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One of the most common issues faced by expatriate couples is the impact on the career of the spouse. In many expatriate locations, specialized jobs similar to what the spouse had previously held simply do not exist. This can be a critical issue in moving to another country. The potential loss of earnings, the prospect of having outdated skills on returning home, as well as the adjustment to becoming a stay at home spouse can become issues that bring an expatriate assignment to an early end.

This is particularly difficult when the couple both have high level or very specialized jobs. With the benefit of technology however, a growing number of expatriate spouses are turning to virtual employment. A virtual, expatriate employee lives and works in a different country to that of their employer. They typically work remotely via their computer making use of the internet, email, and VoIP (voice over internet protocol). This allows the employee to continue with their employment and allows the employer to retain specialized niche skills.

Employers should carefully consider all aspects of a request from an employee to work as a virtual expatriate:

What is the company policy, process, or precedent regarding previous requests?
What impact will there be regarding other company policies such as document controls, data protection agreement, security, business travel, insurance etc?
If the employee requires equipment, who will install and attend to maintenance?
Is there an appropriate working space at the employee’s home in the host country?
What is the policy of the company employing the virtual expatriate’s spouse regarding spousal employment?
Is the time zone of the host country conducive to maintaining contact with the virtual expatriate and with clients?
Who will pay for office running costs such as computer, internet connection, and utility costs?
How will the virtual expatriate’s work be monitored, and how will their performance be measured?
From an international assignment point of view, virtual expatriates are typically paid in the same way as any other non-virtual expatriate employee. The employer has the advantage however of not having to pay significant premiums or benefits that are likely already granted to the spouse employed in the assignment country. Benefits such as medical, housing, education of children, flights home and transport are likely already provided to the “non-virtual” expatriate by their employer.

There are however differences between virtual expatriates and non-virtual expatriates. The employer of a virtual expatriate often does not have a presence in the country that the employee resides in. This presents challenges in registering the employee to pay local tax, social security contributions and to ensure compliance with local employment laws. It is believed that some employers ignore these issues, and continue to pay the employee in their home country; however this can be risky if the local authorities in the host country become aware of it.

In reality most employers are flexible in approaching requests to become a virtual expatriate employee. In many cases the employee formally resigns from full time employment and signs on as a contractor either directly or through a labor broker, whereby they are paid a fully inclusive fee and are left to declare local income and deal with local employment laws themselves.

In the wonderful world of engineering, technology, electric supply and machinery, a GE Fanuc PLC enables companies to deliver high quality products as well as technical support to other companies in the manufacturing industry. To this effect, specialists can download technical documents as well as read up on information on how to install certain items.

Feeling a little lost? Don’t be. The terms I referred to above are well known to those who work in engineering or who are familiar with automation. Automation is a process in which machines do most of the work that human beings do. After all, who would want to try to construct a vehicle from scratch just to test their “skills”? Rather, with automation, items are produced in a much more fast and efficient manner than they would normally be produced if human beings were left to their own devices. This isn’t to say that we can’t produce items on our own without the help of heavy machinery. Instead, this is simply saying that in order to speed production and reduce overhead costs in today’s busy economy, automation is the way to go.

Every day, automation plays a critical role in how the world operates. Engineers are constantly striving to think of new and innovative ways to increase flexibility, ease of use and most of all, production, within companies. To this end, automated devices combined with mathematical tools are used by engineers to create complex systems for managing a wide range of human activity. While some machines have been created and have evolved to offer much assistance to the rest of us in the human world, the technology is far from perfect. For example, scents, sounds, language recognition and other aspects of modern technology are better left to humans to handle as machines are not yet up to the task.

A great example of automation in the making could be seen in the evolution of the telephone. If you speak to your grandparents or your parents, they may be able to tell you stories of how whenever you had to make a phone call, there would be a telephone operator who would connect you. Even as of late, if you dialed 4-1-1 information on a pay phone, you used to be able to speak with an actual person. Today, however, telephone operators have (for the most part) been replaced by automated machines. This came as a blow to some people while appearing to be far more efficient to others.

Entry level finance positions in health insurance or becoming an auto insurance specialist are things that are on a lot of people’s minds. During the recession many people were laid off and businesses and companies closed. There are some companies that continue to flourish. These are companies that supply something that will always be in demand.

The insurance industry will always need employees. There are so many different career options available in the insurance industry. Some people may only think about the agents but considering how many companies are available online and all the behind the scenes work that must take place there are a lot of opportunities.

No matter what your specialty or training might be in you should seek out every industry possible. Working in finances can be a great career choice. You can find openings in every industry. Larger companies may have more room for growth and advancement. However, if you don’t have a lot of experience and are looking for entry level positions you may have to do a lot of “grunt work” at first for an entry level finance position in healthy insurance. This is also common in many industries including an auto insurance specialist.

