SEO Writing: Why Your Headline Demands 15% Of Your Writing Effort

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Why should your headline for any written content you create require that you devote at least 15% of the total effort put into the complete package of writing anything so it is finished and ready to be published?

There is more to SEO writing than keyword density. The fact is you really need to have a headline that catches your readers’ eye!

You need a headline that really grabs their attention or creates a question in their mind; a headline that somehow really jumps out at them.

Why?

Consider this:

Anytime someone searches for anything anywhere on the Internet the search results will normally give at least 10 choices on the first page returned. This does not include the fact that most of the time there will be paid ads as well so let’s make that 15 choices they have to choose from on a single page.

A basic principle of SEO writing that you need to understand is that people scan, they don’t read! This is especially true when they are reviewing the results of a search they have just made.

Your headline is the first chance you have to grab their attention. Once they skim past your headline it is extremely doubtful they will come back and look again; therefore, you have just lost a potential customer!

So what good is all the effort you put into composing a great piece of SEO writing if you skimp on the headline so no one is interested enough to click and visit your web page?

If you can’t get anyone interested in visiting that web page to read what you wrote, then all of your effort spent on that great piece of writing is wasted!

For SEO writing purposes, your headline not only has to be awesome as you can make it, but you need your keyword phrase in there as well.

But wait! It gets even better. Despite a few exceptions over the last few years, Google and the Yahoo! / Bing search results limit the headline to a character count of 65.

That’s right; you have only 65 characters, including spaces, to squeeze in your keyword phrase and write an irresistible headline because the first 65 characters are all that will be displayed.

Yes, this is another aspect of good SEO writing that will obviously take some time and some creative effort.

But again, writing great content that no ever visits so no one ever reads it is a waste of your time.

Let me present a little mathematical equation to explain why writing a great headline is necessary for good, complete SEO writing:

You have written a great blog post on a less searched, less competitive keyword phrase. Not a lot of searches per month, but remember the Internet will give you ‘time’ as you’ll see below (and these numbers are low in this example).

If that blog post (or any piece of content) appears just 100 times on the first page of a search results returned each year for 5 years. That is 500 people you could possibly get to visit your site!

Now we’ll say the time you put into your headline is 15 minutes, so:

15 minutes = 900 seconds; 900 seconds divided among 500 people = 1.8 Seconds of Your Time and Effort per Person!

That is why I say that it might seem a little slow and frustrating at times when creating a good headline, but that effort is actually very small for each person who will see it!

I would consider 1.8 seconds per person to be a great investment!

Look, if you really want to be accomplished at SEO writing, then you need to understand the whole package (and I haven’t mentioned anything regarding how SEO writing works with a summary or description).

So keep in mind to realize the value of that awesome blog post or article you wrote, you need to get people to that web page to read it!

Selecting Appropriate Training Methods: Haste Makes Waste

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Haste and convenience in selecting methods of training can be hazardous to your training program’s health. Unless certain guidelines are followed in selecting training methods, managers or trainers risk turning a good program into a waste of time.

People might like the program, but it might not change their ways of behaving (like selling, communicating, working with others) or increase their self-confidence.

A previous article, Six Powerful Steps to Dynamic Training, discussed how good sales training programs are built on the needs of the participants and the result needs of the organization. Needs give you the facts to write goals for a program. And the goals are achieved by using appropriate training methods. A method is simply a manner in which something is done. But for some reason, people think that selecting training methods has the same aura of a witch doctor choosing a magic potion.

So trainers often stick with methods they are comfortable with instead of using the needs and goals to dictate their selection of methods. Often these methods involve lecturing or DVDs or PowerPoint slides.

If you think about the best learning or training experience you’ve ever had, it’s probably one where you dug right in and got involved rather than one where you sat back and watched from the sidelines. Research indicates that learning is more likely to take place with the learner actively involved in activities.

Active involvement means first-hand experience by thinking, discussing, practicing/sharing, criticizing, solving problems, and making decisions. A good novel gets the reader involved in the action. A good training program gets the participant involved in the action, too.

