, has never been so good. For getting started in commercial truck driving, you need to pay heed to the following:

. Your age: Depending upon the state you live in, some permit 18 year old to drive inside the state. Federal rules need drivers doing inter-state runs to age at least 21 years.

. Your health conditions: The Dept. of Transportation needs drivers to be physically tested each two years. A driver should not have lost any body part or have any other defects or illnesses that can interfere with driving safety. You should not have diabetes that needs taking insulin injections.

. Eye Sight: You need a minimum of 20/40 visions in your eyes. You can or cannot have correcting lenses and not to forget a 70 degree area of vision in both eyes. Color blindness is disallowed.

. A Hearing test will be given, where a whisper within five feet must be heard with a hearing aid or not.

. You must have a basic knowledge of English speaking and reading to understand all traffic instructions and speak with police officers and the general public. You also need to write reports.

. Drivers have to learn to follow the Federal Motor Carrier Safety regulations.

. Drug and Alcohol abuse: There are four reasons, why police officials or your company can check for drug and alcohol abuse, which are 1) before employing you 2) after an accident 3) If they suspect you 4) Spot checking at any time. You should have no alcohol problem i.e. be diagnosed as an alcoholic. You must abstain from any form of drugs, which are not legal.

. Your driving history: You should not have a conviction of being involved in a felony using a motor vehicle, or a criminal offense after drug usage. Not having driven under the control of drugs or alcohol or have a conviction in a case of hit-and-run causing harm or fatalities.

. A Valid License: All truck drivers must possess a proper, valid commercial driver’s license or CDL given by a State. You can possess a license issued by one State only.

TYPES OF TRUCK DRIVING

You should know and prepare for the kinds of trucks; you will be driving in this career. Briefly they are:

1) Longer distance driving or over the road. Here you’ll drive heavy trucks and it is for a longer period. You’ll do a couple hundred miles and come back the same day. Some drivers are needed to stay away for many days and even weeks.

2) Local Driving: Here you drive light, medium, or heavy trucks and do shorter routes or just pick and drop type of deliveries. This type of driver also needs to be a salesman.

3) Special truck driving: This driver handles rare, very heavy or goods of a sensitive nature and needs special training to handle this equipment. Also you do double or triple trailers and car transportation.

4) Dangerous Materials: More training is needed here in that you must know the content you’re carrying, the safety factors, and handling an emergency.

Finally, you can also operate and own your truck and transport freight on a contract agreement. Gains are better, but it’s a business and has its own pros and cons.

If you listen to the BBC News you will hear them say that more and more employers are using job aptitude tests to help select employees and research indicates that the number of people asked to carry out such tests is around 40%.

Here are some test taking tips to help you when taking a job aptitude test.



General Test Taking Tips

There is no need to worry about the fact that you are taking the test. With the exception of math questions, there are no right or wrong answers – it is simply your overall aptitude for the job you are applying for that is being looked at.

Most of the questions are multiple choice style and are set with time limits and performed under normal examination conditions. Don’t worry if you do not finish the test in the time allotted as not many candidates actually do.

There is no such thing as a ‘pass mark’ for this type of test. More often than not your results will be compared to those of people who are already doing the job you have applied for.

More than one area is usually covered by the job aptitude test. For example, one part may take into account your ability to reason with numbers or read diagrams, whilst another section is likely to concentrate on your interpretation of text.

If you can find out what type of job selection test you will be faced with prior to the interview this will give you the opportunity to practice. Why not give the Human Resources or Personnel Department a call? The worst thing that can happen is that they are not prepared to give you further details. On the other hand if they say yes, this means you may have a head start over the other candidates.

How to Improve Your Test Results

Here are 9 test taking tips to help you improve your selection test results:

Make sure you arrive at the test location refreshed, in a positive mind set and in good time.

Carefully listen or read the instructions. You may find that marks are not granted on an even basis throughout the test. Section A may only carry 10% of the total marks whilst section B may account for 40%. Allocate your time wisely to achieve the maximum marks.

Find the happy medium between accuracy and speed. If you go too fast you will make mistakes and if you go too slow you will not answer as many questions as you could do.

Don’t spend too much time agonizing over a question if you know you cannot answer it – simply move on to the next one. Having said that, don’t give up on a question too quickly either.

Don’t waste your valuable test time checking and double checking your answers.

If you are unsure about the answer to a certain question, write down your best guess and move on. However, try to avoid wild guesses – they don’t do you any favors in the long run.

There is no need to panic if the questions appear to be getting more difficult as the test goes on. This is quite often the case so you can expect to take longer to complete the latter questions.

If calculators are permitted in the test, take your own one in with you. You are familiar with it and you know how it works.

There may be some practice questions at the start of the test. If you do not understand these questions thoroughly, ask the test administrator who will be happy to explain things to you.

And finally, the most important of our test taking tips. Practice makes perfect so get some practice tests in prior to attending the interview.

Here’s some specific advice on maths and numerical tests and verbal reasoning or logic test questions.