Before making a decision about what type of work you want to do, write down your interests and see if you can turn that into a job. There are many exciting careers out there; you just have to be willing to work for them. Don’t be afraid to seek people out. People that are happy with their careers will be more than happy to talk to you about it.

The key to finding a good fit for you is to find something you are passionate about. If you really enjoy what you are doing it won’t feel like a job. You might have to think outside the box to come up with something that you love and can also make money doing. Some people have to settle and work hard so they can enjoy other things. Make sure you have your priorities straight and that you can support yourself before you embark on a venture that may not be lucrative.

The opportunities are available to find entry level positions in health insurance. You can use that position as a spring board to help you go further in your career. There may be other opportunities along the lines of an auto insurance specialist. You just never know where a career in health insurance will take you.

Have you looked at your personal brand recently? Here is a simple system you can use to make sure that your branding is hit-the-ground-running ready for your job search.

Grab your paper and pencil, and make these lists:

Five contacts with whom you’d like to renew your network. Jobseekers’ networks are their #1 source for referrals, notices of prime job openings, and internal recommendations. Don’t lose the opportunity to increase your sphere of influence by losing touch with important contacts you’ve not connected with in a while.

Four projects you’ve worked on in the last two years that showcase your expertise and winning contributions to your company. Your next hiring manager is going to want to know how you can solve his or her pain starting… now. By having a clear understanding of the contributions you have made, and thus the contributions you can make immediately, will help you organize your thoughts for your resume and your interview.

Three reasons your skills have changed or grown in your current position that support a promotion. If you can’t identify in thirty seconds or less how your skill set has improved since you started your current role, you need to do some serious thinking. These are exactly the types of skills that you will showcase on your resume and, ultimately, in your interview. Think of them as pre-on-the-job training, which now your future employer won’t have to ensure that you get, as you’re already there!

Two challenges you’ve recently discovered about your work. You’ve changed and upgraded your skill set in response to… something. Identify which projects impelled you to work harder, smarter, better, or with different resources. Take the time to identify not only what you did but how you did it. Demonstrate how you have already taken steps to tackle the types of situations your new hiring manager is expecting you to manage in the future. In addition, utilize these job upgrades to show why you’re the only one for the job you’re seeking (and why you merit a significant pay increase, too!).

One skill set or new challenge that you have yet to incorporate into your professional toolbox. Want to know why they need a specific line item broken out in Accounting? Ask the manager. Is that program manager handling a project with new technology? Go ask her about it. Heard about a great webinar that will add something new and different to your already diverse skill set? Sign on, and improve your marketing pitch to include your new abilities.

Now take a step back and read what you have written. All of these together contribute to the branding and image that you want to project to your future manager. Your next challenge is to distill all of what makes you great, hirable, and worthy of a fabulous salary. Put these features of your professional self into your elevator pitch, your resume, your cover letter, and your interview. You’ve got the goods, now go get the job!

Amy L. Adler is the president and founder of Inscribe / Express, a resume and career documentation company focusing on the health care and information technology industries. She prepares resumes, cover letters, post-interview thank you letters, executive profiles, and other critical career documents on behalf of clients at all levels of employment. Credentialed as a Certified Advanced Resume Writer, Amy has earned a Master of Business Administration in Information Technology and Strategic Management as well as a Master of Arts in Publishing. Contact Amy at (801) 810-JOBS or aadler@inscribeexpress.com.

I recently wrote a blog post about the the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s (BLS) reporting on discouraged workers. This article received a fair amount of traffic-I learned from my search statistics that jobseekers are feeling pretty discouraged. Read on: Don’t become just another “discouraged worker” statistic. Instead, start preparing today to searching actively for your next great position.

What Does This Stat Mean to the Job Seeker?

Data on displaced workers are collected from a special supplementary survey conducted every 2 years. Displaced workers are defined as persons 20 years of age and older who lost or left jobs because their plant or company closed or moved, there was insufficient work for them to do, or their position or shift was abolished.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which reports of a variety of unemployment data, the number of discouraged workers has risen dramatically over the last 15 years, as the following chart represents (in thousands):

Discouraged Worker Statistics 1994-2009

This year’s dramatic rise in average number of discouraged workers to about 600,000 greater than its next greatest value is a testament to exactly one thing, and it doesn’t have anything to do with being displaced. It means that you need to get your job search emergency equipment in gear, so that you can feel confident that you are ready, at a moment’s notice, to get your search started if or when your company lays you off.

Why Does This Stat Matter?