When you determine methods for training programs, there are two broad categories. First is didactic, such as lectures in which the trainer tells or gives the information to the participants. This is most often done using PowerPoint slides or flip-charts. (Overheads are dead, today.) Second is experiential, such as a small-group setting where the participants discover or learn new information and skills through activities. The best training sessions use a blend of both with a heavy emphasis on experiential. To determine which approach to use, ask these three questions:

  1. How will the learning be used?
  2. Will everyone use the learning the same way or will it vary?
  3. How often will the learning be used?

To answer question one, refer to the goals of the training program. If you simply want someone to know about the marketing plan, then use a lecture. But if you want someone to perform in a new way, such as making a proposal or handling objections better, then use a role-play or structured activity.The possession of knowledge is no guarantee that it will be used. The higher the need for application, the more experiential the method-more involvement- and the greater the tendency for learning.

For the second question, if you want people to use the learning in many different situations, then use more experiential methods in training. For example, to teach someone to follow a written procedure requires less an experiential approach than to teach someone to close a sale or handle a customer complaint or deal with a performance problem. Following a procedure is fairly basic. The examples with people interaction require much flexibility and creativity.

In the last question, if you want participants to remember information for an extended period, use an experiential training method. All the videos or DVDs in the world on proper communication techniques for example, are no substitute for the experience or practice of managing others. Just as the proper evacuation of a building is better learned through “live” fire drills than through frequent lectures on evacuation procedures.

Then, remember to coach, give feedback and review to reinforce learned and practiced skills. These are methods that need to be built-in to almost any training session as follow-up to achieve a bottom line impact. As a manager or trainer, providing proper and appropriate training with follow-up coaching in your programs will add to your success, your employees and that of your organization.

Use the following information as a guide in selecting training methods:

Gaining Knowledge or competence-low involvement methods:

  • Reading
  • Presentations/lectures
  • DVDs/videos

Improving Understanding or commitment-medium involvement methods:

  • Case study
  • Discussion
  • Assessment/instruments

Gaining skills and confidence-higher involvement methods:

  • Role-playing
  • Structured activity
  • Group exercise

As the old adage goes, haste makes waste. And in selecting appropriate training methods, haste can be a hazardous waste–of your time and others’ abilities and success. Intelligent needs assessment, excellent delivery and appropriate methods will help you provide dynamic training.

Cyber School Pro – Wear What You Want

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One of my top hang-ups is having to make yourself look pretty in the morning.

“Oh Kelly, you silly goose! That doesn’t seem too hard!”

You’re right disembodied voice, it doesn’t seem too hard, but anybody who has gone to school or an early job will probably agree that getting ready in the morning can feel like moving a mountain!

“You’re just over reacting!”

Am I? Am I…?

Anyway…

In public school there is a lot of separation and cliques. Maybe not as much as in High School Musical or any other dramatic movies about high school, but the problem definitely exists. A lot of times the clothes you wear, and how well you keep up with yourself contribute a lot to which group you fit into.

If you tend to dress up a lot and always look your best, then you will most likely be included or at least treated well by the more popular group. Whereas if you wear a t-shirt and jeans everyday with a hoodie normally somewhere around you or on you, you may get put into one of the lower tiers of the popularity food chain.

I was in the later. Not that I minded it or anything like that, but it’s always tough when people judge you even if you are very strong or know you are doing the right thing.

I did have reasons though for not always dressing to impress and I believe a lot of people I know would agree with me on some of them.

First off I went to school to learn, not to socialize. This is a big reason that I came to cyber school. I want to get my work done early so that I have time to socialize with different friends of mine, but if work is looming over my head it becomes very hard for me to focus or find a desire to stay, and talk to somebody.

Second I’d rather have sleep than the most beautiful hair each morning. Think about it, you need sleep to get through your day and be alert, while you need nice hair to attract boys and get compliments. What is more important? I’ll give you a hint: You need it for survival.

Thirdly it’s a long day, and I want to stay comfortable. Beauty hurts, and it’s true! A lot of times my decision would come down to do I want to wear my nice comfy sweatshirt and jeans or that shirt that is really tight and uncomfortable that will make me look nice. Yeah, about that…

Fourthly I want friends that like me for me, not just how good I look. Sure it’s a cliché type of thing, but it is important to find those long lasting relationships with people who can look past superficial things.