For you and me, that means that if you or I lose or left our jobs because of the downsizing that is a manifestation of our economic slowdown, we’re “discouraged workers.” If you’ve already been crushed in the economic avalanche, you are probably already feeling mighty discouraged. And whether you’re digging yourself out or watching the crumbling rocks bearing down on you, you need to have an emergency job search toolkit to minimize your lost work hours and lost salary.

Your job search toolkit should include:

• Updated resume-with lots of references to your accomplishments.
• Cover letter-and not the “Please accept this letter in application for” subtype.
• LinkedIn profiled-up to 80% of hiring managers say they use social media.
• Post-interview thank you letter-see my blog post on why you can’t forget the post-interview thank you letter.

Need some help assembling your jobsearch toolkit? Don’t get discouraged-just call me. I can help you get the materials you need, so you’re ready to start your job search.

Amy L. Adler is the president and founder of Inscribe / Express, a resume and career documentation company focusing on the health care and information technology industries. She prepares resumes, cover letters, post-interview thank you letters, executive profiles, and other critical career documents on behalf of clients at all levels of employment. Credentialed as a Certified Advanced Resume Writer, Amy has earned a Master of Business Administration in Information Technology and Strategic Management as well as a Master of Arts in Publishing. Contact Amy at (801) 810-JOBS.

I recently wrote a blog post about the the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s (BLS) reporting on discouraged workers. This article received a fair amount of traffic-I learned from my search statistics that jobseekers are feeling pretty discouraged. Read on: Don’t become just another “discouraged worker” statistic. Instead, start preparing today to searching actively for your next great position.

What Does This Stat Mean to the Job Seeker?

Data on displaced workers are collected from a special supplementary survey conducted every 2 years. Displaced workers are defined as persons 20 years of age and older who lost or left jobs because their plant or company closed or moved, there was insufficient work for them to do, or their position or shift was abolished.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which reports of a variety of unemployment data, the number of discouraged workers has risen dramatically over the last 15 years, as the following chart represents (in thousands):

Discouraged Worker Statistics 1994-2009

This year’s dramatic rise in average number of discouraged workers to about 600,000 greater than its next greatest value is a testament to exactly one thing, and it doesn’t have anything to do with being displaced. It means that you need to get your job search emergency equipment in gear, so that you can feel confident that you are ready, at a moment’s notice, to get your search started if or when your company lays you off.

Why Does This Stat Matter?

For you and me, that means that if you or I lose or left our jobs because of the downsizing that is a manifestation of our economic slowdown, we’re “discouraged workers.” If you’ve already been crushed in the economic avalanche, you are probably already feeling mighty discouraged. And whether you’re digging yourself out or watching the crumbling rocks bearing down on you, you need to have an emergency job search toolkit to minimize your lost work hours and lost salary.

Your job search toolkit should include:

• Updated resume-with lots of references to your accomplishments.
• Cover letter-and not the “Please accept this letter in application for” subtype.
• LinkedIn profiled-up to 80% of hiring managers say they use social media.
• Post-interview thank you letter-see my blog post on why you can’t forget the post-interview thank you letter.

Need some help assembling your jobsearch toolkit? Don’t get discouraged-just call me. I can help you get the materials you need, so you’re ready to start your job search.

Amy L. Adler is the president and founder of Inscribe / Express, a resume and career documentation company focusing on the health care and information technology industries. She prepares resumes, cover letters, post-interview thank you letters, executive profiles, and other critical career documents on behalf of clients at all levels of employment. Credentialed as a Certified Advanced Resume Writer, Amy has earned a Master of Business Administration in Information Technology and Strategic Management as well as a Master of Arts in Publishing. Contact Amy at (801) 810-JOBS.

CompTia training has been a standard for having a career in computer support technicians since the program was created in 1993. Having CompTia courses shows that you have sufficient knowledge in support for installation, maintenance, troubleshooting, networking, and operating systems. CompTia courses is part of the road to getting a certification to work for big name corporations. Corporations such as Microsoft and Hewitt Packard are looking to hire workers with their MCSAs or resumes with CompTia training courses taken. These show that you have proved your competence in dealing with the basic duties of being a computer support technician.

In CompTia courses there are two exams you are going to be learning to take. The first part of your CompTia training is on the CompTia A+ Essentials exam. This exam tests to see if you have the competencies to be an entry level IT professional and since you are taking training you will gain 500 hours of hands on experience. Your understanding of computer technology and networking is going to be tested along with your communication and professionalism skills, since it is now required for all IT professionals.

The next exam you will be taking CompTia courses for is the CompTia A+ Practical Application. This is going to test your knowledge of the essentials but just going into greater detail. This exam comes with a hand on orientation that is going to be focused on troubleshooting problems and the tools you will use to fix them. CompTia training prepares you to not only take both exams, but pass them. You will receive the training needed to pass both exams with flying colors. Not only that, but if you are to take CompTia training courses before you take your exam, you get a discount on the price of taking the exam!