Remember I’m not advocating that we all just bum around each day in easy, comfy clothes and bad hair. It’s important to put in some effort because it is still very good to take care of yourself, and make yourself presentable, you just don’t need to go overboard on it.

Now that I’ve gotten way off topic, let’s bring it back to the main topic here. In cyber school you have the freedom to not have to get dressed nicely with makeup and nice hair at 6am. I usually stay in my pajamas until about 10:30 when my mom and I exercise, then I get ready for my day without having a bus to catch or while I am extremely exhausted.

It really helps with stress if you seem to always dread a new day. I would say cyber school is a wonderful decision if you have similar feelings about making yourself look pretty early each morning.

Tips to Learn Chinese Easily

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Are you looking for some tips to learn Chinese easily? If so, keep reading, because you are in the right place. In this article I’m going to show you three tips that will tremendously help you become a fluent Chinese speaker. Here they are!

1. Immerse yourself in a language

It’s the most important tip. This one tip alone can help you learn Chinese even in a year or two. Immerse yourself in your target language on a daily basis! People who have been learning languages for years and still don’t speak them fluently are the people who don’t immerse themselves. Don’t be one of these people and use your language: watch movies, listen to music, read articles, interact with native speakers.

2. Learn step by step

Concentrate only on one thing. Don’t try to learn everything at once. If you want to improve your writing skills, then concentrate on your writing skills. If you want to improve your speaking skills, then concentrate on these skills. Learning step by step is the best way to learn a language easily.

3. Speak and write right from the beginning

Don’t neglect your speaking and writing skills. Practice right from the beginning. It’s crucial to your success – if you don’t use your new language from scratch, you’ll learn much more slowly. Even if you know only a few words, use them! You can simply leave a comment like “I like it, thank you” on YouTube.

That’s it – three tips to learn Chinese easily. Don’t forget that it’s all about your approach. If you think that something is difficult, it will be difficult. Be optimistic and always concentrate on the positive things. You don’t need to be a genius to learn a language easily. Good luck!

Why Is an Exam Part of the Process for Immigrants?

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There are many different procedures someone coming to the USA from another country has to complete in order for them to apply to live here on a permanent basis. This is the legitimate way to be approved to stay and to eventually be able to apply for citizenship if you so desire. The medical examination for immigration is a requirement you can’t get around.

It is essential to verify you don’t have certain types of health concerns that could be spread to other people. The goal is to keep such illnesses from spreading around the USA to healthy people due to such exposure. If you are found to have such an illness, you may be quarantined for a period of time while it is treated.

The medical examination for immigration will only be signed and sent by the doctor once all is cleared. It is important to share your medical history as completely as you can. This will help you to get through the assessment with the best possible outcome. If you have a need for ongoing health care or medications, they can help you to get that set up.

Finding a Provider

You can’t go to any doctor you wish in order to obtain your medical examination for immigration documentation. They have to be approved to offer such services. This verifies they have been through certain training and they have the right credentials to know the criteria to look for. You should be able to identify those providers though through online searches.

You may obtain a list of them through your immigration services location too. They often strive to offer all the information they can share about such resources. They will give you the address and phone number of those in the area offering medical examination for immigration services. You can contact anyone you want on that list in order to get your appointment scheduled.

Appointment

It can be several weeks before they can get you on the list for an appointment. Don’t be discouraged by this, it takes time for medical examination for immigration information to be completed. The volume of people seeking such services from a limited number of providers means you typically can’t get in right away.

Take the first appointment they have available and ask them to put you on a list for any cancelations. If you have a flexible schedule and someone else can’t make it, they may call you to come in and take that appointment slot. This is a simple way to possibly get moved up the list and to reduce the time it takes for your medical examination for immigration to be completed.

At the time that you schedule the appointment, ask about the cost too. You will need to have the money to pay for it when you show up. Otherwise, you may be asked to reschedule the appointment and they won’t see you that day. If you don’t have funds to pay for the services, ask about other options at the time you set up the appointment.

They may know of some resources you can consider that you haven’t thought about. It certainly doesn’t hurt to ask. Plan for the exam to take about an hour to complete. There are plenty of questions the doctor will need to ask you and document the answers to. This is in addition to them actually conducting the exam.