The internet is very useful and helpful but we can’t deny the fact that many people are also using it to take advantage of others. Truth be told, numerous jobseekers have been victims of online scams. There are online recruitment agencies that promise to help them find employment but once they’ve paid the specific amount, these agencies vanish into thin air or make up excuses not to give their money back.

Now you don’t want to end up like those victims. You can protect yourself from illegal online recruiters and get your desired job by getting to know first the available online recruitment agencies. You have to conduct your own little research for your own protection. Here’s how:

· Visit their website

Many recruitment agencies online don’t just post available vacancies in different sites but they have their own website which you can navigate. The website alone can tell so much about the agency. If it looks professional and well-organized then you might consider signing up. A legit agency tells as much about themselves and the services they offer. On the other hand, be cautious of disorderly websites with broken links and lack customer support.

· Check their credentials

A reliable online recruitment agency finds means to prove to probable clients that they are legit. They do this by having their sites verified and by uploading proofs like certifications or license from proper authorities. The government has a comprehensive list of legal recruiters and they provide this to jobseekers in their website. If the name of the online recruitment agency is included then rest assured that you’re in good hands.

· Read reviews and testimonials

Find out what others like you have to say about the agency. Read reviews and testimonials of their previous clients to help you assess whether or not they can indeed help you find a job. Don’t believe right away though since some agencies fool others by writing the reviews and testimonials themselves and use bogus names. Make sure that whoever wrote them has a contact number and email address where you can send your queries to.

You can use these tips in your online recruitment research. They also serve as a precautionary measure for you to protect yourself from getting scammed. Aside from these, you also have to be extra careful in dealing with online recruitment agencies. Never divulge your personal information aside from your name and address which you need in registering to their sites. Moreover, stay away from those that ask for upfront payment. If possible, stick with online agencies or job sites with money back guarantee.

It’s possible to start your career rolling with the help of online recruitment agencies. However, you must research first to find out which ones are legit and worthy of your time, money, and trust.

Are you good at using programs such as Word, Excel, Spreadsheet, and PowerPoint? Did you know that having skills in programs such as these can earn you a certification from Microsoft? You can use that certification to make more money in your career and get offered higher paying jobs. Not only that, you can also make work so much easier for you to accomplish by knowing how to do job tasks by using multiple programs. How can you do this? Easy! All you have to do is take one of the many online Microsoft courses. There are courses in every Microsoft program and you can also take Microsoft courses on their operating systems as well! Sounds easy enough.

The best part is you don’t have to be super technical genius to take these courses, but you will end the course as one! These Microsoft courses are good for those who are just beginning and trying to learn to use the programs and to help those who do learn advance techniques on how to operate them.

Taking Microsoft courses and having this certification impresses employers. It shows that you are an employee that has a good knowledge of Windows operating systems, which are used in almost all offices, corporate and none.

You may be a beginner and need to learn how to uses these programs period. There are Microsoft courses for each program that you can take and it will teach you how to use it from start to finish. It is so easy because everything is explained to you and you aren’t rushed to hurry and learn it. When you are done taking these courses you can then go to take your certification tests. Taking Microsoft training courses open you to a world of new experiences and opportunities, and make working easier by helping you complete multiple tasks at one time.

There are people all around the world who have physical problems that they need help with. Working as a traveling PT is a wonderful way to work with different people’s individual needs and improve the use and structure of their bodies for more freedom and joy in life. Working as a traveling PT will not only allow you to help people, but it will also allow you to travel around the world. Wouldn’t it be amazing to have a job you were passionate about that allowed you to travel around the world and see incredible sites, all with money in your pocket!

Physical therapy travel jobs will give you the opportunity to heal people at the location of your choice, all while traveling and earning a fantastic living. The training is exciting and informative, and you’ll be perfecting your skill sets as a physical therapist, working with many different healthcare professionals and patients. The best way to get started is by seeking the help of an online travel therapy company. They can help you find the traveling PT job you’ve always wanted, while putting you in a position to travel around the world and help people in need.

If you’ve ever had a physical ailment that needed therapy and you underwent the treatment of a physical therapist in your area, then you know the intense gratitude and awe that you felt for that therapist when you saw the amazing improvements in your body and life! There’s nothing like the smile you see on someone’s face when you’ve helped them to heal.

When you’re a trained physical therapist and you’re given the opportunity to earn money and help people around the world, you definitely feel the joy that comes with all those great experiences – see the world and practice in the profession that you love! You’ll be making a difference in the world, one hurt body at a time.