You will be asked to give a blood sample and permission for a TB test to be conducted. The paperwork for the exam can’t be sent in until those lab results come back. It shouldn’t take more than a few business days to get them.

Using, Choosing, and Using an educational consultant

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Introduction

The aim of this document is to provide advice and guidance in choosing a consultant in the field of education. You may be the headteacher or principal of a school or college, an officer in a local education authority (LEA) or school district, or the director of a private company wishing to undertake work in the educational sector. This article focuses mainly on information and communication technology (ICT), but the underlying principles also apply more generally.

Using a consultant

Consultants, at least in the UK, have a poor reputation as a species, and yet they are in greater demand than ever. Why? Why would any organisation elect to use a consultant rather than hiring someone? There are several reasons for this.

Short-term work

Some work is, by its very nature, short-term. If, for example, you are having a new computer suite installed, you might want some advice from an external person who has no axe to grind – and whom you can blame when half the staff complain about the design, the equipment and so on!

Expertise

In a specialist area, such as ICT, it’s quite likely that the school doesn’t have the expertise in-house to do what it needs to do within a particular time scale.

Cost

Although consultants can be expensive, it is (or should be) a relatively short-term expense. And don’t forget that you don’t have all the on-costs, like pension contributions. These can add up to 20% of the salary costs. Also, if the consultant goes on holiday or falls ill, you don’t incur any extra expense.

Choosing a consultant

When choosing a consultant or adviser to assist your school in ICT, whether for Hands-On Support, training, strategic development or any other aspect of ICT, it’s important to get the right person or company for the job.

To help you do so, here is a list of questions you may wish to ask before hiring someone. You are unlikely to find any person or company who can answer “yes” to all of these questions, so you will need to bring your own professional judgement to bear on your decision.

1. Is the consultancy independently accredited by a quality assurance scheme, such as by NaaceMark or similar scheme? If not, is it seeking accreditation? Note that an answer of “No” in either case is not necessarily a bad thing. In my own experience, the work itself is so time-consuming that it’s quite difficult to go through the hoops required to prove that you can do what you’re doing! That’s why the next few questions are important too.

2. Is the consultant a member of a relevant organisation, such as (in the UK) Naace or the Society for Education Consultants? These types of organisation provide a certain degree of quality assurance in the sense that they won’t accept just anybody as members, although they will give no guarantees about the quality of work undertaken by their members. Also, they often provide useful information about the sector in which the consultant works, which in theory at least keeps the consultant up-to-date on current developments in the field.

3. Ask for details of similar work undertaken by the consultancy, and for details of satisfied clients – but bear in mind that a reluctance to supply such details may be due to considerations of confidentiality.

4. Ask for references, testimonials, or details of evaluations, ie evidence of quality assurance of the consultants’ work.

5. You can also ask how the consultant gets most of its work. Word of mouth is a good sign.

6. Ask for the CVs of the consultants who will be working in your organisation if you decide to sign up this consultancy.

7. Is the consultant qualified to undertake the work? This could be an academic qualification, accreditation as an inspector or training provider in one or more schemes, or qualification by experience.

8. Has the consultant been on relevant training in the last year?

9. Ensure that the consultancy agrees not to subcontract the work without prior discussion with you, the client.

10. If you are considering the consultant for staff training, ask if you can attend one of their training sessions in another school.

11. Ask for other evidence that will help you decide if the consultancy is the best for this particular work in your school, such as a client list (but note point about confidentiality above), examples of video work, published work or a website.

Using a consultant

Once you’ve decided on a particular consultant, have an agreement drawn up that ensures, for example, that you will be kept informed of progress. For example, it may not be unreasonable to ask for a summary every 2 weeks, if you are an LEA and the consultant is working in your schools.

Once you’ve hired a consultant, make sure you get the best value for money. This means some or even all of the following, depending on the particular circumstances:

Have a clear set of aims and objectives that you are both agreed upon. This may be developed in discussion with the consultant before signing on the dotted line, but there must be a clear set of expectations by the time the consultant starts work.

Make sure that the consultant has the tools needed to do the job effectively. This could mean access to the computer network, desk space, essential contact information and so on.

Ensure that you have all the contact information you need too: phone and fax numbers, a mobile phone number too, perhaps, with the facility for leaving messages, and an email address.

Put in place whatever is needed to enable the consultant to “hit the ground running”. If, for example, you spend the first morning discussing what the consultant should do, you’re throwing money down the drain: all that should have been agreed beforehand – unless, of course, there is a need for a sudden change in plan, although even in those situations there should have been a contingency plan (a “Plan B”) in place.

Don’t keep asking the consultant to do more and more in an unplanned kind of way. If more work is needed, discuss whether it could feasibly be done well in the agreed time, or whether more days need to be allocated for it.

Conclusion

With proper groundwork when choosing a consultant, and sound planning, hiring a consultant to help you with your ICT work can be an excellent means of achieving the aims of your organisation.

http://www.ictineducation.org

Why Should I Take a Defensive Driving Course?

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We’ve all heard the horror stories of drivers that get careless then drink and drive, only to find themselves being followed by the men in blue. Not only is this embarrassing, but it can tarnish your driving record and cause your insurance rates to skyrocket. Remedies include community service, hefty fines, and simply waiting for the points to fall off over several years. But the best solution for removing unwanted points on your driving record, is to enroll in a good defensive driving course.

Taking a driving course is not only great for satisfying court requirements due to a serious violation such as a DUI; it is also a great way to cut points from your driving record for other blunders such as speeding, running red lights and other driving errors. However, enrolling in an accredited driving course is not just for people with blemished driving records. Taking a defensive driving course can be beneficial to people with good driving records as well.

Taking a defensive driving course, even if you have a perfect driving record, is a great idea for several reasons. First, car insurance is expensive. There are some tricks to saving money on vehicle insurance such as maintaining higher deductibles, maintaining a safe driving record, and having a garage-kept vehicle, but in most states people who take a defensive driving course will receive a certificate that can lower their insurance premium from between $25 to $50. And who couldn’t use the extra money, especially in today’s economy?

Another great reason for any driver to take a driving course is the driving skills you will gain that will make you a better driver. Let’s face it; most of us are older drivers that haven’t seen the safety rules since we were 16. Whether you take a defensive driving course in person or take a defensive driving course online, you will benefit with eye-opening instruction and tips on how to become a better driver.

So the next time you ask yourself, “Why should I take a driving course?” remember the top three reasons:

  1. I will reduce those pesky points on my driving record.
  2. I will save money on my vehicle insurance.
  3. I will become a better driver.

And remember this final tip. If you have teenagers who are driving in your household, you will save big by enrolling them in a defensive drive course too. Make it a family affair for improving driving skills, saving money, and reducing the risk of your son or daughter having an accident.

Advantages of College Works Painting

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Have you ever thought of getting a make over for your abode or perchance doing numerous of those precarious exterior painting of your home? If you’ve replied yes to these queries, then let College Works Painting do the ordeal for you. The following inquiry that may be postulated is, why? Many persons could suppose that these are students in college who possess no experience with exterior painting, but in truth, they are wrong. College Works Painting uses college students who are experts with the chore they are utilized to. These are students in college who do work to pay for school and are good at doing it. These are well-trained students who have developed skills in house painting as well as good business management skills.

Now, the benefits are endless with College Works Painting. Having College Works Painting for your paint jobs both indoors and outdoors can imply that you are really adding to the future of these students who have to work their way to graduate college. These programs are intentional to assist the students to develop efficiency when it comes to business as well as assist them turn into a versatile leader and handler as these kinds of program and aid them to learn leadership and managerial skills. As College Works Painting also assists to contribute to the disabled, other charity organisations, or those who have special necessities.

The program allows for quality painting services at a lower price than those business firms that have fees that are way above your budget. The College Works Painting program provides competitive rates that necessitate upmost quality craftsmanship with pleasant client service to add with.

Meantime, college students who are searching to cover all the fees to be paid at school that are burdening their parents are studying few advices on business, leadership, managerial skills, likewise the quality of the work they are serving. Not to mention the process they do for the community. The kinship between contractor-client amends when students are openly conscious of the matters being tackled and that they are able to communicate with their customers about the demands, future problems the task might pose, and other events that are needed to be dealt with.

Coaching Program – Cash Pulling Modules You Can Setup Easily

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What if you discovered how to make massive income on the internet starting your own profitable coaching program starting today?

Do you want to know some important modules that you can setup to plugin your profitable coaching program?

The purpose of this article is to get you started on the right track with your coaching program that prints money for you for a long time to come.

Here are 5 simple steps to get you started instantly…

Step 1 – Teleseminar is the key to coaching success.
Step 2 – Provide your clients a monthly newsletter.
Step 3 – Setup a high quality membership site for your clients.
Step 4 – Video training center will add a high value to your coaching program.
Step 5 – Include one on one coaching, this will boost your conversion.

The purpose of this article is to get you started easily that makes you money for a long time to come from your own program.

Checkout the step by step details right here.

Step 1 – Teleseminar is the key to coaching success.

To boost up your programs’ profitability you have to make sure that you include teleseminar tool to run your coaching agenda. You can setup teleseminars easily and get your clients at one central place every month and train them on specific topics. One of the most important and profitable internet marketing tool is newsletter and you can use it easily to boost up members you coach.

Step 2 – Provide your clients a monthly newsletter.

You can also include a monthly newsletter jam packed with quality stuff that excites your clients. You can grab content from free article sources like EzineArticles and also get ideas from forums and content sites of other websites in your niche. Setting up a membership site is extremely profitable, combine it with your coaching agenda and you will make money very easily.

Step 3 – Setup a high quality membership site for your clients.

Membership sites have unique power to provide you recurring income on continuous basis. All you can do is setup a powerful membership site for your coaching clients where you can post quality content, videos, reports, etc on continuous basis. You can setup a video training center in your coaching program and this will add high value to your coaching agenda.

Step 4 – Video training center will add a high value to your coaching program.

You can setup quality videos for your coaching clients and this will add power to your coaching system. This can act as a powerful bait that will pull clients to your program like bees to honey. You can make tremendous money setting up a one on one coaching membership site, this will make you recurring profits for a long time to come.

Step 5 – Include one on one coaching, this will boost your conversion.

Your clients will love it if you provide them one on one support through email, phone, teleseminars or chat. So make sure that you include one on one coaching module in your coaching program to boost up its value.

The Science of Highly Effective Job and Career Searches

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Today’s job market is highly competitive market place for locating jobs and careers. It’s not uncommon, in some regions, to hear of a ratio of available job openings to actively seeking workers being in the range of 1:10. From Alabama to California, thousands of Americans are lining up in hopes of landing the ever elusive job. Jobs and careers searches have become a quest void of the once pursued goal of a dream job, replaced by the fleeting hope of a job which will enable survival.

Today’s job market is calling upon those applicants to sharpen up their game and approach job seeking in a way which is far different from jobs and careers search skills used 5 to 10 years ago. Today, each and every job applicant is a walking talking web page. Take a minute and consider the web page and it’s structure.

Every web page has a title tag. Every jobs and careers applicant should have the title of a position they are seeking. Furthermore, they should have a crisp, clear, definitive title on their resume which clearly states their purpose. Don’t confuse this with a purpose statement. A title is usually 60 characters or less including spaces.

Every web page has a description tag. Every jobs and careers seeker should have a prepared description not only of who they are; or what their experience is; but also of what they are seeking. This description should be clear, concise, and easily communicated in 2 to 3 sentences.

Every web page has a keywords tag. Every jobs and careers search applicant should walk into an interview with 6 to 8 clearly definable keywords which describes their skills, personal strengths, and the vocational direction they are pursuing. Too many keywords, as with search engines will come across as keyword stuffing-keep your list to 6 to 8 keywords, and it’s always better to have less than more.

Most web pages will have a robots tag which instructs the search engines on how best to crawl your web page. Jobs and careers applicants should always present themselves in a manner which makes it as easy as possible for a Human Resources Director to navigate your resume, and cover letter.

Finally, web pages will have a body. Jobs and careers applicants should hone and prepare a skilled 7 to 8 minute presentation on them self. Seven to eight minutes isn’t very long for even the most accomplished speaker to include an opening, 3 points (providing statements in support of each point), and a conclusion, but this…for any applicant…is the body of their overall presentation.

Establish these key factors into your jobs and careers search techniques, and you will enter into job interviews feeling more competent and relaxed-key selling points to an interviewer.